Gone Like It Was Never Here

That night, Lily and Zeke lay in bed with their backs turned to each other. Silence stretched taut between them. Her belly had grown so large that it left her breathless more often than not.

She shifted uncomfortably, turning to her other side, on the verge of asking Zeke to hand her the oxygen canister. When it got this bad, breathing through it was the only relief.

But as she rolled over, she caught sight of him leaning against the headboard. The glow of his phone was lighting his face, and his fingers were busy tapping out messages to Sophie on WhatsApp.

They were deep in a cheerful exchange. His smile cut clean through her.

She didn't know what they were talking about, only that Zeke suddenly looked down and glanced her way.

Lily shut her eyes at once, pretending to sleep. A moment later, she heard the soft click of the light switch, then the creak of the bed as he got up.

He thought she was blind, that she couldn't see anything at all. It was the only reason he dared to be so brazen.

Once he left the room, Lily rose too and followed him.

Sophie's bedroom door stood slightly ajar.

Lily stood outside the door, watching. Inside, Zeke was gently rubbing stretch mark oil onto Sophie's belly. He was entirely focused.

As he continued, Sophie sat up abruptly and kissed him on the lips.

Zeke caught her hand. His breath caught. "Sophie, don't. You're pregnant."

"It's okay, Zeke. The doctor said it's safe in the third trimester, as long as we're careful."

She slid down the strap of her nightgown. "Don't you want me, Zeke? All those five years I was abroad, I thought about you every single day. I missed you so much it hurt.

"If I hadn't slipped out that night to come back and find you, I never would've been—"

As Sophie spoke, her voice broke, and tears traced silent lines down her face.

Zeke leaned in and kissed the tears from her skin. His gaze was filled with pity and tenderness. "That's enough, Sophie. I'm sorry. Don't worry. I'll make it up to you."

Desire sparked between them. No longer able to resist, they gave in utterly. Their bodies were tangled together on the bed.

Lily stood rooted at the door. One hand was clamped over her mouth as tears slid through the gaps between her fingers.

She could scarcely believe what she was seeing. The man she had loved for 15 years, her husband of five years, lay with another pregnant woman, while she herself was eight months pregnant with his child.

She shook her head, backing away in disbelief. Her shoulder grazed the flowerpot by the door. It gave a muted rattle, bringing Zeke to an abrupt halt on the bed.

"What was that?"

"What are you so afraid of? You think it's Lily? Have you forgotten that she's blind? Even if she made it all the way here, she wouldn't know what we're doing!"

"But…"

Zeke's voice trailed off. He gave a reluctant nod, his eyes drifting toward the doorway where darkness gathered thick and still, a quiet ripple of unease tightening across his chest.

Lily couldn't see, but she could hear. And if she had heard everything, would it have broken her?

"Zeke, what are you thinking about?" Sophie turned his face toward her, forcing his eyes to meet hers. "Is it Lily? You're not allowed to think about her."

She reached up and kissed him again.

Zeke felt as if he'd lost his mind. Why was Lily in his thoughts now, in the thick of this? If she hadn't manipulated him into sleeping with her that night, she wouldn't be carrying his child.

That night, Lily hadn't even remembered how she'd made it back to her room.

Her belly throbbed with pain. She reached for the medication her doctor had prescribed, took a single pill, and only then did the ache begin to ease.

Her mind was set. Once the baby came, she would leave Zeke. There was nothing left inside her for him.

All she wanted now was to deliver safely. After that, she would file for divorce and leave with nothing but her child.

…

The next morning, Lily came down for breakfast.

Rhonda quietly set the truffle broth, once meant for Lily, at Sophie's place. Before Lily, she placed a plain bowl of broth.

They all believed she wouldn't know. The blind couldn't see, and surely taste alone wouldn't betray the switch.

Lily said nothing. She ate a few spoonfuls in silence, then lowered her spoon and left the rest untouched.

"Good morning, Lily. You're up early, aren't you?"

Sophie came down the stairs and eased into the chair beside her at the dining table. Her voice was laced with a barbed kind of amusement.

"Unlike you, I can't manage mornings like this. The night really drained me, and by morning, it felt as though my whole body had come undone. It took all I had just to drag myself out of bed."

Lily's gaze settled on Sophie's neck, where red hickeys bloomed, absurd in number.

They spoke for themselves. There was no mistaking how wild things had gotten with Zeke in that bed the night before.