The Pregnancy Test Lie That Ruined Us Novel – Chapter 1 At the birthday party, we were playing Truth or Dare. The loser had to call an opposite-sex friend and say, “I’m pregnant.” Julia Collins dialed someone saved in her phone as [Honey] right in front of me. The next second, my husband’s phone lit up. One drunk friend jeered, “Howard, don’t you guys ever use protection?” He hit decline, chuckling, “If she really was carrying my kid, my wife would drag her to a clinic first thing tomorrow.” I felt my eyes narrow, pinning on Julia’s stomach. A hot, hard knot of suspicion tightened in my gut. “No need to wait until tomorrow. I could take care of that right now.” Howard froze for a beat before forcing a laugh. “Can’t you see I’m just kidding?” I smashed a beer bottle against the table, glass splintering in my hand as I curled my lip. “I’m not kidding.” The sharp crack of glass sliced through the air, and a heavy silence descended over the table. Howard Garcia didn’t even catch my last words, but instinct had him rising to shield Julia from the venom in my stare. “Babe, it’s your birthday.
Everyone’s here to celebrate—why stir up drama?” “I’ll give you one chance. Explain.” Howard suddenly lost his calm composure. With a sweep of his arm, he knocked my birthday cake to the floor. “Explain what? It was a stupid game! What’s there to explain? Are you happy now, throwing a fit like this?” Howard was usually calm even when the world was on fire. Yet the moment I pushed a little, he snapped. Classic guilty conscience. Cake at a birthday party was nothing new, but I felt a wave of nausea just from seeing the sticky mess of cake on my shoes. Julia grinned at my disheveled state, unable to hide her glee. She whooped and waved others over. “Come on, guys! Cake fight!” She scooped a handful of frosting off the floor and smeared it across my face. “Relax, Sierra. It’s just a nickname. I’ve been calling Howard ‘honey for over ten years. Don’t tell me you’re jealous over a contact name?” Clinging to Howard’s neck, she teased, “Honey, back me up here!” Howard smiled indulgently, dabbing frosting on her nose. “Better change it.
Otherwise, my wife might blow a gasket.” Julia pouted. “Change it? Why? Sierra isn’t petty like you make her sound. Besides, that contact name keeps all the sleazy guys away. Saves me a ton of trouble!” “Sierra, as a woman yourself, you get it, right? It’s exhausting being harassed by creeps.” Howard shot me a quick look, then answered for me. “Fine, keep it. You’ve called me that for years anyway.” The two of them glossed over the “pregnancy” joke entirely, pretending my shattered bottle was about nothing more than a silly nickname. A laugh ripped from my throat, brittle as ice. Josh Smiths, the loudmouth who’d started the joke, looked suddenly sober. He plastered on a grin and tried to smooth things over. “Sierra, I was drunk and talking nonsense. If you’re mad, take it out on me instead.” I chuckled, shaking my head. “Why would I be mad at you?” If anything, I owed him thanks. His drunken slip had exposed the cracks between Howard and Julia. Seeing I wasn’t lashing out, the others all relaxed in relief. Julia grew bolder, bragging, “Sierra, that contact name goes way back.
Over ten years ago, Howard made me call him husband. He’s the one who put that name in my phone.” In the next second, my hand lashed out. “Aah!” Julia cried out as my broken bottle carved a long gash down her arm. The entire room froze. Everyone but Howard. He moved instantly, pressing her wound, blowing on it, murmuring reassurances. Not the Howard I knew, the one who fainted at the sight of blood. When he finished patching her up, he shot me a glare colder than ice. “Sierra, unbelievable.
You’re seriously getting violent over a party game? Apologize to Julia. Now.” I shook my head. Julia hissed in pain but still tugged on his sleeve. “Come on, Howard, don’t be like that. It’s Sierra’s birthday. If she wants to mess with me, I’ll take it. My skin’s thick. I’ll be fine in a couple days.” Her words only deepened the frost in Howard’s eyes. “Apologize. Don’t make me force you.” My phone buzzed, and without sparing him another glance, I answered, “Room 308. Bring it up now.”