Emily and I had just walked out of the doctor’s office, our hearts soaring after hearing the steady, rhythmic sound of our baby’s heartbeat for the first time. The excitement, the pure joy—it was almost too much to contain. I couldn’t stop grinning as we made our way to the car, our fingers intertwined, our future full of promise.
Then we reached the car.
My smile vanished. My heart stalled.
Scrawled across the driver’s side door, in large, furious letters, were the words: “Hope She Was Worth It.”
It felt like the ground had been yanked from beneath me.
I froze, my mind scrambling to make sense of what I was seeing. “What the hell?” I muttered under my breath, barely able to process it.
Emily’s face went pale. She turned to me, her expression unreadable, but her eyes—her eyes were filled with hurt, doubt, confusion.
“Emily, I swear on everything—I have never cheated,” I said, my voice trembling with urgency. I could feel her gaze locked on me, searching for any trace of dishonesty.
She didn’t yell. She didn’t accuse. The silence between us was suffocating, and that terrified me more than anything.
“I didn’t write it,” she finally said, her voice shaky. She exhaled sharply before adding, “So who did? And why?”
I had no answer. I couldn’t begin to understand it.
Emily pulled out her phone and called her mom, never taking her eyes off the message. When she hung up, she turned to me.
“I… I need to go. My mom’s coming to get me.”
Watching her leave, tears shimmering in her eyes as she stepped into her mother’s car, gutted me. It felt like a knife twisting deeper with every second.
I stood there for what felt like forever, alone, staring at those words—words that had burned their way into my mind.
That evening, I was outside, scrubbing at the hateful message with everything I had left in me. The paint clung stubbornly to the metal, but my emotions were even more relentless. The anger, the heartbreak, the confusion—they boiled over. I needed to erase those words. I needed to make them disappear.
Then, behind me, I heard footsteps.
“Don’t bother thanking me,” a familiar voice said, laced with sarcasm. “You’re welcome.”
I turned and froze.
Standing there, smug as ever, was Matt—Emily’s brother.
“What the hell is this?” I demanded, my voice rising with disbelief.
Matt’s smirk didn’t waver. He crossed his arms, watching me like he had all the power.
“Did you really think I’d let you have my sister after what you did?” he sneered.
I stared at him, completely thrown. “What are you even talking about?”
“Oh, come on.” He shook his head like I was an idiot. “I saw how close you two were. She’s sweet, too trusting. Thought she was better than me.” He let out a dark chuckle.
The realization crashed into me like a freight train.
“You… you did this?” I asked, my voice cracking.
Matt nodded, his expression cold. “Of course I did. I was protecting her. From you.”
A chill ran through me as the weight of his words sank in. “You wrote that? Just to break us up?”
He didn’t flinch. “It was the only way to make her see the truth. You don’t deserve her. You never did.”
Everything I’d been holding back—my anger, my disbelief—came surging forward. “You don’t get to decide that. You don’t know a damn thing about what’s between me and Emily.”
Matt stepped closer, his smirk still in place. “Doesn’t matter. She’ll figure it out eventually. I did her a favor.”
I was shaking with rage. But beneath it, something inside me shifted. This wasn’t just about some words on a car. This was about Matt’s insecurities—his twisted need to control everything.
Without another word, I turned and walked inside, my hands unsteady as I grabbed my phone. I knew what I had to do.
I called Emily. The line rang a few times before she answered, her voice hesitant, uncertain.
“Emily…” I swallowed hard. “You need to know the truth. Matt did this. He’s the one who wrote that message on the car.”
A long silence stretched between us. I could hear her struggling to hold back tears.
“I’ll explain everything, I promise,” I said, desperation creeping into my voice. “Just… please listen to me.”
The silence felt endless, until finally, she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. “I need time to think. I don’t know what to believe right now.”
“Please,” I pleaded. “Don’t let him win. I love you. I’ve never, ever betrayed you.”
I heard her shaky breath on the other end. Then, after what felt like an eternity, she said, “I’ll be home soon.”
As I hung up, my heart pounded with both hope and fear. Matt had tried to tear us apart, but now, it was up to Emily to decide what to do with the truth. And I was ready to fight for us—no matter what.