“You’re such a badass,” Sally smirks, saluting me with her second glass of wine.

I laugh. “Thank you. I must admit, I felt really good afterward. I know Kyle won’t go away, but I hope that once the divorce papers arrive, he’ll finally get the message.”

She shakes her head. “You’ve already told him you want out. That message should be loud and clear.” She leans forward, grabbing my hand. “If he starts to become a nuisance, promise me you’ll get a restraining order.”

“I’m hoping it won’t come to that...”

When the doorbell chimes, I look at Sally and frown. “I’m not expecting anyone.” It then dawns on me who it could be.

“Don’t answer it if it’s him.”

Nodding, I get up and look through the peephole, surprised at who I see. “It’s Ethan.”

When I open the door, he looks at me timidly. “I’m sorry to disturb you at home.” He spots Sally sitting on the sofa. “I can come back another time.”

“No,” I say, opening the door wider. “Please, come in.” He walks through and I shut the door behind him. “Would you like a drink?”

He shakes his head. “No, I won’t be staying long. Besides, I’m driving.” He looks at Sally again, then the wine on the table.

“I’m sorry. This is my colleague and friend, Sally. Sally, this is Ethan.”

Ethan steps forward and holds out his hand. Blushing, Sally quickly gets up. “Nice to meet you.”

Ethan returns the favour, then stands there awkwardly, clutching his leather gloves. Noticing the tension, Sally gets up and points to the kitchen. “I’ll just go fix some popcorn.” I nod. Before she leaves, she mouths, He’s hot. It makes me smile.

“I’m really sorry I’ve disturbed your evening.”

I wave my hand at him. “It’s fine. Honestly.”

His eyes wander around the room for a moment, almost nervously. Finally, he looks back at me. “I haven’t heard from you in a while, so I was a little worried. Then when Sarah and I saw you in town today, I noticed how strained you looked. I asked Sarah what was going on, but she was extremely vague.”

I bet she was.

I bite my lip. “Sorry about that. It’s just, well... Kyle and I split up a couple days ago.”

He frowns, looking sympathetic. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

I suck in a breath. “Don’t worry. I’m not. I’ve been unhappy for a while. I just didn’t realise it until I found out he was cheating on me.”

Ethan closes his eyes, looking angry. That thought makes me a little happy. “What an arsehole…” He looks shocked at his words. “I’m sorry.”

I smirk. “Don’t be. It’s kind of on the same lines of what I thought anyway.” I chuckle. “And worse.”

Ethan laughs with me, then reaches out to touch my shoulder. “Seriously, though. Are you going to be okay?”

I think about the baby. A baby I know I’m going to have to tell him about at some point. But I’m scared. I need to wrap my own head around this first before coming clean to him.

“I will be. I’ve already filed for a divorce. Once that’s done, I can start fresh.”

I watch as his eyes twinkle a little. “You certainly move fast.”

“The moment I made my decision, I knew it was the right thing. I’ve been living a lie for eight years. I thought I was happy. Maybe I was in the beginning, but I think I lost my way after a while.” I frown, wondering why I’m revealing so much to him.

Ethan inhales sharply. “I’m sorry, but you can now put it all down to experience and move on.” I nod. He looks at me a moment, then to the door. “I suppose I’d better go. Sarah will be waiting for me.”

I grit my teeth. She needs to come clean. I don’t want to be the one to tell him, but he needs to know what a traitorous bitch he’s married to.

“Listen,” he says, breaking me from my thoughts. “If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to call me. You have my number.”

“Of course. Thank you.”

I walk to the door and open it for him, seeing Kyle getting ready to knock. He looks at me, then Ethan. His eyes narrow, looking venomous. Without asking permission, he steps through the door.

“I saw your car outside. Did you think I wouldn’t notice? What is this? I slept with your wife, so you thought you could sleep with mine?”

Sighing, I close my eyes. Once I open them, I see Ethan looks ashen, his brows furrowed.

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

Kyle looks at me. “You didn’t tell him?”

“It isn’t my place. It’s Sarah’s.”

