On My Husband's Birthday, I Found a Gift Box at Our Doorstep – Inside Was a Used Pregnancy Test

Amber thinks she knows her husband, Oliver, until his birthday brings an unexpected gift to their doorstep: a used pregnancy test. When one shocking phone call turns into two, she unravels a web of deception beyond her worst fears. But Oliver isn't the only one with secrets...

It's funny how life can turn upside down in a single moment.

One second, I was basking in the warm glow of candlelight, the scent of vanilla cake lingering in the air. The next, I was staring at a used pregnancy test, my fingers gripping the tiny plastic stick like it held the answer to some cruel cosmic joke.

But let me start from the beginning.

My husband, Oliver, had just turned 38. We had been married for ten years. Ten long years of me believing that we were a team, that despite our struggles, we had love. I'd always wanted kids, but Oliver had told me, heartbreakingly, devastatingly, that he was infertile.

"I'm sorry, Amber," he said. "I wish that there was something I could do. But... that's just the way of the world. Fate and destiny and all that?"

It had been hard to accept, but love was supposed to be more than biology, right?

I had even suggested adoption. Multiple times.

I had spent months researching agencies, sending him photos of smiling babies who just needed a home. But Oliver always hesitated.

"Do you not want this?" I asked him, sitting in front of my laptop. "Do you not want a family with me, Oli?"

"I didn't say that, Amber," he said. "But this is a big commitment. Give me time. I'm not saying no. I'm just saying... not yet."

I should have seen it then. The distance. The excuses. The fact that his business trips became more frequent, his calls short, his affection... transactional.

But love makes you blind and soft. So instead of calling Oliver out, I just stayed blind to it all.

His birthday was meant to be simple. It was supposed to be just the two of us, a morning spent in bed, wrapped in each other's arms, reminiscing about our early years. Then, a quiet afternoon of desserts at home before heading to dinner at his favorite restaurant.

We were too full from the desserts, but Oliver was going to get his favorite pasta for his birthday. Come rain or shine, that was it.

It was all perfect. We came home, I took his birthday cake to him, and I smiled as he blew out his candles.

It was perfect.

Or so I thought.

Until the knock at the door.

I wasn't expecting anyone. I didn't want family or friends around to begin with.

"Did you invite someone?" I asked, glancing at Oliver.

He looked up from his glass of whiskey, brows furrowed.

"No," he yawned.

I got up, peeking through the window, but the porch was empty. Still, sitting neatly on the welcome mat was a small, gift-wrapped box with a gold ribbon.

Confused, I picked it up and brought it inside.

"Looks like someone came over to leave you a birthday present," I said.

"It was probably my brother messing with me. Or one of the guys, you know how they can be, Amber," Oliver chuckled, shaking his head.

"Well, go on," I said. "Open it!"

I set the box down in front of him. The smile on his lips faded the second he lifted the lid.

"What? What is it?" I asked, looking over his shoulder.

Inside, nestled in a bed of white tissue paper, was a used pregnancy test.

A used pregnancy test. Two bold pink lines. Positive.

"What the hell is this, Oliver?" I asked, my stomach somersaulting.

"I... I don't know. This is some kind of joke, Amber. It has to be!" He blinked, his jaw tightening.

A joke? How was a positive pregnancy test a joke?

This was something that I had wanted to happen to me for the better part of ten years. I had wanted to be pregnant. I had wanted to have his kids.

My mind scrambled for logic, for some reasonable explanation. But then I saw it, the way his hands trembled as he pushed the box away, the way his eyes darted toward the door like he wanted to run.

"Oliver," I said slowly. "Who really sent this?"

His mouth opened and then closed.

"I swear, I have no idea. This... this has to be a prank, babe. I'm telling you."

I wanted to believe him. God, I really wanted to. But something about his reaction made my skin crawl.

And then, his phone rang.

His eyes widened as the screen lit up. He didn't move. He didn't blink. Something in my chest snapped. Before I could stop myself, I grabbed his phone and answered.

"Hello?"

A soft voice. A feminine voice. Sweet.

And then...

"Hello, Dad! Congratulations, Oli! I'm pregnant!"

The room tilted.

I gripped the edge of the table, my pulse roaring in my ears.

"Who is this?"

Silence. Then, hesitantly, she spoke.

"Wait, who are you?"

"I'm Oliver's wife. Amber."

A sharp inhale. A pause. And then...

My world broke apart.

"Oh my God! He said he wasn't married... Oliver said... I had no idea! I'm so sorry."

"Who are you?" I swallowed back bile.

"My name is Casey. I've been with Oliver for almost a year. I only just found out I was pregnant last week. He told me he was divorced. I..."

Her voice broke, and I was sure that she was crying.

"I had no idea, Amber. Oliver never mentioned a wife. He said that he was divorced and that his wife was long gone."

Something inside me shattered.

But before I could even process it, before I could even breathe, there was another knock at the door.

And another damn package.

My hands shook as I picked it up, already knowing what I would find inside.

Another pregnancy test. Another positive.

And then, as if on cue, Oliver's phone rang again.

I didn't even hesitate this time. I wanted to know exactly how deep this went. I picked up.

