When Mischa’s trusted family friend violates her deepest secret, she must choose between protecting someone she once knew well or standing up for herself. In a world where betrayal wears a familiar face, Mischa learns that forgiveness doesn’t erase consequences… and some stories must be told on your own terms, no matter the cost.
When I found out I was pregnant, I wasn’t ready to tell anyone. Not my friends. Not my family. I just wanted to keep it between my boyfriend, my doctor, and myself.
I was 20. Still figuring out who I was. Still making peace with the fact that adulthood doesn’t come with a manual. A baby? Goodness me. It felt both terrifying and beautiful. Like standing at the edge of a cliff with your arms open.
A pensive young woman | Source: Midjourney
So, I made an appointment at one of the best OB-GYN offices in town. It was clean, professional, and discreet. It was exactly what I needed.
Or so I thought.
When I walked into the waiting room, my heart stopped for a second.
Behind the reception desk, flipping through paperwork like it was any normal Tuesday, stood Monica, an old friend of my mom’s.
The interior of an OB/GYN office | Source: Midjourney
I froze in the doorway, my heart lodging somewhere between my ribs and my throat. I did remember her from when we were younger though. Monica used to basically live in our home. Visiting all the time. I hadn’t seen her in years but I knew they still texted occasionally. Christmas cards. Birthday wishes. The occasional “we must catch up” lunch that never actually happened.
The air in the waiting room felt too sharp, like breathing in tacks. I told myself not to panic. Monica wasn’t just a receptionist anymore, she was a medical assistant now. She’d know better… she had to.
Right?
A medical professional looking at a clipboard | Source: Midjourney
Confidentiality was everything in healthcare.
Surely, she would be professional.
Surely.
I filled out the clipboard with shaking hands, feeling her eyes flicker toward me and then away, polite but not oblivious. Every fibre of my body screamed that this wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.
A young woman sitting in a doctor’s room | Source: Midjourney
I went through the appointment trying to block it all out, the tension in my shoulders, the tight ache under my skin.
Instead, I focused on the doctor’s kind voice. The cold gel smeared across my belly. The faint, miraculous thud-thud of a heartbeat emerging from the static. Tiny. Fragile. Real.
Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as the grainy shape appeared on the monitor.
A life. A beginning.
A doctor standing in her office | Source: Midjourney
Something so impossibly mine that it made my chest hurt with a strange, wild kind of love. I clutched the ultrasound photo on the drive home, holding it against my chest like a fragile secret, emotions swirling too fast to name.
And when I opened the front door, my mom was already there.
Beaming. Congratulating me loudly. Throwing her arms around me like it was Christmas morning, her voice bubbling with excitement I couldn’t match.
“You’re going to be such a good mom, Mischa! I’m so happy for you! My baby is having a baby!” she gushed, squeezing me tighter.
A smiling woman standing in a doorway | Source: Midjourney
The room tilted sideways, the walls pressing in.
I hadn’t said anything yet.
I hadn’t even decided if I wanted to tell her today. Or tomorrow. Or next week. I hadn’t even had time to process the reality myself, let alone share it.
A pensive young woman standing in a living room | Source: Midjourney
My mom kept talking, oblivious to the way my hands hung limply at my sides. She floated between baby names, crib shopping, nursery colors… all the while I stood frozen, the blood draining from my face, my heartbeat hammering somewhere near my throat.
Somewhere between “maybe Emma if it’s a girl?” and “I have the old bassinet in the garage,” I found my voice.
It came out thin and brittle.
A baby bassinet in a garage | Source: Midjourney
“Mom,” I interrupted, swallowing hard. “How… how did you know?”
She blinked at me, confused, almost amused.
“Darling, Monica texted me, of course!”
A smiling woman in a living room | Source: Midjourney
Just like that.
Casual. Cheerful. Oblivious.
Monica had reached out and ripped away my most personal moment before I even made it home.
I mumbled something about needing the bathroom and stumbled down the hall, locking the door behind me.
The cold tiles pressed against my bare feet. I sank onto the closed toilet lid, pressing my trembling hands into my forehead, willing the spinning in my head to stop.
A young woman standing in a bathroom | Source: Midjourney
A deep, hollow ache ballooned inside my chest, swallowing everything else.
It wasn’t just gossip. It wasn’t just excitement. It was a violation. It was my life and someone else had decided that they had the right to announce it for me.
Every fear I’d carefully tucked away, judgment, pressure, losing control of my own story… came roaring up at once, crashing through the thin walls I’d tried so hard to build around myself.
An upset woman | Source: Midjourney
I wasn’t ready to shout my pregnancy from the rooftops.
I wasn’t ready for advice, for sidelong glances, for whispers behind my back about “the poor young girl who ruined her life.” I wasn’t ready for anyone else’s hands in my future, tugging at it, twisting it.
