“Karma is real,” she sobbed, her words stumbling over each other. “You were right to leave. You were right about everything. He left me, Emma. I woke up and his bags were gone. The accounts are completely empty.

He took my inheritance from Grandma. He took everything.” Hearing her repeat the exact nightmare I had lived through seven years prior was surreal.

But I still didn’t speak. I knew there was more. Mark was a coward, but he was a predictable coward. He never left a warm bed unless he had another one already made. “But it’s so much worse,” she cried, her voice escalating into a panic.

“This time there’s a child involved, Emma. And the child is… the child is Sarah’s.” My stomach dropped. Sarah was Chloe’s best friend. They had known each other since college. In fact, when Chloe stole Mark from me, Sarah was the one aggressively defending them on social media, telling everyone that “true love wins.” Sarah had been a permanent fixture in their lives for the last seven years.

“What are you talking about?” I finally asked, my voice barely above a whisper. Chloe completely broke down. Between hysterical gasps for air, the horrifying truth tumbled out. For the last nine months, Mark had been carrying on an affair with Sarah right under Chloe’s nose.

Sarah had gotten pregnant. She had told everyone, including Chloe, that she used an anonymous sperm donor because she wanted to be a single mother. Chloe had actually thrown Sarah’s baby shower. She had bought the crib. She had held the newborn baby girl in the hospital just three days ago.

And for the last nine months, Mark had been slowly and methodically draining Chloe’s trust fund, transferring the money into offshore accounts and a shell LLC.

He used the money to buy a house for Sarah and the new baby two states over. “He left a letter,” Chloe wept.

“He said he finally realized what he wanted out of life, and it wasn’t me. He said he wanted a real family.