My Husband Delivered His Mistress's Baby"

The day I was born, my mother died in childbirth.

When my fianc, Collin, found out, he was worried I'd be haunted by it. He suggested we be child-free, just the two of us.

Five years into our marriage, I finally started to let go of that fear. I decided I was ready. I wanted a child of our own.

I booked an appointment with Collinhe's a top obstetricianplanning to surprise him with the good news.

But when I got to the hospital, the nurse stopped me. "I'm sorry," she said, "but Mrs. Thorne has a prenatal appointment this afternoon. Dr. Thorne has cleared his entire schedule for her."

Confused, I pushed open his office door to ask him what was going on.

The door swung open, and I saw him. Collin was holding a heavily pregnant young woman in his arms, his head pressed against her belly, listening intently to the baby's movements.

He saw me, and pure panic flashed across his face.

"Aria, don't be angry," he stammered. "I know you never wanted children, but my parents... they've been pressuring me so much."

He swore to me, "Don't worry, this baby will be ours. As soon as she's born, we can finally be a happy family of three."

Later, on the day that girl gave birth, Collin delivered her baby himself.

What he didn't know was that on the other side of that same hospital wall, I had an appointment of my own. For an abortion.

...

After confirming my pregnancy at Collin's hospital, I asked the nurse to help me book an appointment with him.

"I'm afraid he's fully booked," she advised. "Dr. Thorne's wife is pregnant too, and he's reserved the entire afternoon for her prenatal check-up."

She leaned in conspiratorially. "You have no idea how in love they are. Even if you got an appointment, he wouldn't have time for anyone else."

I clutched the ultrasound photo and couldn't help but smile to myself.

So, Collin, an OB/GYN, had figured it out already? Was this his surprise for our fifth wedding anniversary?

But when I pushed open his office door, I saw him with his head pressed against another woman's belly, listening to the baby kick.

On his desk sat a cake.

The words "Happy 5th Anniversary" were piped in icing, a sharp, painful sting to my eyes.

The ultrasound picture slipped from my fingers. Collin stepped on it as he rushed to embrace me.

"Aria, what are you doing here?" The panic on his face was fleeting, replaced by a practiced calm. "Did you come to pick me up for our anniversary?"

"I just have this one last patient, then we can go home."

Even now, he was trying to pretend everything was normal. But after five years of sharing a bed, I knew him too well. Every flicker of guilt in his voice was amplified in my ears.

"The nurse said Dr. Thorne's wife was here for a check-up, so I came to see. Do you have a second wife I don't know about?"

I tore the facade of our perfect life to shreds. Collin sighed, a long, heavy sound.

He was silent for a long time.

"It's not like that," he finally said. "It was only one time. Nine months ago."

I have a sharp memory for dates.

Nine months ago, there was a major malpractice lawsuit at Collin's hospital. As a lawyer, I pulled every string I had to defend them, working tirelessly for a month.

There was only one night we didn't see each other.

"So, you're telling me that while I was defending your hospital, comforting grieving families until I was vomiting blood from stress, the reason I couldn't reach you... was because you were cheating on me?"

Ninety-seven calls. I had called him for a solid hour in my moment of absolute desperation. In the end, it was the family of the deceased patient who took pity on me and drove me to the hospital.

He had rushed to my room in the middle of the night, full of apologies. Seeing how guilty he looked, I had comforted him, telling myself he was just exhausted from the lawsuit, that he had slept through my calls.

It never once crossed my mind that he had just crawled out of another woman's bed.

"It wasn't cheating!" Collin's grip on me tightened. "That night, I went to my parents for help with the hospital. You know how they are about us not having children. They'd been trying to set me up with my ex. They drugged me."

"I managed to get away. I was coming home to you."

Which home was that? I wondered. How did he end up with his intern?

I bit my lip and said nothing.

He took my silence as acceptance and let out a breath of relief.

"Aria, she's over nine months along. It's too late to terminate the pregnancy."

"Then why didn't you do it sooner? You're an obstetrician. She's your intern. Don't tell me you didn't notice she was pregnant."

He cut me off. "Don't be difficult. You didn't want a child, and I respected that. But my parents were relentless. Do you really want me to be the last of my family line?"

I stared at him, stunned. Five years ago, he had sworn to me that we would never have children. How could a person change so completely?

His calm eyes reflected my own furious face, as if I were the one in the wrong.

"You can hit me, do whatever you want. But this child... I really want this child."

"After the baby is born, I'll send Chloe away. It was an accident, but at least we'll have a child. Then, we can be a happy family of three."

The dam of my emotions finally broke. "My child?" I asked, my voice shaking with rage. "Should I thank you for cheating on me? Thank you for giving me a child I never wanted?"

"Collin, you have to choose. It's me or the baby!"

His silence was my answer.

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms, willing the tears not to fall. "Fine. We're getting a divorce."

I turned to leave, but a hand grabbed my arm.

It was Chloe. She fell to her knees at my feet.

"Aria, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I hid the pregnancy from Collin. But the baby is innocent. I'll leave as soon as it's born. Please, don't blame him."

A flicker of pity crossed Collin's face. He pulled her up, holding her close.

They stood there together, pleading with me. "Aria, you're the kindest person I know. You were the one who sponsored Chloe through college. How can you not have room in your heart for her child?"