"Hey, baby!" came a different voice this time. "It's me, Mel. I couldn't wait until I saw you this weekend. I had to tell you... I'm pregnant!"

The world finally collapsed around me.

"Who the hell are you?" I whispered, my voice hoarse.

A pause.

"Wait? Who are you?" she asked.

"His wife. Oliver's wife," I closed my eyes, holding my head.

"His wife?!"

I clenched my jaw.

"And you're not the only one. He has a wife, yes. But I just found out that I'm mistress number two."

There was a beat of silence.

"Oh... figures. Of course there's more," she said, but she didn't sound surprised.

I could barely hear her. Everything around me was fading. My marriage. My trust. The man I had given my life to. He had lied to me for years. He had clearly lied about being infertile.

He had lied about business trips. He had lied about everything.

I turned to him, my voice eerily calm.

"You told me you couldn't have kids... What the hell, Oliver?"

"I..." His head snapped up, his eyes pleading.

"Don't even bother," I cut him off. "Don't you dare lie to me again, Oliver!"

His lips parted, but no words came out. He seemed to have nothing left to say.

"I'm done. I want a divorce. You actually make me sick."

I stood up and then walked away, leaving him sitting in the wreckage of his own lies.

I was packing my bags when my phone buzzed.

A message. From an unknown number.

"What now?" I muttered to myself.

We only just found out about you, Amber. I got your number from Facebook... We had no idea that you were still in the picture. We're so sorry. Oliver let it slip that he was seeing someone else, so Mel and I knew about each other. Not you... But we're not actually pregnant.

We just... we had to teach him a lesson. We couldn't let him get away with this. We didn't expect you to be the one to answer the calls, let alone be there. But it's what he deserves.

I stared at the screen, my breath hitching.

Not pregnant.

Not actually pregnant.

This whole thing was a setup! A beautifully crafted, brilliantly executed takedown of a serial liar.

And God help me, I smiled.

I left Oliver that night. Not because of the fake pregnancy tests. Not because of those phone calls. But because I finally saw him for who he really was.

He was a coward. A liar. A man who had spent years convincing me that I was the one who had to compromise, who had to wait, who had to beg for the life I wanted.

And you know what?

I wasn't going to beg anymore.

I don't know why I agreed to meet them. I wasn't there to make friends. I was there to hear the truth in their words and leave knowing that none of us would ever fall for Oliver's lies again.

Or maybe I needed closure. Maybe I wanted to see the faces of the women whose lives Oliver had destroyed along with mine.

Or maybe I just wanted to look him in the eyes and confirm that this wasn't some elaborate, sick joke.

The coffee shop was small and quiet, tucked away in a corner of the city I rarely visited. A place Oliver had probably never set foot in... It was somewhere untainted by his lies.

I spotted them immediately, sitting at a booth in the back.

Casey, the first voice on the phone, looked younger than I expected. Mid-twenties, maybe. She had long auburn hair pulled into a messy ponytail, her face bare of makeup except for smudged mascara.

Next to her sat the second woman. Mel. She had blonde curls and tired blue eyes, her hands wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee like she was trying to warm herself from the inside out.

They both looked up as I approached.

"Amber?" Casey asked hesitantly.

We were just three women sitting in the wreckage of a man's deceit, trying to figure out where to begin.

Mel sighed, setting her coffee down.

"I met Oliver about eight months ago. I... I feel so stupid. I thought we were serious. He told me he was divorced but had a 'complicated history' with his ex-wife. That was you, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. That was me," I said, my throat tightening. "But not an ex-wife, unfortunately."

Casey exhaled sharply, looking at her chocolate-covered donut on the table.

"Same story for me. Only, he told me that his divorce had been finalized last year, and he was finally ready to start fresh. Of course, I believed him. Why wouldn't I? He was charming, sweet, and so damn attentive."

She let out a bitter laugh.

"Now, I realize that it's because he had a rotation of women, so none of us got the chance to see the cracks..."

A heavy silence fell over the table.

"Mel, you didn't seem surprised when I told you that you were the second mistress. How did you two figure it out?"

Casey and Mel exchanged a glance.

"Me," Mel admitted. "He was at my place last week when his phone went off. He was in the shower, and I... I don't normally snoop. But I saw the name on the screen. Casey."

Casey rubbed her temples.

"She found me on social media. Sent me a message. We compared notes and timelines. And it didn't take long to realize we were being played."

"And the pregnancy tests?" I swallowed.

"That was Casey's idea," Mel said, snorting. "We wanted to hit him where it hurt. And we wanted him to lose his mind."

"He lied to us. He used us. We wanted him to know what it felt like to have his entire world come crashing down in an instant. My sister is actually pregnant," Casey said. "So, we asked her to take over that part."

I thought about Oliver's face when he opened that box. The panic in his eyes. The way his hands had trembled, just like mine were now.

I should have been furious at them. I should have resented the women sitting across from me.

But I didn't.

They weren't the villains here. They were just like me, victims of the same man, of the same lies.

We had all been betrayed. But we were here. Together. And Oliver? He was the one who had lost everything.

What would you have done?

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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.