Chapter 2The Third Wheel in My Own Marriage

Evening arrived as expected. My phone chimed with a notification.

I picked it up. Declan had sent me a text.

[Something came up tonight. Won't make it back. Wait until tomorrow for your surprise.]

I scoffed and didn't reply.

It was exactly as I had expected.

On a past wedding anniversary, I was swamped with work but specifically flew ten hours back to celebrate with him. Yet, the moment I walked through the door, he was heading out.

"Something happened with Vanessa. A pipe burst at her place; I'll be right back."

All my expectations vanished into thin air. The exhaustion from the long journey magnified tenfold, and a sour sense of grievance flooded my heart.

"Do you even know how to fix a broken pipe? If there's an issue, call a plumber. Your being there is useless. Did you forget what day it is today?"

He anxiously pushed past me.

"I know, it's our anniversary. It happens every year, no big deal. I'll be right back. You don't get it; Vanessa looks tough on the outside, but she's absolutely terrified when things actually go wrong."

He left in a frantic rush, leaving the anniversary gift burning like hot coals in my hands.

Gradually, I had stopped expecting anything from him at all.

I reined in my emotions and made a trip back to his family's estate.

After all, I had promised to attend the family dinner. Breaking my word would only give them more ammunition to gossip about me.

Right at the front door, I ran into Declan.

For once, he actually offered an explanation and an apology.

"I originally planned to go home, but Vanessa was having bad stomach cramps. I felt like leaving her alone at the hospital would make her scared."

I gave a slight nod and brushed him off with a few perfunctory words.

Declan wanted to say more, but I had already stepped inside the house.

At the dinner table, after a few brief pleasantries, the conversation inevitably shifted to me.

My mother-in-law had long been dissatisfied with me.

"You've been married for so long, and still not a single child. Are you refusing to conceive, or are you physically incapable? Have you been drinking the fertility teas I gave you?"

Every time I visited, my mother-in-law would lecture me and force countless bitter herbal supplements on me.

Even that one time I drank them and got severe food poisoning, she didn't stop.

"We'll just switch the prescription. Not being able to have kids is the real emergency."

And Declan, who knew the entire inside story, just sat there, watching everything unfold as a bystander. He let me endure the endless harassment or brushed it off by saying we would "keep trying."

This time, I didn't apologize like I used to, nor did I promise to dutifully drink the supplements and try to get pregnant. I put down my fork and unceremoniously fired back.

"Declan doesn't want one himself. How am I supposed to get pregnant?"

My mother-in-law jumped up in a panic to refute me.

"Liar! How could my son not want children? It’s obviously because you have an issue and can't conceive."

All these years, I was the only one who took the brunt of this topic, as if I were the ultimate sinner.

I pulled out my phone and played an audio recording. Immediately, the sound of our argument filled the room.

It was the night I discovered he had been slipping me birth control pills.

"The reason I can't get pregnant is because of your sabotage? Just because Vanessa doesn't want you to have a child right now? Can you get it through your head that having a baby is an issue between the two of us?!"

Such an absurd reason naturally enraged me.

In the recording, Declan frowned and scolded me.

"Are you really that desperate for a kid? It’s not like you’re too old to conceive. What's the harm in waiting a few more years? As for my mom’s nagging, just take the scolding and it'll pass."

The argument hadn't resulted in any compromise from Declan. He simply stopped sleeping with me altogether.

"We'll have one in a few years. Vanessa needs some time to accept it. Any child I have, she's going to be the godmother. You wouldn't want the kid to miss out on their godmother's love, would you?"

In the past, considering the harmony of the family, I had chosen not to expose this.

But now, since they didn't care about dignity, why should I?

My mother-in-law's face instantly turned beet red. She stammered, unable to utter a single word.

After the family dinner ended, Declan found me. He was somewhat angry, but his demeanor softened when he met my icy gaze.

"There was no need for you to do that. But fine, it is about time we had a child."