I was heavily pregnant with twins when my life fell apart.

I was folding tiny onesies, daydreaming about baby names, when my phone buzzed.

My heart pounded when I saw it was a message from my husband’s boss, Veronica. I immediately assumed something bad had happened to Eric at work, but the truth was far worse.

I opened the message, expecting news of an accident, but found a picture of Eric, lying in a strange bed, shirtless. Smirking at the camera.

If there’d been any doubt in my mind about what it meant, the caption made it perfectly clear: “It’s time you knew. He’s mine.”

My hands went cold. The babies kicked inside me, almost sensing my distress. Eric was cheating on me with his boss.

I immediately called Eric, but it went straight to voicemail. I kept trying, but none of my calls went through.

By that point, it felt like the twins were taking turns treating my bladder like a trampoline. I slowly lowered myself onto the sofa and placed a hand on my belly.

“Easy, babies,” I muttered. “Mama will take care of you, always. And no matter what happens now, I know Daddy… Eric won’t abandon you, even if he’s betrayed me.”

I could never have imagined how wrong I was.

When Eric arrived home from work that evening, he wasn’t alone.

Veronica waltzed in like she owned the place. Tall, confident, dressed in clothes that probably cost more than our rent. The type of woman who commanded attention just by breathing.

“Eric… what is this?” I stood in the living room, staring them both down, trying to be strong even if I didn’t feel like I was.

Eric sighed. “It’s simple, Lauren. I’m in love with Veronica, so I’m leaving you. Let’s be adults about this and not make a scene, okay?”

The words hit me like physical blows. Each one landed precisely where it hurt the most.

“You can’t be serious,” I whispered. “We’re having babies in two months.”

“Life happens,” he said with a shrug. A shrug! Like he was discussing a change in dinner plans, not abandoning his pregnant wife.

Then Veronica crossed her arms, her perfectly manicured nails tapping against her designer blazer.

“And since this is Eric’s apartment, you’ll need to move out by the end of the week.”

I saw red. “Are you both insane? I have nowhere to go! I’m carrying HIS children!”

“Twins, right?” She tilted her head, studying my belly with cold calculation. “Or is it triplets? You are rather… swollen. I think I can offer you a solution.”

Her lips curved into what I suppose she thought was a smile. “I’ll rent you a house and cover all your expenses, but I want one of your babies.”

My blood ran cold. “What?!”

“I’d like to have a baby, but there’s no way I’m going to do that to my body.” She twirled a finger at my belly. “You’ll never manage raising twins alone, so this is a win-win situation.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This woman spoke like she was talking about adopting a puppy!

“I’ll raise the child as mine. They’ll have the best nannies, and attend the best schools…” she stroked Eric’s chest, and he leaned into her touch. “And you get a roof over your head. It’s a fair deal.”

Eric nodded along as she spoke, like bartering one of our babies was reasonable.

I couldn’t breathe. How dare they try to turn my babies into bargaining chips? I wanted to kick them both out, but they had me cornered. I had no family or close friends I could turn to.

But then a plan formed in my mind.

“I have nowhere else to go,” I whispered, forcing tears to my eyes. “I’ll agree to your deal, but I have one condition.”

Veronica smirked. “Smart girl. What’s the condition?”

“I want to pick which baby you get.” I sniffled, looking down as if ashamed. “Just give me some time with them to decide which one will have a better life with you.”

She exchanged a look with Eric. They thought I was defeated — I could see it in their eyes.

“Fine,” she agreed. “But don’t take too long. Once they’re born, we’ll take the one you don’t want.”

I nodded, wiping away a fake tear. “And… one more thing.”

Veronica sighed dramatically. “What now?”

“You’ll buy me a house, not rent it,” I said firmly. “I need security. If you don’t agree, I’ll walk, and you’ll never see either of them.”

Eric scoffed, but Veronica held up a hand.

“You’re pushy, but I’ll agree,” she said. “It saves me the trouble and delay of finding an alternative solution. But you better hold up your end of the deal.”

I nodded, looking every bit the broken, helpless woman they thought I was.

But inside? I was grinning. Because they had no idea what was coming.

The next few months were a game of patience.

Veronica bought me a three-bedroom house in a quiet neighborhood. She and Eric didn’t even view it, or meet the agent until the day we signed the papers.

I breathed a sigh of relief as we left the realtor’s office that day. Step one was complete, and they were still clueless.

I updated them on doctor’s appointments and let Veronica feel my belly when she visited, cooing about “her” baby. I told her I was agonizing over choosing which baby to keep.

It was all a play for time while I prepared the final blow.

I went into labor on a Tuesday night. I texted Veronica when I left for the hospital, but made sure the nurses knew I didn’t want her or Eric in the delivery room.

I heard them complaining outside at one point, but the contractions were coming hard and fast by then and I didn’t make out what they were saying.

Six hours later, my babies arrived. Two perfect girls with wisps of dark hair and lungs that worked just fine.

The nurse smiled. “Want me to tell your husband and your… friend?”

“Tell them the babies are fine, but I need three days,” I said, holding my daughters.

The nurse looked confused but nodded.

I named the girls Lily and Emma. I memorized their faces, their cries, and the feel of their tiny fingers clasped around mine.

And I finalized my plan.

I took the babies home on the second day. On the third day, I called Veronica.

“I’m ready to talk.”

She and Eric showed up within an hour. Veronica was practically vibrating with excitement, Eric trailing behind her like a shadow.

“So,” she cooed, walking into my house. “Which one is mine?”

I took a deep breath, holding one baby in each arm. “Neither.”

Her smile froze. “Excuse me?”

I stood up slowly. My body ached, but my voice was strong.

“I’m not giving you my child, Veronica. Either of them.”

Eric groaned. “Oh, don’t start this dramatic nonsense—”

“You two thought you could buy a baby from me? Like I was some desperate idiot? Well, newsflash: I’m not.”

“Then I’m kicking you out of this house,” Veronica snarled. “You can live on the street for all I care!”

I smiled. “You can’t do that. This house is in my name.”

Veronica’s face drained of color. “What? No, that’s impossible! Eric, tell her!”

Eric looked just as confused. “We signed the papers together!”

“Yeah. And you both signed it over to me completely. You were too busy gloating to notice. My name’s the only one on the deed.”

Veronica stumbled back like I’d slapped her.

“You conniving little—”

“Oh, and one more thing,” I added, gently rocking Lily as she fussed. “I went ahead and told a few people about how Eric cheated on his pregnant wife, and how he and his mistress tried to buy his child.”

I nodded toward my phone on the coffee table.

“Feel free to check social media. I posted everything last night. The messages. The pictures. Your sick baby deal. It’s all there. I tagged your company too, Veronica, and your investors. Even those charity boards you sit on.”

Veronica lunged for my phone. Her face went from pale to gray as she scrolled.

“As you can see, they find your behavior very interesting.”

Veronica screamed, a sound of pure rage and desperation.

Eric grabbed the phone from her, his face white as paper. “You — you ruined us!”

“No. You ruined yourselves.”

Eric lost his job. Attempting to sell your child didn’t sit well with his company’s “family values” image. Veronica wasn’t just fired: she made front-page news for all the wrong reasons and her social and business circles blackballed her.

And me? I rocked my girls to sleep each night in our beautiful home, content in the knowledge that I didn’t just get revenge.

I won.