My name is Lucy, and if you’d asked me a year before all of this happened, I would’ve told you I was the lucky sister.
Kathy is my younger sister by two years. She was bold and fearless in a way I never was.
I was the planner, the cautious one.
I was also the first one to get a serious boyfriend.
She was bold and fearless…
Nick walked into my life as if he’d rehearsed it.
He was charming, handsome, funny, and confident. He worked in corporate sales, made good money, and treated me like a queen. When he looked at me, I felt chosen.
He’d cup my face and whisper, “You’re my future wife.”
I believed him.
By the time our first anniversary approached, I’d memorized the way he ordered his coffee, how he checked his phone when he thought I wasn’t looking, and the way he always avoided talking about past relationships.
I believed him.
“I hate drama,” he’d say. “I don’t bring baggage into something good.”
I thought that meant maturity. I hadn’t realized it meant secrecy.
***
On Valentine’s Day, I had something planned that would change everything.
I reserved a table at our favorite little restaurant downtown. I carried a small envelope in my purse.
Inside was a pregnancy test with two pink lines and a tiny card that read, “Hi, Daddy.”
“I hate drama.”
I’d stared at those pink lines for hours the week before. I hadn’t told anyone, not even Kathy.
I was terrified but also hopeful and already dreaming about our wedding.
But just a few minutes before our date, Nick texted me.
“SORRY, I CAN’T COME. LET’S MEET ANOTHER TIME.”
For a moment, I thought I’d misread it.
I called him immediately.
I hadn’t told anyone…
It rang once and went to voicemail.
“Nick, what’s going on?” I said into the phone. “I’ve already reserved the table.”
No response.
I felt the sting behind my eyes but refused to cry. Not wanting to waste money, I went anyway.
I told myself to at least eat the dessert I’d been saving for us.
But when I stepped into the restaurant, I froze.
Kathy was sitting near the back, twisting her straw between her fingers.
“Nick, what’s going on?”
She looked up and smiled as I approached. “Lucy? What are you doing here?”
“I had plans,” I said slowly. “You?”
She let out a short laugh. “Oh my gosh, sweetie, you won’t believe this. I invited the guy I’ve been seeing on a date, and he canceled at the last second. Literally minutes before!”
Something inside me tightened.
“What guy? Show him to me,” I said, forcing a smile.
When Kathy handed me her phone, I almost lost my mind!
…he canceled at the last second.
There he was, my Nick.
He was smiling in the selfie, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, his lips pressed to her cheek. He wore the same gray sweater he had worn to my apartment the week before.
“But he’s my boyfriend,” I whispered. “Didn’t he tell you?”
Kathy’s smile vanished. “What?” Her hand flew to her mouth.
“No. We’ve been dating for over six months. He’s sweet, but he hates drama and doesn’t talk about his past. He said he’s focused on building something real.”
“But he’s my boyfriend.”
I stopped breathing.
“I’ve been with him for a year,” I said, my voice shaking. My hand moved to my stomach before I could stop it. “And I’m pregnant.”
Her eyes widened. “Lucy…”
We stared at each other as the noise of the restaurant faded into the background.
Then Kathy straightened in her chair. “We’re not fighting over him or turning this into some sister drama. We need to figure out what’s really going on.”
I nodded, even though my chest felt tight.
We started comparing details.
I stopped breathing.
We shared the same pet names. We heard the same excuses about client dinners and experienced the same “last-minute emergencies.”
He’d never met our parents or friends, so he clearly wasn’t aware that we were sisters. He kept his worlds separate on purpose.
By some insane coincidence, we’d both invited him to the same restaurant on Valentine’s Day.
Suddenly, Kathy grabbed my hand and said firmly, “I have an idea on how to teach him a lesson. Listen carefully. This is what you need to do. Get a hold of his precious notebook.”
We shared the same pet names.
We quickly discovered that we both knew about and had seen his little black book.
