He Left on Mission, Came Back Married

The moment I found out I was pregnant, I couldn't wait to share the news with my Special Forces husband, Ethan Walker.

But as soon as the call connected, he told me he'd received an urgent mission and had to leave immediately for preliminary reconnaissance.

And just like that, he vanished without a trace.

Two years later, Ethan's mother begged me through her tears to remarry.

But I firmly believed he was still alive. I raised our son Lucas alone, waiting for him to come home.

Ten years later, I was called to the school by my son's teacher, Miss Smith.

At the office door, I saw a familiar silhouette.

He was gently comforting a crying little girl in his arms.

"Don't cry, Zoe. Daddy already taught that bad boy Lucas a lesson."

But the girl pouted and pounded her little fists against his chest in protest.

"You're a bad daddy! You didn't even scold him, and you won't let me cry!"

So Ethan Walker was really alive after all!

He just had a new family now.

Miss Smith heard the commotion and walked over, intimately linking her arm through his as she smiled at me.

"Serena, this is my husband, Professor Walker."

I looked up and met Ethan Walker's shocked, stunned eyes.

Ten years---time had been exceptionally kind to him.

Except for the fine lines at the corners of his eyes, he was still the tall, handsome man I remembered.

Only now, from head to toe, there was no trace of the man who used to be covered in mud, wearing camouflage fatigues.

The way he looked at me---shocked, flustered, even frightened.

My stomach churned, and the familiar taste of rust flooded my throat.

I dug my nails hard into the web of my hand to keep myself from losing control on the spot.

Ten years ago, it had been an afternoon just like this.

Holding the pregnancy test with its two red lines, I'd been so excited that I immediately called Ethan.

His voice had sounded tired but still gentle.

"What's wrong, baby?"

I took a deep breath, about to speak, when the sharp sound of an assembly whistle came through his end.

"I've got an urgent mission. I have to leave right now for preliminary reconnaissance."

"I might lose contact for a while. Wait for me to come back."

*Wait for me to come back.*

Those words became my only comfort through ten long years of waiting.

But what I got instead was a death notification two years later.

Ethan's mother cried and begged me to remarry while I was still young, to find a good man.

But I didn't believe it.

I refused to believe that the man who promised to stay with me forever would be willing to leave me behind.

I even wondered if maybe he didn't know about the pregnancy, if that regret was what kept him from returning.

So I stubbornly gave birth to our son and named him Lucas.

Day after day, night after night, I thought of him and longed for him.

I believed that as long as I waited, he would eventually come back.

Now, he was back.

With a woman who shared an intimate bond with him, and an adorable daughter.

"Serena?"

My son's teacher, Jennifer Smith, smiled warmly, though there was a hint of showing off in her expression.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Her hand on Ethan's arm tightened, as if asserting her ownership.

Ethan glanced at Jennifer's hand on his arm, then looked at me.

The little girl in his arms---the one called Zoe---was staring at me curiously with eyes that were identical to his.

My chest felt unbearably tight.

I forced myself to calm down and smiled slightly.

"No, just a bit of low blood sugar."

"Oh, you should really take care of yourself," Jennifer said with concern, then changed the subject.

"Actually, I called you in today because Lucas got into a fight with our Zoe."

"Kids will be kids, but Lucas pushed Zoe down and she hit her forehead. That's not a small matter."

I looked at the little girl. There was indeed a cartoon Band-Aid on her forehead.

"If Lucas was wrong, I apologize on his behalf. The medical expenses---"

"No need for medical expenses."

Ethan finally spoke.

He avoided my gaze, looking elsewhere.

"Kids roughhousing, it happens."

His defense was for his daughter.

But what about my son?

My Lucas had a bruise on his lip too.

I looked away awkwardly, unable to stay any longer.

"Miss Smith, I'll take Lucas home now. I'll make sure to discipline him properly."

As soon as I finished speaking, I turned and fled.

Behind me, Jennifer's gentle voice rang out again:

"Ethan, let's take Zoe out for her favorite Italian food tonight. Consider it making it up to her."

