AFTER LOSING MY BABY, I MARRIED A BILLIONAIRE

I was bleeding my baby out on my boyfriend's bathroom floor.

While my best friend stood outside telling him not to help me.

Five minutes earlier, she had put abortion pills in my tea.

Three hours earlier, I had hugged her and told her I was five weeks pregnant.

My name is Chloe.

My mom is a nurse. We are an average family. Not rich enough for luxury. Just average.

This is how I got to his bathroom floor.

That morning, I was in our dorm bathroom. Two tests on the sink. Two pink lines each.

Jenna was pacing between the sink and the door.

"What if I'm pregnant?" I whispered.

"Then we'll figure it out," she said.

My period was five weeks late.

"Okay, we are going to the campus clinic. Now," she said.

She drove me in her Corolla. I was shaking the whole ride.

At the campus clinic, the nurse asked, "When was the first day of your last period?"

"About five weeks ago."

She handed me a little plastic cup. The lid was still sealed.

"Bathroom is down the hall. Leave your sample on the tray inside the little window."

I went. I left it there.

Ten minutes later, she called me back in.

"Your pregnancy test is positive," she said. "Based on the date of your last period, you're approximately five weeks pregnant. We can arrange an ultrasound to confirm how far along you are."

She printed a sheet with information about my estimated due date and folded it into my bag.

Five weeks.

I was going to have a baby.

"Congratulations," she added with a smile.

I could barely speak.

Outside, Jenna hugged me so tightly in the parking lot.

"Five weeks! Jace is going to be so happy. He looks at you like you hung the moon."

I believed her. She had been my best friend since first year of college.

I was waiting for the campus shuttle when she said she had to go. She got into her Corolla and left.

What she really did was drive straight to Jace's apartment, where she was now staying.

While I was standing at the shuttle stop holding my bag with the clinic sheet inside, she was already in his apartment telling him.

"Chloe is pregnant. Five weeks. She's coming to tell you tonight. We need to handle it."

Jace stared at her.

"She's pregnant?"

"Yes. And I'm eight weeks pregnant with your baby. We can't have two babies from two different girls at the same time, Jace."

He dragged a hand down his face.

"What are we going to do?"

Jenna walked closer and took his hands.

"Listen to me. We have to think about our future. I'm further along than she is. We can't raise two babies with the same father at the same time. Chloe can try again later."

Jace looked away.

"I don't know, Jenna."

"There's nothing to think about. We need to handle this before she gets here."

She had spent the morning convincing him that Chloe's pregnancy had to end so that she could keep hers.

And eventually, he agreed.

That afternoon, I passed Jace's truck. The door was half open. His big black truck had the faint Morgan Logistics logo on the door. His family was wealthy. Mine was average.

I was looking for his hoodie.

I found an ultrasound. Folded twice. Shoved in his truck door pocket beside a Monster can.

Patient: Jenna Cole. 8 Weeks 2 Days.

My hands started shaking.

Eight weeks.

She was three weeks ahead of me.

Maybe Jace was just keeping it for her as a friend? I told myself that.

I took the shuttle to his apartment. My bag clutched to my chest.

Two mugs on the table. Steam coming off them.

"Babe! Come in. I made you tea. Chamomile, your favorite," Jace said.

He was smiling too widely.

He handed me a mug. Warm. Sweet.

I sat down.

"Jace, I have something big to tell you. I went to the clinic today. I'm pregnant. Five weeks. It's yours."

His face went still for a second.

Then he smiled.

"Are you serious?"

I nodded.

"Five weeks, Jace. We're having a baby."

He pulled me into a hug.

"Oh my God! That's amazing, babe!"

He kissed my forehead, but his arms felt stiff around me.

I didn't notice.

I was too happy.

Then I remembered the ultrasound.

"What about Jenna? I saw her ultrasound in your truck today. Eight weeks."

His smile disappeared.

Before he could answer, his bedroom door opened.

Jenna walked out.

Wearing his big UT football shirt. Hair wet. Bare legs. One hand on her stomach. The shirt hung almost to her knees.

My brain short-circuited.

I had seen her ultrasound in his truck that afternoon. Now she was walking out of his bedroom wearing his shirt.

I stood up.

"Jenna? What are you doing here? Why are you wearing his shirt? What are you doing here with his shirt on?"

My voice was shaking.

"I saw your ultrasound in his truck today. Eight weeks. And now you're here wearing his shirt? In his apartment?"

