It was raining when Daphne woke up…alone. Brian never came by last night like he said he would. Daphne checked her phone and found no trace of any missed calls or text messages from him. She began to worry as millions of possibilities swirled in her head. Maybe he was really tired after having the fight with Zoey over the divorce. Maybe he was helping her pack. What if he changed his mind though? What if Zoey convinced him to stay?

She shook her head to rid of the negative thoughts.

“Everything’s okay,” she reassured herself as she climbed out of bed.

She rifled through her closet for clothes and walked across the hall into the bathroom. She took a quick shower and got dressed afterwards. She threw her hair up in a pony-tail, not feeling the urge to doll it up. After getting ready, she walked into Misty’s room and gently shook her awake. After getting Misty ready, they walked downstairs and found Matt pulling Eggos out of the toaster.

“Where’s Jade?” she asked.

“She isn’t feeling good so she stayed in bed,” he muttered.

“Its probably morning sickness,” she reassured.

He nodded and served them their Eggos and sat down with a cup of coffee.

“Have you heard from Brian?” Daphne blurted out during breakfast.

“Um, no. Why?” he asked.

“He said something about coming by last night,” she lied.

Matt looked at her questioningly before finally nodding and going back to his coffee.

“Can you drive us today?” she asked.

Matt shook his head and stood up. He silently walked out to the garage.

“Wait here,” Daphne told Misty.

“What’s your problem?” she asked as she followed Matt out.

She stopped in her tracks as she saw a sleek black Lexus sitting in the garage.

“You got a new car?” she asked as she looked at Matt.

“Its not mine,” he smirked as he tossed her the keys.

“Wait, what?” she asked.

“Its your birthday present from Jade and I. Plus we never got to celebrate you getting your license,” he shrugged.

“Matt you threw me a party and you could’ve gotten me a cupcake to celebrate the license! You didn’t have to buy me a car!” she shrieked.

“Well fine, I’ll take it back and buy you a damn cupcake,” he smirked.

“Oh hell no!” she laughed as she tightly hugged him.

“Thank you so much Matt, for everything,” she muttered.

“You’re welcome baby girl,” Matt smiled.

She kissed his cheek before grabbing her things and Misty.

“Be careful out there, its supposed to rain all day,” Matt warned her.

“I will, thanks again Mattie,” she smiled.

“No problem baby girl,” he smiled.

She blew him a kiss before climbing in the car and adjusting her mirror and seat. After she was comfortable, she backed out of the garage and headed off to Misty’s school.

“I love you baby,” she smiled as she kissed her forehead.

“Love you too mommy,” Misty smiled.

After she ran off, Daphne made her way out of the school and quickly snapped a picture of her car. She quickly sent it to Brian and hoped he’d respond.

***

“What’s wrong baby doll?” Maria asked Daphne in the afternoon.

Daphne broke the staring contest with her phone to look at her concerned boss.

“Sorry, I’m just a little distracted,” she half-smiled.

“Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?” Maria offered.

“I’ll be fine,” Daphne reassured.

“Take the rest of the day off, honey. I don’t want you getting too distracted and messing up someone’s hair.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. Are you going to be okay?” Maria asked.

“I’ll be fine,” Daphne reassured.

“Okay then, get out of here. Call me if you need anything,” Maria smiled as she hugged Daphne.

“Thanks Maria.”

Daphne collected her things and ran through the rain to her car. Since she had time to spare before she had to get Misty, she decided to take a detour to Brian’s house. She wanted to at least know if he was okay since she hadn’t heard from him all day. She pulled up in front of his house and didn’t see either car in the driveway.

“God, I am such a stalker,” she muttered to herself as she killed the engine.

She got out and ran through the rain to the porch. She rapped on the door and hoped that Zoey wasn’t home. She looked through the window and saw no movement inside.

“What the hell am I doing? I’m sure he’s fine,” she brushed off.

“And I’m talking to myself, I’m going crazy,” she added as she walked off the porch.

She got back in the car just as her phone started ringing. She snatched it and answered it without looking at the caller ID.

D- Hello!

M- Daph why are you yelling?

D- Oh, hey Matt.

M- Stop sounding so excited.

D- Sorry, what’s up?

M- Do you need me to pick up Misty?

D- Uh, no I can get her. I took the rest of the day off.

M- Are you okay?

D- I’m fine. I’ll see you in a little bit.

She hung up before he could reply and threw her phone on the passenger seat. After calming herself down and reassuring herself that everything was okay, she took off down the street and picked Misty up.

“How was school baby?” she asked.

“Good,” Misty yawned.

“Are you tired?” Daphne asked.

Misty nodded and pawed at her eyes.

“How about we take a nap when we get home? Mommy could use one too.”

