Not Infertile Just Betrayed

I was rushed to the ER with excruciating abdominal pain.

The diagnosis: appendicitis.

The doctor was typing up my prescription when his hand suddenly froze.

He looked up at me.

Why would you have an IUD inserted when you haven't even had a child yet?

An IUD?

That was impossible.

I had an infertile constitution.

I'd spent hundreds of thousands trying to conceive, enduring treatment after treatment.

"Doctor, are you sure you're reading that right?"

The doctor turned the monitor toward me, tapping his pen on the shadow on the screen.

"Look right here. How could you forget your own procedure?"

I stared at the screen, my fingertips trembling uncontrollably.

For seven years, my mother-in-law had blamed me for being unable to have children.

I'd endured endless humiliation.

But looking at that IUD that should never have been there...

Turns out I wasn't infertile.

Someone just never wanted me to get pregnant!

Staring at the shadow on the screen, my hand instinctively pressed against my lower abdomen.

Seven years ago, when we were trying to conceive after marriage, I was diagnosed not only with an infertile constitution but also with small cysts.

I'd looked at Harrison in panic then. He'd quietly comforted me.

"Honey, don't be scared. We'll remove the cysts first. I'll be with you every step of the way."

Over the next seven years, Harrison accompanied me to that hospital countless times.

Snapping back to reality, I asked the doctor to remove the IUD during my surgery.

After the procedure, I was lying in the hospital bed when Harrison called.

"Honey, where are you? Why haven't you been answering your phone?"

"I'm at the hospital. I just had surgery."

I said quietly. Panic filled his voice on the other end.

"The hospital? Which hospital?"

Seeming to realize his overreaction, he changed his tone.

"Honey, what surgery? Are you not feeling well?"

I couldn't quite describe what I was feeling. I answered briefly and hung up.

Soon, the hospital room door swung open. Harrison rushed in.

"You had appendicitis surgery? Why didn't you go to the hospital where my uncle works? He could have looked after you."

He was talking while carefully observing my expression.

I clutched the copper IUD in my hand, careful not to show anything unusual, and smiled at him.

"It hurt too much. This hospital was closer."

My mother-in-law pushed through the door just then. Hearing my words, she immediately scolded loudly.

"How much could appendicitis hurt? Can't even handle that. How will you handle childbirth later?"

"Oh wait, we don't even know if you can have children."

"Mom, say less. Anna just had surgery. She's not feeling well."

Harrison poured me a glass of water. After confirming I hadn't discovered the IUD placement, he hurried to leave again.

"Honey, the company's been struggling lately. I need to get back to work. Mom will stay here to take care of you."

I nodded, watching his figure disappear behind the door.

"I don't have time to serve a barren hen like you."

My mother-in-law said mockingly before leaving as well.

The hospital room fell quiet again. I let out a soft sigh.

Three days later, I was discharged.

During those three days, Harrison and my mother-in-law visited only a handful of times. It was the nurses who occasionally helped me out of pity.

I didn't go home. Instead, I went to the hospital where Harrison's uncle workedthe hospital where I'd had my cyst surgery.

After confirming his uncle was off today, I went to the medical records department.

Soon, a nurse pulled up my file.

I flipped through it page by page.

Seven years of spending hundreds of thousands on medical tests, medications, and IVF treatments.

Yet all that showed here were a few simple routine checkup reports.

Flipping to the very first page, the record showed not a cyst removal surgery but a sterilization procedure!

My hands shook uncontrollably. How ironic.

Seven years of torment, seven years of guiltall because someone had deliberately robbed me of my right to be a mother.

I forced a bitter smile, but tears still fell.

After a long moment, I wiped my tears and took out my phone to save the evidence.

Then I suddenly noticed the family consent signature page was missing.

I didn't alert the hospital staff. I closed the file, thanked them, and left.

Walking out of the hospital, I immediately called my classmate, Victor.

After explaining the situation, he readily agreed and told me to wait.

Soon, he called back.

"Anna, I sent you the missing page on SnapChat."

"Thanks so much."

He paused before continuing.

"Your husband deleted the records too thoroughly. Out of curiosity, I checked using his information."

"I found something. I sent it to you too. You..."

"You need to prepare yourself mentally. Anna, if you need anything, you can always reach out to me."

"Okay..."

I walked to a bench by the roadside and sat down, opening SnapChat.

The first image was the missing page. The signature on it belonged to Harrison.

I knew this was coming, but it still hurt so much.

Harrison's patient, comforting voice seemed to echo in my ears.

What had he been thinking then? Did he feel even a shred of sympathy for me? Or was he laughing at me?

I opened the second photoa birth certificate.

My heart contracted painfully. I looked at the father's name.

Harrison!

I compared the handwriting on both signatures. Identical.

One signature had severed my chance at motherhood. The other had made him a father.