Jace stepped between us immediately.

"Chloe, don't start. Don't do this."

"What?"

"Jenna lives here now. She moved in last week. We were going to tell you."

I stared at him.

"Last week? How?"

He ran a hand through his hair.

"And yes, she's pregnant. Eight weeks. We're having a baby. I can't have two babies from two different girls at the same time, Chloe. You have to understand. Jenna is further along."

I looked at Jenna. Then at Jace.

"You moved her in? How did I not know? And she's pregnant? Eight weeks?"

Jenna didn't even look guilty. She went straight to Jace.

"Babe, did she drink it yet? I told you chamomile hides the taste best."

I froze.

The mug was halfway to my mouth. I had taken two small sips because I was nervous.

"Drink what? What are you talking about? Did I drink what? What did you put in my tea?"

Jace kept talking over me.

"Chloe, it's for the best. We already decided. We thought it would be easier this way."

"What will be easier? What did you put in my tea?"

I stared at her.

My fingers began to tremble around the mug.

Jace stepped forward.

"Chloe, listen to me. We didn't want things to happen this way."

"You're only five weeks. Jenna is eight weeks. I can't have two babies from two different girls at the same time."

I shook my head.

"You're talking about my baby! Your baby!"

Jenna touched her stomach.

"My baby is further along.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"You were my best friend."

She looked at me without a trace of guilt.

"And I'm still having his baby."

The mug slipped from my hand and shattered on his rug. Brown liquid spread everywhere.

I ran to his bathroom and locked the door. I slid down the wall with my hands over my stomach.

"I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry. I didn't know what was in my tea."

Then the pain came.

Sharp. Low. Like knives twisting inside me.

I looked down.

Blood.

So much blood.

It stained my jeans and spread across the white tiles.

"JACE! HELP! PLEASE! SOMETHING IS WRONG!"

Outside, I heard Jace try the handle.

"Chloe! Open the door! Open it!"

For a moment, I felt hope.

He was coming to help me.

Then Jenna's voice cut through the door.

"Don't go in. Jace, don't. Let it finish. It's better if it finishes now."

He stopped trying.

I covered my mouth, trying to hold back my sobs.

Then the bathroom door opened.

Jenna had the spare key.

She walked in alone and locked it behind her.

She stood over me while I was bleeding on the floor.

She crouched down, close to my ear, and smiled.

"You still don't know what you drank, do you?"

I couldn't answer.

The blood was pooling beneath me.

"Abortion pills," she said. "We crushed them into your tea. Chamomile hides the taste."

She placed a hand on her stomach.

"And you want to know every secret? Since you're losing it anyway?"

I stared at her through my tears.

"Jace and I dated for two years in high school. Two years. He was my first love. He was going to marry me. Then we entered college, and he dumped me for you. Two weeks into freshman year."

She stood up.

"You think I became your best friend because I liked you? I saw my ex was dating a girl from our chemistry class. So I came to your dorm. Asked to borrow notes. Brought you coffee. I targeted you. I befriended you in college to get close to him again."

I shook my head.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted him back, Chloe. And now I'm getting him back."

She looked down at me.

"So you see? I am eight weeks. You are five weeks. Mine is further along. Jace can't have two babies from two different girls at the same time. You are younger. You can try again later. Mine stays."

She unlocked the door and walked out.

"She's fine," she told Jace outside. "She's just bleeding. Let it finish."

I lay there, struggling to breathe.

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to call my mom.

I wanted someone to tell me my baby was going to be okay.

But my phone was in my bag in the living room.

I couldn't stay there.

I had to get help.

With trembling hands, I grabbed the edge of the sink and forced myself to stand.

My knees nearly gave way.

I held on to the wall, took a shaky breath, and opened the bathroom door.

The living room was empty.

Jace and Jenna were gone.

I looked at the front door.

It seemed so far away.

But I had to get there.

I took one step.

Then another.

Every movement hurt. My vision blurred, and my legs felt like they could give way at any moment.

Still, I kept moving.

I couldn't die there.

Not without knowing whether my baby was still alive.

I reached the front door and pulled it open.

Cool air touched my face.

For one second, I thought I would make it.

I stepped outside.

Then everything began to spin.

The buildings blurred. The ground tilted beneath my feet.

I reached for the doorframe, but my fingers slipped.

"No," I whispered.

My knees buckled.

I tried to scream for help, but no sound came out.

The last thing I saw was the sky above me fading into darkness.

Then everything went black.