THE WIFE WHO BECAME HIS RIVAL

: Labor o

ing the mess inside me. I kept fading in and out, c

medic sounded far away. Your b

n my mind: Mikel's hands all over Sophia, that smug look she gave me, and her wor

we call someon

my best friend, feeling her warmth. I choke

pered. The

hrowing out medical terms I couldn't understand through the pain and sho

ared as they wheeled me into the delivery room. We'l

ied at the same time my daughter decided to show up?

hrough clenched te

before-women going into early labor because of heartbreak. Okay, Be

my daughter's heartbeat on the monitor-fast, scared, just like m

ght. Mommy didn't mean this.

ll

till messed up, his shirt buttoned wrong. Sophia stood behind h

growled.

guez said, watching the monitors. Y

like I was some wild animal he could calm

I think is that I walked in and found you inside my best friend. What

not s

p. It's very simple. You m

less makeup before arriving at the hospital. Still got t

ing faster. Don't pretend you care about me wh

s wide. Bella, you're being dra

say something three years ago instead of smiling at our wedding? Why did

cold and calculating underneath. Because some things are wo

mistake. It was a plan. I'd been li

g? I wh

er for a second. They were a team,

sn't matter-

. L

ment party, she said. The night you got sick and went to bed early? Mikel wa

everyone for ruining things. Mikel had been so sweet, saying it was fine

o years ago

been to watch you play house with the man I love? To watch you ha

Dr. Rodriguez tried to say somethi

tomach. My marriage. It was just... what? An

with something like regret in his

wife to give you kids, and a girlfriend to make you reall

n't li

everything you wanted. You played husband while having a real romance

felt something wet between my legs-not my w

z said, sounding calm but co

scared. What's wrong

xplained as nurses rushed around my bed; the placenta is separat

e okay, but scared. If something happens to me, I whispered, pl

man I thought I married. Nothing will

y took me away, leaving him and Sophi

on Mikel's arm-still comforting him, still acting like they bel

lly alone. And in the dark, my daughter was facing a world where her