My Childhood Crush Wasn’t the Father of My Baby

At my birthday party, I had an accidental one-night stand with Ethan, the boy next door Id chased for ten years.

When I woke up, he was already getting dressed, looking down at me with cold disgust.

This is a really cheap trick, Chloe.

I looked at the glass of non-alcoholic juice on the nightstand. I didn't explain. I didn't argue.

I just ignored the aching soreness in my body, went straight home, and completely cut off contact with him for three whole months.

The next time I heard from him, his mother had dragged him to my house to ask for a favor.

"Our stubborn boy is finally ready to settle down! They're planning the engagement! Chloe, you majored in interior design, right? Can you help them renovate their new house?"

I froze in the kitchen, spilling the hot soup all over my hand.

My mom happily patted my arm.

"Wait, did you two actually make it work? I always said my girl might not be the smartest, but shes definitely thick-skinned. You actually snatched Ethan!"

The atmosphere instantly turned awkward. Ethans face went pitch black.

"Chloe, is it fun to spread rumors? Even if you lie and say were having a baby, I will still never marry you!"

Both of our mothers froze.

Mrs. Davis immediately apologized, "What nonsense are you talking about? Chloe is a good, respectable girl. Stop acting like a jerk!"

She turned around and slapped Ethan's arm repeatedly.

I took the opportunity to speak up. "It's fine, Mrs. Davis. But I really can't help with the house."

I looked down and gently touched my belly. "I actually am pregnant. Exactly three months."

I smiled and added, "But don't worry, all three of you. The baby isn't Ethan's."

That one sentence felt like a sudden clap of thunder.

Ethan kicked the chair next to him in a rage, gritting his teeth.

"Is it appropriate for you to make this kind of joke right now?"

Under my mom's shocked gaze, I brought out a bowl of chicken soup and sat down at the dining table.

Looking at his furious face, I covered my lower abdomen, completely calm.

"Im not joking. I am pregnant. And it really isn't yours."

Then, I forced a polite, apologetic smile.

"I just found out a few days ago and haven't had the chance to tell everyone. I'm sorry, Mrs. Davis. Youll have to find someone else to design the house."

I stirred my soup and said to my mom, "I asked you to make chicken soup today because the doctor said the baby needs more nutrients."

The air in the room froze. My moms eyes welled with tears, and she couldn't say a word.

Sensing that things were going south, Mrs. Davis awkwardly laughed and dragged Ethan out of the house.

Before he left, Ethan gave me a dark, unreadable look and spat out one last line.

"Even if its true, Ill never take responsibility for it."

The moment they left, my mom slammed her hand on the table.

"I know youve loved Ethan for ten years. But even if youre angry that hes getting engaged, you cant ruin your own reputation like this! You haven't even had a boyfriend. Where would a baby come from?"

I pulled the ultrasound report from my pocket. The words "Pregnancy: 3 Months" completely silenced her.

She closed her eyes in defeat, then suddenly grabbed my wrist as if realizing something.

"I heard what he just said. He said 'even if it's true, he won't take responsibility.' Did something happen between you two? Is this child his?"

I took a sip of the soup and said quietly, "Mom, how many times do I have to say it? The baby really isn't Ethan's."

My mom's hands shook with anger.

"Then tell me who the father is! I'm not against you dating. You're almost thirty, and you always rejected the guys I set you up with. I thought you were set on Ethan forever! But you..."

She looked around and lowered her voice. "But you went and got yourself pregnant without a husband!"

A wave of nausea hit my throat. I stood up and poured the soup down the drain.

As she kept lecturing, I said helplessly, "Ill tell you more when the pregnancy is stable. He knows about the baby, and hes willing to take responsibility."

My mom followed me, her face full of frustration.

"Take responsibility? How? Right now he says he will, but once you actually give birth, hell run away!"

My mind drifted, thinking of how excited a certain someone had been when he found out.

An involuntary smile touched my lips.

He would take responsibility.

The moment he found out I was pregnant, he immediately transferred a million dollars to my account and bought all the baby supplies himself.

At the very least, he was a thousand times more responsible than Ethan.

"Mom, don't worry. Your daughter isn't stupid. I'm going to work now."

I packed my things and went down to the garage.

When I reached my car, I saw Ethan's car blocking my driveway completely.

I instinctively reached into my bag to grab his spare key to move it.

But after rummaging for a bit, I remembered he had taken his keys back the day we started our cold war.

Hesitantly, I pulled out my phone and scrolled to the bottom of my chat list to find his name.

[Can you move your car? I need to go to work.]

The next second, a red exclamation mark flashed on my screen. He had blocked me.

I tapped on his Instagram profile. His profile banner, which had been a sports theme for years, had been replaced by a photo of two hands locked togetheran official relationship announcement.