His accusatory gaze was a physical blow, a stark contrast to the adoring way he had looked at me when we first met.

How had everything changed so much?

At our university's opening ceremony, Collin had seen me give a speech and had fallen for me instantly. I had tried to brush him off, using the distance between the medical school and the main campus as an excuse. But he had traveled ten kilometers every day, rain or shine, to bring me a single rose.

When I went abroad to study, he followed.

But what truly brought us together was the anniversary of my mother's death. My previous engagement had been called off because I refused to have children. Everyone told me a life without children was incomplete, that no man would want a barren woman.

Only Collin had taken my hand and said, "To have a woman like Aria is the greatest gift in the world. Whether she has children is her choice, and I will respect it."

"If I am lucky enough to marry her, I will never force her to do anything she doesn't want to do."

That was the moment I fell in love with him.

From then on, our love was a symphony. He was proud to be with me, announcing our relationship to the world. His parents, some of the wealthiest people in the city, had demanded he secretly produce an heir before marrying me. He had refused, even cutting ties with them when they tried to set him up with other women.

He proposed the day after we graduated, and we were married in a whirlwind. He said he wanted to eliminate any possibility of betrayal.

But here he was, betraying me.

Even when I had finally overcome my deepest fears, ready to give him the one thing he thought he could never have, I was too late. He wasn't the same man anymore.

The pain in my chest was so intense I couldn't breathe. My head swam, and the world dissolved into a cacophony of Collin's frantic voice. "Aria, what's wrong? Don't scare me!"

I was rushed to a room, diagnosed with hyperventilation.

Collin sat by my side, holding my hand, his guilty tears falling onto my skin.

When I had stabilized, he stood up. "I'll go get a doctor."

"You are a doctor," I said, grabbing his arm, terrified he would find out about the pregnancy. "Besides, I'm fine now. Don't go."

He nodded. He started to say something, to fuss over me, but I held up my phone, the divorce agreement I'd drafted displayed on the screen.

"Aria, what is this?"

We had drafted it the year we got married. He had promised that if he ever did anything to betray my trust, all our assets would go to me, and we would divorce immediately, no questions asked.

I frowned. "I've revised it. We'll split everything fifty-fifty. I don't want more than my share."

"No, I don't want it. You promised you would never leave me..." He pulled me into a desperate hug.

"And you promised you would never betray me," I said, my voice cold.

"It's been nine months. If I hadn't found out, were you just going to wait until the baby was born to tell me?"

"Did you ever once ask me if this was what I wanted?"

"It was my parents," he explained, his voice frantic. "If I didn't give them a grandchild, they threatened to ruin your law firm and my hospital, to force us out of the city."

"I was just trying to protect you."

A bitter laugh escaped me, followed by a torrent of tears. "Collin, when did you become such a coward?" I remembered the man who had defied his family for me. He was nothing like the man standing before me now.

He flinched at my words, then held me tighter.

"After the baby is born, my parents will raise it. Nothing will change between us."

"I love you. I'll agree to anything, just not a divorce."

"Then I want you to get rid of the baby."

"Anything but that."

I looked at him in silence. I knew that, aside from those two things, he would give me the world. His devotion to me had never wavered. Even after leaving his family, he had built a life for us. The luxury items I casually mentioned would appear on my bedside table the next day. He made me lunch every day for five years without fail. Once, I idly wished for a star, and he bought the naming rights to a newly discovered planet.

It was like we were back in the honeymoon phase, where any wish of mine was his command.

Except this time, I felt no excitement, no joy.

"Fire Chloe."

"Of course," he agreed without hesitation. "As soon as she has the baby, I'll never have contact with her again." He even pulled out his phone, ready to delete her number.

But the long call history was a fresh stab to my heart.

"I want to see your phone."

He paled, but handed it over.

They had been texting almost every day for the past nine months. As I scrolled up, his anxiety grew, and my heart sank.

They had been in contact for three years, ever since I had first sponsored her. She was on the list of candidates I was considering. Her grades weren't exceptional. I wouldn't have even noticed her if Collin hadn't specifically pointed her out.

"I know this student," he had said. "Her grades aren't the best, but she works incredibly hard."

"If you'd rather not, we can pass."

I had shaken my head. If she was his former classmate, I was happy to give her a chance.

I had almost forgotten about it until Collin hired her at the hospital, another exception to the rules. After that, he started working late more and more often. So many nights, he would get a call and rush out. A doctor's life is demanding. I understood. I trusted him.

But trust had bred betrayal. I should have seen it sooner.

"Aria, stop." Collin took the phone from me. Just then, a special ringtone I had set for Chloe went off. Her name flashed on the screen.

He answered, right in front of me. "I told you, if you need something, call my parents or the housekeeper. Aria is sick. I can't be with you all the time."

He didn't even realize how strained his own voice was. He told me not to look, but his eyes were pleading with me.

I closed my eyes. "Go. See her."

"Of course he's going to see his son."

The door burst open, and Collin's parents stormed in. They didn't look at me with anything resembling kindness. Usually, Collin would have stepped between us, but he was still flustered from the call.

"How can you be so cruel?" his mother spat. "You won't have a child of your own, and you won't let Collin have one either? Chloe called, and you're still clinging to him, refusing to let him go?"

"Collin, let's go see Chloe and little Jackson."