Raising My Son With His Mistress

It was my second day at the County Clerks office after transferring back to the city. I was still settling in, shadowing one of the senior clerks, Sarah, when a young woman walked up to the counter.

She looked like shed stepped off a runwayexpensive silk blouse, designer bag, and an aura of effortless privilege.

Sarah leaned in and whispered, "Here we go again. This is her ninety-ninth time requesting a certified copy of her marriage license. We keep her files on standby; its faster that way."

I blinked, stunned. "Ninety-ninth?"

Sarah chuckled, pulling up a digital folder. "Yeah. Local girl, married a tech mogul old enough to be her father. They have these explosive fights, and her favorite move is to shred the marriage certificate. Its their little toxic ritual."

She tapped her screen, looking a bit envious. "Only a man with that much money can afford to indulge that kind of bratty behavior. Word is her husband is the head of the Blackwood empireSebastian Blackwood himself."

A cold shiver raced down my spine. My brow furrowed instinctively. "The Blackwoods? Theyre practically royalty in this city. Youd think someone in that position would value discretion. Are you sure shes not faking it?"

Sarahs eyes went wide, and she practically lunged across the desk to cover my mouth. "Honey, hush! That is very much the real Sebastian Blackwood. You do not want to be on his bad side."

I froze. My hand trembled, and my phone slipped from my grasp, clattering onto the laminate desktop.

The screen lit up. The lock screen was a candid photo of me, leaning my head against Sebastians shoulder, both of us laughing under a canopy of autumn leaves.

The girl on the other side of the glass saw it. Her face transformed from bored annoyance to sharp, jagged rage. She reached through the transaction slot and snatched the phone before I could react.

"Who are you?" she demanded, her voice rising to a screech. "Why do you have a picture with my husband?"

...

I tried to speak, but my throat felt like it was filled with broken glass.

My husband.

The man in that photo was Sebastian. My husband of five years.

The Blackwood family was a dynasty, a web of old money and corporate power that stretched across the country. We had kept our marriage a secret. Sebastian told me it was for my own protectionthat the media would devour me, that his familys enemies would use me as leverage. He wanted to keep our "little world" private.

I believed him.

I had believed him for five years.

Standing there, watching this girl clutch my phone, I realized I wasn't his "protected secret." I was his ghost.

"Ive seen women like you," the girlLexi, according to her filespat, her face flushing a deep, ugly red. "Social climbers. Professional mistresses. You see a man with a billion dollars and you think you can just claw your way in? And you work here? For the government? Im going to have your job for this. Im filing a formal complaint!"

Sarah stepped in, trying to play peacemaker. "Ms. Millerexcuse me, Mrs. Blackwoodplease, stay calm. Im sure theres a rational explanation..."

"Explanation? Look at the photo! Theyre practically on top of each other!"

I forced a breath into my lungs. I reached out and took my phone back from her hand. My voice was eerily steady, the kind of calm that only comes when youve completely dissociated from reality.

"Its a misunderstanding," I said. "I used to work in the mayors office in the next county over. I interviewed Mr. Blackwood for a profile piece. We took a photo together after the session. Thats all."

Lexi narrowed her eyes, searching my face for a lie. "An interview?"

"Yes. Professional courtesy."

She stared at me for a few more seconds, and then the tension in her shoulders began to leak away. She let out a sharp, mocking laugh.

"Oh... God, sorry. Im just sensitive. My husband is... well, youve seen him. Every woman in this city wants a piece of him. I have to stay on high alert."

I forced a thin, professional smile. "I understand."

"Anyway, about the certificate..."

"Im looking at your digital file," I said, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Youre missing the updated residency verification. I need to see a physical copy of your utility bill or your property deed."

Lexi groaned, checking her diamond-encrusted watch. "My place is only ten minutes away. Ill just go grab it."

"Ill go with you," I said, standing up. Sarah looked at me like Id grown a second head. "Im about to go on my lunch break. I can verify it on-site and take a photo of the document for the file. It saves you a trip back here."

Lexi considered it for a moment, then shrugged. "Sure. Whatever makes this faster. Let's go."

I followed her out of the building. She led me to a pristine white Porsche, the interior a sickeningly sweet shade of blush pink.

Twenty minutes later, the car pulled up to the gates of a familiar luxury condo complex.

My heart didn't just skip a beat; it stopped.

I knew this building. I knew this unit.

Two years ago, I had used my entire inheritance from my grandmothermoney Id saved since I was a teenagerto put down the deposit on this place. I knew the Blackwoods had estates and penthouses, but I wanted something that was ours. Something I had contributed to, so I could feel like his equal, not his charity case.

Back then, Sebastian told me he was having some "liquidity issues" with the family trust. He asked me to keep the deed in my name but said we couldn't live there yet because it would draw too much attention from the press. He suggested we rent it out.

I agreed. I wanted to be a supportive wife.

