When Nikki agrees to co-parent with her ex, she never expects to be treated like a surrogate by his new partner. But as the boundaries blur and the demands escalate, Nikki realizes this pregnancy isn\u2019t just about babies\u2026 it\u2019s about control. And she\u2019s done being polite.<\/p>\n
When Stan left me, it wasn\u2019t dramatic. It was just a tight-lipped coffee shop conversation and an apologetic shrug. \u201cI\u2019ve been talking to Ursula again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ve got unfinished business, Nikki. And to be honest, I just want to make sure that she\u2019s not the one who got away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI get it,\u201d I said, smiling at the waiter when he brought my slice of baked cheesecake. \u201cYou have to see this through.<\/p>\n
Not a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAren\u2019t you\u2026 upset?\u201d he asked, frowning over his cup of coffee. \u201cI am a bit sad but let\u2019s face it, Stan. We\u2019ve only been together for three months and I\u2019m not Ursula.<\/p>\n
So, we owe it to ourselves to see what the world has to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded and asked for the check. It was true, we had only been together for three months. It stung, sure.<\/p>\n
But I told myself to get over it. And I almost did. Until two weeks later, when I found out I was pregnant.<\/p>\n
With twins. I told Stan, of course. There was a long pause on the phone, then a sound I didn\u2019t expect.<\/p>\n
There was laughter. Choked, stunned, and joyful laughter. \u201cOh my God,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwins?! Nikki! This is\u2026 this is incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re actually happy about this?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes!\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cI am! These are two innocent babies who deserve the entire world!\u201d<\/p>\n
Apparently, Ursula had fertility issues.<\/p>\n
And Stan had always wanted kids. Stan said that getting back together wasn\u2019t on the table but he wanted to be involved. And Ursula?<\/p>\n
She \u201cjust wanted to support the process.\u201d<\/p>\n
But support turned out to mean something very different to all of us involved. Ursula insisted on meeting. She and Stan came to my apartment like they were touring a rental with their eyes darting around, assessing the space.<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t even sit down before laying out her terms. \u201cWe want a home birth,\u201d she began, as if we were mid-negotiation. \u201cFormula feeding only, Nikki.<\/p>\n
That way we can split custody from day one, you understand? And the babies will call me Mama. You\u2019ll be Mommy.<\/p>\n
It\u2019ll help avoid any confusion in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n
I blinked. But it wasn\u2019t from the surprise. It was from the sheer absurdity of what I was hearing.<\/p>\n
Stan sat beside her, sipping coffee and eating the chocolate brownies I made at midnight courtesy of cravings. He kept looking at Ursula like she was discussing furniture placement. He nodded a little, eyes on the floor whenever she spoke to him directly.<\/p>\n
I felt something sink in my chest. He wasn\u2019t going to stop her. He wasn\u2019t even going to slow her down.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not serious,\u201d I said, trying not to laugh but my voice came out a lot flatter than I meant it to. Ursula smiled. She had one of those tight, rehearsed grins you see on reality shows.<\/p>\n
Calculated, not kind. \u201cIt\u2019s important to co-parent with intention,\u201d she said, like she was reading something off a Pinterest graphic. The room felt too small.<\/p>\n
My own home suddenly became foreign. I stood up, quietly and deliberately. My knees felt shaky but I didn\u2019t let it show.<\/p>\n
Without a word, I walked over to the door and opened it. There was a pause and a kind of silence that crackles in the air. They got up slowly, confused.<\/p>\n
Stan looked back once and I didn\u2019t meet his eyes. They left but her presence didn\u2019t. Ursula\u2019s perfume lingered, some vanilla-amber blend that tried to smell expensive but gave me a headache.<\/p>\n
I closed the door and leaned against it, exhaling like I\u2019d been holding my breath since they walked in. I knew then: this wasn\u2019t going to be a shared journey. This was going to be nothing but a war.<\/p>\n
After that, Ursula texted me every day. She asked me if I was walking enough. If I was eating the right fish.<\/p>\n
