My husband was infertile, and his mother insisted that we adopt a baby she had found in the village.

My mother-in-law was strongly against my son and me growing close, which upset me.

Once, when I took my son for a follow-up check-up at the hospital, the doctor mentioned that my mother-in-law had come to the hospital for a paternity test.

I stared at my son's face, stunned by the news.

*****

"Why are you crying? Your mother abandoned you. No one will take care of you except for me!" my mother-in-law, Elena Gomez, impatiently dragged my son, Ryder Gomez, who was not even four years old yet.

Ryder sobbed, "The teacher said that parents should play games with us together. I want my mom; everyone else's mom is coming."

Elena lost her patience. "Didn't I tell you? Your mom won't go. Your mom is a bad person. She hates you. Only your dad and I love you. You ungrateful child!"

When I returned to collect my documents, I saw Elena shouting at Ryder in the neighborhood, and I swiftly approached them with anger.

I immediately grasped Ryder's arm, which Elena was gripping, and hastily exclaimed, "Elena, Ryder is only a child, and his arms are so frail. How can you exert so much force?"

Elena snapped back at me, "How dare you scold me? I take care of Ryder, and you have the nerve to yell at me."

I softened my tone and added, "Elena, I'm just reminding you. I hope you will pay more attention next time. I don't mean anything else.

"And I just overheard Ryder mentioning that the kindergarten asks parents to play games with them. Why didn't you tell me beforehand so I could ask for leave?"

Elena pushed me away and lied as usual, "I told you, but obviously, you didn't hear it. Don't pretend to care about Ryder. He is not your biological son anyway."

She pushed me so hard that I stumbled and fell to the ground, but I still asserted firmly, "Elena, how many times have I told you? Don't say such things anymore. Ryder is my own child."

Ignoring me, Elena picked up Ryder and walked away quickly.

By the time I recovered and chased after her, she had taken my crying son into a taxi and left.

I wanted to catch up, but I realized that requesting temporary leave would be denied. With the company currently undergoing employee layoffs, I couldn't afford to take any action that might displease my boss, or I might lose my job.

Reluctantly, I returned home to collect my documents before rushing to work. I could only comfort Ryder when I came back in the evening to erase my guilt.

Despite my efforts, I arrived late and faced the displeasure of my boss. I bowed my head and apologized, feeling like I was a doormat.

Just when I was overwhelmed with work, my phone rang. It was Elena calling. She yelled, "You jinx! Ryder was hit by a car. He's on the ambulance. Come quickly!"

Hurriedly arriving at the hospital's operating room door, I saw Elena angrily yelling at my husband, Carlos Gomez. With a complicated expression, she questioned him, "How is it possible that your blood cannot be transfused to Ryder? He is your own son. How could his blood be different from yours?"

I couldn't dwell on the doubts in their conversation and asked anxiously, "What blood transfusion? What happened to Ryder?"

Elena fumed, "You're asking me? It's because of you that Ryder kept crying and asking for his mother. That's why he was hit by a car, lost too much blood, and needed a blood transfusion."

On hearing the urgent need for a blood transfusion, I rushed into the operating room and pleaded, "Does Ryder need blood? Draw mine. I have type O blood."

Dismissing my offer, Elena stepped forward to stop me, saying, "Stop messing around here. Ryder is not your biological child. How can your blood be used?"

Thankfully, Carlos intervened, pulling Elena away and allowing me to enter the operating room. I successfully donated blood, and Ryder's operation was successful.

Relieved, I watched as Ryder emerged from the operating room and was transferred to the general ward. Elena approached Carlos, uttering with disbelief, "How could her blood save Ryder? Ryder is not her child."

Looking at Ryder's sleeping face, I finally couldn't help it and pushed Elena out of the ward.

Shocked by my action, she yelled, "Why did you push me?"

I declared, "Enough! Stop saying that Ryder was adopted. He is our biological child." Carlos, filled with anger, chased us out and scolded me, "Are you insane? How could you be rude to my mom? My mother is elderly, and you still pushed her forcefully!"