Every month, the "rent" hit my bank account like clockwork. I never checked on the place. I trusted him.

I walked into the foyer, my feet feeling like lead. Hanging directly across from the front door was a massive, gold-framed portrait.

It was a wedding photo.

Sebastian was in a white tuxedo, looking more handsome than Id ever seen him. Lexi was draped across him in a Vera Wang gown, smiling with the radiant heat of a woman who owned the world.

"Make yourself at home," Lexi said, tossing her keys onto the marble console table.

I stepped into the living room. Every nerve in my body was screaming.

In five years of marriage, Sebastian had never given me a wedding. No ceremony. No gown. The only photo we had was that blurry shot on my phone from a weekend trip to the mountainsa photo Id had to beg him to take.

But here, he was a different man.

The portrait was hugemaybe six feet talldominating the room.

"Your home is... beautiful," I said, my voice barely a whisper.

She laughed. "I think the photo is a bit much, honestly. A little tacky. But Sebastian insisted. He said he wanted everyone who stepped foot in this house to know exactly who I am. His wife."

"He... seems to adore you."

"Hes okay," she said, though her eyes were sparkling with triumph. "Take a seat. Ill go find that paperwork."

I sat on the sofa, staring up at that portrait. Sebastian was smiling with a tenderness I hadn't seen in years.

He didn't hate being photographed.

He just hated being photographed with me.

Lexi rummaged through a desk in the corner for a few minutes before coming back empty-handed.

"Thats weird. I can't find the folder. Hold on, Ill call my husband."

She hit speakerphone before I could protest.

"Hey, baby," Sebastians voice filled the room. It was warm, indulgentthe voice he used to use with me when we first met. "Did you shred the paper again? You know, for a mother, youve still got the temper of a toddler."

Lexi pouted, even though he couldn't see her. "Where did you put the deed and the residency papers? The girl from the Clerks office is here with me right now."

There was a pregnant pause on the other end of the line. "The Clerks office is at the house?"

"Yeah, shes being super helpful. Where are the papers?"

"I have them with me. I was looking over the property taxes this morning. Im actually out picking up the new house for you right nowIll bring them by in twenty minutes."

"Hurry up, okay? We're waiting."

"I will. Did you get the formula for the baby yet?"

"Yeah, yeah, that organic brand you insisted on."

"Good girl. See you soon."

The line went dead. Lexi beamed at me.

"Hell be here in a few. Oh! You have to see my son!"

She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the back of the condo. "Hes six months old. Hes the most beautiful thing youve ever seen."

I followed her into the nursery, my mind a static-filled void.

In the center of the room, a plump, healthy baby boy was sleeping in a high-end crib.

Lexi leaned over the rail, her face softening with genuine motherly love. "Isn't he perfect? Sebastian says he has my nose."

I stood by the crib, my blood turning to ice.

They had a child.

Sebastian and I had been married for five years. Six months ago, I was supposed to have a baby, too.

I had been seven months pregnant when everything went wrong. There was a complicationan "emergency" procedure. I was told the baby didn't make it.

After that, Sebastian told me we should focus on my recovery. He said he couldn't bear the thought of putting my body through that again. He said we didn't need children to be happy.

I thought he was protecting my heart.

I didn't realize he just didn't want a child with me.

"Whats his name?" I asked, my voice cracking.

Lexis smile widened.

"Callum. Sebastian picked it. He said it was a variation of his favorite flowera Calla Lily."

A bomb went off in my brain.

Calla.

That was my name.

When I was pregnant, we had spent hours dreaming of names. I had suggested Callum if it was a boy, a way to honor my name, Calla. Sebastian had held me and told me it was perfect. He said it would be a constant reminder of how much he loved me.

"Does the name... mean something special?" I whispered.

Lexi sighed, her expression flickering with a momentary shadow.

"My husbands 'late wife'... her name was Calla. Apparently, she died in childbirth. The baby didn't make it either. He said he wanted to name our son Callum to 'honor the tragedy' or something."

I stared at her, the bitterness in my mouth so strong I thought I might choke.

Lexis voice dropped, sounding uncharacteristically vulnerable.

"I tear up those marriage licenses because Im insecure, honestly. Hes so hung up on the memory of this dead woman. I sometimes wonder if Im just a replacement. Hes so romantic about her, and Im just... here."

I looked at the sleeping baby. My stomach twisted into a knot. If my baby had lived, he would be exactly this age.

"He told you she died in labor?"

Lexi nodded. "Yeah. It nearly destroyed him. He said it took years to move on until he met me. I think its fate, really. He says I even look a little like her."

I looked at her face.

We looked nothing alike.

But if there was one thing we had in common, it was that we were both being played by a master.

"Is he good to you?" I asked.

Her eyes lit up again. "The best. Hes busy, obviously. But he promised me that in a few years, hell step back from the company and well travel the world together."

I nodded slowly.

