My Bestie Has My Infertile Husband's Kid

At my best friend Naomi Dodson's Sip and See, my husband, Joe Walsh, gifts her a luxury villa. I think it's a mix-up, but he stays deadly calm. "Naomi's baby is mine. The villa is her reward." The world goes cold around me. Desperate, I push for answers. "When did this start?" He knit his brows, annoyed. "Does it matter? You're still Mrs. Walsh. You get the money, the freedom, and a kid without the birth pains. What's not to like?" What he doesn't know is that he has severe azoospermia. I am never the infertile one. He is. Chapter 1 Lilly's POV My best friend, Naomi Dodson, grabbed my arm with a look of guilt. "Lilly, I know this is hard for you to accept, but you can't have kids. If anyone's going to carry his child, wouldn't you rather it be me? "You said it yourself back then. What's yours is mine. To tell you the truth, Joe and I slept together the night after you said that five years ago." I froze. Five years ago, on my wedding day, Naomi stood beside me as my maid of honor. Joe Walsh and I exchanged our vows by the ocean, promising forever. Back then, Naomi was drowning in debt. I handed over all my wedding gifts to help her out. When she hesitated to accept, I tried to reassure her by telling her that what was mine was hers. I never imagined that she would sleep with the man I loved most that very night. A cold numbness spread through my chest. I couldn't even remember how I walked out of there. Five years of a loving marriage suddenly felt like a sick joke. By the time Joe got back, the house was a total wreck. There was no blowout fight. He just walked over and pulled me into his arms, like he always did when we fought, gently soothing me by my ear, "Are you hurt? Look at you, acting like a child…" As he said that, he kissed my ear gently. For a split second, I thought the whole day had just been a nightmare. I thought I was awake now, and we were still the happy couple we'd always been. Then his next words shattered the delusion. "Naomi said the baby's been crying all night. I'm going to Northia Villa to spend some time with them. Don't worry. You're still the one I love. Naomi's just the mother of my child, nothing more. "If you truly can't accept this, you two can just stay out of each other's way. One in the south, and one in the north." "Why?" I stared at him, forcing out every word. "Why did you sleep with her on our wedding night?" Joe stroked my hair and replied gently, "It was an accident at first. I had too much to drink… And later… Well, you two might be best friends, but you're completely different in bed. You're just so uptight, Lilly. "Plus, you're always throwing fits. Every time we fought, Naomi was the one comforting me." He had a nostalgic, dreamy look in his eyes as he spoke. My mind flashed back to our second year together. Joe had been out drinking with clients until 5:00 am. He refused to check into a hotel, insisting on coming home. He told me he was afraid he might slip up with another woman if he stayed out. He swore back then that I was his one and only and that he'd never touch another soul. But now, he was sleeping with my best friend. The realization hollowed me out. I couldn't even bring myself to cry. Joe's phone buzzed with an incoming call labeled "Client". Instead of answering, he turned back to me. "Alright, you've had your moment. Go shopping if you're still mad. Naomi and the baby are waiting for me. "The kid's too young to grow up without a father. Lilly, I know you wouldn't want another child to grow up the way you did, right?" My eyes went wide with fury. He knew Dad abandoned me for his mistress when I was three. Growing up without a dad was my deepest wound, and he was rubbing salt right into it. "Joe… I want a divorce." It took every ounce of my strength to get those words out. Joe just looked at me and laughed. Chapter 2 "Divorce? Lilly Carter, even if you're jealous of a child, this isn't a joke you should be making. You're 32, you've got no family, and you can't even bear children. If you leave me, who else would take you in? Where would you even go?" Joe mocked. Without waiting for my reaction, he turned and walked out. I sat there frozen, lost in a daze. When I finally snapped out of it, Naomi's new post caught my eye. "Look at this househusband. Right through the door and straight into the kitchen." Attached was a photo of Joe busy at the stove. My heart twisted painfully all over again. Joe was a picky eater. In our five years of marriage, I stayed home full-time just to cater to his palate. Yet in all those years, he had never once made me even a bowl of oatmeal. I'd always assumed he grew up spoiled and simply didn't know how to cook. Now I realized that he just didn't care enough to do it for me. The next morning, barely after dawn, Naomi showed up at my doorstep carrying a food container. "Lilly, I made ravioli to apologize. Please stop being mad, okay?" Joe walked in right behind her. "Lilly, learn to forgive. Naomi stayed up all night making the ravioli for you." Anyone who didn't know the truth would think I was the one being unreasonable. "Oh, Joe, I ordered some flowers for Lilly too. Could you grab them from the car?" Naomi gave a sweet smile, but the moment Joe stepped out, her expression turned cold. "Lilly Carter, you really have no shame. How do you still have the nerve to cling to Joe? "If I were you, I'd pack up and get out of town overnight. A useless dead weight has no business holding onto that title. You're just as pathetic as that mother of yours who got dumped by your dad—" "Keep my mom out of your mouth!" When Mom was alive, she treated Naomi like her own daughter. I couldn't believe Naomi was actually saying this. At my reaction, Naomi smirked. "Why shouldn't I talk about her? She was pathetic. Where'd a single woman like her get all that money to raise you? She probably did filthy things behind closed