Chapter 2: The Truth She Didn’t Expect
The guests began murmuring.
“What does she mean?”
“Already knew what?”
My mother turned toward the crowd, trying to regain control. “This is ridiculous. She’s upset and saying nonsense.”
But Jenna didn’t back down.
“She means,” Jenna said clearly, “the gender was never a secret.”
My heart pounded.
Because she was right.
And suddenly, I remembered how it all started going wrong weeks before the party.
The phone call from my doctor.
The follow-up ultrasound.
The private envelope my husband and I opened alone in our kitchen, holding hands and crying quietly because we already knew we were having a girl.
We hadn’t told anyone.
Except one person.
My mother.
Or at least, we thought we hadn’t.
I looked at her now.
“You opened it,” I whispered.
Her expression tightened just slightly.
“That’s absurd.”
But her voice wasn’t as strong anymore.
My husband spoke, his tone colder than I had ever heard it. “We kept the results sealed in the folder on the desk.”
My mother crossed her arms. “Are you accusing me of stealing from you?”
No one answered immediately.
Because the silence was doing the accusing for us.
Jenna stepped forward again. “You posted about it.”
My mother blinked. “What?”
Jenna turned her phone around.
A screenshot.
My mother’s social media.
A post from three days ago.
“Some people are having a girl and don’t even know how lucky they are yet.”
My stomach dropped.
Under it, dozens of comments.
Congratulations.
So happy for you grandma!
Can’t wait to meet her!
My world tilted.
“You told everyone,” I said quietly.
Her face finally changed.
Not guilt.
Not shame.
Something sharper.
Defiance.
“I was excited,” she said. “People were going to find out anyway. I just saved everyone the suspense.”
My husband stepped forward. “You took that choice from us.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Oh please. Don’t act like this is some sacred event. It’s a baby’s gender, not a coronation.”
That was the moment something in me stopped trying to hold itself together.
But before I could speak, Jenna said something that changed everything again.
“That’s not even the worst part.”
The crowd went quiet.
May you like
My mother stiffened.
Jenna looked at me. “Tell them about the DNA test.”
