The Godmother's Revenge

My best friend, Pilar, was notorious. She'd slept with her share of men. The talk all over Manhattan was that any man Pilar set her sights on, she had. My husband, Reed Ferraro, always dismissed the rumors. "Just wait," he'd say. "One day, a man is going to break her heart." And then, one day, something did happen. Pilar had nine abortions, all for the same mysterious man. By the tenth pregnancy, her doctor told her that her body wouldn't survive another. "My relationship with him... it's complicated," she told me. "Just focus on being the baby's godmother," she'd added with a weak smile. She had just given birth and looked utterly drained. My heart ached for her, and I slipped into the hospital bathroom to hide my tears. That's when I heard their voices through the door-Pilar and Reed. "We have to keep this from Fernanda." "Her parents just died," Reed said, his voice low. "If she finds out about us now, it'll destroy her." I stood frozen behind the door, my mind a complete blank. "And she can never know," Pilar added, "that we were sleeping together before you and she even met." "I did her father wrong," Reed murmured. "That day, he was so angry after our argument that his heart condition flared up." "That's why he lost control of the car..." "And then at the funeral home... you were like a madman, insisting we..." I clamped a hand over my mouth, terrified of making a sound. Reed's voice was a low warning. "Keep your mouth shut, and Fernanda will never have to know." I stood there for a long time before I finally pushed the door open. A champagne cork popped. The room was filled with people, all here to celebrate. Friends and family smiled, congratulating me on becoming the baby's godmother. And then I understood. They all knew. I was the only one who had been kept in the dark. Reed smiled at me. "Fernanda, congratulations. You have a godson now." I clutched the ultrasound photo in my pocket, my knuckles white, as tears streamed down my face. The two most important people in my life had betrayed me. And it started long before today.