Chapter 003

TAMSIN

"How can you ask for something so absurd?" James's voice climbed. "How do you expect Isla to feel, hearing you say that?"

I let out a short laugh. "Funny. Last night you were terrified she'd terminate. Now you're offended I'm suggesting the same thing. Which version of Isla are we protecting here? The one who didn't want the baby, or the one you convinced to keep it?"

He exhaled through his nose. "Yes, but..."

"Answer a few questions for me," I cut him off.

He nodded, wary now.

"Doesn't Isla have a fiancé?"

"She did." His jaw tightened. "Once he found out she was pregnant with my baby, he called off the engagement."

"Right. And weren't they together for more than two years?"

"They were, Tammy. But I don't see what these unnecessary questions..."

"Unnecessary?" I smiled, but it didn't reach anywhere near my eyes. "One more question then. Is Isla a child?"

He rolled his eyes. "What is all this, Tammy?"

I stood up from the bed. "Forgive me, but I'm trying to wrap my head around something. Isla was with her fiancé for over two years. They definitely had sex regularly. But she took precautions. Understood her cycle. Never once got pregnant."

I took a step toward him.

"Then she sleeps with my husband. One night. Calls it a mistake. Claims she's ashamed." Another step. "But somehow, she conveniently forgot everything she knew about contraception. Forgot about her cycle. And accidentally ended up pregnant. Is now in my home. Expecting me to put my career on hold and play nursemaid while my child competes with hers for their father's attention."

"What are you trying to say, Tammy?"

"I'm saying that if this pregnancy was the unplanned accident you claim, then accidents can be corrected." I crossed my arms. "So what's your decision? Will you have her terminate the pregnancy or not?"

He shook his head. "Tammy, don't do..."

"Yes or no."

Silence.

He just stared at me, mouth half-open like he'd forgotten how words worked.

I took that as my answer and went back to packing.

Of course he wouldn't say yes. Of course Isla would never agree.

They'd played me beautifully. The whole performance about it being an accident. A drunken mistake neither of them planned.

He probably asked her to carry his child months ago. And that snake seized the opportunity with both hands.

In the past, I'd suggested IUI. Even IVF. But no, he'd said we weren't desperate enough yet. All our tests came back normal. He believed I'd conceive naturally if we just kept trying.

All lies.

He'd been prepping his best friend to be his surrogate. Without bothering to use my eggs.

"Tammy." His voice came from behind me.

"Get out."

When he didn't move, I turned. "Get out of my sight, James."

"I accept."

I stared at him. "What?"

"I agree to your terms," he said, clearer now.

I nodded slowly. "All right then. Let's get it over with."

"Right now?" His voice pitched up in surprise.

I smiled but there was no warmth in it. "Why, were you hoping to wait until she delivers? Let's go."

He nodded once and walked out of the room.

I followed behind him, suitcase forgotten on the bed.

We walked into the living room together. Isla sat exactly where we had left her, hand resting on her stomach like she was posing for a portrait.

She looked up and took in our expressions. Her eyes widened with what might have been concern if I still believed in her performances.

"What's wrong?" Her voice came out small, worried.

James didn't waste time. "You'll need to terminate the pregnancy."

Isla's head snapped back like he'd struck her. "What? No. I won't kill my baby."

"Tammy's already pregnant," James said, his voice harder than I'd heard it in months. "It doesn't make sense for both of you to carry my children. You're my best friend, Isla. This situation is impossible."

He paused and took a breath.

"Besides, you told me yesterday you wanted to terminate. That you were worried about Tammy's reaction. I was the one who insisted you keep it." His tone shifted into something almost gentle. "But now that Tammy's pregnant, there's no reason for you to go through with this."

I stared at him.

He was doing exactly what I'd demanded. No hesitation. No backtracking. Just clean, decisive action.

Had I been wrong? Was the pregnancy really an accident and not the calculated trap I'd imagined?

Guilt crept in, cold and unwelcome. This was the man who'd given me three perfect years. Maybe I'd been too quick to assume the worst.

Isla was crying now. Full sobs that shook her shoulders. But James didn't move toward her. Didn't soften.

I walked over to him and took his hand.

I was going to tell him it was fine. That Isla could keep the baby. That I'd accept his child because I still loved him, even after everything.

The words were forming on my tongue when the front door crashed open.

James's mother swept in like a storm front, tears streaming down her face. Happy ones.

"Is it true?" She didn't direct the question at anyone specific. "Am I finally going to be a grandmother?"

I sighed. Of course she was here. The woman who'd spent four years making it abundantly clear that a doctor with no trust fund wasn't good enough for her son.

James nodded.

His mother let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. She rushed past me like I was furniture and pulled Isla into her arms.

"Oh, my darling girl! Congratulations!"

Isla cried harder.

Mrs. Whitmore pulled back, cupping Isla's face between her perfectly manicured hands. "Why are you crying? This is wonderful news!"

"James wants me to abort the baby," Isla choked out between sobs.

Mrs. Whitmore's head whipped toward her son. "What? Have you lost your mind? How can you even think of destroying such a blessing?"

"Tammy's pregnant," James said flatly. "What happened with Isla was a mistake. It needs to be corrected."

His mother stood and walked toward us. Her eyes slid over me like I was something she'd found on the bottom of her shoe.

"This dry well?" Her voice dripped disdain. "She's pregnant? How convenient. I'm sure she's the one demanding you get rid of Isla's child. I've always known she was nothing but a manipulative little bitch."

I let out a short laugh. "Of course. Even if I gave birth to quintuplets, it still wouldn't matter to you, would it?"

She ignored me and turned back to James. "When did you find out Tammy was supposedly pregnant?"

"This morning," he said. "After I told her about Isla."

"And when did you learn about Isla's pregnancy?"

"Yesterday. Right before I was supposed to go home to Tammy's surprise dinner."

Mrs. Whitmore's smile turned poisonous. "Interesting. Four years and three months of marriage, and Tammy never conceived. But the moment she finds out Isla's pregnant, suddenly she is too?" She crossed her arms. "Why didn't she mention it sooner if it's real? Sounds like a convenient lie to me."

"What is that supposed to mean, Mrs. Whitmore?" My voice came out sharper than I'd intended.

Isla gasped. Actual performance-level shock. "Tamsin, how could you lie to James about being pregnant just to get rid of my baby?"

"What nonsense," I snapped.

But Isla was committed now. Full tears, hand clutching her stomach. "Tamsin, how could you do this to him? Don't you want him to be a father? You'd really leave him childless just because you hate me?"

Mrs. Whitmore's hand flew up, ready to slap me.

I caught her wrist mid-swing and shoved it back at her.

"I am pregnant," I said through my teeth. I looked at James. His face had gone carefully blank. I picked up my phone. "I have test results in my email. From Bright Star Hospital."

"But you work there," Isla said softly, almost apologetically. "You could easily have a colleague falsify results."

I looked at the three of them. Mrs. Whitmore with her hatred. Isla with her calculated innocence. James with doubt creeping into his eyes.

I laughed. The sound came out bitter. "Fine. I'll take a home pregnancy test right now."

However, James moved fast, snatched my phone from my hand and hurled it against the wall. It exploded into pieces.

"That is enough, Tammy!" he shouted.