When Love Becomes a Loop

While recovering after giving birth, I came across a post online.

My mistress is due soon and wants to give birth abroad. My mom loves her and wants to go with her. But my wife just had a baby. How do I get my wife to let us go?

The comments were furious, but the poster had liked one reply.

Easy. Just tell her your mom's sick and needs treatment abroad.

I was still wondering who the unlucky wife was when my husband walked in with a fake medical report.

"Honey, my mom has a heart problem. She needs urgent surgery overseas. I'll have to go with her."

Looking at the report in my husband Lucas's hand, my heart trembled as that post involuntarily came to mind.

It had to be a coincidence, right?

Lucas was famous for loving his wife devotedly!

During my pregnancy, he made me different meals every day.

When my body ached during pregnancy, no matter how tired he was after work, he would massage me until I fell asleep.

The day I went into labor, he paced anxiously outside the delivery room.

After the baby was born, everyone gathered around the child smiling, but he alone gripped my hand tightly, crying his eyes out.

"I'm sorry you had to suffer."

After the baby was born, he turned down all his work and stayed home with my mother-in-law Rachel to take care of me and the child.

During the day, Rachel did the housework.

He fed the baby, changed diapers, and gave baths.

He even moved to the guest room with the baby so I could sleep well at night.

How could a husband who pampered me like this possibly do such a thing?

I hesitated, then instinctively asked.

"Wasn't she in good health?"

"Why does she suddenly need urgent surgery?"

Lucas shook his head, his face full of anxiety.

"I don't know either. Mom's been saying her chest felt uncomfortable these past few days, so I took her to the hospital for a checkup. The doctor said her condition is serious and she needs surgery right away."

"After that, she'll need two months of recovery."

Two months.

Just enough time to care for a woman through childbirth and recovery.

My heart sank, but I still probed tentatively.

"I know the best internal medicine doctor abroad. Should I contact them for you?"

Lucas waved his hands hurriedly. "No, no need."

Seeming to realize his overreaction, he immediately recovered, gripping my hand tightly with a guilty expression.

"Winnie, you just gave birth. I already feel terrible that Mom and I can't stay here to take care of you."

"How could I let you worry about these things?"

As he said this, Lucas's eyes were red.

As if he felt incredibly sorry for me.

But my gaze was fixed on his hand.

On his right hand, between thumb and index finger, there was a scar.

Identical to the profile picture of the person who had posted.

If I remembered correctly, this scar was from three months ago.

I had just finished a prenatal checkup, and Lucas was taking me out of the hospital.

A large unleashed German Shepherd suddenly charged at me, teeth bared.

Without thinking, Lucas blocked me and fought the dog with his bare hands.

In the end, the dog bit off a piece of flesh from his hand.

Blood flowed freely. Lucas had seventeen stitches.

I was heartbroken and kept wiping away tears, but Lucas smiled and comforted me.

"Don't cry. As long as you and the baby are safe, this scar is worth it. Even if my whole hand was ruined."

The scar that once symbolized his love now stabbed painfully at my heart.

I reached out and touched the scar between Lucas's thumb and finger.

"Does your scar still hurt?"

Lucas froze, then curled his hand.

"It stopped hurting long ago. Why do you suddenly ask?"

I lowered my eyes and said softly.

"I just suddenly remembered the past."

"You were so good to me and the baby back then."

Lucas smiled indulgently and gripped my hand tightly.

"Silly, am I not good to you now?"

"From the moment you got pregnant, I swore I'd protect you and the baby with my life."

As he spoke, his eyes reddened, and he said with utmost sincerity.

"Winnie, I know I shouldn't leave you at a time like this."

"But she's my mother. She raised me alone. I can't bear to let her go abroad for surgery by herself."

"You understand, don't you?"

Looking at his expectant, anxious eyes, I nodded.

"Of course."

"Her condition is so serious. How could I stop you from being a filial son?"

Lucas breathed a sigh of relief.

