He Was Never My Moon

At three months pregnant, a drop of blood sent my husband racing down the highway at 110 mph.

I sat beside him, watching his jaw clench as he hit the gas. Remembering how scared Cole used to be of driving, I reached out.

Its okay, honey, I whispered. Just a little spotting. Maybe I scratched myself.

I never thought you got your license for me. This is your first time driving. Please, slow down.

Cole stayed silent, lips tight.

At the ER, the ultrasound showed the baby was fine. I sighed in reliefuntil I checked a local gossip forum and saw a photo of our car.

I expected anger about his speeding. Instead, I froze.

Holy sht! I never thought Id see the Legend behind the wheel again! Welcome back, Cole, the King of the Track! Still drives a Ferrari like its the Grand Prix!*

My ultimate ship! Didnt Cole swear off driving after Ivys accident? Is Ivy back?

Breaking: Original track queen Ivy is alive! Coles rushing to the airport to pick her up! Seven years of waitingmy hearts exploding!

Wed dated five years, married one. All that time, Cole never drove. He always said he didnt even have a license.

Now, watching him make soup in our kitchen, he felt like a stranger.

...

"Did you see the forums?" I asked, my voice trembling as I walked into the kitchen.

"I saw them."

His face was completely devoid of emotion. But his hand twitched, dumping an extra spoonful of salt into the broth.

I swallowed the bitter lump in my throat, forcing a casual tone. "It's okay, honey. Everyone has a past. The fact that you broke your rule to drive me to the hospital makes me so happy..."

"It was a one time thing."

He cut me off. A flicker of impatience crossed his face. "I'm not driving again. If you're that worried about the baby, go stay with your parents."

I froze. Cole was always reserved, his words often blunt and unpolished. I was used to his communication style, knowing he rarely meant harm. But in this moment, a wave of intense grievance washed over me.

Remembering the forum threads, I pieced together the past he had hidden from me.

Cole and Ivy met at an elite racing club. He was a raw, talented rookie; she was the free-spirited, original "It Girl" of the motorsport influencer world.

She taught him the nuances of the track. He was her co-pilot.

They were each others first loves, the guardians of each others dreams.

Until the day Ivy went into a rally race crying. Halfway through the course, her car veered off the track and plunged down a cliff. She vanished without a trace.

Cole retired that same day, vowing never to touch a car again.

My fingers tightened around my phone. A new notification popped up showing Ivys flight arrival information. My throat tightened.

I wanted to stop him, but Cole was already walking out of the kitchen, grabbing his jacket.

It was painfully obvious where he was going.

"Cole," I said desperately. "I want some soup."

Cole turned around, his expression unreadable.

"Sienna, don't overthink this. We are married. I just don't want to watch her die in front of me again."

It was an impossible statement to argue with. When life and death are involved, any attempt to keep him home makes me look like the villain.

But my pregnancy hormones and my breaking heart made me lash out. "You know we're married? I am three months pregnant with your child! Are you really going to abandon me to go see another woman?"

Cole's back stiffened. He hesitated for a fraction of a second.

Then, his phone lit up. The caller ID flashed two piercing words.

Ivy.

Cole answered immediately, as if terrified she would hang up.

"Ivy, I'm here."

Ivys soft laughter echoed through the quiet room.

"Cole, I know you are. You promised. You said you'd always be there."

Cole glanced at me instinctively. He fell silent, unable to reply.

Ivy continued, "I saw online that you have a wife now. I'm so happy for you, Cole."

"I don't want to make things difficult for you. You don't need to pick me up. I rented a car. I can drive myself back."

"You want to drive yourself?" Cole suddenly exploded, his voice rising in panic. "Don't even think about it! Do you value your life at all? I will absolutely not allow you to drive ever again!"

"What else can I do?" Ivy sighed, sounding utterly helpless. "I have no family left. Nobody is coming for me. There are so many paparazzi outside the airport. I can't just take a cab, what if a stalker follows me?"

"Don't worry, my international license is still valid. I can manage."

Without another second of hesitation, Cole snatched my car keys from the table.

"Stop talking. I'm coming to get you. Do not touch that steering wheel, I'm begging you. Okay?"

"Welcome home."

"Wherever you want to go from now on, I will drive you."

The front door clicked shut. My plea died in my throat, swallowed by the silence of the empty house.

The baby seemed to share my grief. A sharp cramp twisted in my lower abdomen.

I walked into the kitchen and turned off the stove. Remembering the doctor's orders to stay hydrated, I ladled some soup into a bowl and took a sip.

It tasted raw, metallic. The extra spoonful of salt made it bitterly salty.

I poured the soup down the sink and crawled back into bed, refreshing the forum pages.

The newest thread was blowing up.

[Wait, false alarm! Cole was speeding to take his wife to the OBGYN. Rumor is she was bleeding. My friend at the hospital said his wife is just a regular civilian. Shows over, everyone.]

[Cole is married? And not to Ivy? My shipper heart is broken!]

[Hey above, don't cry yet! Newest paparazzi shots show Cole at the airport! That pregnant woman is probably just a relative, or some random side piece! Cole swore he would never marry anyone but Ivy.]

My eyes locked onto those cruel words. I couldn't breathe.

Without thinking, I pulled out our marriage certificate, snapped a photo with my burner account, and posted it in the comments. It was a desperate claim of ownership.

The photo was shared instantly.

[That really is his wife! The marriage license got leaked! Fellow shippers, meet me on the roof to jump!]

[Didn't someone say his wife was bleeding? I know this sounds evil, but I really hope she lost the baby. Otherwise, Cole and Ivy really have no chance. Real fans know how much Cole wants kids!]

