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The Pregnancy Lie
My best friend might be pregnant, and I was accompanying her to the hospital for a checkup.
We'd just walked out of the OB-GYN department when we ran straight into the SWAT team captain on duty. The moment Chloe saw him, her face went white as a sheet.
"Oh no! My brother. If he finds out I'm pregnant before marriage, he'll kill me!"
Before I could process what was happening, she shoved the pregnancy test results into my hands.
Meeting the man's scrutinizing gaze, Chloe forced an awkward smile. "Hey, bro! I'm just here with Eva."
"Her boyfriend... he's so irresponsible!"
The man's eyes shifted to me. I kept my head down, staring at the floor.
Late that night, he showed up at my door.
Looking haggard, his voice trembling.
"We were together for six months. I never touched you."
"So whose child is it?"
1
When Chloe stuffed her pregnancy test results into my hand, my mind went completely blank.
Her voice came through in an urgent whisper: "Help me out, help me out, please help me out."
By the time I snapped back to reality, Ethan had already walked up to us.
The nurses passing by were stealing glances at him.
The man was dressed in his black SWAT uniform, and his six-foot-one frame made his presence even more commanding.
His features were sharp and defined. Years of training had given his skin a healthy tan.
Pure testosterone.
Ethan must have been on duty nearby. Running into us at the hospital seemed to catch him off guard too.
"Hey, bro! What are you doing here?" Chloe bounced over with a bright smile, trying to divert his attention.
Ethan's response was characteristically brief. "One of my guys got injured. I brought him in."
His gaze flickered to the department sign behind us. The words "Obstetrics and Gynecology" were impossible to miss.
"What are you two doing here..."
"Getting a checkup!" Chloe's brain kicked into overdrive. "We were looking for gynecology but ended up in obstetrics by mistake..."
My fingers tightened instinctively around the test results, discreetly hiding them behind my back.
His presence was overwhelming. I snuck a glance at him.
Our eyes met unexpectedly, and I froze.
Just then, a nurse walked out of the OB-GYN office and smiled at us. "You got your pregnancy test results, right? The doctor is coming right over. Please wait just a moment."
Chloe and I: "..."
Ethan's gaze dropped, loaded with scrutiny and suspicion.
Chloe and I had been best friends for over a decade, so I knew her inside out.
And I knew she was terrified of her brother.
They came from a single-parent household. Their mother had worked herself to the bone trying to support them, leaving little time for parenting. Ethan was five years older than Chloe, and growing up, he'd been stricter with her than their mother ever was.
When Chloe was in middle school, their mom passed away from illness.
After that, Ethan became her legal guardian.
Ethan had always been composed and serious, rarely smiled, and when he disciplined, he didn't hold back.
When Chloe's high school romance was discovered, the teacher called Ethan to the school.
He played nice in front of the teachers, but once they left campus, he dragged the boy right in front of Chloe.
The poor kid was scared out of his mind, swearing up and down that he didn't even like Chloe, that it was just a game, and that he'd stay far away from her from now on.
That incident completely shattered Chloe's romantic fantasies about high school love.
Ethan really knew how to break someone's spirit.
Because of this, even though Chloe was now working, she still didn't dare tell her brother about her relationship.
Her boyfriend had even proposed a week ago, but Ethan was still completely in the dark.
Chloe's excuse was: "He's always busy with work and rarely comes home. I want to tell him but can never find the right time."
But I knew the real reason.
She was afraid Ethan would pull the same terrifying tests on her boyfriend that he'd done before...
This unexpected pregnancy caught her completely off guard too.
Just once! Who knew one time would be all it took?!
She planned to keep the baby.
She would tell Ethan eventually—just not right now. The timing was all wrong.
2
Out of sheer terror of her brother, Chloe had shoved the test results into my hands and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"I'm here with Eva."
She continued indignantly, "Her boyfriend? Ugh, I don't even want to talk about him."
"Total scumbag! Complete deadbeat!"
She was on a roll, completely oblivious to how dark Ethan's expression was getting.
His gaze shifted to me.
Like a shadow I couldn't shake, it made my skin crawl.
Ethan asked casually, "She has a boyfriend?"
Chloe nodded. "Yeah! I've even met him."
Ethan fell silent.
The atmosphere suddenly felt strange.
Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, another officer in SWAT gear came running over.
"Captain, Yang's awake."
Ethan's expression turned grave. "I'll be right there."
It was urgent. He didn't have time to say anything more before turning to leave.