"Marrying such an understanding wife is the greatest fortune of my life."

He looked at me with tender affection, his gaze as deep and loving as always.

But I would no longer be moved by it as I once was.

At this moment, I couldn't help but feel curious.

Of all the love I had once been so proud of, how much was real and how much was fake?

When did he and that woman start?

As I pondered this, Rachel came in.

She had obviously heard our conversation. As soon as she entered, she spoke with red eyes.

"Winnie, I'm sorry. I'm old and useless. Instead of helping you, I'm causing you trouble when you need care the most."

Her voice choked, her eyes brimming with tears.

Looking at her, I felt a mix of emotions.

In all our years of marriage, Rachel and I had always gotten along well.

Every year on her birthday, I remembered better than Lucas, starting to prepare her gift a month in advance.

When she mentioned her hometown house was too old, I emptied my savings without a word to hire a construction team to renovate it into an elegant villa.

Last year when she accidentally broke her leg and was hospitalized, I went to the hospital every day to keep her company, helping her bathe, feeding her, and dealing with her bodily waste.

At that time, she held my hand, moved to tears.

"Winnie, you're the best daughter-in-law in the world."

"If my son ever does anything to wrong you, I'll be the first to deal with him."

I believed her.

I thought sincerity could be met with sincerity.

But I never expected that Rachel, who had promised to stand up for me, would actually go with her son to serve another woman through her postpartum recovery after I had just given birth.

How ridiculous.

I looked at her and forced a smile, saying softly.

"Don't say that. Your health comes first. I'll be fine here."

Hearing this, Rachel nodded with relief.

"Good, good child."

"Don't worry. Once I recover, I'll come back and take good care of you and the baby. I won't let you suffer any grievance."

I laughed lightly and said nothing.

Lucas booked tickets for tomorrow.

Early the next morning, he and Rachel came to my room with their luggage.

They kept reminding me to stay warm and not to touch cold water.

Perhaps because they weren't at ease, or perhaps to play their parts thoroughly.

They even took notes of many precautions and left them on my bedside table. Their endless instructions seemed reluctant to leave.

When Rachel left the room, she even wiped her eyes.

"Winnie, I really can't bear to leave you or the baby, but this illness won't wait. I have no choice."

Lucas put his arm around my shoulder, eyes red.

"I've already hired a postpartum nanny for you. As soon as Mom recovers, I'll come back. I promise I won't stay a day longer."

I nodded and watched them leave.

After they had gone far, I suddenly remembered something.

Thinking of that thing, I immediately called my parents and asked them to come over.

Sensing my urgency, my parents came to my house as quickly as possible.

"What's wrong, Winnie? Why did you call us over so urgently?"

I didn't hide anything. I told them everything about Lucas and Rachel deceiving me to go serve the mistress.

After hearing this, my dad was completely in disbelief.

"Winnie, could this be a misunderstanding? Everyone can see how good Lucas is to you."

"And Rachel has really treated you like her own daughter all these years."

"How could the two of them conspire to deceive you?"

"Could it just be a coincidence? What if Rachel really is sick?"

My mom immediately rejected this. "Impossible!"

"I saw her dancing in the square downstairs just the other day. She danced for two whole hours without even getting winded. Her body is tougher than an ox. How could she have heart disease?"

"That Lucas! When he married you, he kowtowed until his head bled, saying he'd treat you well. Now he dares to team up with his mother to deceive you like this?"

My mom was very angry.

But I was more confused.

As my dad said.

All these years, Lucas had been very good to me.

He was young and accomplished, handsome, and never lacked young girls throwing themselves at him.

Even his company owner's daughter had shown him favor.

She had even openly stated that as long as Lucas was willing to be with her, the whole company could take his surname.

But Lucas remained completely unmoved.

He even offended her for it and was nearly blacklisted by the entire industry.

Despite this, he remained steadfast and said to me.

"I can lose the whole world, but I can't leave you."

As for Rachel, she treated me even better than her own son Lucas.

