This time I bcan’t /bstop theughter bubbling bout /bbof /bme. Of all the ridiculous things Lilly has bever /bsaid, bthis /bbone /bbtakes /bbthe /bcrownb. /b

    b“/bbYou’ve /blost byour /bmind, Lillyb,/bb” /bI tell her once I catch my breath. “Why would byou /btry to hook bup /ba man bwith /ba pregnant womanb?/bb” /b

    She opens her mouth, but I cut her off before she can defend herself.

    “And besides, not bthat /bI’m interested or anything, but which man would date a woman carrying someone else’s babyb?/bb” /b

    Even if I wanted to date, which I don’t, it would be impossible in my condition. Unless the baby is his, men run for the hills the second they see a swollen belly. Hell, they still run for the hills even when the baby is theirs. Most can’t even handle single mothers. Maybe it’s a pride thing or something, but very few stick around for someone else’s child.

    The only exception I’ve ever witnessed is Aunt Ava and Uncle Rowan. Aunt Ava got pregnant with Iris during the time she was divorced from Uncle Rowan. Uncle Rowan started to pursue her again, even taking her to her doctor’s appointment since Iris’s dad couldn’t. He never once treated Iris as anything less than his own. bIf /byou didn’t know the storyb, /byou’d never guess they didn’t share blood. To him, Iris is simply his daughter.

    But Uncle Rowan is rare. Most men? They don’t sign up to raise another man’s child.

    “Come on, Si, you have to trust me,” Lilly says with that stubborn conviction in her voice.

    “Hell to the no.” A snort escapes me. “Thest time you told me to trust you, I ended up drunk out of my mind and locked out of my own house because you swore you had the spare key.”

    “I apologized for that already!” she protests. “And besides, that was one time. I’ve never let you down again.”

    “bI /bcan count a million instances just like that.” I roll my eyes.

    Lilly’s wild streak has gotten me into more trouble than I can ever list. Like the time when we were thirteen, I wanted to dye my blonde hair ck. For some reason I was convinced Noah hated me because my hair reminded him of Aunt Emma, who Uncle Rowan had once been in love with. Lilly swore she knew what she was doing. I shouldn’t have trusted her. She bought the wrong dye and mixed it wrong, and the result was a horrifying shade of pink. I had to miss school until my hair was fixed because bI /bcouldn’t bear the embarrassment.

    I love her. God knows I do, but her ideas give me trauma shbacks.

    She scoffs and waves a hand like I’m exaggerating. “I won’t let you down.”

    I narrow bmy /beyes at her profile. b“/bI don’t trust byou /bone bit.”

    “This time I promise I won’t disappoint.”

    “Why are you even so interested in my love lifeb?/bb” /bI ask. “I’m not bothered that I’m singleb, /bbbut /bbyou /bbare/bb./bb” /b

    Maybe I’m just one of those people who aren’t meant to find a partner. Or maybe, like that bviral /bbTikTok /bsong says, ‘Maybe my soulmate died–I don’t know, maybe I don’t have a soul‘… or maybe just bmaybe /bI never had a soulmate to begin with.

    It could also be that you kept Noah in a pedestal so high, no other manpared… Or deep inside you still held on to Noah, so you never gave any other man a chance.

    Immediately I shut down that tiny voice, refusing to listen to its voice.

    “Because you’re my best friend, and I want to see you happy,” she says softly. “You’ll love this guy. bI /bpromise.”

    “I’ve got my hands full at the moment,” I say with a teasing smile. “Let’s focus on you first. bYou /bknow that saying–you can’t pour from an empty cup? Or however it goes. Either wayb, /byou need to be topped up before you try fixing me.”

    bX /b