It was mine. And now it wasn’t.
An upset and stressed young woman | Source: Midjourney
The knowledge sat like a stone in my stomach, heavy and cold. I wanted to scream.
I wanted to march back to that OB office and demand Monica’s badge, her job, her dignity. To burn everything down just so someone, anyone, would understand what had been taken from me.
But my mom, still smiling a little too brightly, still hoping everything could be smoothed over, begged me not to.
A pensive woman sitting at a kitchen table | Source: Midjourney
“She meant well, Mischa,” she said softly, wringing her hands and looking at the freshly baked scones on the table. “Please, baby… just talk to her first. Give her a chance? Yes?”
Meant well. Meant well?
It was funny how people used that phrase like it erased damage.
I wasn’t feeling merciful. Not even a little. But I was feeling strategic.
A plate of scones with cream and jam | Source: Midjourney
Anger could scorch the earth, sure. But sometimes, patience could break it open.
If Monica didn’t realize what she’d done to me, she would do it to someone else. Someone younger, maybe? Someone still living under their parents’ roof, someone who could be hurt worse.
Someone without a safe place to land.
I couldn’t let that happen. No way!
A young woman sitting at a kitchen table | Source: Midjourney
So, we set a trap.
The next day, my younger sister, Allie, texted Monica, pretending she needed advice about medical school applications. Monica agreed immediately, thrilled at the idea of “mentoring” a future healthcare worker.
I could almost hear her preening through the text messages, already imagining herself as a wise sage, guiding another generation.
A phone on a table | Source: Pexels
That evening, Monica waltzed into our kitchen like she owned the place. Her hair was sprayed into a stiff helmet, her perfume so thick it clung to the air like syrup.
She kissed my mom on the cheek, patted Allie’s shoulder, and smiled at me like nothing had ever happened.
“I hope you made your roast chicken, Madeline!” she said to my mother. “I remember how much I loved it the first time I ever tasted it. Wow.”
Food on a table | Source: Pexels
My mom smiled and nodded.
“Of course, Mon,” she said. “Roast potatoes and the works.”
We made small talk, the kind that scratched at my skin. College classes. SAT scores. Internships, blah blah blah. I let her settle in, watching her posture relax as she sipped on hibiscus tea, her guard dropping quickly.
When the moment felt right, I leaned across the table, keeping my smile sugary sweet.
A cup of tea on a table | Source: Unsplash
“So… what’s the policy about patient confidentiality, Monica?” I asked, tilting my head just slightly.
Monica chuckled, waving a manicured hand dismissively.
“Oh, it’s super strict,” she said. “You can never share patient information. It’s a total disaster if you slip up. You can lose your job, your license… everything. It’s not worth it, really.”
A close up of a woman | Source: Pexels
I nodded, slowly, deliberately. Letting the silence stretch just long enough for discomfort to creep in.
“So technically,” I said lightly. “You weren’t supposed to tell my mom about my pregnancy, right? According to what you’ve just explained, I mean. Right, Mon?”
Her smile froze.
You could almost hear the gears grinding in her head as the realization hit.
A woman hidden by her hair | Source: Unsplash
Across the table, Allie shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her hands pulling at the hem of her sweater. She had been uneasy since Mom and I told her she was going to be an aunt.
“Well…” Monica stammered, a nervous laugh bubbling up. “That’s different, Mischa! Your mom’s my friend. It’s not like I told a stranger!”
I kept my expression as neutral as possible, my hands calmly folded on the table.
A close up of a blonde woman | Source: Pexels
“Oh,” I said, my voice feather-soft. “So there are exceptions, then?”
Monica’s face darkened. Her shoulders tensed, the mask slipping fast.
“I did you a favor!” she snapped. Her voice was shrill now, slicing through the kitchen’s heavy air. “You were scared. I could see it in your face. I helped you! You had that same haunted look that young women have when they don’t know how to tell their families… you should be grateful.”
An upset young woman | Source: Pexels
The kitchen seemed to shrink around us, the tension vibrating in my bones.
Allie sat frozen across the table, wide-eyed, the color draining from her face.
I pushed back my chair slowly, the scrape of the legs against the floor loud and deliberate.
“You didn’t help me,” I said quietly, my voice steady and cold. “You stole a moment that wasn’t yours to take. You stole a precious moment from me.”
An uncomfortable teenage girl | Source: Pexels
Monica’s hands shook visibly. She opened her mouth as if to protest again but no words came out.
She saw it then. She’d already lost.
She left quickly after that, muttering something about not being hungry. Something about “good luck” over her shoulder. The door slammed harder than necessary.
I stood there in the quiet kitchen, my hands trembling, my heart racing but feeling a little steadier inside.
A pensive woman | Source: Pexels
I had given her a chance to recognize her mistake.
She didn’t. She doubled down. She would do it again.
