I parked a block away and walked, a cold knot forming in my stomach. The front door was slightly ajar, music and laughter spilling out into the evening air. When I stepped inside, I froze.
In the middle of our living room stood Carmen, my best friend, her body swollen with a pregnancy that was clearly six months along. My mother-in-law, Rosa, was gently stroking her belly while my own mother served drinks. A mountain of brightly wrapped gifts was stacked on a decorated table.
“So, is the nursery ready?” my aunt Elena asked.
“Almost,” Carmen replied, her voice sickeningly sweet. “Miguel insisted on painting it himself. He’s been working on it every weekend.”
At that exact moment, my husband walked in carrying a tray of drinks. He approached Carmen and hugged her from behind, his hands settling possessively on her pregnant stomach. “We just need to set up the crib. We picked it out together last week.”
I watched as my mother’s face stiffened when she saw me. She scurried over. “Anna, we weren’t expecting you today,” she whispered, her fingers clamping down on my arm. “Let’s go outside. We need to talk.”
I pulled my arm from her grasp, my voice dangerously low. “Talk? Talk about what, Mother? About how my husband managed to get my best friend pregnant while I was working in another country to pay for this very house?”
The chatter in the room died instantly. Every eye turned to me. Carmen was the first to see me, and the color drained from her face. Miguel stood frozen, his hands still on her belly.
“Anna…” he began.
“Don’t you dare,” I cut him off, my voice like ice. “How long?”
No one answered. My father, standing in a corner, couldn’t even meet my gaze.
“I can explain,” Carmen said, taking a hesitant step forward. “We didn’t want you to find out like this.”
“Oh, and how were you planning to tell me?” I shot back. “After the baby was born? Or maybe when they turned eighteen?”
My mother-in-law stepped in. “Anna, please. Think about the baby. Carmen doesn’t need this stress in her condition.”
“Her condition?” I let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “The same condition I was in two years ago when I lost my baby? Where was your concern for my stress then, Rosa?”
The silence that followed was deafening. My mother tried again. “Honey, I know this is difficult—”
“Difficult for whom? For me, who worked nonstop for nine months while my husband was sleeping with my best friend? Or for all of you, who had to keep this disgusting charade going?”
Miguel finally stepped away from Carmen. “Anna, can we talk privately? Don’t make a scene.”
“A scene?” I echoed. “No, Miguel, a scene would be me telling everyone how you convinced me to take that overseas job. How you said we needed the money to start our family.” I turned my glare on Carmen. “Did he tell you that? Or did he tell you he was lonely and abandoned while his cruel wife chased her career?”
Carmen burst into tears. “It wasn’t like that! We didn’t plan this!”
“Of course not,” I sneered. “I suppose you just tripped and fell into my husband’s bed. These things happen, right?”
The guests began shifting uncomfortably, some already grabbing their bags. My father finally spoke. “Anna, calm down. You’re upset.”
“Upset? No, Dad. I’m perfectly calm. In fact, I’m grateful.”
My mother frowned, confused. “Grateful?”
“Yes. Because now I see every single one of you for who you really are. My husband, the liar. My best friend, the traitor. And my family, the cowards who chose to protect this lie instead of protecting me.”
I walked over to the gift table and grabbed a random package. “This one’s yours, Mom. You bought a lovely gift for your son-in-law’s mistress’s baby.” I tore the wrapping paper open to reveal a white baby outfit. “How thoughtful. I hope you kept the receipt.”
Miguel lunged forward, trying to take it from me. “Enough, Anna! You’re making a fool of yourself!”
“A fool of myself?” I laughed, a sharp, ugly sound. “No, Miguel. You made a fool of me. But that’s over now. You got my best friend pregnant while I was paying all the bills for this life you were living.”
Rosa stood up, outraged. “That is too much! Miguel was just looking for the happiness you couldn’t give him! Always busy, always working!”
“You’re right, Rosa,” I said, my voice dripping with venom. “I was too busy working. Working to pay the mortgage on the house where your son was sleeping with my friend.” I scanned the room, every familiar face now a stranger’s mask. “You know what? You can keep the house. The furniture. The gifts. But Miguel, I suggest you get a good lawyer, because you will never see another cent of my money.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, his face turning pale.