I let out a bitter laugh and put my phone away.

Right. He took his keys back, so blocking me was only natural.

As I turned to leave, I tripped on something on the ground and almost fell.

My heart leaped into my throat. I grabbed the side mirror of his car to steady myself.

Scattered all over the concrete were things I had left in his car over the years.

There was my winter coat, which I had given him because I was worried hed catch a cold after drinking.

There was a silver cross necklace I had climbed thousands of steps at a cathedral to get for him, just to keep him safe.

And a meticulously packed first-aid kit, in case he got sick...

The rest was just random junklipsticks and fake eyelashes Id accidentally dropped during our hangouts.

If the person didn't matter to him, then her things were just trash to be thrown away.

Through the passenger window, I saw the front seat had been decorated beautifully.

There was a pink cushion, a cute plushie tied to the headrest, and a toy steering wheel on the dashboard.

In the past, whenever I tried to put a small keychain in his car, he would throw it out.

"If you put something so girly in here, people will think I have a girlfriend," he used to say.

My eyes burned. So this was the special treatment saved only for an official girlfriend.

I bent down, threw all my old belongings into the trash can, and called an Uber.

As soon as I sat down, my high school bestie, Lily, called me, screaming through the phone.

"Chloe! That jerk Ethan is getting engaged!"

Hearing the news again, I was much calmer. "Yeah, I just found out."

"Did you see his Instagram? We were all terrified! He never posts anything, and today he uploaded five different posts! We thought the bride was you! But it turns out..."

I didn't want to hear it, so I cut her off. "Want to hear something even more shocking?"

Lily asked instantly, "What?"

A gentle smile crept onto my face. "I'm pregnant. You're going to be a godmother!"

"What?!"

"I'm not lying. Exactly three months."

I sent her a picture of the ultrasound. She sounded like she was about to cry with excitement.

"I thought you were going to be stuck on Ethan for the rest of your life. I was literally just about to tell you to stop running into that brick wall. But look at you! You got pregnant! That's amazing!"

"Quick, tell me! Who's the dad?"

I kept it a mystery. "In a few days, when he's done with his business trip, you'll be the first person to meet him."

She happily agreed, and we hung up after chatting about baby prep.

Right after I sat down at my desk, Lily posted on her Snapchat:

[Thank God! My bestie Chloe is pregnant! I'm going to be a godmother!]

I was about to message her to tell her to keep it on the down-low.

But the next second, Ethan, who had been completely MIA, commented:

[? Are you playing along with her little drama now?]

Lily clapped back instantly: [People without kids shouldn't interfere with those of us who do! Are you blind? Can't you see the hospital's official stamp on the report?]

The frustration that had been building up in my chest was mostly cleared by Lilys reply.

I hummed a little tune and spent a busy afternoon working.

Later, I took a picture of the soothing flowers a certain someone had sent to my office and posted it on my Snapchat story:

[It feels so good to have someone caring for me.]

Out of nowhere, Ethan left a comment:

[Is lying to yourself that comforting? Just don't go around telling people I sent those to you.]

In his eyes, I was that worthless.

I didn't reply.

While waiting for my ride after work, a familiar car pulled up right in front of me.

A frustrated Ethan rolled down the window. "Get in."

I stood still. "I called an Uber."

"I'm not asking. Get in."

Sighing, I cancelled my ride.

I instinctively walked to the passenger side, but after he glared at me, I quietly got into the back seat.

Ethan drove incredibly fast. The wind cut through the open window like a knife.

While waiting at a red light, he habitually pulled out a cigarette, but after glancing at my flat stomach through the rearview mirror, he put it away.

"You can't keep this baby. I can compensate you for what happened that night, but I won't be responsible for a child's future."

I gently stroked my belly, my heart aching.

"You make it sound like I forced myself on you that night. Let me say it again: I don't need you to take responsibility, and the baby isn't yours."

Ethan swore under his breath and slammed his hand on the steering wheel, honking the horn loudly.

"You're still acting at a time like this? I don't think you have enough charm to make any other guy look at you."

He looked at me through the rearview mirror, his eyes filled with endless mockery.

My pale, tired face was reflected in the window. I didn't care to argue with him.

Since we were kids, Ethan was always the golden boy. He was tall, handsome, studious, and great at sports.

The girls chasing him could line up from our doorsteps to the school gates. Even my breakfasts were supplied by his fangirls.

Because I looked so average, they collectively agreed that I wasn't a threat.

When I first started passing their love letters to him, Ethan was shocked.

"Hey, why are you giving me these? I don't like you, don't do this."

Wearing my thick glasses, I told him honestly, "I didn't write them. Someone else asked me to give them to you."

