Valentine’s Fantasy

The ring sparkled so brightly upon my finger it was almost blinding. The diamond wasn't huge, but it sure did dazzle. I was speechless, my heart fluttering in my chest like the wings of a hummingbird; beating so hard and so fast I thought I might explode. He was looking at me with such love in his eyes; those eyes that I would melt into every time he laid them on me.

And then another flutter. My hand instinctively rested on my turgid belly as the life inside moved in rhythm with my heart.

"So," he asked "is it a yes?"

"Yes!" I cried as he drew up to his feet. "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!!" I flung my arms around him and he encircled me with his in the warmest embrace.

"I love you." he whispered. "I'll love you forever."

A tear tumbled down my cheek. "I love you too."

I woke up sobbing. My bare hand clutched at my empty stomach. No ring. No baby. Just me, curled in my bed alone. My phone screen the only light in the darkness of my bedroom, still open on his last text message.