Tears streamed down uncontrollably. Hatred surged through my chest.

I sat outside for a long time before going home.

My mother-in-law was watching TV on the couch. Seeing me return, she immediately ordered me to cook dinner.

Because I couldn't have children, I'd always felt guilty. I once cooked dinner even with a 104-degree fever.

But this time, I refused.

Seeing I wouldn't obey, my mother-in-law immediately went to my father-in-law's portrait and began crying.

She wailed that I couldn't give them children, leaving their family without an heir.

She sobbed that Harrison wouldn't listen to her and refused to divorce me.

Over seven years, I'd heard this accusation over and over.

Each time, I'd felt guilty while being grateful my husband hadn't abandoned me.

Now, watching her performance, I suddenly wondereddid she know she had a grandson out there?

I must have stared too long and too intently. My mother-in-law couldn't keep crying. She turned and called my husband instead.

I ignored her and walked into the bedroom.

After searching carefully, I couldn't find any of my medical records from the checkups.

I'd undergone IVF three times, all failures. Each time I wanted to see my medical records, Harrison would say he didn't want to upset me and wouldn't show them to me.

I'd been so touched then. Now I realized it was all a joke.

I closed my eyes and lay on the bed, completely drained.

Before long, Harrison pushed the door open.

He walked naturally to my side, trying to kiss my cheek.

I turned my head away. He didn't seem to mind.

"Honey, feeling better? Come eat dinner first."

He reached out to pull me up.

Looking at his outstretched hand, I had an impulse to reveal everything.

But nothere were still things I hadn't investigated. I couldn't tip him off.

I obediently took his hand and let him lead me out.

After dinner, Harrison crouched in front of me, looking at me with deep affection.

"Honey, you just had surgery. I didn't want to bring this up, but the company really can't hold on anymore."

"What's wrong?"

I played along.

"A rival company cut off our supply chain. The bank pulled our loan. The company's going bankrupt."

Before I could respond, my mother-in-law erupted in fury.

"Why did the bank pull the loan? Because you can't have children!"

"Mom, this isn't Anna's fault."

He turned back to me.

"The bank assessed that I have no heir, making it too risky. When problems arose, they immediately pulled the loan. Honey, this company is our life's work. I don't want it to go bankrupt."

Yes, this company was started with my father's investment.

As soon as he established the company, he immediately gave me eighty percent of the shares. That's why I never doubted him all these years.

"No heir? Then adopt one. People find solutions."

My mother-in-law's booming voice rang out again.

"Right, honey. Could we adopt a child from an orphanage? With a child, the bank will continue lending to us."

His gaze held pleading and pain. But I no longer believed him.

"I'm tired."

I lowered my eyes.

"Okay, honey, rest first. We'll talk about this later. I'll think of another way."

These past few days, Harrison had been drowning his sorrows at home. Meanwhile, I'd been investigating the company's finances.

One day, Harrison didn't drink. He left early in the morning.

I received a message from the private investigator with evidence of him transferring company assets.

I held the evidence, waiting for him to come home so we could negotiate the divorce.

In the afternoon, Harrison returned.

"Honey, I found a way to solve the company crisis!"

His excited voice interrupted my unspoken divorce request.

"I have a distant cousin who died in a car accident, leaving behind a widow and orphan. His wife, Zoe, can't afford to raise the child and is willing to let us adopt him."

"Oh my, that's perfect! The boy, Ryan, at least shares some blood relation with our family. This continues our family line."

My mother-in-law said happily beside him.

Ryan? The name triggered a memory.

"What's your cousin's wife's name?"

"Zoe Smith."

I smiled coldly. Zoe Smiththe mother's name on that birth certificate.

"Honey, what do you think? We adopt this child, hold a ceremony, and solve the company crisis first."

"If we have our own biological child later, the company will still go to our child."

"Sure."

I nodded. A ceremony sounded perfect. Lots of people, lots of excitement. I gripped the evidence in my hand.

The day before the ceremony, Harrison brought home the widow and orphan.

Zoe entered and immediately pulled the child down to kneel.

"Quick, kneel to the lady. She's taking you in. From now on, she's your new mother."

"I won't kneel! I don't want a new mother!"

Ryan screamed and lunged at me, scratching my arms until they bled.

Harrison was busy helping Zoe up.

"Anna, Zoe is giving you her child. Instead of being grateful, how can you let her kneel?"

Zoe leaned weakly against Harrison.

"It's fine, Harrison. As long as you treat Ryan well."

Unable to dodge in time, I was pushed hard to the ground by Ryan.

A crisp crackthe bracelet on my wrist shattered.

This was my mother's keepsake. My eyes reddened as I slapped him.

Harrison immediately pulled Ryan behind him.

"Anna! Have you lost your mind? You're fighting with a child!"

"He broke the bracelet my mother left me!"