My steps faltered.

Italian food.

When we were dating, Italian food was my favorite.

Back then, Ethan had taken me to every Italian restaurant in the city, just to let me taste the freshest clams.

He had once said:

"When this mission is over, I'll take you to Tuscany and let you eat to your heart's content."

So his promises hadn't gone unfulfilled---he'd just fulfilled them for someone else.

As I left the building, my phone buzzed.

The name "Sebastian White" flashed on the screen.

I answered, and his warm voice came through.

"Serena, don't forget your follow-up appointment tomorrow."

When I got home, Lucas sat sullenly on the couch, the bruise on his lip looking even more obvious.

I knelt down and dabbed ointment on it with a cotton swab.

He hissed in pain but still looked up at me with his small face, watching me carefully.

"Mom, that man today looked just like Dad in the photo."

My hand froze.

In the photo, Ethan wore his uniform, standing tall and handsome with a smile in his eyes.

Lucas had been calling that picture "Daddy" since he was little.

I swallowed the bitter ache in my heart, ruffled his hair, and said softly:

"Silly boy, people can look alike. There are plenty of people in the world who resemble each other."

He nodded as if he understood, then muttered quietly:

"Mom, do I not have a dad?"

Children speak without filters, yet every word pierced my heart.

I pulled him tightly into my arms, my chin resting on his soft hair, my voice choked:

"You do. Your dad is a hero. He's in a faraway place protecting us."

This was the lie I'd been telling him for nine years.

Before, I had truly believed it.

Now, it seemed more like a joke.

After settling Lucas to sleep, I dragged my exhausted body into the bathroom.

I closed the door, turned on the shower, and let the water pour over me, soaking through my clothes.

I couldn't hold it in anymore.

I crouched down.

Ten years of suppressed grief and pain exploded in that moment.

I bit down on my arm to muffle my sobs.

Why?

Ethan Walker, why did you do this to me?

Do you know what those ten years were like for me?

For the first two years after you disappeared, I frantically searched for any information about you.

I begged everyone I could contact, and the answer was always "no news."

The little life growing inside me was my only hope.

When I was six months pregnant, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer.

The doctor urged me to terminate the pregnancy and begin treatment immediately.

I refused.

This was the only connection left between you and me. I couldn't bear to let go.

I hid it from everyone and stubbornly chose the most conservative treatment plan, just so he could be born safely.

The day of my C-section, I hemorrhaged and nearly died.

The doctor said it was a miracle I survived.

After surgery, I began a long course of chemotherapy.

My hair fell out in clumps. I vomited until I thought my bile would come up.

Every single time, I wanted to give up.

But thinking of Lucas, thinking that you might still be alive somewhere in this world, I gritted my teeth and held on.

Until that death notification arrived. I completely fell apart.

It was Sebastian.

My attending physician, and also my senior from college, who had quietly stayed by my side all along.

He connected me with the best specialists and designed the most suitable treatment plan for me.

He even secretly paid my medical bills when I was at my most desperate.

He played the role of a father in Lucas's life.

He said:

"Serena, you have to live. For Lucas, and for yourself."

I lived.

With a body full of illness, I raised our son alone.

I thought suffering would eventually pass.

But you delivered the most devastating blow.

You were alive. So what was that death notification about? Or was it all deliberate?

If it was the latter, what did my ten years of waiting and devotion mean?

I was like a clown, performing a solo act for ten long years.

The next day, after dropping Lucas off at school, I went straight to the hospital.

Sebastian looked grave as he held my latest test results.

"Serena, it's not looking good."

He pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up and sighed.

"The cancer cells in your body are spreading faster. The previous medications can't control it anymore."

I had expected this result.

The increasingly frequent pain had been warning me.

The time bomb buried in my body was about to explode.

I asked calmly:

"How long do I have?"

Sebastian was silent for a moment before forcing out the words:

"If we don't switch to a more aggressive chemotherapy regimen, at most... six months."

Six months.

My life had only six months left.