Kyle glances around the room, spotting the wine bottle on the coffee table. He looks at Ethan in anger. “That doesn’t matter. You have no right to be here. If you think you can take my wife from me, think again.”

Without warning, Kyle lunges at Ethan, punching him in the face. Stumbling back, Ethan quickly gains control, throwing his own right hook.

“Stop!” I scream, feeling both anger and fear.

Sally appears at the moment Kyle comes back at Ethan again. I run to him, pulling at his coat. When he tries to shake me off, he hits me in the eye with his elbow. I fall back, landing on the floor with a thud. When Sally screams my name, Kyle looks behind him and sees me on the floor, a hand covering my eye.

“You fucking bastard. You hit her,” Sally screams, running toward me.

Kyle looks at me in shock. “I didn’t mean to. She got in my way. I didn’t mean to hurt her.”

Pain shoots through my eye, making me wince. Sally places a protective arm around me. “You need to leave,” she seethes at Kyle.

“She’s my wife,” he protests.

Ethan steps forward. “If you don’t leave, I’m going to forcibly remove you. She needs medical attention. This isn’t about you.” He looks at Sally. “Sally, can you please get me some frozen peas or some ice wrapped in tea cloth?” She quickly nods, retreating back into the kitchen.

“How dare you fucking tell me to leave my own fucking house...”

Ethan is about to respond, but I stop him. “Kyle, I want you to go. If you don’t, I’m going to call the police.”

He looks at me, then Ethan. There’s a mixture of anger and hesitancy in his face. Finally, he looks back at me. “I should be the one to look after you.”

Tears start to well in my eyes. “Kyle, please. Don’t you understand? I don’t want you here. Not only did you have an affair, you have the cheek to come over here and accuse me of the same thing. I have never once cheated on you. And the fact you think I would only seals the fate of our relationship. I don’t want you in my life anymore. Please, just leave.”

Looking stoic, he doesn’t move. When Sally comes back in with some ice, she hands it to Ethan, then turns to Kyle. “I have a black belt in Taekwondo. Don’t make me use those skills on you.” He stares at her and sucks in a breath. When he still doesn’t move, she walks closer. “Do you not understand English?”

He finally retreats. “Okay, okay.” He looks at Ethan holding the ice to my eye. For the first time, I actually see hurt in his eyes. “I’ll go. I’ll call you later.”

Without even saying sorry, Kyle steps out the door. Just as he’s about to turn back to look at me, Sally quickly shuts the door in his face.

“Fucking prick.”

“Are you okay?” Ethan asks, placing his arm around me.

Nodding, I look up into his face and spot his split lip. “You need some ice, too.” I try getting up, but Ethan stops me.

“Trust me. I’ve had worse than this. I’ll be fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”

“I’ll be okay. Thank you.” I then look at Sally. “Do you really have a black belt in Taekwondo?”

She gives me a cheeky look. “No, but it sounded good. It got him out of the door.”

We all laugh. “Thanks,” I say to both of them.

“That’s what friends are for, right?” Sally says with a heart-warming smile.

I suddenly realise she’s more of a friend to me than Sarah ever was. I know she understands when she gives me a small smile and nods slightly.

I look at Ethan. “I’m sorry about that. I really wanted to tell you, but it should have been Sarah’s job. In fact, I had planned on telling her that once I got over wanting to throttle her to death.” I hear Sally snicker in the background.

“That’s okay. You’re absolutely right. It is Sarah’s job. I never knew a thing.”

“You shouldn’t have learned about it that way. Kyle and his big mouth.”

“To be honest, I kind of suspected something was going on. She’s been acting strange lately. I kept asking her if she was okay, but she’d always snap back that she was fine and to stop asking.” He shakes his head. “It’s one thing doing that to me, but another thing entirely that she did it to you. You’re supposed to be her best friend. You’ve known each other a hell of a lot longer than Sarah and I have.”

“You’ve just learned that your wife’s been cheating, but you’re more concerned about me?” I feel a warmth in my heart I’ve never felt before.

“What she did was a pretty shitty thing.”

“You’re telling me!” Sally shouts.

I smirk, then turn my attention back to Ethan. “Are you going to be okay?”

