CHAPTER 001

Aurora's POV 

"Congratulations, Mrs. Diego, you're two months pregnant," the doctor said, handing me my test results.

I heaved a huge sigh of relief, my face widening with a smile.

Pregnant. I was pregnant.

The weight of the word settled in my chest, accompanied by a rush of emotions—joy, nervousness, excitement. I had been hoping, and praying for this moment, and now it was real. A tiny life was growing inside me.

"Thank you, doctor," I murmured, running a gentle hand over my still-flat stomach. Diego was going to be so happy. 

"So that explains why you've been feeling nauseous, and dizzy, they're the early signs of pregnancy," the doctor explained again, and I could only nod absentmindedly as I imagined the thought of how Diego's face would light up at the new.

He had always talked about having a family, about raising kids together. This was everything we had ever wanted.

Clutching the results close to my chest, I practically floated out of the hospital. The world around me seemed brighter, the air fresher. I imagined how Diego would react—his dark eyes lighting up, his strong arms wrapping around me as he lifted me off the ground, laughing with pure happiness.

I couldn’t wait to see him. To tell him that our dreams were finally coming true.

Hailing a cab, I gave the driver my address and leaned back against the seat, unable to wipe the smile off my face.

I hummed softly to myself as I stepped out of the cab, my fingers tightening around the small envelope in my hands.

My heart fluttered with excitement, a nervous kind of joy bubbling in my chest.

I'd  replayed this moment over and over in my head during the ride home—the way I would tell  Diego, how he would lift me in his arms, spinning me around in pure delight.

I was pregnant—our baby—our family.

The thought of a small human made me grin as I  unlocked the front door

The house was silent, eerily so, but I didn’t think much of it. It was late in the evening, and Luca was probably in bed. Maybe he’d fallen asleep waiting for me.

"Diego," I called, softly, hoping my voice wouldn't startle him awake.

Still smiling, I kicked off my shoes and made her way upstairs, already picturing the look on his face when I told him the news.

But as I reached the bedroom, the door was slightly ajar. A hushed giggle reached my ears, followed by a low murmur.

I shook my head to rid myself of whatever thoughts that were creeping in. Diego wouldn't do that.

"I cannot believe that I could feel that way today with you, I fucking enjoyed it." A  female voice reached me again, sending a shivering rack through my body. But the sound was familiar. Too familiar.

"Calm down Aurora, it is probably the excitement of the news that I'm going to break to Diego," I said softly, reassuring myself that it was all an hallucination.

"Yes... dizziness, the early stages of pregnancy," I muttered, standing up straight with a smile, deluding myself that what I heard was just the baby's doing.

I walked close to the door, my hands trembling with an hesitant push, as I opened the door fully—the view before me made my world crash into ruins 

There, tangled in the sheets of our marital bed, was Diego, His bare body intertwined with another’s. My—best friend.

“Aurora—” Diego called, his voice was hoarse with shock as he scrambled to sit up. 

My eyes darted to Lillian, who was stripped naked beside him clutching the sheets to her chest as if that would somehow shield her from what she had done.

My feet wobbled, losing it's strength as I fell to the floor, gripping the door knob to offer myself support.

The room spun around me with my breath caught in my throat, and I felt like I was drowning, gasping for air that wouldn’t come. The envelope with the test results slipped from my trembling fingers, fluttering to the floor.

Diego was saying something, his voice frantic, but the words were muffled, as if I were underwater. My vision blurred, and I blinked rapidly, trying to clear the tears that threatened to spill over. But they came anyway, hot and relentless, streaming down my cheeks.

“Aurora, I—I can explain,” Diego stammered, his voice shaking. He reached for me, but I recoiled, stumbling back until my back hit the wall. The coldness of it seeped through my clothes, grounding me in a reality I didn’t want to face.

Lillian—my best friend, the woman I had trusted with my deepest secrets, my joys, my fears—sat frozen on the bed, her face pale and stricken. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. What could she possibly say? What excuse could she give that would make any of this okay?

“Get out,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, nails digging into my palms. “Get out of my house.”

“Aurora, please—” Diego tried again, his voice breaking. He looked so different now, his face twisted with guilt and desperation. The man I had loved, the man I had dreamed of building a family with, was gone. In his place was a stranger, someone I didn’t recognize.

“GET OUT!” I screamed, the sound tearing through the silence like a knife. My chest heaved with the force of it, and I felt like I might collapse under the weight of my own pain.

Diego flinched, his eyes wide with shock. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then thought better of it. He grabbed his clothes from the floor, his movements hurried and clumsy, and fled the room without another word. Lillian followed suit, clutching her clothes to her chest, her face a mask of shame.

I slid down the wall, my legs giving out beneath me. The tears came harder now, great, heaving sobs that wracked my body. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold the pieces together, but it was no use. I was shattered, broken in a way I didn’t think was possible.