My older sister was pretending to be pregnant — when I found out why, I nearly fainted. Wh

My older sister was pretending to be pregnant — when I found out why, I nearly fainted. When my 45-year-old sister, Melissa, and her 48-year-old husband, Greg, announced that they were expecting their second child, the whole family was incredibly happy for them, but surprised too. They already had a teenage daughter, Lily. She was 16. And as far as I knew, they hadn’t been planning to have another child.

Still, Melissa called it “a little miracle.” Greg was always looking after her, carrying things for her, and joking that at almost fifty, he’d have to deal with diapers all over again. Even so, I was happy for my sister.

Melissa was already seven months pregnant when she and Greg invited the whole family over for a barbecue. Then our mom accidentally knocked over a glass of red wine, spilling it all over Melissa’s dress. Melissa immediately went to the bedroom to change and deal with the stain.

A few minutes later, I headed to the bathroom. As I walked down the hallway, I noticed that Melissa’s bedroom door was slightly open. Without thinking, I glanced inside. And froze.

My sister was standing in front of the mirror, taking off a fake pregnancy belly. Her stomach was completely flat. She wiped the wine off the fake belly, put it back on, and pulled out another dress to change into. I nearly fainted.

God, why would Melissa do this? Why pretend to be pregnant?

For the rest of the evening, I could barely speak. I was in shock, but I didn’t want to cause a scene in front of the family because Melissa had clearly done this for some reason. Melissa came back as if nothing had happened, gently rubbing that same fake round belly.

When the guests started leaving, I decided to stay behind so I could talk to Melissa alone. I was carrying plates into the kitchen after everyone had already gone. Melissa and Greg were in there putting away the snacks. I had just worked up the courage to confront her when I heard Greg quietly say: “We can’t keep this up much longer. Melissa, they’re going to figure it out soon, and then our whole plan will fall apart.”

Melissa took Greg’s hand and replied: “Pretending to be pregnant is getting harder and harder, but listen, we only need to keep this going for another two months. We’ve worked toward this for so long.”

I pressed myself against the wall so they wouldn’t see me. By the time Melissa finished talking, I finally understood their entire plan and why she had been faking the pregnancy. I covered my mouth with both hands to keep myself from screaming.