He Pretended to Be the One, But He Was Never Yours

Clara Hayes and I have been best friends for 22 years, so when I found myself catching her husband Damon Reed shopping with another woman while she was at home, pregnant, I was completely panicked.

It was a lazy afternoon, and I decided to hit the mall for some new clothes. But to my surprise, as soon as I turned a corner, I saw Damon and a woman laughing together as they entered a jewelry store.

I blinked several times, making sure I wasn’t imagining it. There was no mistaking it—Damon was definitely the man I recognized, Clara’s boyfriend.

The woman with him, though, was a stranger to me. Through the glass of the store’s entrance, I saw them chatting with the sales associate. Then Damon picked out a gold necklace, grinning as he draped it around the woman’s neck.

They stood close to each other the entire time, looking every bit like a couple in love. Anyone who didn’t know them would’ve assumed they were a young couple deep in the throes of romance.

But if that was the case, what did it mean for Clara?

I clutched my phone, anxiety flooding my chest. Should I tell Clara what I’d seen? The uncertainty was overwhelming.

She was incredibly in love with Damon. From the moment I first met him, I’d had a bad feeling. They just didn’t seem right together.

I had just come out of a five-year relationship, and no one knew better than me how a man truly behaves when he’s in love with a woman—versus when he’s just playing around.

Damon was attractive, sure, but he was also known as a player in our town. Honestly, I had no idea how he even managed to win Clara over.

They’d been together for less than six months when Clara got pregnant. Now, months later, there had been no mention of an engagement. In fact, neither of their parents had even met yet.

I’d gently urged Clara several times to have a serious talk with Damon. Getting pregnant before marriage isn’t ideal, and if he wasn’t going to step up, she’d be the one left holding the bag.

But every time she tried to talk to him, he’d just brush it off with some excuse, like, “I’ll save up for the dowry first.”

It was frustrating, but Clara was my best friend, so I kept my mouth shut and didn’t push too hard.

Now, witnessing this, I didn’t hesitate. I pulled out my phone and sent her a message immediately.

“Are you free right now? Come to the jewelry store on Cedar Walk Street. Damon’s here with some woman.”

Clara replied almost instantly: “What?”

“I’m not joking. Get over here quick, they’re about to leave.”

I was in a panic.

But I couldn’t just walk up to Damon and ask him what the hell was going on with this woman.

I knew better than to interfere. It wasn’t my place to get involved in their relationship, but I just wanted Clara to see Damon for who he really was and get out of this before things went further.

Clara arrived quickly, and I waited anxiously outside.

As soon as she stepped out of the cab, she was fuming. “Where’s Damon? I’ll show him just how bold this woman is for trying to steal him away!”

“They were just inside the store,” I said, confused. “How could they be gone already?”

I looked around, perplexed. I’d stayed outside the store, careful not to draw attention, but when I turned back to wait for Clara, they’d vanished.

“I already sent you the video I took. There’s definitely something fishy going on between them. Damon was smiling like he won the lottery and even picked out a gold necklace for her.”

The more I spoke, the angrier I got. Damon and Clara had been together for months, yet every time a special occasion came up, he found an excuse to avoid celebrating. Clara hadn’t even gotten flowers from him.

And he was always complaining about being broke, asking Clara to cover his cigarette money.

But now? He was secretly acting like a big spender, giving some other woman a gold necklace.