Misty silently nodded as they continued their way home. Daphne soon pulled into the garage and killed the engine. She looked in the back and saw Misty asleep in her booster seat. Smiling lightly, she got out and carried Misty in the house.

“Is she okay?” Matt asked when they walked in.

“She’s just tired. I think we’re both going to take a nap,” Daphne whispered as she walked past him.

She carefully walked up the steps and into her room. After she laid Misty down, she changed into a pair of sweat pants and a tank top. She checked her phone one last time before sighing and crawling into bed next to Misty. Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow she succumbed to a worrisome sleep.

***

A few hours later, Daphne woke up without Misty next to her. Deciding to go downstairs to make dinner, she stretched before rolling out of bed and padding barefoot out of the room. As she approached the stairs, she heard voices in the foyer; one voice in particular. Dashing for the bathroom, Daphne ran a brush through her hair and added light make-up to her face. She ran back in her room and threw the outfit she previously had on. She sprayed a bit of perfume on and calmly walked back down the steps. With a smile on her face, she turned into the foyer. Her smile fell when she saw Zoey’s hand locked with Brian’s. His conversation with Matt trailed off when he noticed her.

“Oh, you’re awake!” Jade smiled with a hint of sympathy.

“Yeah, what’s going on?” Daphne asked.

“Mommy! Brian and Zoey are having a baby!” Misty grinned.

Brian closed his eyes and exhaled before looking at Daphne’s reaction. He wished he never opened his eyes. The look of heart-break on her face was almost too much for him to handle.

“Um, that’s great. I’m happy for you too,” she smiled a few seconds later.

“Thanks,” Zoey smiled, squeezing his hand.

“I think I’m going to start dinner,” Daphne muttered as she walked towards the kitchen.

Instead of starting dinner, she walked straight out to the backyard, despite the rain. She collapsed into the nearest chair and let out the shaky breath she’d been holding. She felt her chest constrict as the tears flowed from her eyes. She let out a few quiet sobs as she racked her brain for reasons as to why all this bad luck was happening to her. She attempted to quiet her sobs when she heard the door slide open.

“Congratulations,” she muttered, already knowing who it was.

“Don’t shut me out Daph,” Brian pleaded as he pulled a chair over and sat in front of her.

“When did you find out?” she muttered after a few awkward minutes.

“Last night, Zoey told me right when I was about to spring the divorce on her,” he muttered.

“You haven’t said anything to her about it yet?” she asked.

“I wanted to see how you felt about this first. I am so sorry about all of this Daph, we have the worst of luck,” he sighed.

Daphne nodded in agreement.

“So how do you want to go about this? Are you okay with me having a child with Zoey while we’re together? If you are, I will go in there right now and tell Zoey. I still want a life with you and Misty. My kid will just be in the picture now,” Brian shrugged.

“Go home with Zoey, Bri,” she muttered.

“What?” he asked, baffled.

“You should stay with Zoey.”

“Why baby? Don’t you want to be together?”

“Of course I do!” she sobbed.

“Then what is it baby?” he asked.

“I refuse to be the cause of your child’s broken family. I won’t be the reason why your child never sees you,” she muttered, her voice cracking.

“I’ll definitely still see the kid Daph,” he reassured.

“Not if Zoey filed for full custody and we both know she will once this gets out. You and Zoey are having a child together so you two should be together. It will be best this way.”

“What about us though Daph? What about Misty? I don’t want to give you two up,” he pleaded, grasping her hand.

“I don’t think Misty and I should see you anymore,” she muttered, pulling her hand away.

“Daphne don’t you dare take that little girl away from me. She is like the daughter I’ve always wanted. I don’t want to lose either of you. I love you Daph, please don’t do this. I will get down on my knees right now if that’s what it takes,” he said sternly.

“Bri…” she sobbed.

Brian got down on his knees in front of her and tightly grasped her hands.

“Don’t do this Daph, I finally have you and I don’t want to lose you. I love you,” he muttered, kissing her hands.

“Bri don’t,” she pleaded.

“Think about the other night Daph; that night was the best night of my life. I want to spend every night with you like that. I want to make love to you every night for the rest of my life and I want to fall asleep with you in my arms. I want to wake up to you every morning and I want to raise Misty with you. All I want is you Daph,” he smiled, firmly pressing his lips to her.

Daphne let a sob escape her lips as she placed a hand on his cheek.

“I think you should go,” she muttered as she pulled away from him.

“Daph don’t do this,” he pleaded.

“Its better this way, you can have a family with your wife now. I want you to be happy.”

“You make me happy!”

“Well now Zoey and your child can make you happy. You don’t need Misty and I.”

Brian stood up and looked down at her incredulously.

“So this is it then?” he asked, baffled.

“Its better this way,” she muttered more to herself than to him.

Brian shook his head before leaving her out there in the rain.