A night before her wedding

The room was too quiet, too still. I lay there, staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Her words replayed in my head, each one louder than the previous.

"The baby in my womb is yours," Kyle had whispered, her voice soft, almost tender, as though she wasn't dropping a bomb that would implode my entire existence.

I turned onto my side, trying to shut her out, but it didn't work. The image of her face, her pleading eyes, the faint tremble in her voice—it was all burned into my mind. Damn it. Why did she have to come back? Why now?

Sweat trickled down my forehead. My chest felt tight, constricted, like I couldn't get enough air. I felt like I was suffocating.

George had been good to me—better than I deserved, if I were being honest. And this? This was no way to repay him. If he ever found out…

My fist clenched under the covers, and I forced myself to breathe. In and out. In and out.