Wife Bears Child for First Love, I Awaken, Join MSF Forever, Now She Regrets

Chapter 2

After saying my piece, I turned and walked back into the bedroom, packing my things without sparing a glance at the reactions behind me.

I had made my decision, I was leaving for good. I didn't want to leave anything behind, no traces of myself in a house that wasn't mine anymore.

From the living room, I could hear the laughter, their happy family atmosphere, built so effortlessly without me. I paused for a moment, folding my clothes as the sound of their joy pierced through the quiet.

"Kieran, I want to give this child your last name. That way, even if he calls someone else 'Dad' in the future, he'll always know who his real father is."

I didn't need to see it to know the look Ottilie was wearing as she said that, one of tenderness, maybe even love, directed at him instead of me.

And my heart, already battered and bruised by her, twisted in agony again.

I thought back to last month, when I had rushed home from abroad, souvenirs in hand, gifts I had carefully picked out for her.

But at the doorstep, I saw Ottilie and Kieran coming back from a walk, hand in hand.

Ottilie's face turned pale when she saw me, but Kieran, he just looked confused, even asking if I had the wrong apartment.

I couldn't speak, my eyes glued to her swollen belly.

Eleven months away. My wife was pregnant.

There was no denying it. That child wasn't mine.

Before I could say anything, Ottilie hurried in front of Kieran and introduced me.

"This is my husband, Jude Wilson."

I thought, maybe, hearing that, Kieran would back off, show some respect. But instead, he invited me into my own home as if he was the man of the house.

As we passed each other, he leaned in and whispered, just loud enough for me to hear,

"I heard you're quite a bit older than me. I guess that makes me your ‘brother,' huh? Since your wife is carrying my child."

Hot blood surged to my head, and before I knew it, I swung my fist, landing a solid punch straight to his face.

I lost all control, eleven months of longing, of missing Ottilie, turning into pure rage.

If I'd had a knife in my hand then, I might have killed them both.

It wasn't until the neighbors called the cops that the chaos was finally broken up. The three of us were hauled to the station, but it was a domestic matter. The police couldn't really do anything, they just sent us home.

When we got back, my in-laws were already there, storming in like they had been waiting for the drama. They didn't even ask what had happened. They just jumped straight into yelling at me.

They scolded me for making a scene, for embarrassing them in front of the neighbors.

They went on about how I'd wasted all my education, how I'd resorted to violence, and they threatened to make me regret it if things got worse.

Turns out, they'd known all along about Ottilie and Kieran, and they were fully onboard with it.

In just a year, Kieran had somehow become the perfect son-in-law.

And me? I was kept in the dark the whole time.

The bitterness in my chest was overwhelming. I felt like I couldn't breathe.

Ottilie, shaking and hesitant, walked up to me, reaching for my hand like she thought she could reason with me.

"I never meant to betray you," she said, her voice soft but desperate. "Kieran's very sick. The doctors say he's got maybe six months left. I couldn't let him die without leaving a legacy."

"I thought about talking to you before, but you were so far away. I didn't want to worry you, to disrupt your studies. That's why I decided to wait until you got back to tell you."

She paused, almost as if she were testing the waters, before adding, "If you're willing, we can raise this child together."

She said it so casually, like this huge life decision was just a small thing to be worked out.

I finished packing the last of my things when my mother-in-law barged in, looking at the suitcase with a smug expression, like she was finally pleased with how things were going.

"You haven't been around for months, so I let Kieran sleep in your room. The study's turned into a nursery, too. I guess you'll be sleeping on the couch tonight. Or maybe you should just get a hotel?"

I was too tired to argue, too drained from everything that had happened.

I nodded, resigned to the idea of crashing on the sofa for the night.

But later, in the middle of the night, the baby's cries started echoing from the bedroom.

I tossed and turned, about to shove in some earplugs when I heard Ottilie's voice.

"Can't you do something about the baby? He won't stop crying."

Kieran's voice followed, teasing, "Aren't you my baby? A little crying is good for his lungs."

Ottilie giggled, "You're terrible."

Then came the sounds of the bed creaking.

I pulled the blanket over my head, doing my best to block it all out.

But when I closed my eyes, I saw her, Ottilie, the way she had been when she first confessed her love to me.

Back then, she was pure, her eyes full of nothing but me.

But that Ottilie? She didn't belong to me anymore.