Chapter 2 : There’s been a mistake

Candice’s POV

I crept closer to the bedroom, my heart pounding in my ears.

Through the crack of the door, I heard Violet’s giggle.

The air left my lungs, and the ultrasound images slipped from my fingers, fluttering silently to the floor.

I stood outside the bedroom door, my heart pounding so violently I thought it might burst through my chest.

My stomach churned as Violet’s voice seeped through the thin wood, sweet and saccharine like poison dipped in honey.

“Joshua,” she said, her tone light and playful, “I’m pregnant.”

Her tone sounds very happy.

The world tilted under my feet. My hands began to tremble, and I instinctively reached for the doorframe to steady myself.

Pregnant?

No. No, this couldn’t be real. Maybe I misheard her. Maybe she didn’t mean it like that. But as the seconds dragged on, her words replayed in my head, each repetition slicing into me like shards of glass.

“And it’s yours,” she added, her voice brimming with smug satisfaction.

I clamped a hand over my mouth to keep from gasping. My chest ached, and my breaths came in shallow, ragged bursts.

I felt like someone had reached into my body and crushed my heart with their bare hands.

There was a pause, and then Joshua’s voice came, warm and unguarded in a way I hadn’t heard in years. “You’re sure?” he asked, a tinge of excitement in his tone.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Violet replied with a soft laugh, the sound twisting the knife deeper into my chest. “Who else would it be?”

My legs shook as I backed away from the door, pressing myself against the cold wall. I couldn’t breathe.

The man I’d built my life around, the man I had loved, was sitting in that room—our room—celebrating a baby with my best friend.

A baby.

The thing I had prayed for, cried for, begged for, and now carried inside me.

Tears stung my eyes, but I forced them back. I needed to hear more. I needed to understand why.

“But… what about Candice?” Violet’s voice softened, her tone laced with fake concern. “She’ll be heartbroken, Joshua.”

Heartbroken? The word barely scratched the surface of what I was feeling. This wasn’t heartbreak; this was annihilation. My entire world was crumbling around me, piece by agonizing piece.

Joshua sighed heavily, and when he spoke again, his voice was cold, detached. “Don’t mention her,” he said sharply. “Just hearing her name makes me sick.”

I flinched like he’d slapped me.

“She’s useless,” he continued, his words dripping with disdain. “After years of not being able to get pregnant, what kind of wife is that? And don’t even get me started on how boring she is in bed.”

A wave of humiliation crashed over me, so strong that I almost slid to the floor. My ears burned, and my cheeks flushed with shame.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry.

I wanted to kick that door down and demand answers. But instead, I stood frozen, my nails digging into my palms so hard they left crescents in my skin.

The humiliation quickly gave way to anger—hot, blinding, and all-consuming. How dare he? How dare he speak about me like that after everything I’d done for him?

After all the sacrifices I’d made to keep our marriage afloat?

I didn’t think. I didn’t hesitate. I shoved the door open, the sound of it slamming against the wall startling them both.

Joshua and Violet scrambled apart like guilty children caught stealing candy.

Joshua’s face was a mixture of shock and panic, while Violet clutched the sheet around her, her dyed blonde hair a tangled mess.

For a moment, none of us spoke. The tension in the room was suffocating.

“Candice—” Joshua started, his voice unsteady, but I held up a hand to silence him.

“Don’t,” I said, my voice low and trembling with rage. “Don’t you dare say my name right now.”

Violet was the first to recover. She sat up straighter, clutching the sheet dramatically to her chest. “Candice, this isn’t what it looks like,” she said quickly, her eyes wide with feigned innocence. “It’s—it’s completely an accident.”

“An accident?” I repeated, laughing bitterly. “What, did you just trip and fall into my husband’s bed?”

“I can explain,” Joshua cut in, stepping toward me, his hands raised as though I was some wild animal he needed to calm.

“Explain?” I snapped, my voice cracking. “Explain how you brought her into our bed? Explain how you’ve been lying to me, disrespecting me, and making a complete fool of me?”

Joshua’s expression hardened, his panic giving way to irritation. “Candice, don’t be upset,” he said, as if my anger was unreasonable. “You need to understand—Violet is pregnant.”

My jaw dropped. “You think that makes this okay?” I asked, my voice rising.

“It’s not like that—”

“No,” I cut him off, stepping closer. “You don’t get to justify this. You don’t get to stand there and act like the victim in all of this.”

Violet chose that moment to chime in, her voice soft and simpering. “Joshua and I… we’re in love,” she said, as if that made everything better. “I didn’t mean for it to happen, but—”

I didn’t let her finish. I took two quick steps forward and slapped her across the face with all the strength I could muster.

The sound echoed in the room, and Violet cried out as she tumbled off the bed, landing in a heap on the floor.

“Candice!” Joshua shouted, rushing to Violet’s side.

Before I could process what was happening, his hand lashed out, striking my cheek. The sting was immediate, and I stumbled back, clutching my face in shock.

My ears rang, and for a moment, all I could do was stare at him. The man I had loved, the man I had trusted, had just hit me to defend her.

Joshua didn’t even look at me.

He crouched down beside Violet, cradling her like she was some fragile treasure. “Are you okay?” he asked her, his voice filled with concern.

“I… I think so,” she whimpered, clutching her cheek.

Joshua turned to me, his eyes cold. “If anything happens to her or the baby, Candice, you’ll pay for it. Do you hear me?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out.

He helped Violet to her feet, wrapped an arm around her protectively, and guided her toward the door.

“We’re going to the hospital,” he said over his shoulder. “Don’t bother waiting up.”

And then they were gone, leaving me standing in the ruins of my life.

The silence in the room was deafening. My legs gave out, and I crumpled to the floor, clutching my stomach as the tears finally came.

I sat there for what felt like hours, my sobs the only sound in the empty house. My hand drifted to my belly, and I whispered to the tiny lives inside me.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” I said softly, tears streaming down my face. “But I promise I’ll protect you. No matter what.”

When I finally pulled myself together, I noticed my phone blinking on the table. I plugged it into the charger and waited for it to power back on.

As soon as it turned on, Dr. Ruby’s missed call flashed across the screen, and I remembered the urgency in her voice earlier.

I dialed her number, my hands trembling as I held the phone to my ear.

She picked up immediately. “Candice,” she said, relief clear in her voice. “I’ve been trying to reach you all day.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

There was a pause. Then her words came, each one heavier than the last.

“There’s been a mistake,” she said carefully. “The sperm used for your artificial insemination… it was mixed up.”