Catching my husband with my best friend, I silently left for another city, never mentioning the pregnancy. But five years later, we met again.
“Are you absolutely sure?” Emily clutched the phone tightly, forcing her voice to stay steady.
“Emily Elizabeth, the results are positive. Congratulationsyoure pregnant, roughly six weeks along.”
She thanked the doctor and hung up. The world around her froze. Six weeks. Exactly the time since that evening when shed come home early and seen a strangers handbag in the hallway. The same handbag shed once given to Rachel for her birthday.
Emily sank onto the chair by the window. Outside, snow fell, blanketing the city in white, erasing all traces. How she wished memories could be wiped away just as easily.
The phone rang again. Jonathan. The third time in an hour.
“Emily, where are you? We were supposed to meet after work.”
“Sorry, I got held up,” she said, keeping her voice level. “Dont wait for meIve got too much to do.”
“Everything alright? You sound off.”
“Fine, just tired.”
She hung up and stared at the suitcase shed packed that morning. Five years of marriage. Five years ending right now. And a new life beginning inside her.
Five years later
“Mummy, look how pretty!” Four-year-old Sophie pressed her nose to the toy shop window, admiring a doll in a lavish dress.
“Very pretty,” Emily smiled, adjusting her daughters hat. “But were latewe need to go.”
“Where are we going?” Sophie reluctantly pulled away and slipped her hand into her mothers.
“To see Aunt Margaret. Shes expecting us.”
Manchester greeted them with a frosty January morning. Five years since Emily had been back, five years building a new life far from the past. Now, she had to returnher aunt, the only family whod stood by her, had been hospitalized.
“Sophie, dont run,” Emily tightened her grip as they stepped into the gleaming lobby of a newly opened business centre. They needed to cut through to reach the bus stop on the other side.
The marble floor shone under the chandeliers. Grand music playedsome opening ceremony.
“Emily?”
She froze at the voice behind her. A voice she hadnt heard in five years but would recognize anywhere. Slowly, she turned.
“Jonathan.”
He hadnt changed. The same watchful grey eyes, the same faint silver at his temples. Only the lines around his eyes were deeper.
“Didnt expect to see you here,” he said, staring as if she were a ghost. “Youre back?”
“Just passing through,” Emily felt Sophie press against her leg. “Not for long.”
Jonathans gaze dropped to the little girl. His face shifted. His pupils dilated. Sophie was his mirrorthe same eyes, the same lips, even the dimple when she smiled.
“And this is?”
“My daughter,” Emily said quickly. “Sophie.”
A heavy silence settled between them.
“There you are!” A tall, elegant woman with chestnut hair approached. “Everyones looking for you. Oh, hello,” she glanced curiously at Emily.
“Victoria, this is Emily an old friend,” Jonathan said slowly, eyes still on Sophie. “Emily, this is Victoria, my wife.”
“Lovely to meet you,” Emily forced a smile. “We really must go.”
“Wait,” Jonathan stepped forward. “How can I reach you?”
“You cant,” she turned and walked away, Sophies hand in hers.
In the taxi, Sophie leaned close.
“Mummy, who was that?”
“Just someone I used to know, sweetheart. A long time ago.”
Aunt Margarets flat was just as cosy as five years ago, when Emily had arrived from London with a small suitcase and a broken heart.
“You havent changed a bit,” her aunt smiled, smoothing Sophies hair. “But this little ladys grown so muchand only through photos. How are you, dear?”
“Im fine,” Emily helped her aunt into a chair. “The doctor said its nothing seriousjust rest and medication.”
“I wasnt asking about me,” her aunt studied her. “How are *you*? Is your heart still mending?”
Emily looked away.
“Aunt Margaret, thats all in the past.”
“Youve seen him?”
“Already did. At the new business centre. Imaginerunning into him in a city of half a million, on the very first day.”
“Fate,” her aunt sighed. “He looked for you, you know.”
“What?” Emily turned sharply.
“Came by a month after you left. Then again. I told him I didnt know where you were.”
“Thank you,” Emily squeezed her aunts hand. “That was right.”
“His mother called even last year. Elizabeth always adored you.”
Emily exhaled. Her mother-in-law had been kind. Did she know what had happened between Jonathan and Rachel?
“Sophie looks just like him,” her aunt murmured, watching the girl play in the corner. “Did he guess?”
“I think so. But it changes nothing.”
Morning brought an unfamiliar number.
“Emily? Its Elizabeth.”
Her former mother-in-laws voice made her chest tighten.
“Good morning,” she stepped onto the balcony so as not to wake Sophie.
“Jonathan said he saw you yesterday. May I come over? There are things we need to discuss.”
An hour later, they sat at the kitchen table. Sophie still slept.
“Shes really his?” Elizabeth asked outright.
Emily nodded.
“Why didnt you say anything?” No accusationjust pain. “You kept him from his daughter. Kept me from my grandchild.”
“He kept himself from her,” Emily said quietly. “When he brought my best friend into our home.”
Elizabeth lowered her eyes.
“I know. He told me everything when you disappeared. He was beside himself. But Emily it was one mistake.”
“One that changed everything.”
“He only married two years ago. Spent years searching for you. Then he met Victoria. Shes lovely, but they cant have children.”
Emilys throat tightened.
“Im sorry, but that isnt my problem.”
“And Sophie? Doesnt she deserve a father?”
Just then, a sleepy voice called from the doorway.
“Mummy, Im awake.”
Elizabeth froze, staring at her granddaughter with wide eyes.
Later, with Olivera colleague from the publishing house whod become moreEmily felt the weight of decisions pressing.
“I dont understand why you wont just say no,” he paced the room.
“Its not that simple,” she sighed. “Hes rightSophie should know her father.”
“He betrayed you! With your best friend!”
“I know. But that doesnt undo him being her father.”
Oliver stopped in front of her.
“Do you still love him?”
“No,” she shook her head. “But I cant make this decision out of spite. Sophies starting to ask about him. What do I tell her in five years? Ten?”
Then came Victorias call.
“Emily, forgive the intrusion. We need to talk.”
In the park, Victoria sat straight, her voice steady.
“Jonathan told me everything. I cant have children. But thats not why Im here. I love him. And I see his pain. He deserves to be a father to his daughter.”
Emily blinked. Shed expected jealousy, not this quiet strength.
“Family isnt just blood,” Victoria said. “Its the choices we make every day. I chose Jonathan, all of him. Now I just want more love in our lives, not less.”
Days later, amidst legalities and arrangements, Rachel appearedsharp-tongued, bitter.
“He never loved you,” she spat in the supermarket. “He only wanted the child.”
That night, Emily watched Sophie sleep, her face so like Jonathans. The past had crashed into the present, demanding resolution.
Then Olivers text: *Whatever you decide, Im here. I love you both.*
Clarity came.
Gathering them allJonathan, Victoria, Oliver, Elizabeth, even RachelEmily spoke plainly.
“I know the truth. Rachel lied. This isnt about revenge. Its about Sophie.”
Rachel left, silenced by evidence of her scheming.
Turning to Jonathan, Emily said, “I agree to shared custody. But we stay in Manchester. Holidays, visitswell make it work.”
Jonathans eyes shone. “Thank you.”
Oliver took her hand. “Well take it slow.”
Elizabeth wept. “My granddaughter will have her family.”
Victoria smiled. “When can we meet her properly?”
“Tomorrow,” Emily said. “Ill tell her her fathers been waiting to know her.”
A week later, on the train back to Manchester, Sophie waved from the window.
“Bye, Daddy! See you soon!”
Jonathan smiled through tears. In four days, hed fallen utterly in love.
“Emily,” he said through the window
