I saw my boss at a restaurant with his wife.

I went to say hi.

He had told us a day ago that he was going to become a dad, so I smiled and congratulated his wife.

She turned pale.

My boss grabbed my arm and whispered, “My wife actually isn’t pregnant.”

I blinked, confused. “But yesterday in the meeting, you—”

“Not here,” he hissed, his eyes darting around like we were being watched.

His wife gave me a tight, forced smile and excused herself to the restroom. She looked like she was trying not to cry.

I stood there, awkward and cold all of a sudden. My boss—let’s call him Darien—motioned for me to sit. I didn’t want to, but I did. Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe it was the way he looked like his entire world was crashing in slow motion.

“Why would you tell everyone you’re having a baby if your wife isn’t even pregnant?” I asked, my voice low.

Darien rubbed his temples, then leaned in. “Because… someone is pregnant. Just not her.”

My jaw actually dropped. Like full-on dropped.

He sighed. “It’s—complicated. And I know what you’re thinking. But it’s not like I planned any of this. It just happened. One mistake. One stupid night. Now the woman I had a fling with says she’s keeping the baby, and I panicked. I didn’t want rumors flying at work, so I told the team it was my wife who was expecting.”

I couldn’t even respond. I just stared at him like he was a stranger.

He must’ve taken my silence as judgment because he shook his head, almost bitterly. “I know it was wrong. But I was going to come clean. To everyone. Soon.”

“Why not just keep it private?” I finally asked. “Why lie at all?”

He shrugged. “Honestly? I think part of me was… proud. Even in the worst way. I felt like if I owned it, it wouldn’t feel like a mistake. It’d feel like something I could control.”Read More Below