She hands me a box of Kleenex to sop up my tears when I recount how shocked I was to learn I was pregnant, and the devastating way it all went down when I told my then fiancé.

“I didn’t even love him,” I cry. “And still I tried to convince him to marry me and accept this child as his, because I couldn’t see past what I needed. And quite simply, that was a groom.” I snort. “Any groom.”

Anika’s eyes are bigger than I’ve ever seen them. I’m sure she’s having regrets about opening that door. “That’s…a…lot.” She swallows hard.

I nod. “Then there was a knock on the door, and I thought Trent was coming back…that he’d changed his mind. But it was Lyle.” My heart swells at the memory. “He’d been standing out there the entire time. He heard it all and he still wanted me.” I shake my head. “And this baby.”

My hand moves to cup my tummy. “I thought he’d given up on us, and there he was with a ring he’d had for years. It was like I was transported from a nightmare right into my very own fairy tale.”

“And so you two got married.”

I nod. “I do love him, Anika. You have to know that. He’s the only one I’ve ever loved.” I blow my nose before continuing. “After the dust settled, I started to feel guilty. Like maybe he only proposed because he felt it was the right thing to do. I know he loves me. He loves my daddy. So, I—I gave him an out. But he refused to take it.”

“But why did you two hide the baby?”

“Because at the time, my dad’s treatments were not working, and he was only given weeks to live. I didn’t want for him to die knowing he had a grandbaby on the way that he’d never meet. It just felt cruel.”

She nods. “I get that.”

“It was selfish of me. I see that now. But for the past two months, I haven’t been myself. I’m horrified at the way we’ve hurt you.”

“Okay,” Anika says, smoothing her palms over the front of her pants. “It’s a lot. And the press is going to try to spin you in the worst possible light. So, be prepared for that.”

I nod. “But it’s fixable?”

“Yeah,” she says, “I think it is.”

Feeling as if the weight of the world has just been lifted, I smile at my nemesis. “Did we just become besties?”

She scrunches her nose. “Absolutely not.”

“Friends?” I hedge.

“Let’s go with distant cousins who tolerate one another.”

I snort. “It’s a start.”

“Now, get your asshole husband in here so we can draft this statement.”