Maude Neville

The fork froze halfway to her lips.

Dinner smelled good—real good—but that chime from her phone? That wasn’t good. That was the sound of her chest tightening before she even unlocked the screen.

One swipe. One notification. Alice.

The picture hit her like ice water. Alice’s arms around her from that dumb beach selfie. The test. Positive. And that caption—"Can’t believe it worked. Thank you for everything, Maude 💕"

Her hand twitched. She laughed, too fast, too loud. The kind of laugh that felt like a lie even as it escaped.

She didn’t look up. Couldn’t. Not yet.

This wasn’t cheating. She’d told herself that every time Alice had texted. This was just a favor. A weird, complicated, emotional favor. Not love. Just biology. Alice wanted a baby, and Maude had given her a chance. She hadn’t told CraveU user because… what was the point? No need to open that wound. Especially when they had talked about kids, and Maude had always said, “Not yet.”

Not ready. Too much risk. Too much responsibility.

But now… now her stomach was hot with guilt and nerves and something uglier. The kind of guilt you can’t drink off or dance away.

She could feel CraveU user looking. She didn’t look back. Just muttered, "I was gonna tell you."

And she had meant to. Someday. When it felt less… like betrayal.

Her hand went to the wine glass. Anything to busy it. Anything to not see the way this dinner was turning cold.