“I’m talking about the fact that while I was overseas, I wasn’t just working. I was also consulting with my lawyer. I have proof of every penny I spent on this house, on you, on our marriage.” I walked to the door, not looking back. My hands were shaking, but I refused to let them see me break. They didn’t deserve my tears.
I got into my car and just drove, my phone exploding with messages. Please Anna, we need to talk. You don’t understand the whole situation. Oh, I understood perfectly. I understood that every time Miguel said he missed me, it was a lie. Every time Carmen said she was busy, it was because she was busy with him.
The next morning, I was at my lawyer’s office. “I want to start the process today,” I said firmly. “Divorce, property division, everything. Make it clear that Miguel won’t see a single cent.”
He nodded. “You have more than enough evidence. The house is in your name, all major expenses were covered by you. He has no legal claim.”
“Good,” I replied. “Then let him find out the hard way.”
Days later, Miguel found me at a cafe. He looked awful, but I felt no pity. “Anna, please,” he begged, “I made a mistake.”
“A mistake?” I leaned forward, my eyes boring into his. “Getting my best friend pregnant wasn’t a mistake, Miguel. It was a choice. A series of choices. And now, you get to live with them. My lawyer has already filed. You won’t get a thing.”
As I walked away, it didn’t take long for the news to spread. My real friends rallied around me. My family, however, tried to intervene. My mother found me outside my new apartment building one night. “Anna, we need to talk. Miguel is desperate. You’re taking everything from him.”
“He ruined my life, Mom! He cheated on me, and all of you covered for him! And now you have the audacity to tell me I’m being cruel?”
“I didn’t raise you to be this way, Anna!”
“And I didn’t expect my own mother to take the side of a cheating bastard!” I slammed the door on her, the conversation over.
The eviction was next. I made sure to be there. When I arrived, the front yard was littered with boxes. Miguel was arguing with the eviction officer, while a panicked-looking Carmen clutched her pregnant belly.
“Anna!” he shouted when he saw me. “You can’t do this to me!”
“I can, and I did,” I said, a dark satisfaction blooming inside me. “I paid for this house. You were just a parasite living in it.”
His face turned red with rage. “Where the hell do you expect me to go?”
I shrugged. “Not my problem.”
Carmen looked at me, her eyes pleading. “Anna, please…”
“Please?” I took a step toward her. “It’s funny you can say my name now. Before, it was just, ‘I hope she never finds out,’ wasn’t it?”
He ran his hands over his exhausted face. “You don’t have a heart.”
“Funny,” I tilted my head. “You sure loved that heart when it was paying all your bills.”
As they were forced to leave, broke and homeless, my entire family turned against me. They called me obsessed with revenge. I told them they were obsessed with protecting a cheater.
Months passed. I heard through mutual friends that Miguel was in ruins, taking odd jobs, but it was never enough. Then, I heard the best news of all. I ran into an acquaintance at a cafe.
“She left him,” the acquaintance said, dropping the bombshell.
I blinked. “What?”
“Carmen. She filed for divorce. And she wants alimony.”
A loud, genuine laugh escaped me. The irony was so perfect it was almost poetic. “Is he even able to pay her?”
“Not a chance.”
Karma had finally come for him. A week later, I found him in a rundown bar, a ghost of his former self. He saw me and his face tightened. “What do you want?”
“Nothing,” I said, taking a seat a few stools away. “Just enjoying the view.”
He shook his head. “Are you happy now?”
I took a slow sip of my drink. “Yes, Miguel. Very.”
He stared into his empty glass. “She said she couldn’t be with someone who had nothing to offer.”
“Funny, isn’t it?” I mused. “That’s exactly what you were without me.”
I stood up to leave. “You know what the best part is? You deserve every single bit of this.” And with that, I walked out, leaving him to drown in his own misery. I cut off everyone from that past life—my family, our mutual friends, all of it. For the first time in years, my life was truly mine. I was free.