Chapter 2: The Woman Behind the Lie
Nobody moved.
The restaurant suddenly felt too small.
The same people who had been taking pictures of Claire’s baby bump minutes earlier were now staring at the clear package in Daniel’s hand.
My brother looked like he had forgotten how to breathe.
“Claire,” he said quietly.
She didn’t answer.
“Tell me this isn’t what it looks like.””
Claire crossed her arms.
“You’re really doing this here?””
Daniel looked around the room.
“My wife is wearing a fake pregnancy belly.””
His voice cracked on the last word.
A few relatives looked away.
Nobody wanted to admit they had been fooled.
Claire stepped closer.
“Daniel, listen to me.””
“No. You listen to me.””
I had never heard my brother sound like that.
Not angry.
Not even loud.
Just broken.
“You told me our baby was growing inside you.””
Claire’s eyes filled with tears.
“And you think this proves everything?””
She pointed at Sophie.
“You’re trusting a child who doesn’t understand what she saw over your wife?””
Sophie buried her face against my side.
I wrapped my arm around her.
“Don’t involve my daughter.””
Claire looked at me.
“You brought her into this.””
“I asked her a question.””
“And she accused me.””
Daniel looked at the label again.
“Why does this exist, Claire?””
She hesitated.
Just for a second.
But everyone noticed.
“I bought it for a joke.””
Nobody believed her.
“A joke?”” Daniel repeated.
“Yes.””
“What kind of joke requires a fake pregnancy stomach?””
Claire opened her mouth, but no answer came.
My aunt whispered, “Oh my God.””
Daniel walked toward the table and placed the package down.
“When did you buy this?””
Claire looked away.
“Daniel…”
“When?””
“Months ago.””
The room erupted with whispers.
Months ago.
That was before the baby announcement.
Before the ultrasound pictures.
Before the nursery.
I felt a cold feeling settle in my stomach.
“Daniel,” I said carefully, “what about the doctor appointments?””
Claire looked at me.
“Don’t.””
But Daniel turned.
“What doctor appointments?””
The silence was immediate.
I realized from his face that he didn’t know.
Claire’s expression changed.
“I told you not to do this here.””
“You told me you had appointments every other week.””
“I did.””
“With who?””
She looked at him.
“With my doctor.””
“What’s the doctor’s name?””
Her lips parted.
No words came out.
Daniel stepped back.
The man who had spent the entire afternoon showing people pictures of a crib suddenly looked like he was meeting his wife for the first time.
A memory flashed through my mind.
Two months earlier, Claire had asked me something strange.
She had called me late at night, crying.
She said she was scared.
At the time, I thought she meant she was scared about becoming a mother.
Now I wasn’t sure.
After everyone left the restaurant, Daniel asked Claire to come home with him and talk.
Claire refused.
“I need space.””
Daniel stared at her.
“Space from your husband?””
She didn’t answer.
She just walked out.
That night, Daniel called me.
His voice sounded empty.
“She’s been lying to me.””
“I don’t know that yet.””
“Yes, you do.””
“Daniel…”
“I found something else.””
I sat up in bed.
“What?””
He was quiet for several seconds.
Then he said:
“I checked the pregnancy app she had on her phone.””
My heart started racing.
“And?””
“She never entered a due date.””
I didn’t know what to say.
Because that meant the lie wasn’t something Claire had accidentally created.
It was something she had carefully built.
Then Daniel sent me a picture.
A screenshot from Claire’s phone.
And beneath the fake pregnancy tracking app was a message from an unknown number.
The message was only six words long.
May you like
But those six words changed everything.
*“The delivery date is almost here.””*