Chloe let out a long breath of relief.
When she saw how shaken I looked, her eyes welled up with emotion. "Eva, you're a lifesaver!"
"Tell you what, let's find somewhere private and I'll bow down to you properly. Otherwise I'll feel guilty forever."
I couldn't help but laugh.
Over the years, I'd taken the fall for her countless times. What was one more?
As she always said, isn't that what friends are for? Having someone willing to lie through their teeth for you?
I poked her forehead lightly.
"Alright, go see the doctor already."
She was perceptive enough to notice something was off with my mood and tried to comfort me. "Don't worry. You barely know my brother. He won't make a big deal out of it."
"As long as we can fool him for now, I'll explain everything later."
A nurse called out, and Chloe took the test results and went inside.
I stood outside the office, feeling dazed.
I turned to look in the direction Ethan had left, Chloe's words echoing in my ears—
"Don't worry, you barely know my brother..."
I couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh.
Barely know him?
If only she knew just how well I knew him.
3
Chloe and I parted ways after leaving the hospital.
Her boyfriend Mark picked her up. They probably had a lot to discuss.
I went home and crashed for a few hours. By the time I woke up, it was almost dark.
My stomach was growling. I ordered takeout.
I'd barely started watching TV when the doorbell rang.
The delivery was fast today.
I rushed to the door and pulled it open.
Then froze.
Ethan stood at my door.
Without his black uniform, wearing just a simple white dress shirt, he looked less intimidating.
Maybe from rushing over, there was a light sheen of sweat on his forehead.
He took a few deep breaths and looked up at me. "What? Not going to invite me in?"
4
Chloe had no idea that I'd actually dated her brother.
For about eight months. We'd broken up a month ago.
At first, everything I knew about Ethan came from Chloe.
She complained that her brother was rigid, cold-blooded, and ruthless.
And I believed her.
In my mind, I'd lumped him in with terrorists.
So naturally, I never dared go to their place.
That changed one day when Chloe and I were out and accidentally fell into an abandoned drain.
The walls were slick and wet. We tried climbing out for ages but couldn't make it.
We screamed until our voices were hoarse, but no one found us.
We were hugging each other and crying in despair.
Then suddenly a voice came from above: "Well, well, crying now?"
"You both look ugly as hell crying. Hey, are either of you hurt?"
I looked up and froze.
I was fifteen that year—the first time I met Chloe's supposedly terrifying brother.
From that moment on, I learned that Chloe's descriptions came with a heavy dose of personal bias and couldn't be trusted completely.
I was too young then to know if what I felt was a first crush or simple curiosity about Chloe's brother.
I started paying attention to him without really meaning to.
Whenever Chloe complained about her brother, I'd deliberately ask follow-up questions.
As if that would help me understand him better.
Ethan graduated from the Police Academy. On graduation day, Chloe insisted that Police Academy guys were hot and dragged me along to check them out.
She was too busy ogling other guys and wandered off. I quickly lost track of her.
But I found Ethan. He was chatting with some classmates on the field.
His friends were teasing him: "Stop being so serious all the time. You're good-looking but girls don't like you—ever wonder why?"
"Look, we all got gifts from girls. Everyone except you."
"Ethan, jealous much?"
I stood there watching them, feeling something twist in my chest.
Before I knew what I was doing, I pulled out the birthday present my parents had just given me from my backpack.
I ran over and handed it to Ethan.
His classmates exchanged confused looks. Finally one asked, "Little miss, are you eighteen yet?"
I am! I just turned eighteen yesterday!
But instead of helping Ethan save face, I apparently got him called in for a talk.
Later, I found him to apologize.
He wasn't angry. Just genuinely confused when he asked, "Can I ask why you gave me a pink stuffed animal?"
I didn't know how to answer. Hesitantly, I suggested, "Want me to get you something else instead?"
"No need." He actually smiled. "Thanks. I had a good day today."
That's when I got Ethan's contact information.
And that's when I really started getting to know him.
5
The fact that I managed to date Ethan was pure fearless determination on my part.
Eight years, seven confessions, and finally success on the eighth try.
But the relationship didn't even last a year before it ended.
I was the one who broke up with him.
There were a lot of reasons.
But the one I gave him was just three words: "We're not compatible."
...
Snapping back to the present, I looked at the man in front of me, feeling awkward.
The delivery guy chose that exact moment to pound on my door: "Hello! Your food's here!"
I went to grab it.