A sadness passes over his face. He soon nods with a tight smile. “I’ll be fine. It was a shock, and there’s a lot to process, but I’m sure I’ll be able to think clearly soon.”

He looks away, as if in deep thought. He keeps the ice pressed to my throbbing eye. It still hurts, but the initial sting is dying down. My biggest concern is the baby. I don’t feel any pain in that region, but a part of me wonders whether I should go to the hospital and get checked out.

Biting my lip, I look up at Ethan. I want to tell him so I can ask, but he’s had enough shock for one evening. Besides, I don’t know if he’s going to be happy about this baby now.

“Ethan?” I ask softly, snapping him out of his thoughts. He peers down at me. “Why don’t you go home? You and Sarah have a lot to talk about.”

“I don’t want to leave you,” he says, removing the ice for a moment to inspect my eye.

I place my hand on his arm. “I’ll be fine. I have Sally with me. You have far more important things to deal with right now.”

He hesitates for a moment, then nods. “I guess I do need to get home. But please, text me later so I know you’re okay.”

I chuckle. He still remains the caring doctor. “Of course.” He gets up, handing the ice to me. “Listen, if you need anything, call me.”

“That’s very kind of you. Thanks.” He walks to the door, turning before he opens it. “If you get any headaches or dizzy spells, contact me ASAP, okay?” He says it in such a stern voice, I smile.

“I will.” He nods, opening the door. “Take care, Ethan.”

He doesn’t turn. “You, too, Alice.” He shuts the door behind him.

“Well, that was an unexpected turn of events,” Sally says. When I try getting up, she rushes over to help me. “Here. Come sit on the sofa.” We walk over and she helps me sit, looking at my eye when I take the ice off. She winces.

“That bad, huh?”

She nods. “You’re going to have a bit of a shiner. Keep the ice on. It will help bring the swelling down.” I place it back on my face. “You’re not in any pain anywhere else, are you?”

I shake my head. “No, I’m fine.”

“Maybe we should go to the hospital, though...just in case.”

“I did think that myself, but I think I will just call instead. See what they say.” I make a move to get up, but she places her hand across me, holding me down.

“I’ll get the phone for you. You stay put.”

She’s soon back. I quickly call the local hospital number. After a few seconds, someone answers.

“Hello. I’m sorry to disturb you, but I’m pregnant and had a fall. I’m not feeling any pain, but I thought I would call.”

“How far along are you?”

“I only found out a few days ago, so maybe close to five weeks.”

“If you’re feeling no pain and you aren’t bleeding, you should be okay. If you’re still unsure by morning, make an appointment with your local health clinic.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

I hit the END button and turn to Sally. “She said as long as I’m not bleeding or in pain, I should be fine. If I’m worried, I can always go to the doctor tomorrow.”

She takes my hand. “Will you anyway, just to be on the safe side? I can come with you.”

“I can’t ask that of you. Besides, don’t you have plans with ‘big boy’ Larry?” I playfully wiggle my eyebrows, wincing at the pain in my eye.

She laughs. “Not until the evening. Anyway, you and this baby’s health are far more important. The people who should be here for you aren’t. It makes me so mad that they did this. They’re supposed to have been the ones by your side no matter what. So…” She places an arm around me, squeezing me close. “I’m going to step into your ex-husband’s and ex-best friend’s shoes and do a damn better job than they ever did.”

Tears well in my eyes. “Thank you.”

She gives me another gentle squeeze. “Don’t mention it. I know the kind of person you are. If I asked, you’d drop everything and come running.” She looks off into the distance in thought. “Do you remember two years ago when I was on a diet and nearly caved because I craved chocolate so much?”

I chuckle, nodding. “I went home and baked you a fat-free chocolate cake.”

“And that’s the kind of person you are. I’ll never forget that. I’ll also never forget the day you offered to put some money toward my mother’s funeral when you knew things were a little tight with me.”

Placing my hand on hers, I smile. “I lost both my parents. I was young, so I had others sorting all that out for me.” Looking at the table, I see her glass is empty. “You’re running on empty there. I can’t have that. You need to drink for the both of us,” I chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

“After tonight’s events, I think I shall have to take you up on that.”