The Dinner That Took My Father and My Child

My husband's female brother lost a game of finger-guessing and was teased into revealing the most intimate things he'd done with the opposite sex.

She suddenly looked at me with a mischievous laugh and said, "I've helped Ethan Sullivan fly."

The whole room erupted in chaos.

I clutched my five-month-old belly, tight and hard under my hands.

She seemed to only now realize the weight of her words, shrugging casually: "Oh, back when you were first pregnant, he was blacking out and couldn’t help himself."

"No need to thank me, sister-in-law. Just a favor between brothers. Better than him losing control and cheating."

——

Before she could finish,

Ethan grabbed a half-eaten cucumber and smacked Tara Johnson’s hand.

"Shut up! Your knife skills are far worse than my wife's!"

Tara took it with a smile, bit into it, and said with lingering amusement,

"Don’t mention it, it’s about the same size as this."

They laughed together, as if an invisible wall separated me from them.

No one glanced at me. No one seemed to notice I existed.

It was as though my five-month pregnancy had rendered me invisible, a mere background figure.

The game went on. This time, Ethan lost.

The card read: "French kiss with a member of the opposite sex present for three minutes."

Only Tara and I were of the opposite sex.

Yet everyone tacitly pushed Ethan toward Tara.

"It’s just a game! Anyone taking it seriously is an idiot!"

He laughed, she made teasing noises, and a crowd cheered, snapping photos with their phones.

I could no longer tolerate it and slammed my cup on the floor.

Glass shattered, screams erupted.

In the sudden silence, I held my waist, rose slowly, my voice eerily calm:

"Want to try something more exciting?"

"I'll help you!"

I pulled out my phone. "Hey, police officer, there’s a mob here..."

Ethan reacted first, lunging to grab my phone.

"Nicole Jensen, are you crazy? It’s just a game!"

I noticed his hand lingering on Tara’s waist, laughed suddenly, and tears sprang without warning.

"Ethan, how are you going to explain this when the baby is born?"

"That the dad can’t control himself, and the mom is a complete fool?"

Ethan’s face went cold as he shielded Tara, voice tight with anger.

"You’re going too far! I said it’s just a game!"

If this counts as a game, I really can’t handle it.

I turned to leave.

Ethan grabbed my wrist.

"My brother heard you were pregnant and threw a party to celebrate. You have to ruin it like this?"

Another brother smirked.

"Slap!"

I spun around and hit him hard.

The room froze. Tara stepped forward, grabbed Ethan’s neck from behind, and pulled him into her arms.

"Son, listen to your father. Stop being stubborn!"

She smiled helplessly.

"Sister-in-law, Ethan and I have been close since childhood, even sleeping naked together. He never treated me like a woman! Don’t take it so seriously!"

She realized it too late, and nudged Ethan into my arms.

"Hurry up and apologize. She’s pregnant. Keep this up, and everyone suffers."

That sentence made everyone stare at me with disdain.

Ethan froze, refusing to bow.

Tara chuckled, whispered something in his ear.

He twitched his lips, then finally looked at me, reluctant.

"It’s my fault, alright."

A sudden wave of nausea hit.

I left the room without looking back.

I didn’t expect Ethan to chase me.

My stomach ached the whole way, and all I could hear were his complaints.