Chapter 3After my sister got pregnant before marriage, she cried and asked me to accept my husband's child. Don't blame me for not remembering the old feelings.

"Stop filming! What are you all looking at?!"

"Wife, are you okay?"

My husband, Brandon, impatiently pushed through the crowd of gawkers blocking the doorway, slamming the hospital room door shut behind him.

He must have rushed here straight from work, not even taking a moment to catch his breath, desperate to defend me.

Skylar, seeing Brandon arrive, simpered and clung to him. But to her surprise, my husband showed her no pity, shoving her straight to the floor.

Seeing Brandon, I felt like I finally had support. All the strength drained from me as I leaned against his shoulder, which I had yearned for. My husband pulled me into his embrace, silently calming my agitated emotions.

But the imagined moment of tenderness didn’t last long. Mrs. Stone’s and Skylar’s cries and wails erupted from below.

Mrs. Stone was also on the floor, throwing a fit, rolling around and wailing as she accused my husband, "You got a wife and forgot your mother! You won't even let me have my way in such a small matter!"

"Do you know how hard it was for me, a single woman, to raise you? I suffered ten times more than any man! And what was it all for? You’re useless! Sons are just raised for other people!"

Mrs. Stone seemed to feel that mere crying wasn't enough. She scrambled up from the floor and sprinted towards the hospital’s load-bearing wall, chanting like a spell, "Oh, my dear departed husband! I'm coming to join you now! We'll be together down there. But I hate that I’ll leave without even seeing my grandchild once!"

But a hospital was no place for such chaotic antics. The commotion drew security guards, who quickly intervened and separated Mrs. Stone.

I looked at my husband with immense relief, a blissful thought crossing my mind: "With a husband who protects and loves me like this, I have no regrets in life." For a moment, I felt confident I could defeat anyone who dared covet my marriage.

But in this game, it turned out I was the only one who was truly invested.

After hearing Mrs. Stone's words, tears welled up in Brandon’s eyes. His face, crimson, contorted as he yanked his hand from my tight grip.

He snarled at me, begging me not to make things difficult for him. "My mother raised me; it wasn't easy! All she wants is a grandchild to dote on in her old age! She hasn’t done anything wrong!"

I stared at the face of the man I had known for four years and loved for eight. His features blurred with the memory of the shy boy who had once asked me to marry him, promising to cherish me forever. It was then I realized I didn't truly know him, or perhaps, I had never truly seen him.

Yet, years of shared history still held a sliver of hope in my heart. My voice, however, couldn’t hide the disappointment as I asked him, "What about me? What did *I* do wrong?"

"Please, just tell me. I’ll change."

I had always presented a strong front to my husband; this was the first time I had shown him my vulnerability. He hesitated, visibly.

But then, hearing that Skylar’s water had broken and she was about to give birth, he turned and left without a second thought.

If before, I could have rationalized his actions as filial piety, now it was clear to anyone with eyes: he cared for that child.

Outside the delivery room, everyone anxiously awaited the new arrival. But I tore up the gifts I had already prepared, crumpling them in a unnoticed corner, wishing no one would ever discover this secret.