Chapter 2
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After saying that, I turned and went back to the bedroom to pack my things, ignoring their reactions.
Since I had decided to leave for
good, I didn’t want to leave any trace of myself here.
The sounds of laughter from the living room filtered through the door. I paused briefly as I was folding clothes.
“Kieran, I want to give this child your surname. That way, even if he calls someone else ‘Dad‘ in the future, he’ll always remember that you’re his true father.”
Even without seeing it, I could imagine the loving expression on Ottilie’s face as she said this.
And my heart, already riddled with wounds from her, ached once more.
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I suddenly thought back to last month when I had rushed home, carrying souvenirs I had specially bought for Ottilie from abroad.
But at our doorstep, I saw Ottilie and Kieran returning from a walk, hand in hand.
Unlike the look of horror on Ottilie’s face, Kieran had eyed me with confusion, asking if I had the wrong apartment.
I said nothing, my gaze fixed on Ottilie’s swollen belly.
After eleven months away, my wife was pregnant.
There was no way I could deceive myself into thinking this child was mine.
Until Ottilie hurriedly stepped in front of Kieran to introduce me.
“This is my husband, Jude Wilson.”
I had thought that hearing this, Kieran would show some restraint. But instead, he invited me into my own home like he was the man of the house.
As we passed each other, he said in a voice only I could hear:
“I heard you’re quite a bit older than me? I guess I should call you ‘brother‘ then, considering your wife is carrying my child.”
Hot blood rushed to my head, and I could no longer contain myself. I swung my fist, landing a solid punch on his face.
I had completely lost control, the eleven months of longing for Ottilie during our separation transformed into pure rage.
If I had had a knife in my hand at that moment, I might have killed them both.
It wasn’t until the neighbors heard the commotion and called the police that we were all taken to the station. But because it was a domestic matter, the police couldn’t intervene much and just sent us home.
As soon as we got back, my in–laws, who had rushed over after hearing th
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berating me without even asking what had happened.
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They scolded me for causing such a scene as soon as I returned, making us the laughingstock of the neighborhood.
They even berated me for wasting all those years of education, resorting to violence, and threatened that if anything serious had happened, they wouldn’t let me off easy.
It turned out they had known all along about Ottilie and Kieran being together, and were
even strongly supportive of it.
In just a year’s time, Kieran had become their perfect son–in–law..
Only I had been kept in the dark.
There was a bitter taste in my mouth, and I felt utterly miserable.
Ottilie tremblingly walked to my side, trying to take my hand and reason with me.
“I never meant to betray you. Kieran is very ill the doctors say he has at most six months
to live. I couldn’t bear to see him leave without an heir.”
“I had thought about discussing it with you before, but you were so far away, and I didn’t want to worry you and disrupt your studies. That’s why I planned to wait until you returned to tell you.”
“If you’re willing, can we raise this child together?”
Such a major life decision as having children, yet she spoke of it so casually.
I put the last piece of clothing into my suitcase just as my mother–in–law pushed open the door and walked in.
Seeing the suitcase at my feet, she wore an expression that seemed to say ‘at least you know your place‘. “You haven’t been back for so long, so I let Kieran sleep in your room. Now the study has been turned into a nursery too. You’ll have to make do with the living room couch tonight, or maybe you should just go stay at a hotel?”
I was truly exhausted and didn’t have the energy to go find a hotel.
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I nodded, prepared to make do on the sofa.
But deep into the night, the baby’s cries kept coming from the bedroom.
I turned over, about to put in earplugs, when I heard Ottilie’s complaining voice.
“Can’t you do something about the baby? He just keeps crying.”
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“Aren’t you my baby? I just need to take care of you. A little crying is good for the baby’s
lungs.”
Ottilie giggled and said, “You’re terrible.”
Followed by the sound of the bed creaking.
I pulled the blanket over my head, trying hard to ignore those unbearable sounds.
But when I closed my eyes, I seemed to see Ottilie as she was when she first confessed
her love to me.
Back then, she was pure and beautiful, her eyes full of nothing but me.
But that Ottilie no longer belonged to me.