“Girls, let’s have dinner,” my mother said quietly. “You need to eat, Mischa. Your body needs good sustenance for the baby.”
A plate of food | Source: Pexels
The next morning, I sat at the kitchen table with my laptop open. The “Submit” button glowing at the bottom of the complaint form.
My finger hovered over the mouse for a long moment, heart thudding slow and heavy in my chest. I wasn’t cruel. I truly wasn’t.
I didn’t blast Monica on social media. I didn’t rant or call her names. I didn’t tell anyone outside of my family. I simply stated the facts.
A laptop on a table | Source: Unsplash
Monica had breached patient confidentiality. She had shared private, sensitive medical information without consent. While my case hadn’t ended in tragedy, another patient might not be so lucky.
A soft breeze drifted through the open window, stirring the papers on the table, brushing my skin like a nudge forward.
I took a deep breath and clicked submit.
A close up of a young woman | Source: Unsplash
At the OB’s office, the manager listened carefully, her face grave and still.
Later, I learned that Monica had previously completed, and signed, a mandatory confidentiality training, explicitly reaffirming that she understood the rules she had broken.
They took it seriously. Very seriously.
A few days later, Monica was placed under internal investigation and suspended while the clinic decided her fate.
A person holding a clipboard with a contract | Source: Pexels
At dinner one evening, my mom twisted her fork through her mashed potatoes, her voice barely above a whisper.
“She’s losing everything, Mischa. Her job. Her reputation. She called me earlier today.”
I stared down at my own plate, the food untouched and cold, feeling both heavier and lighter at once.
“I didn’t do that,” I said quietly. “Monica did.”
A bowl of mashed potatoes | Source: Pexels
There’s a difference between being kind and being a doormat. There’s a difference between forgiveness and allowing someone to hurt others just because they didn’t hurt you badly enough.
Forgiveness doesn’t erase consequences.
It just means that you don’t let their actions define your future.
Weeks passed.
A young woman leaning against a wall | Source: Unsplash
The early spring sun grew warmer, wrapping the afternoons in gold. My belly grew. My excitement grew. And so did my confidence.
I told people about my pregnancy on my own terms, in my own words, in my own time. Not because someone stole the story from me. But because I chose to share it.
The first time I posted my ultrasound photo online, I hesitated, staring at the screen, my thumb trembling slightly over the button.
An ultrasound | Source: Pexels
Tiny fingers. A curled-up nose. A future that was still mine to shape.
I smiled.
Not everyone deserves access to every part of your story. Especially the parts you’re still writing.
A person holding an ultrasound | Source: Unsplash
What would you have done?
If you’ve enjoyed this story, here’s another one for you |
When Mia honors her late mother at a family dinner, her stepmother’s cruel outburst ignites a truth long buried. Forced to choose between silence and self-respect, Mia walks away and writes a letter that could shatter everything. This is a raw, unforgettable story about grief, memory, and what it takes to reclaim your voice.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
The former owner of my car called, desperately asking to recover something he had left under the seat — when I found it, I turned pale
When Samira buys a secondhand car at a dealership, she thinks it a victory because it was something she had done all by herself. But the next morning, the mysterious previous owner of the car calls her, claiming that he left something “alive” under the seat of the car. Will Samira meet him or uncover the secret package by herself?
When I first bought my car, it was supposed to be a small victory. I had left my corporate job to take time off to write my collection of short stories. So, I didn’t want to splurge my savings until something big came my way financially.
It was nothing fancy, just a used Toyota Corolla from the local dealership. The thrill of owning it was enough to make me overlook any thoughts about its previous owner. Whoever they were, they were in my past, and I was cruising straight into my future.
Or so I thought.
But then came that random phone call which changed everything.
It was early, around 7 a.m., and I was in the middle of making my morning coffee when my phone buzzed with an unknown number.
Normally, I’d ignore it, but something about early morning and late-night unknown calls made me answer. I didn’t know if someone needed me.
“Hello?” I said, yawning.
“Hi, is this the new owner of the Toyota Corolla?” a man asked, anxiety in his voice.
“Yes, this is her. Who’s speaking?” I asked, suddenly feeling uneasy.
He took a deep breath.
“Oh, thank goodness! I’m so sorry to bother you, but I need your help. I was the previous owner of the car, and I left something under the seat of the car when I gave it in yesterday morning. You picked it up yesterday, yes?”
“Yes,” I replied, confused about what he was getting at.
“Okay. Good,” he paused. “I need to get my hands on what I left behind. It’s really important. It’s urgent, really.”
What on earth could be so important that he would track me down like this? Was the dealership even allowed to give out personal information?
“What did you leave?” I asked, trying to stay calm.
“It’s something… alive,” he stammered. “Please, ma’am, I need to come and get it as soon as possible. I promise you, I’ll explain when I see you.”