She told me to skip yoga and get prenatal acupuncture. She sent me name suggestions and nursery color palettes. She also sent long, rambling messages about how her job wouldn\u2019t grant her any maternity leave.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so unfair, Nikki. I get it, you\u2019re carrying the twins. But it\u2019s exhausting.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m exhausted from the planning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eventually, I stopped responding altogether. Before I knew it, Ursula had scheduled a genetics appointment without telling me first. It was a consultation with a genetics specialist and involved us speaking about medical and family history.<\/p>\n
I was clean, Stan\u2019s family had a lovely history of cardiac problems. I expected him to show up, to talk about that and see what risks our twins faced in their future. Instead, Ursula showed up without Stan.<\/p>\n
She tried to take over the whole meeting. She tried to give her family medical history, as if she were the one being scanned. The counselor gently redirected her.<\/p>\n
Twice. By the 20-week scan, I was allowed one guest. Stan asked if I could take Ursula along instead of him.<\/p>\n
I said no. \u201cShe\u2019s really invested in this, Nikki,\u201d he said, looking sheepish. \u201cI think she\u2019s just excited that we\u2019ll be getting a part to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care how invested she is, Stan,\u201d I snapped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t a group project. I\u2019m growing two humans. Not assembling a damn IKEA bunk bed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Things got worse after I made the pregnancy public.<\/p>\n
I posted a quiet, smiling baby bump photo. It was just me, glowing in the afternoon sun, feeling beautiful. Hours later, Ursula posted a glittery Instagram reel with about a hundred filters.<\/p>\n
\u201cExpecting Twins! The non-traditional way. I\u2019m feeling so blessed!\u201d<\/p>\n
There were pink and blue balloons.<\/p>\n
Some were shaped like bottles. I didn\u2019t even know the genders yet. But then\u2026 Ursula announced her baby shower.<\/p>\n
And I wasn\u2019t invited. That wasn\u2019t even the last straw. It was late March when it happened.<\/p>\n
I was about 24 weeks along, belly heavy, ankles swollen, folding tiny cotton onesies on my couch. I was halfway through an episode of some home renovation show when I heard a knock. Not a polite one.<\/p>\n
Not a neighbor-with-a-package knock. It was a knock like they owned the door. When I opened it, I felt my stomach twist.<\/p>\n
Julie. Her mother. She was wearing a quilted vest and too much perfume.<\/p>\n
Behind her was Ursula, with her signature full face of makeup and a takeaway cup of coffee in hand, like this was a PTA check-in. \u201cNo text? No call?\u201d I stood in the doorway, arms crossed over my bump.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis won\u2019t take long,\u201d Ursula said, brushing past her mother like she was leading a boardroom presentation. Julie stepped forward and smiled like we were old friends at a bridal shower for a colleague. \u201cWe\u2019ve been talking,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd\u2026 we think it makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat? What makes sense?\u201d I asked. \u201cFor you to give one of the babies to Ursula,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry, what?! Are you crazy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already have two. It\u2019s only fair,\u201d Ursula exhaled, exasperated.<\/p>\n
Fair. Like this was a board game. Like I rolled double sixes and won an extra baby I didn\u2019t need.<\/p>\n
I could\u2019ve lost it. I could\u2019ve screamed. Could\u2019ve thrown the ceramic elephant I\u2019d just folded onesies around.<\/p>\n
But something inside me clicked. A stillness. A steel lining.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, you want one of the babies? Okay, I can agree,\u201d I smiled, calm and measured. They exchanged a look.<\/p>\n
Julie smiled wider. Ursula leaned in, her eyes narrowing. \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
I tilted my head. \u201cI want you to officially sign up as a surrogate,\u201d I said. \u201cFor my future dog.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Ursula blinked, looking at me as though I\u2019d lost my entire mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know. Carry it for nine months. Natural birth.<\/p>\n
No epidural. Breastfeed it too, while you\u2019re at it. That\u2019s only fair, right?<\/p>\n
Life for a life?\u201d<\/p>\n
Julie gasped like I\u2019d slapped her. \u201cThat\u2019s not the same thing,\u201d Ursula snapped, her face twisted in disbelief. \u201cAre you insane?<\/p>\n
Do you really think that you\u2019re fit to be a mother if you\u2019re asking these kinds of things?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly,\u201d I said. \u201cIt\u2019s not the same thing. Because a child isn\u2019t a handbag.<\/p>\n