[Same! Praying the civilian wife miscarries!]

[Hold up. This marriage license is photoshopped! Look closely. Even the seal from the county clerk is wrong! I refuse to believe Cole is a man who breaks his promises!]

Blinded by fury at the toxic comments, I was about to reveal my identity when a notification popped up. Cole had retweeted my photo.

He used his official verified account to share my burner's picture of the marriage license. He added only one word.

"Fake."

As if to prove it, he used a red digital pen to circle the official seal.

I zoomed in. The county clerk's seal was indeed incorrect, slightly blurred and pixelated.

The marriage license Cole and I had framed on our wall... he had forged it?

So, Cole and I weren't even married?

Seconds later, Ivy posted an update on her official account.

"The marriage license is fake. Cole didn't break his vow, guys! But we did break up a long time ago. The Cole/Ivy ship has sailed. Please stop shipping us, it's not fair to the woman he lives with."

"But that doesn't change the fact that Cole will always be the man who treats me best in this world."

The attached photo showed Ivy sitting in the passenger seat of my car, flashing a peace sign at the camera. Next to her was Cole, his eyes focused intently on the road.

I couldn't control the agonizing pain anymore. I dry heaved violently, clutching my stomach as a fierce, tearing pain ripped through my abdomen.

The bleeding this time was much heavier. My vision blurred. I felt like I was dying.

It was 2 AM. My parents were asleep, and I couldn't bear to wake them.

With trembling fingers, I called 911 for an ambulance. Then, I dialed Cole.

If I needed surgery, he was the only emergency contact I had.

"Cole, I'm bleeding again. Please, come home! I need to go to the hospital!"

An annoyed sigh came through the receiver. "Didn't we just get checked out a few hours ago? Everything was fine. Why are you bleeding again?"

"Are you just making up excuses to force me to come home?"

"Sienna, Ivy already posted a clarification online. Stop being so petty. Once I drop her off at a hotel, I'll naturally come home to be with you."

I gritted my teeth, screaming into the phone.

"You choose right now. Keep chauffeuring your ex, or save your unborn child."

"When the baby is gone, don't you dare regret it."

It didn't matter anymore. We weren't married. I didn't plan to keep this child under these circumstances anyway.

But the physical pain was overwhelming. The moment I hung up, I collapsed onto the bed, blacking out from the agony.

When I woke up, Cole was shaking my shoulders.

His face was contorted with anger.

"Sienna, you made me abandon Ivy in the middle of the night just so I could come back and watch you sleep?"

My brain was foggy. I instinctively reached down to check my pajama pants.

Thankfully, the bleeding had slowed. I hadn't bled out.

"I was bleeding heavily," I whispered, exhausted. "I was terrified. The pain made me pass out. I feel a bit better now. I called an ambulance, are they not here yet?"

Cole clenched his jaw. "I sent them away. If you're going to lie, why waste public resources on your little drama? Sienna, since when did you become so manipulative?"

"Fine, you say you're not lying. Where is the blood? Show me the blood!"

The blood was in the toilet. I had flushed it before crawling back to bed.

I stared at the fake marriage license on the nightstand. Cole was rarely this talkative. The more he spoke, the colder my heart grew.

Let him think whatever he wants. I was done explaining.

The standoff was broken by the scent of expensive perfume. A gorgeous woman with long, flowing hair walked into the bedroom, carrying a designer bag and smiling brightly.

"Hi there! You must be Cole's wife! I'm Ivy, his former teammate and ex-girlfriend."

I looked at her outstretched hand and let out a cold laugh.

"You've got the wrong person. I'm not his wife. After all, our marriage license is fake."

A flash of guilt crossed Cole's face. He opened his mouth to explain, but Ivy beat him to it.

"Oh, don't be mad at him! Cole is just stubborn like that, he doesn't know how to bend the rules! I mean, what man can keep every promise he makes for a lifetime? And Cole, really, was that necessary? She's carrying your child, you need to be sweet to her! Women get emotional, especially pregnant ones!"

With just a few words, she painted me as the hysterical, unreasonable one.

Cole cleared his throat.

"I handled the license wrong."

"But don't worry, the fact that we're a couple hasn't changed."

"Once things settle down, we'll go get legally married. I'll explain everything to the public then."

"The post earlier was just to stop people from mocking Ivy. She went missing for seven years, recovering alone in a foreign country. She finally came back to make a comeback, and I didn't want her met with ridicule."

I cut him off, pointing directly at Ivy.

"Get her out of my house."

Cole's face darkened.

"That's enough, Sienna. She has no family, nowhere to go. What's wrong with letting her crash here for a few days?"

"Besides, I was going to help her find a hotel. But you lied to get me back. I had no choice but to bring her with me."

"Ten years ago, she almost died driving a race car because of me. How could I leave her on the side of the road?"

"You're about to be a mother. How can you have zero empathy?"

I pushed myself up and grabbed my coat.

"Fine. The house is yours. I'm leaving. Wish you two the best."

Cole grabbed my wrist.

"Sienna, why do you think I'm standing here right now? I chose you."

"Stop playing the victim."

He shoved me roughly back onto the bed. Without sparing me another glance, he locked the bedroom door, then turned to grab Ivys sleeve.

"Come with me. I'll take you to the guest room."

He still didn't understand. I never wanted to be a choice. I wanted to be the only one.

Outside the door, Ivy laughed.

"I told you I'd be fine alone. Why go through all this trouble?"

"Driving a regular car isn't like driving a race car. It's not that dangerous. Besides, my accident back then was your fault anyway. Who told you to break up with me right before a race?"

"Or... are you regretting it now? Do you want to take back the breakup?"

Both Cole and I froze on opposite sides of the door.