"Good." He let out a long sigh of relief. "Let me make this clear. Don't get any ideas about me. To me, you're basically genderless."

I felt a pang of sadness, but I still spent the next three years quietly following behind him.

It wasn't until high school, when we were in the same class, that things changed.

After his basketball games, he would walk a long way just to ask for my water bottle.

"Give me a sip. I'm dying of thirst."

The setting sun hit his sweaty face, making him look incredibly bright.

For the first time, my ears flushed red, and I refused.

"Why not? Don't be so stingy to your bro."

He unreasonable snatched it away and gulped it down.

When I got the bottle back, I hid in a corner where no one was looking and took a sip from where his lips had touched.

That was the moment I realized I liked him.

But he didn't like me.

I started caring about my appearance, tried taking off my glasses, and clumsily put on makeup that made me look like a clown.

He mocked me mercilessly. "So ugly."

Later, I intentionally threw away over fifty points on my SATs just to make sure I went to college in the same city as him.

I played games of Truth or Dare just to confess to him under the guise of a joke. I threw drunken tantrums and dropped hints constantly.

But all I got in return was his disdain and malicious teasing from our mutual friends.

The final straw was at my birthday party three months ago.

I had gone out to buy cold medicine for him, and when I returned to the private room, I heard his friends making bets through the door:

"Ethan, do you think Chloe is going to find another chance to confess to you tonight? How many times has it been? At least ten thousand times, right?"

Ethans lips curved into a slight smirk.

"No matter how many times she hints at it, I'll just play dumb. After all, shes great for everythingexcept being a girlfriend."

My hand froze in mid-air. I completely lost the courage to push the door open.

That was the first time I didn't try to drop clumsy hints.

In fact, after the party ended, he looked uncomfortable, grabbed my arm, and asked if I had anything to say to him.

I shook my head. He then dragged me to a hotel, almost out of spite, saying he wanted to clear things up.

And after that, he woke up, got dressed in disgust, and cut me off.

A sudden, violent screech of brakes pulled me back to reality. The car had stopped in the underground garage of his apartment building.

I thought about it and decided to tell him the truth about that night.

"Ethan, that night, we didn't actually"

Before I could finish the words "do anything," he pushed the door open and ran off without looking back.

"Victoria, don't be scared. I'll be right there. Wait for me."

He left so decisively, leaving me locked in the back seat, helplessly banging on the window for help.

Only then did I realize who "Victoria" was.

She was the elegant senior who was the only girl to ever reject him.

I waited and waited until midnight, knowing he wouldn't come back.

Now that his dream girl was back, how could he let me ruin his mood?

I wanted to call Lily for help.

But I was afraid Ethan would think I was making a big deal out of nothing and make his dream girl misunderstand.

In the end, from the lack of oxygen in the car, I fainted.

...

When I woke up again, the white walls and the smell of disinfectant surrounded me.

The room was noisy. Mrs. Davis was screaming at Ethan.

"Do you even have a heart? You knew Chloe was pregnant, and you left her locked in the car all night? If anything happens to the baby, you're dead to me!"

My mom was angry, too, but she tried to keep the peace. "Alright, alright. She's fine now. The baby is still small."

I coughed twice, cutting them off.

My mom immediately rushed to my bedside, her eyes full of worry.

"Chloe, are you feeling better? The doctor said you're weak. It was hard to save the baby, so don't put yourself in danger anymore, okay?"

Every word she said was a jab at Ethan's carelessness.

Mrs. Davis looked extremely embarrassed, but she forced a smile. "Yes, Chloe, you need to take care of your body. I won't let this brat bother you anymore."

It sounded a bit like I was the one clinging to her son.

I weakly turned my head away, but Ethan cut his mother off.

"I was the one who went looking for Chloe. Stop being passive-aggressive."

He awkwardly stepped closer and held a bowl of soup to my lips.

I pulled away, refusing to take a single sip.

He got annoyed and slammed the bowl onto the table. "If you don't drink it, don't blame me if something happens to the kid!"

I was almost amused by his words. He had been insisting the child had nothing to do with him.

So what was this act supposed to be now?

Mrs. Daviss expression hardened behind him, and she looked at me with a hint of displeasure.

I said quietly, "The baby has a father. You don't need to worry about it."

Ethan's face darkened by several shades.

"You're in your first trimester, so I won't argue with you. I bought all the baby supplies based on online guides. Take care of yourself."

I looked at the corner of the room, which was piled high with baby clothes, strollers, and toys.

Ethan was still misunderstanding.

Since everyone was here, it was the perfect time to explain everything clearly, so a certain someone wouldn't get jealous.

But before I could speak, a slender, beautiful figure walked into the room.