A child isn\u2019t a pet. Or a prize. Or a consolation.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stepped forward just enough to make them flinch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re my children. And you, Ursula, are nothing to them except their father\u2019s girlfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dead silence. \u201cAnd just so we\u2019re clear,\u201d I inhaled slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you or your mother ever come near me again, uninvited, I\u2019ll have a restraining order so fast your \u2018non-traditional family\u2019 won\u2019t know what hit it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I smiled. Sweet, icy, and deadly. \u201cHave a nice day, ladies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then I shut the door and locked it.<\/p>\n
\u201cJeez, babies,\u201d I said to my belly. \u201cYour dad has us in for trouble, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n
Then I sat down with a bowl full of grapes and texted Stan. \u201cYour girlfriend and her mother just came to my house to demand one of my twins.<\/p>\n
If I see either of them again, I\u2019m getting a lawyer and full custody. You\u2019ll get supervised visits only, Stan. Think carefully about who you tie your life to.\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t reply.<\/p>\n
Maybe he didn\u2019t know what to say. Or maybe he knew I meant it. The next morning, I had an emergency consult with a lawyer.<\/p>\n
They told me custody agreements couldn\u2019t be arranged until after birth, but if I left the state before then, my state wouldn\u2019t be considered the legal home of the children. That was all I needed to hear. I packed in silence.<\/p>\n
I found a short-term rental three hours away and left the following week. I didn\u2019t give any forwarding address, other than to my mother. There were no calls to Stan.<\/p>\n
My job was already halfway there, so that wouldn\u2019t have been a problem for me to factor in. It was just peace and two growing babies inside me. For a while, it was quiet.<\/p>\n
No calls. No messages. Until someone sent Ursula a screenshot of my original post on social media.<\/p>\n
The one where I\u2019d finally shared my story. And then Ursula showed up at my workplace. Not my house.<\/p>\n
My job. I work at a learning center for toddlers. It\u2019s all bright colors, scheduled snack times, and the quiet hours of nap time.<\/p>\n
Ursula slashed my tires, shattered my passenger window, and broke a row of floor-to-ceiling windows near the playroom. Screaming. Full-throated, wild screaming.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou stole my life, Nikki!\u201d<\/p>\n
Over and over again. Our staff had to evacuate the children. Then the police came and they arrested Ursula on the spot.<\/p>\n
The charges? Criminal damage, trespassing, and child endangerment. I filed an order of protection the next morning.<\/p>\n
The judge didn\u2019t even blink. He smiled at my stomach and approved it on the spot. \u201cGood luck, missy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to be a grandfather in a few months, too. I can\u2019t wait!\u201d<\/p>\n
Then I filed one against Stan. It wasn\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n
But when your ex-boyfriend enables the kind of obsessive delusion that shows up with lattes and custody demands, you don\u2019t take chances. After that, I left again. But this time it was across the country with my mother.<\/p>\n
And I started fresh. Stan and Ursula tried again. There were emails, text messages, and even DM requests from fake accounts.<\/p>\n
And with the new evidence, I pressed charges in my new state, and restraining orders followed. Again. Sometimes I sit in the quiet of my new apartment and wonder if any of it really happened.<\/p>\n
If I imagined the gender reveal party I wasn\u2019t invited to. If I dreamed the look on Julie\u2019s face when I told her daughter to carry a puppy. It all feels surreal now.<\/p>\n
Like a fever dream I wrote on a napkin and left behind in another life. The furniture here doesn\u2019t creak the way the old stuff did. The air smells like lemon soap, hardwood, and chocolate brownies because that craving never quite went away.<\/p>\n
There are no texts lighting up my phone at midnight, no phantom footsteps outside, no voices raised behind closed doors. Now, it\u2019s just me. And the shift I feel inside.<\/p>\n
The little kicks and the stretch of life beneath my ribs. They\u2019re real\u2014these two little humans\u2014 and they\u2019re both mine. I remember exactly what I walked away from\u2026 and how Stan had walked away from me first.<\/p>\n
The babies will be here in a few weeks. I haven\u2019t chosen names yet. I\u2019m not rushing it.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ll have my last name and that\u2019s the most important part.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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