doors. "If you ask me, she got what was coming to her. All that dirty business caught up to her in the end. Uterine cancer, my ass. It was a shameful disease— I had reached my limit and almost lunged at her. Before my hand even touched her, she clutched her stomach and collapsed onto the floor. Joe walked in carrying the flowers, catching the entire scene. "Joe…" Naomi put on a picture of pure helplessness. "I was just telling Lilly that since we're best friends, if she's willing, we could raise the baby together. "And if she's not, I'd gladly give the baby to her and disappear forever, as long as she stops hating me. But she pushed me… and said… and said…" Naomi started sobbing, gasping for air. "What did she say?" Joe shielded her fiercely in his arms. "She said our baby is a bastard and that she'd never raise a bastard… She said bastards don't live long and that the baby will catch a terminal illness and die a horrible death… I know I messed up, but the baby is innocent…" A searing heat burst across my face, followed by a sharp ringing in my ears. It took me a second to realize Joe had slapped me so hard my entire body reeled to the side. The rage in his eyes was undeniable. "Lilly Carter, I never realized you could be so vile to curse a child! What did my baby ever do to you?" I tried to explain, but it was too late. Joe grabbed me roughly and forced me down right in front of Naomi. "Apologize to Naomi right now." As I struggled, my head slammed into the edge of the steps. Blood gushed out instantly, but Joe didn't even blink. In the end, it was Naomi who broke the silence. "Forget it, Joe. We came here to apologize. Let's not make a scene." As she said that, she pulled out the box of ravioli from her bag. "How about this? Have Lilly eat this box of ravioli, and we'll call it even for what happened today." It wasn't until Joe forced those ravioli into my mouth that I finally understood why Naomi said that. Chapter 3 The ravioli filling was packed with shattered glass. Every time I swallowed, it felt like thousands of needles were ripping through my throat. I gagged, spitting out the ravioli, and glared at Naomi. "Is mixing glass into the ravioli your idea of an apology?" Joe looked at my agony in confusion, then turned to Naomi for answers. Right on cue, tears welled up in Naomi's eyes. She collapsed limp against Joe's chest. "I didn't… Joe watched me make the ravioli the entire time. How could there be glass in them? "Lilly, I came here to genuinely apologize. Why are you making up such a flimsy lie to frame me? Do the baby and I really have to die for you to forgive me?" With just a few words from Naomi, Joe had already pronounced me guilty. "Lilly, I am so disappointed in you… You are apologizing to Naomi today whether you like it or not." My mind suddenly drifted back to years ago. Not long after we got married, I visited his office, and his secretary accused me of ruining her documents on purpose. While I stood there helpless, Joe stepped in and fired the secretary right in front of everyone. Back then, he had said, "I will always trust my wife, no matter what." Now, the person he trusted unconditionally was someone else. "I didn't do anything wrong! Why the hell should I apologize?" I screamed through the searing pain in my chest. My defiance seemed to snap something in Joe. Like a man possessed, he forced the ravioli back into my mouth. It wasn't until I spat up a mouthful of blood that he snapped back to reality. "Lilly, what's wrong with you?" His voice shook. But I didn't even have the strength to answer him. Right before darkness took over, I heard Joe yelling frantically, "Call an ambulance! Hurry!" … When I opened my eyes again, Joe's anxious face was the first thing I saw. But the moment he spoke, his words cut like a blade. "I know you're mad at me and Naomi, but you shouldn't hurt yourself just to frame her." I opened my mouth to speak, only to realize no sound came out. Maybe the glass shredded my vocal cords, or maybe it was something else. Either way, I was completely mute. Realizing something was wrong, Joe rushed out to grab a doctor. The moment he left, Naomi leaned down and whispered into my ear, "Wondering why you can't speak? I poisoned the ravioli. Too bad you can't say a word, and Joe wouldn't believe you anyway. Oh, Lilly, you're just like that pathetic mother of yours, born to suffer." I snapped. Gathering every ounce of strength left in my body, I shoved her away. She flashed me a triumphant smirk before tumbling onto the floor. Blood began to seep out from between her legs. Joe walked back into the room right in time to see her fall. He instantly scooped Naomi into his arms and bolted out. Before slamming the door, he glared at me and said viciously, "If anything happens to Naomi, I'll make you pay." The doctors said Naomi suffered a severe secondary hemorrhage triggered by physical trauma so soon after giving birth. Joe pinned all the blame on me. "You two are best friends! How could you be so cruel? Lilly, you're a monster…" He pointed a finger at my face, screaming accusations. I just sat there, utterly numb. I pulled out my phone and typed a single message. "I've made up my mind. Send someone to pick me up ASAP." The message had barely gone through when a doctor rushed in, announcing that the hospital's blood bank was running low and Naomi urgently needed a transfusion. "Take hers!" Joe didn't hesitate for a single second. A thick needle pierced my vein, and my blood began to drain away. I looked at Joe in total despair, but he only said coldly, "You owe this to Naomi." I had no idea how many vials of blood they drew. All I knew was that my vision was growing dimmer by the second. Afterward, they discarded me in the ward like trash. I pulled up Joe's infertility diagnosis on my phone and used the last of my strength to hit send. "Joe, consider this my final gift to you," I thought.