From that day forward, under her watchful gaze, I juggled grueling training sessions and the exhausting demands of motherhood. Every day felt like a battle, but I endured.

Finally, the competition arrived. Against all odds, I secured my sixth gold medal in swimming. This accomplishment cemented my place as the undisputed queen of the swimming world.

The crowd roared and in the middle of celebrating my triumph, I made a shocking announcement that I was retiring.

Ignoring the protests of fans and the outcry from the media I made up my mind to leave swimming and embarked on my new mission, dedicating myself entirely to raising this child.

I named her Natalie Stevens. I poured all my hopes and dreams into her and was determined to shape her into the next swimming legend.

She had the best education at the best primary school, got the best food and the best training program for swimming. I held nothing back and passed down every skill and technique I had mastered to her.

I gave her everything because I believed that my devotion would finally silence my mother-in-law’s relentless criticisms. However, it wasn’t enough.

With a look of disdain, she scoffed, "Stop making her swim! Just look at yourself. You had spent all your time in the water and ruined your body. No wonder you can’t have children."

She sneered, her voice sharp as a blade. "If you could bear children, do you really think my son would’ve needed someone else?"

I burst into laughter at its sheer absurdity. Who said I could not have a child?

The truth was, it was Jacob who convinced me not to have children for a few years. He said we were still young and that we should focus on our careers before thinking about starting a family and like a fool, I believed him.

How did my mother-in-law twist things to make it seem like I was the one who couldn’t conceive? This accusation was beyond ridiculous!

I immediately refuted her, “Swimming has nothing to do with what you’re saying. Stop making things up!”

However, she just sneered and scoffed, “What do you know, you’re still young! Anyway, no more swimming!”

Then, she remarked, “A woman who can’t have children is incomplete. You’re a complete failure!”

I couldn’t believe my ears. I had eight swimming gold medals and was a recognized queen in the sports world. Yet, in her eyes, I was nothing but a failure simply because I hadn’t given birth. It was absurd that all my global achievements meant less to her than a baby!

I took a deep breath and enunciated each word clearly, “If you want me to continue raising this child, Natalie must swim. “Otherwise, take her away right now. I won’t stop you.”

I pretended to hand over the child to her. My mother-in-law opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing. Her face turned red with frustration as she stomped her foot in anger.

Time passed quickly and each single day, Natalie grew and without missing a single day, I took her to the swimming pool for training. Eventually, our routine caught the attention of netizens.

Like the imaginary well-known detective, Sherlock Holmes, they pieced together the timeline of her birth and quickly realized that she was born while I was competing overseas and suddenly rumors exploded online.

“The world champion promotes surrogacy? Boycott her!” Many criticized my actions.

The hashtag #SwimmingChampionWandaStevensSurrogacy soared to the top of trending searches.

Countless netizens flooded my comment section and launched vicious personal attacks.

As I read the slanderous comments, my grip on my phone tightened and my body trembled slightly. I was so upset. It was clear that I had not done anything wrong, so why was I the one being attacked?

In truth, I had never wanted to reveal Natalie’s real identity, because, for me, she was already my real daughter. All I wanted was to shield her from life's difficulties.

If her classmates and friends found out she wasn’t my biological child, how would they see her? How would they treat her?

However now, with the surrogacy scandal spiraling out of control, I had no choice but to go public with the truth. I revealed that Natalie was my husband and his childhood sweetheart’s illegitimate child. Years ago, they had fallen off a cliff and died and I was merely the fool who had raised their child in their absence.

So, to prove my claim, I released a paternity test showing that Natalie and I had no biological relation.

The accusations of surrogacy in the comment section gradually died down. However, unexpectedly, a new wave of harsh criticism arose.

“Why would you raise your husband’s mistress’s child? Wanda, are you crazy? I can’t stand this doormat behavior!”

“There’s no way someone would willingly raise a mistress’s child. She must be putting on a show, desperate for attention!”

As I read all the condescending comments, I merely smiled and did not write anything.

Soon after that, I posted a new update. [I will raise this child as my own and train her to become a swimming champion. Time will prove everything.]

The uproar online finally settled, at least for now. However, my fans were growing more anxious and posting their concern.

[Wanda, did you retire early just to raise this child? It wasn’t worth it!]

[Wanda, quick! Wake up! Don’t foolishly raise a mistress’s child. There must be more to this story!]

I scanned the comments, my fingers poised over the keyboard before typing a simple response, [Don't worry, I know what I'm doing.] Then, without hesitation, I shut my laptop.

Beside me, my mother-in-law watched with wary eyes, her expression tense.

"You can rest assured, Mother," I said, meeting her gaze with unwavering resolve. "I will raise Natalie as my own daughter."

"You’ve seen how I’ve treated her all these years," I added with a firm resolution.

She nodded repeatedly as relief washed over her face while kept saying her gratitude, "Good, good! Since you’re willing to do this, Jacob can finally rest in peace. On behalf of him and his wife, thank you."

I curved my lips into a faint smile and said, "We’re family, so there is no need to thank you. It was also my promise to Talie at that time."

The moment the words slipped from my mouth, I bit my tongue.

"What did you just say? Who's Talie?" My mother-in-law had sharp ears so she immediately caught the name and suspicion flashed in her eyes.

I quickly shook my head. Without changing my expression, I said calmly, "You must’ve misheard, Mother."

Years passed in the blink of an eye and Natalie, who was now eighteen years old, stood at the edge of the Olympic pool.

As soon as the starting gun fired, she sliced through the water like a fish and glided with effortless grace. She reached the wall first in the end. She even broke the world record and secured the world championship title in freestyle swimming.

The internet exploded with excitement as comments crashed like a tidal wave.

[I can’t believe it! Wanda had really raised her late husband's illegitimate child with his mistress for so many years and managed to turn her into a world champion!]

"Wanda is an incredible woman! Natalie wouldn’t be able to break the world record at eighteen years old like she did today without Wanda’s dedication!]

The same netizens who once scorned me now changed their tune and praised me endlessly.

Yet, at that moment, my mother-in-law decided to give an interview.

Lifting her chin with pride, she declared, "Natalie's talent comes from her biological parents' superior genes. It has nothing to do with Wanda."

I scoffed at the absurdity of it all. After all, I had poured my heart and soul into training Natalie. I taught her every technique I knew for years. Without me, she would never have won the world championship at such a young age.

Then my mother-in-law added, "Just wait, in the next few days, I will give everyone an explanation."

As I watched the smug satisfaction on her face, a sense of unease crept into my heart. What was she up to now?

That night, she announced she was heading out. I nodded. I discreetly slipped a tiny listening device into the bottom of her handbag before sending her off with a smile on my face.

Lately, she had been sneaking out at night and for a while, my gut told me something was off and something was brewing in the air.

The house was quiet, the night deep and still. I sat by the receiver my heartbeat pounding in my ears.

Then, a voice crackled through the speaker. It was a voice I hadn't heard in eighteen years, Jacob.