Chapter 2: Labor of Betrayal

The ambulance sirens screamed through Seattle, echoing the mess inside me. I kept fading in and out, clutching my stomach as another contraction hit hard.

"Hang in there, Bella." The paramedic sounded far away. "Your baby needs you to stay relaxed."

Relaxed? Easy to say when my whole life had just exploded. The image was seared in my mind: Mikel's hands all over Sophia, that smug look she gave me, and her words, so casually mean: "Long enough for us to know what we should have had years ago."

"Ma'am, should we call someone? Your husband?"

My husband. He was probably still naked with my best friend, feeling her warmth. I choked back a bitter laugh that came out as a sob.

"No," I whispered. "There's no one."

The hospital was a blur of lights and voices. Nurses rushed around me, throwing out medical terms I couldn't understand through the pain and shock. "Thirty-seven weeks along. Water broke too soon. Mom is in big trouble."

"Mrs. Sterling, I'm Dr. Rodriguez." A kind doctor appeared as they wheeled me into the delivery room. "We'll take care of you and your baby. What happened today?"

What happened? How could I explain that my marriage died at the same time my daughter decided to show up? That the man I loved cheated with the woman I trusted?

"Shock," I managed through clenched teeth. "It was a shock."

Dr. Rodriguez looked like she understood. She'd probably seen this before—women going into early labor because of heartbreak. "Okay, Bella. Let's get your little girl here safe. Everything else can wait."

But the rest followed me into that room like poison. I could hear my daughter's heartbeat on the monitor—fast, scared, just like me. Every time my pulse jumped, she felt it, and I felt so guilty.

*I'm sorry, baby girl,* I thought. *Mommy didn't mean this. I should have been stronger.*

"Bella!"

Mikel's voice cut through my thoughts. He was in the doorway, still messed up, his shirt buttoned wrong. Sophia stood behind him, and just seeing her made another contraction hit even harder.

"Get out." I growled. "Both of you."

"Mrs. Sterling, stay calm," Dr. Rodriguez said, watching the monitors. "Your blood pressure is way too high."

Mikel came to the bed with his hands up, like I was some wild animal he could calm. "Bella, listen. It's not what you think—"

"What do I think?" I tried to sit up, but the nurse held me down. "What I think is that I walked in and found you inside my best friend. What I think is that you were moaning her name while I'm carrying your kid."

"It's not simple—"

"No." The word came out sharp. "It's very simple. You made a choice. You both did."

Sophia stepped up, looking like she made time to do flawless makeup before arriving at the hospital. Still got to look good, even now. "Bella, honey, you don't understand—"

"Don't call me honey." The monitors started beeping faster. "Don't pretend you care about me when you've been sneaking around this whole time."

"Sneaking?" Sophia opened her eyes wide. "Bella, you're being dramatic. What Mikel and I have is—"

"What is it?" I snapped. "Love? Since you love him so much, why didn't you say something three years ago instead of smiling at our wedding? Why didn't you object when he proposed instead of helping me pick out my dress?"

Sophia's nice face dropped for a second, showing something cold and calculating underneath. "Because some things are worth waiting for," she said softly. "Some things take… time."

Her words hit me hard. It wasn't a mistake. It was a plan. I'd been living a lie for years, like a puppet.

"How long?" I whispered.

Mikel and Sophia looked at each other for a second. They were a team, and I suddenly felt like I was alone.

"Bella, it doesn't matter—" Mikel started.

"How. Long."

Sophia stood up straight, and I saw the truth in her eyes. "Since your engagement party," she said. "The night you got sick and went to bed early? Mikel was worried about you, stressed about the wedding. I was just… comforting him."

The room spun. Our engagement party. I felt horrible, and apologized to everyone for ruining things. Mikel had been so sweet, saying it was fine. And while I was throwing up, he was getting comfort from my best friend.

"That was two years ago," I breathed.

"Two amazing years," Sophia said, smiling. "Do you know how hard it's been to watch you play house with the man I love? To watch you have all the things I wanted, while I was waiting in the background?"

"Mrs. Sterling, your blood pressure—" Dr. Rodriguez tried to say something, but I didn't care about the warnings.

"So this baby," I said, putting my hand on my stomach. "My marriage. It was just… what? An annoyance while you waited for me to wise up?"

"It's not an annoyance," Mikel said, with something like regret in his voice. "Bella, you have to get it—"

"I get it great." I wasn't confused. "You wanted both. A good wife to give you kids, and a girlfriend to make you really happy. And Sophia was just waiting until my part was over."

"It wasn't like that—"

"Then what was it like?" I demanded. "Because it looks like you both got everything you wanted. You played husband while having a real romance on the side. And Sophia played best friend while wanting my existence."

The monitors started beeping like crazy. I felt something wet between my legs—not my water breaking, but something hot and wrong.

"She's bleeding," Dr. Rodriguez said, sounding calm but concerned. "We need surgery now."

"Surgery?" Mikel looked scared. "What's wrong? What about the baby?"

"Placental abruption, because of the mom's distress," the doctor explained as nurses rushed around my bed, "the placenta is separating prematurely from the uterus. We need to deliver this baby now!"

As they wheeled me away, I grabbed Mikel's hand—not like we were okay, but scared. "If something happens to me," I whispered, "please love her. Love our daughter more than you loved your lies."

He cried, and for a second, I saw the man I thought I married. "Nothing will happen to you," he said. "I won't let it."

"You already did," I said, and then they took me away, leaving him and Sophia standing in the wreckage of my life.

The last thing I saw before the operating room was Sophia's hand on Mikel's arm—still comforting him, still acting like they belonged together while I fought to save my life and my daughter's.

The drugs pulled me under, but I was still very conscious: I was totally alone. And in the dark, my daughter was facing a world where her father's love was already split before she even took her first breath.