Once, in the middle of the night, I had acute appendicitis and was in so much pain I couldn't stand.

Lucas was on a business trip at the time. It was Rachel who carried me on her back through the freezing winter wind and snow for several miles to get me to the hospital.

That day, Rachel's legs were so frozen they nearly had to be amputated.

But she was afraid I'd feel guilty, so she endured the pain and never told me.

Later, when Lucas came back and found both her legs had turned black, he rushed her to the hospital.

Even the doctor was alarmed, saying she was gambling with her life.

But Rachel said, "As long as Winnie is okay, I don't care what happens to me."

It was precisely because I had genuinely felt their love that I couldn't understand.

What kind of woman could make Lucas, who loved me so much, and Rachel, who treated me as her own daughter, both betray me at the same time?

"Let's go. We're going to the airport right now to see what's really going on."

My dad suddenly stood up, grabbed the car keys, and headed for the door.

My mom followed closely, cursing as she walked.

"Right. I want to see what kind of vixen can bewitch this whole family like this."

I handed the baby to the nanny and got in the car with them.

Sitting in the car, my mom kept muttering.

"That ungrateful Lucas. He knelt at our door for three days and nights before I agreed to let my daughter marry him. And now? His wife just gave birth, and he turns around to serve his mistress and her illegitimate child?"

"And Rachel, saying she treats her daughter-in-law like her own daughter. And what happened? Her daughter-in-law is suffering this injustice and she doesn't care, but runs off to take care of another woman?"

"If I catch them really doing something to wrong my daughter, I'll make them pay!"

My mom was furious.

When Lucas was pursuing me, she had disagreed.

She thought Lucas's family background was ordinary and he wasn't good enough for me.

It was Lucas kneeling at our door for three days and nights, kowtowing until his head bled, that made my mom relent.

My dad drove silently without responding.

I saw from the rearview mirror that his brow was tightly furrowed, thinking about something.

After about twenty minutes of driving, I suddenly saw Lucas's car parked in front of a roadside villa.

"Stop, Dad, stop!"

Hearing my urgent shout, my dad quickly found a place to stop, then turned to look at me.

"What's wrong, Winnie? Aren't we going to the airport to find Lucas?"

My mom was also confused. "Yeah, we need to hurry to the airport and catch them red-handed!"

I pointed at Lucas's car. "He hasn't gone to the airport yet. He's probably here to pick up his mistress."

With that, I got out of the car.

Then headed straight for the villa.

But I didn't notice that in the car, my parents' faces both changed dramatically as they looked at the villa.

Seeing me walk toward the villa, my dad immediately got out of the car and blocked my way.

"Winnie, are you sure Lucas came here to pick up that woman?"

Seeing my dad's strange expression, I felt something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Dad? Do you know this place?"

My dad opened his mouth but made no sound.

At this moment, my mom also caught up.

She looked at the villa, swallowed nervously with a panicked expression, then said to me gravely.

"Winnie, let's go back."

"Stop investigating."

I looked at my mom in disbelief.

"Why?"

"Mom, you were the one who said we should investigate. You were the most eager, saying we had to catch them red-handed, weren't you?"

"Now they're right in front of us. Why are you telling me to stop?"

My mom didn't answer me. Instead, she grabbed my arm and pleaded tearfully.

"Winnie, I'm begging you. Let's go back."

"Stop this investigation here, okay?"

My dad also walked over, his face serious.

"Winnie, listen to your mother. Let's go back first."

"We're doing this for your own good."

I was completely confused.

I didn't get why my parents, who were just so ready to defend me, flipped after they saw this villa.

Was there a problem with this villa?

Or was something wrong with the people inside?

Just as I was puzzled, the villa's main door opened.

I turned sharply.

I immediately saw Lucas and Rachel on either side, carefully supporting a heavily pregnant woman as she came out of the villa.

The moment I saw that woman's face clearly, my eyes widened as I suddenly understood everything...