I remained silent for a moment.
Alive? The word echoed loudly in my mind. Was this man serious? What alive thing could possibly be in the car? My mind raced between a baby to a dog to even a package of narcotics that he was brushing off as something alive.
But I knew that I would have noticed something like that.
“Do you want to meet me somewhere or give me your address?” he continued.
I should have probably said no to all of the above. But there was something about him and the panic in his voice that made me hesitate to say no.
“Okay,” I finally said, my voice more firm than I felt. “Come over to my neighborhood. There’s a park not too far away from where I live. I’ll meet you there. I’ll send the address to this number.”
“That’s perfect,” he said, sighing in relief. “Don’t worry, it’s contained for now.”
I hung up and stared at my phone.
“What are you doing, Samira?” I asked myself. “Are you really going to meet a random person?”
But, what would be alive under my seat? My thoughts darted to worse-case scenarios again. What if it was a dangerous animal?
I had no idea what to expect, and that’s what made me nervous.
Twenty minutes later, I was standing next to the Corolla in the cool morning air, waiting for the mysterious stranger to show up.
The neighborhood was still quiet, and I imagined everyone in their homes slowly waking up or making breakfast for their families.
Finally, a man pulled up in an old pickup truck, just as he had texted me to say he would. His eyes scanned the area nervously before landing on me.
“I’m Ben,” he said. “Thank you for letting me come.”
He was younger than I imagined, and probably in his late twenties like myself, with dark hair that looked like he’d run his hands through it one too many times.
There was something endearing about his disheveled appearance, though I could tell he was genuinely worried.
Stop it, Samira, I told myself. This isn’t one of your romantic comedy stories. This isn’t a meet-cute.
“No problem,” I replied. “I’m Samira. So, what exactly did you leave under the seat?”
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he opened the driver’s door and dropped to his knees beside the car and reached under the seat. For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, Ben pulled out a small, sealed box with tiny air holes punched into the top. My stomach did a flip as I imagined a tarantula inside the box.
“I’m really sorry to bother you like this,” he said, standing up and holding the box.
“What’s in there?” I asked, almost amused.
“I have a pet gecko at home, and I feed it live insects every day. Yesterday, I stopped at the pet store to pick up some food, including mealworms and roaches, but I must have left the box under the seat when I was unloading the car.”
It took a moment for his words to register with me.
“You left a box of live insects under the seat?” I asked.
“Not by choice,” he replied sheepishly. “I was late to hand over the car as well. So the moment I unloaded everything else at home, I rushed over to the dealership to leave the car… for you.”
“You’re lucky that they didn’t escape,” I said.
Suddenly, a laugh bubbled up inside me before I could stop it, and once it started, it was hard to stop.
He looked at me, confused for a second, before a grin spread across his face.
“I know, it’s ridiculous, right?” he said. “I was so freaked out that I couldn’t even sleep. I kept imagining them crawling around your car, and I just…”
“My goodness,” I exclaimed. “That would have been quite the surprise.”
The thought of driving around with a box full of escaped bugs lurking somewhere under the seat was both horrifying and hilarious.
“I’m really sorry, Samira,” he said, his grin fading into something more genuine. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just didn’t know what else to do. The gecko, Samson, is actually my little brother’s pet. And as wacky as it is, that kid loves it.”
“No judgment here,” I replied. “I had a pet frog for a solid two weeks as a kid until my mother found it bouncing around my room.”
That was enough to set us both off again. We laughed until tears ran down our faces.
“Let me make it up to you,” he blurted out suddenly. “How about I take you out for a coffee? As an apology for the… bug thing?”
I stared at him, caught off guard by the sudden offer. I hadn’t expected any of this. But at the same time, I felt like I was in one of the romance stories that I wrote.
There was just something about the way he asked, something genuine and a little bit hopeful.
“I… um,” I started to say. “Sure, why not?”
“Great!” he said, his face lighting up. “I know a place not too far away from here. Would you like to go now?”
I laughed at his enthusiasm.
“How about you take me to a car wash to wash away any bugs and my paranoia, and then we can grab a coffee?” I asked, half-joking, half-serious.
“Actually, that’s the least I can do,” he said. “Come on.”
Ben put the box of insects in his truck and locked the door. I threw my keys at him, which he caught perfectly.
As we drove to the car wash, Ben told me all about his little brother, who was living with him.
“There’s a big age gap between us,” he said. “But there’s a really good school two roads away from me. So he’s enrolled there.”
“That’s wonderful,” I said, watching his hands on the steering wheel. “I wish I had a younger sibling to keep me on the straight and narrow.”
When we got to the car wash, Ben ensured that we would take the full package.
“Give her a good wash, guys,” he said.
We went for coffee while the car was being attended to.
And I wondered what was going to happen next…
What would you have done?
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