"Then let's switch."

I looked at him and forced a smile.

"Sebastian, thank you for everything these years."

He looked at me with pain in his eyes, reaching out as if to pat my shoulder, but his hand froze in midair.

"Serena, you---"

He wanted to say something, but was interrupted by an abrupt female voice.

"Serena?"

I turned around to see Jennifer Smith standing at the office door.

"Yes, Miss Smith."

I responded flatly.

Sebastian sensed something was wrong and frowned.

"And this is?"

"I'm Lucas's homeroom teacher."

"Ethan Walker's current wife."

I added that last part.

"Serena, there's something I think you should know."

Jennifer pulled me out of the office.

We sat down on a bench in a quiet corner.

Sebastian stayed at a distance, worried.

"Ethan and I were each other's first loves. We separated for a while, but when we met again ten years ago, we quickly got back together."

"The day he told you about the mission, I told him I was pregnant."

"My father pulled strings and arranged everything for him. All he had to do in return was abandon you."

My brain went blank with a buzz.

So that's how it was.

"Why would you do this?"

I looked at her in disbelief.

"Because I love him. Love means doing whatever it takes, doesn't it?"

"Besides, I was just taking back what was rightfully mine."

"And the facts prove he made the right choice, don't they?"

Jennifer's smile deepened as she looked at my ashen face.

So I was just someone to fill the void during his heartbreak.

So that day, he became a father to two children.

So when it came to pregnancy, I was the one who could be abandoned, while she was naturally the one to be protected.

I laughed out loud.

I stood up shakily.

Warm liquid rapidly flowed from my nose.

"Serena!"

Sebastian cried out and rushed over, holding me and pressing against my nose.

He glared furiously at Jennifer.

"Miss, please stop provoking her and leave immediately!"

Jennifer looked frightened by the situation, repeating over and over:

"This has nothing to do with me, nothing to do with me."

Then she turned and left, her heels clicking.

The blood wouldn't stop.

It flowed through my fingers, staining Sebastian's sleeve red.

When I left the hospital, I walked home in a daze.

Jennifer's words kept echoing in my mind.

"My father pulled strings and arranged everything for him."

"All he had to do was abandon you."

So by throwing me away, he could live the life he wanted.

Clearly, for these ten years, I was the one who was discarded.

Yet here I was, waiting so desperately.

My life was a joke.

When I reached the entrance to my apartment complex, a familiar figure blocked my path.

It was Ethan Walker.

He looked like he'd been waiting for a long time, with several cigarette butts scattered at his feet.

Seeing me, he immediately stubbed out the cigarette in his hand.

He quickly walked up, his voice sounding guilty.

"Serena, we need to talk."

I looked at this well-dressed university professor before me.

He gradually overlapped with the man in military uniform from my memory, then slowly separated again.

"What is there left for us to talk about?"

"I know you hate me, that you blame me. But Serena, please let me explain."

He took a deep breath.

"Back then, Jennifer really was pregnant. Her father came to me and gave me two choices."

"One was to continue my original life, risking death on any mission, and he had plenty of ways to make us live in fear forever."

"The other was to accept his arrangement and have a stable future."

He stepped forward, trying to grab my hand, pleading:

"Serena, I struggled for a long time."

"I thought I was protecting you. I didn't want you to live in constant fear with me."

"I sent money home every month. I told them to let you find a good man and start a new life."

So his parents had known all along.

I could only say their performance had been all too convincing.

"As for Jennifer, we're only together for the child. All these years, I've only felt responsibility toward her."

His explanation sounded even more laughable.

"Only responsibility?"

"You enjoy the life she's given you while saying it's only for the child, only responsibility?"

"When you were heartbroken, you seamlessly moved on to me, and not long after we got married, you rekindled things with your first love."

Ethan's face turned deathly pale.

"Do you know that the day I called you, I had just found out I was pregnant!"

"I didn't even get the chance to tell you. And you? For the sake of your bright future, you decisively abandoned me."

"Your parents never gave me a single penny. I was kicked out!"