Hed told me the same thing.

Five years ago.

I stood in that nursery, the silence pressing against my eardrums until my head throbbed.

"Wheres her memorial?" I asked, my voice flat. "If he loved his late wife so much, surely theres a photo? A grave he visits?"

Lexi pulled a face. "I asked about that. He said he doesn't believe in shrines. He said once someone is gone, they live in your heart, not in a frame on a wall."

I looked down at my hands. My knuckles were white.

In his heart.

What a beautiful lie.

But where did my seven-month-old son live?

I unclenched my fists, my palms marred by the imprints of my nails. "I have one more question."

"Yeah?"

"If your husband is as wealthy as everyone says... why are you living here? This is a nice building, but its a far cry from a Blackwood estate."

Lexi laughed. "This was my idea. Sebastians world is so... cold. So much marble and glass. I wanted a 'normal' life. I made him buy this place so we could feel like a real family."

She pointed to the DIY decorations on the walls.

"He wasn't used to it at first, but now he loves it. He says this is the only place that actually feels like home."

"He bought this for you?"

"Mm-hm. A wedding gift." She leaned in, whispering like we were best friends. "Honestly, it was my insurance policy. If he ever leaves me, I have this. He put it in writingthis place is mine forever."

The ice in my veins reached my heart.

Two years ago, Sebastian had asked for the deed to this condo. He told me it was better for "tax purposes" to let his management company handle the rental. He said he wanted me to be an "independent woman" with my own rental income so I wouldn't have to ask him for money.

The "rent" Id been receiving was just my own life being sold back to me in installments.

"Youre very lucky," I said. My voice was trembling so hard I wasn't sure she could understand me.

Lexi smiled and went back to cooing at the baby.

I watched her profile. She couldn't have been more than twenty-two.

She knew nothing.

But even if she did, would it matter?

The baby in the crib started to fuss.

Lexi immediately scooped him up, rocking him gently against her chest.

I stepped closer to get a better look.

And then, the world stopped spinning.

Behind the babys right ear, there was a tiny, distinct skin tag. A "preauricular tag," the doctors call it.

I gasped, my eyes wide with horror.

Six months ago, during my last ultrasound at seven months, the tech had pointed out that exact same thing. Its a harmless genetic quirk. The doctor had told me it was purely cosmetic and could be snipped off after birth.

How could there be such a coincidence?

"How old did you say he was?" I asked, my voice rising.

"Six months. To the day."

Lexi frowned as the baby continued to cry. "Hes always been a bit fussy. The doctors said its because he was premature. His system is sensitive."

My hands began to shake uncontrollably. "Premature?"

"Yeah. I was terrified of the pain of labor, so I told Sebastian I didn't want to go through a traditional birth. He was so sweet about it. He arranged for a surrogatewell, a 'carrier'to handle the pregnancy for us."

Lexi sighed, adjusting the baby. "But the woman he hired was incompetent. She went into labor at seven months. The poor thing was in the NICU for eight weeks. We almost lost him."

"And the woman? The surrogate?"

Lexi shrugged dismissively. "She took the money and disappeared. Sebastian said those types are dangerous. He made sure she was paid off and gone so shed never come back for more."

I stared at the child in her arms, tears stinging my eyes.

A terrifying, sickening realization took root in my soul.

This wasn't Lexis baby. This wasn't a surrogates baby.

This was my baby. The boy they told me had died on the table while I was under anesthesia.

Sebastian, you monster. You deserve to rot in hell.

I forced myself to stay upright. I forced my voice to stay calm.

"Did you ever meet her? The surrogate?"

Lexi shook her head. "No. Sebastian handled everything. He said it was better that way."

She noticed my expression and her brow furrowed. "Are you okay? Youre pale as a ghost."

"Im fine," I lied. "Just low blood sugar. I skipped lunch."

She looked at me suspiciously, about to say something else, when my phone buzzed in my pocket.

It was a text from Sebastian.

[Working late tonight, don't wait up. Get some sleep, Calla. Love you.]

I stared at the words.

Just then, the front door opened.

"Thats him!" Lexi cheered, holding the baby up.

I heard the heavy thud of a designer briefcase hitting the floor and then that voicethe voice of the man I had loved for a third of my life.

"Hey, beautiful. Did you miss me?"

"We did! Also, the girl from the County Clerk is here to help with the papers!"

Footsteps echoed down the hallway.

I stood at the entrance of the nursery, watching as Sebastian Blackwood walked through the door.

He was wearing a sharp charcoal suit, looking every bit the titan of industry.

The moment his eyes met mine, the color drained from his face. He looked like hed just seen a ghostbecause he had.

In that second, the sorrow and the shock evaporated, replaced by a cold, searing rage.

I smiled at him. I took one slow step forward.

"Whats the matter, Sebastian?" I asked, my voice like a razor. "You look surprised to see your 'dead' wife standing in your nursery."