The spicy hot pot was still warm, but this didn't seem like the right time to eat it.
Fighting my hunger and cravings, I asked Ethan, "Did you need something?"
But Ethan was staring at the takeout on my table. "This is what you're eating?"
I nodded, confused.
His voice dropped. "You're pregnant and this is what you're eating?!"
Crap. I forgot about that!
My eyes went wide as I stared at him.
I was trying to figure out how to explain without throwing Chloe under the bus when I saw him stand and head for the door.
"Where are you going?"
Ethan pulled the door open and walked out, tossing back: "Grocery shopping."
Fifteen minutes later, Ethan returned.
Thirty minutes after that, Ethan had prepared a full spread—several dishes with meat and vegetables, nutritious and balanced.
I was amazed at his speed.
"Eat first." Ethan crossed his arms, his voice cold and hard. "After you're done, we need to talk."
6
I was stuffed.
When I finally looked up from my plate, Ethan was watching me.
"Done?"
"Mm-hmm."
Silence settled between us.
I broke it first. "So, about the pregnancy thing, actually—"
"Whose child is it?"
Ethan's voice wasn't as steady as before. If you listened carefully, you could hear a slight tremor.
I froze, looking up at him.
He took a deep breath and repeated, "Whose child is it?"
"We were together for eight months and four days. I never touched you."
"So you and your current boyfriend... you knew him before we even broke up?"
It took me a second to understand what he meant.
He thought I'd cheated on him. That's why I'd broken up with him.
And this baby—he thought I'd gotten pregnant with someone else while we were still together.
Anger flared instantly.
Is that really what he thinks of me?!
I glared at him, too furious to speak.
"If you won't tell me, I won't push."
He slumped back in his chair, looking defeated.
He pressed his fingertips together, taking a moment to compose himself before looking at me again.
"Chloe said he's irresponsible. So he doesn't want the baby?"
"What about you? Do you want to keep it?"
He was jumping topics so fast I couldn't keep up.
I was debating whether to just come clean about Chloe.
Better than suffering through this alone.
But Ethan took my brief silence as confirmation.
He looked like he'd made a momentous decision.
He stood up slowly and walked over to me.
"If you're willing, we can get married tomorrow."
His gaze drifted down to my stomach.
"I'll raise it as my own."
My hand instinctively went to my belly.
My first thought was: no biological child in there, just biological dinner.
My second thought: had Ethan lost his mind?
Volunteering to raise another man's kid?
Something stirred in my chest. I couldn't help stealing glances at him.
Ethan's expression was dead serious. Not a hint of joking.
And that's when it hit me—
Maybe Ethan cared about me more than I'd ever realized.
Guilt crashed over me like a wave.
I couldn't keep lying to him.
"Ethan, actually—"
Beep beep beep—
The electronic lock chimed.
Only Chloe knew my door code!
Why was she coming over now of all times?
My reflexes kicked in and I shoved Ethan into the bedroom.
In Chloe's eyes, her brother and I were practically strangers.
If she found him here, it would be impossible to explain.
Meeting his stunned expression, I said quickly, "Your sister."
The bedroom door had barely closed when the front door swung open.
I rushed over. "You're here! Come on, let's go grab dinner."
I tried pulling her out by the arm. She didn't budge.
She pointed at the food on my table. "Didn't you just eat?"
"Never mind dinner, I'm here for my medicine."
I was shaking my head frantically at her.
But she didn't catch on, muttering, "The doctor prescribed me folic acid and I put it in your bag. I forgot to take it with me."
I stared at her.
"Why are you just standing there?"
Chloe gave me a strange look, then continued talking to herself. "I don't know if it's the pregnancy, but I've been so tired lately."
...My walls weren't soundproof.
Chloe didn't stay long. She grabbed her medicine and left.
The door closed. The apartment fell into deathly silence.
I opened the bedroom door.
Ethan was leaning against the dresser, his expression unreadable.
He looked at me, then at my stomach.
"You're not pregnant."
"The one who's pregnant... is Chloe."
After a moment of silence, he nodded to himself and headed for the door.
"It's getting late. You should rest."
"Even if you're not pregnant, you should still cut back on that takeout."
"Sorry for barging in like this."
His tone was calm.
But I could sense the storm brewing beneath the surface.
I grabbed his arm. "Chloe didn't mean to hide it from you."
"The pregnancy was an accident. She just found out too."
"Her boyfriend is a good guy and he loves her... I know you're angry right now, but please try to calm down."
"Angry?&qu