never say out loud. This one was for people who chose to be child-free, a space I visited sometimes just to see different

the better of me.

wife, calling her "the barren one," and how he was tired of waiting for a family she couldn't give hi

mix of encouragement

gonna do it?"

er, a final gift. Let her think she finally got what she wanted. Then, poof. A little bo

What about the kid you

er77 wrote back. "He' s her problem. A

the internet, I told myself. Horrible people exist e

t door opened. It w

honey, I

s of doctor's appointments, of hope and disappointment, of trying to have a child. The doctors never found anythi

was thinking about what we talked about, about adoption. And I think we should

He had been distant and cold for months, but sudde

y voice steady. "That's sudden, Da

s the answer, Chloe. It' s our chance

s smiling face, the face I had loved for years, and saw a stranger. I saw Wanderer77. The way

rum. This wasn't a plan fo

you okay? Yo

. It had been happening every morning for a week. I had a pregnancy test tucked away in the ba

scared of

David. Just surprised. It's a big step. If it means

had to see how deep thi

room. I tiptoed into the bathroom and locked the door. My hands were shaking as I took

es felt lik

wasn't empty. It showed two bright pink

preg

h me. We did it. We finally did it. I wanted to run

m post flooded my mind. "The

e. I was pregnant with our child, and my husband was plotting to abandon me, leaving me to

ing dressed, all smiles and energy, I said, "David, can we sit down a

"Can it wait, honey? We have to get an early start if we wan

in. He didn't care what I had to say. He was

child growing inside me, and I felt nothing but a profound, ch

voice betraying none of the

ght he was setting a trap for me. He had no id