A flash of sympathy crossed his eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

"It's just a bracelet. I'll buy you another one in a few days!"

Harrison brushed it off with one sentence, then busied himself checking Ryan's face.

But he'd forgottenwhen he proposed, he'd held that very bracelet and vowed to protect me for a lifetime in my mother's place!

At dinner, Ryan put all the good dishes in his own bowl and spat in mine.

Harrison and my mother-in-law turned a blind eye. The family of four enjoyed themselves, making me look like a maid.

After dinner, Harrison came to me with a document.

"Honey, to enroll Ryan in school, we need proof of residence from that downtown property under your name."

"Sign here so he can start school soon."

I took the document and tried to flip through it.

Harrison pressed down on my hand.

"Honey, don't you trust me? Just sign."

In the past, I never questioned what he did. But now...

"Are you sure this document is just proof of residence for school enrollment?"

Under the surveillance camera, I asked loudly.

"Don't worry, honey. When have I ever lied to you?"

Watching his triumphant expression, I lowered my head and saved this surveillance footage to the cloud.

That afternoon, when I logged in to check, the video had been completely deleted as expected.

That evening, Ryan cried and insisted on sleeping with Harrison.

Harrison looked at me apologetically.

"Honey, Ryan's still little. Could you sleep on the couch tonight? Just one night."

Before he finished speaking, I turned and left.

That bedI found it filthy.

In the middle of the night, going to the bathroom, I heard moans from the guest roomHarrison and Zoe.

"Honey, when can we be together openly?"

"Soon. I've transferred most of the company assets. After the ceremony, once I get the house, I can divorce her."

Harrison laughed quietly.

"My mom can't wait either. She's been dying to hold her grandson."

I clenched my fists. If that's how it is, don't blame me for being ruthless.

At the banquet hall, we got out of the car and walked inside.

Ryan shoved me aside and grabbed Harrison's hand.

"I want to go in with Daddy and Mommy."

He smirked at me provocatively. Harrison just patted his head affectionately.

"Honey, kids don't know better. Don't take it to heart. We'll go in first."

I stood under the scorching sun, watching the backs of their family of three.

It felt utterly absurd.

Walking into the hall, some clueless people came forward with compliments.

"Mr. Walker, is this your wife and child? What a beautiful couple, and such a smart kid."

Zoe smiled and thanked them. Harrison just smiled without speaking.

My mother-in-law beamed with a kindness I'd never seen before.

But when she turned and saw me, her smile immediately faded.

"Why are you just standing there? You're in the way. If you have nothing to do, go help serve the food."

I didn't move.

"Hurry up! Can't even have kids and just causing trouble. If you won't help, get out."

I gripped the evidence in my hand, silently telling myself to hold on a bit longer. Not everyone was here yet.

The show needed a full audience.

I silently carried dishes. Walking past Zoe, I was tripped.

Scalding food spilled on me, but Zoe screamed first, clutching her wrist where a few drops of soup had splashed.

"Harrison, it hurts so much."

Harrison rushed over, tenderly blowing on Zoe's arm.

"Anna, how can you be so careless?"

"We'll go rinse it off first."

He glanced at me and frowned.

"You should go change too. The ceremony's about to start. Try not to be so clumsy next time."

Ignoring the various stares around me, I endured the pain and walked to the bathroom.

Hold on, just hold on. This pair of cheaters will go to hell.

By the time I changed and came out, the ceremony had already begun.

Harrison was giving a speech on stage.

"Thank you all so much for coming to this ceremony. Due to my wife's health issues, we haven't been able to have children since our marriage."

People around looked at me sympathetically. I kept my head down.

"Ryan's arrival is a gift from heaven, our future support."

"Everything I have will be his inheritance."

Enthusiastic applause erupted. Someone brought a bouquet of red roses to the stage.

Harrison accepted them, knelt on one knee, and presented them to Zoe.

"Thank you so much for giving birth to this child. You're welcome to visit him anytime. He'll always recognize you."

Zoe smiled shyly and accepted the roses. The applause grew even louder.

Watching their interaction on stage, I had the surreal feeling I was attending a wedding.

Zoe glanced at the host, who turned to look at me.

"Ms. Anna, how do you feel about getting a grown son for free?"

Harrison followed the host's gaze to me and said perfunctorily, "The auspicious time is almost here. Come up on stage."

I walked forward step by step. Harrison instructed from the side.

"Zoe gave you a child. You need to repay her properly."

"Now that you have a child, you need to put him first in everything. You can't be as willful as before."

"You've never raised a child, so you'll need to learn from..."

Hearing this, I laughed coldly, stepped forward, and snatched his microphone.

Facing everyone below the stage, I enunciated each word: "Learn from her?"

"I don't think that'll be necessary. I'll have my own children in the future."

"But the reason I haven't gotten pregnant in seven yearsI think everyone here will be very interested in that!!"