Anastasia''s heart sank as she stared at the screen on her phone, the words "Message Not Delivered" staring back at her. It was a harsh reminder that they were no longer friends online, and she felt the sting of tears welling up. She had always suspected he had removed her from his contacts. If he hadn''t, she never would have had the guts to send those messages. Keeping his number was like holding onto a sliver of hope, pretending he was still there to talk to. Her chat history was a graveyard of unsent messages, a silent testament to all the times she missed him and tried to reach out.


    Wiping her tears, she made sure not to wake Pattie or alert Salma, her roommate, to her sorrow. Anastasia knew she had to stay strong. She was the pir of the household now; there was no room for her to fall apart.


    She snuggled up with her daughter, findingfort in their shared warmth. It was these moments that brought her the purest joy.


    The next morning, the smell of Salma''s homemade pancakes filled the air. Despite Salma''s encouragement to get some extra rest, Anastasia couldn''t shake the heaviness in her heart. She mumbled, "I''ll just sleep a little longer, Mom." Salma, always the caring mother, was happy to let her daughter catch up on sleep. She reminded Anastasia about her aunt''s birthday dinner that evening. "No need to set up your stall today, honey. Just rest up and maybe find a nice gift for your auntter. I''ll drop Pattie off at school and head to work."


    With a sense of purpose, Anastasia got out of bed after Salma and Pattie left. She upied herself with her jewelry designs, taking advantage of the day off to create new pieces for the uing street fair.


    By noon, she had finished a few designs and went out to buy a birthday gift for her Aunt Cynthia. As luck would have it, she ran into Julie at the local bakery. Julie, noticeably pregnant and craving sweets, was at the counter when Anastasia walked in.


    Seeing Julie''s baby bump was a painful reminder of Anastasia''s own lost child, and she felt a wave of grief. Julie, after a moment of surprise, walked over with a smug look. "What a coincidence, running into you here. You''ve bounced back so well after your pregnancy. Not an ounce of extra weight on you-tter than a pancake. You''d never guess you''d had a child. Truly envy-worthy."


    Anastasia''seback was sharp. "I admire you too, Julie, for being so open-hearted, carrying the child of a man whose actions are, let''s say, questionable. I often see your fiancé in the tabloids, wrapped around models and starlets. I must say, I envy how carefree you must be, not having to take care of your fiancé''s needs when he''s got a whole line of women to do it for you. Oh, and by the way, have you been dreaming of Grannie Anitately?"


    The tense exchange left the air thick with hostility. Anastasia, having made her point, left the bakery feeling a mix of sadness and a small sense of victory. She had once been Herman''s wife and had known love, even if it had slipped away. And that, she thought bitterly, was more than Julie could ever im.