**JENNY’S LATE-NIGHT PHONE CALL TIED IT ALL TOGETHER.**
I was curled up on the couch, a lukewarm cup of tea in hand, when my phone rang. There was this sharp chill in the air, and the faint smell of rain soaked into the curtains. It was Jenny—my best friend, my confidante, the one who knew every secret I’d ever had. Except one she didn’t know I knew. Her voice was trembling when she answered, quieter than I’d ever heard it. “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she said, and I froze.
The words hung there like icicles, threatening to shatter everything. My fingers tightened around the cup until the warmth seeped away, leaving cold porcelain. “What are you talking about, Jen?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
There was this pause—too long, too heavy—before she finally spoke. “It’s about Chris.” Her boyfriend. My ex. The one I’d sworn I’d never think about again. “We’ve been sneaking around for months,” she admitted, her voice breaking.
My stomach twisted, the tea turning bitter in my mouth. The rain outside picked up, tapping against the window like a mocking rhythm. Then she said it—the words that made my heart stop. “And it’s not just that…”
Before she could finish, my phone buzzed again. It was Chris.
👇 *Full story continued in the comments…*I slammed the phone down, the click echoing in the sudden silence. The buzzing, Chris’s call, confirmed the unspoken, the betrayal that had been quietly festering beneath the surface. I stood up, my legs shaky, and paced the length of the living room, the rain intensifying outside. Every drop seemed to be a judgment, a whisper of their deceit.
I grabbed my coat, the familiar weight grounding me. I had to see them, confront them. The thought of confronting them both at once brought a fresh wave of nausea, but I couldn’t think straight unless I knew the full truth. My car keys felt heavy in my hand as I turned and headed for the door.
Driving through the downpour, the world became a blurred canvas of headlights and flashing neon signs. My mind raced, replaying every shared laugh, every inside joke, every comforting embrace with Jenny. Had it all been a lie? Had I been so blind?
I pulled up to Jenny’s house, a small, cozy place I knew so well. The porch light cast an eerie glow on the wet lawn. I walked to the door and just before I knocked, I saw her. Jenny. Standing in the window in her favourite oversized sweater, she was staring out at the rain. And beside her, was Chris. He leaned in and said something, then looked over her shoulder, straight at me. I could feel the chill from the rain soak through my bones as I took a deep breath and knocked.
The door creaked open. Jenny stood there, her eyes red and swollen. Behind her, Chris shifted uncomfortably. He looked like a scared child, not the man who had broken my heart before.
“I…” Jenny started, but I cut her off. “Tell me,” I said, my voice devoid of any emotion I was feeling, except the rage burning inside.
Jenny hesitated, then swallowed hard. “We… we didn’t want to hurt you,” she whispered. “We fell in love, and it just happened.”
“Fell in love?” I asked, my voice rising. “With each other? While I still believed you were my friend?”
Chris stepped forward, trying to speak but Jenny silenced him with a look. “You were right,” Jenny said, her voice breaking. “About everything.”
“So, what is it, Jenny? What’s the truth?” I asked, trying to maintain control.
The silence hung heavy. Finally, Jenny took a deep breath. “It’s the baby.”
My breath hitched. *The baby?*
“I’m pregnant,” Jenny finished, her voice barely audible. “It’s Chris’s.”
The weight of the situation hit me with full force. The betrayal, the hurt, it all crashed down on me. It was a moment that demanded a response, a reaction. I saw them, both of them, standing there together, tangled up in the mess of their own making. And then it hit me: I could not save them. Their choices were their own.
With a sigh, a weariness I hadn’t realized I’d been holding, I turned and walked back out into the rain. The cold washed over me, but it no longer mattered. It was over. The past was past, and I had a life to live, a future to create, one that didn’t include these broken people and all this broken trust.
Back in my car, I started the engine. The rain continued to fall, but the storm inside me was beginning to calm. I let out a shuddering breath and looked up at the sky. Maybe in time, I would even believe this happened for a reason.
I put the car in drive and pulled away, the streetlights casting long shadows in the water. Maybe someday it would all make sense. But right now, all that mattered was that I was finally free.