Carlos glared at me with anger and disbelief. I fell silent and lowered my head.

Due to my gentle nature and my gratitude toward Carlos, I always listened to him.

Carlos and I were classmates in college. During our junior year, he unexpectedly confessed his love for me, and from there, we gradually grew closer.

In my final year of college, my father's health deteriorated, leading to an extended hospital stay without any signs of improvement. Later, my father decided to discontinue treatment in order to save money, and sadly, he died not long after.

During this difficult time, Carlos stood by my side, supporting me and helping with the funeral arrangements. He was very dedicated, and I felt a deep sense of gratitude towards him.

Following these events, at Carlos's request, we married not long after. Initially, Elena, Carlos's mother, disagreed, thinking I was not good enough for Carlos.

But Carlos insisted on marrying me. Seeing his determination and considering my obedience to her and my responsibilities in managing household chores, Elena reluctantly agreed.

Since we got married, I had never argued or defied Elena, but today, I finally pushed her out of the ward. Naturally, Carlos was full of anger.

Feeling helpless, I entered the ward to care for Ryder.

Shortly afterward, Carlos joined me in the ward, berating me in a low voice, "How could you make my mom so angry? My dad passed away early, and over the years, my mom has worked tirelessly. Now that she's older, she takes care of Ryder to share our burden so that we can work with peace of mind."

Feeling unjustly blamed, I explained with sadness, "It's not that I wanted to argue with your mother, but Ryder is still young. Whenever she mentions that he is not our biological child, it causes him great psychological harm."

Carlos continued his angry scolding, saying, "Then you should talk to her more gently."

I felt even more aggrieved. "I've told her many times, but she never changes."

Carlos asserted, "Older people have poor memories; they don't mean what they say. You just need to remind her more often. Eventually, she will change. It's all your fault. Be more patient, got it? Mom said she would go home and cook. You should go and cook too, then apologize to her."

"I want to stay here and look after Ryder. I am worried about him," I said.

Carlos persuaded me, "The doctor said he's out of danger. Besides, when Ryder wakes up, he'll need to eat. Don't you want to go back and prepare some nutritious soup or something for him? I'll stay here with him. You go and come back soon."

It made sense, so I had no choice but to go home and cook.

Upon arriving, I couldn't find Elena in the kitchen. Hearing the noise coming from the bathroom, I entered to discover Elena gathering all the toothbrushes for our family of three into a bag.

Confused, I asked, "Elena, what are you doing?"

She appeared flustered and replied, "Nothing. Your toothbrushes are old. I'll buy new ones."

I said, "But I just bought the toothbrushes a few days ago. They're pretty new."

Angered by my questioning, Elena snapped, "I said they're old, so stop complaining."

Carrying the bag of toothbrushes, she pushed me aside at the bathroom door and left. Despite my curiosity, I had to focus on cooking quickly and then visit Ryder, leaving Elena's actions at the back of my mind.

Over the past month, I had been shuttling between my workplace and the hospital to take care of Ryder. However, what puzzled me was that Elena had never once visited the hospital.

She always prevented me from being alone with Ryder and told Ryder that she loved him most, saying he take care of her when he grew up.

Actually, as a mother, I minded it a lot, but Carlos dismissed it as normal for an elderly person and urged me not to make a fuss.

Logically, Elena should have come to the hospital every day since she had nothing else to do at home. But during Ryder's month-long stay there, it was either me or the nurses who took care of him.

Carlos explained that Elena had been in a bad mood recently and needed rest. He also said that it was common for the elderly to fear hospitals.

Exhausted from juggling work and taking care of Ryder, I couldn't afford to dwell on these questions too much.

Sometimes, Carlos would come to the hospital to look after Ryder, but he often scolded me for neglecting the family and failing to do housework or cooking for Elena.

Today, Ryder was finally discharged, and Carlos drove to pick him up. However, Elena didn't accompany him.

When I arrived home and saw a table filled with meals, I felt touched. After putting Ryder in bed and feeding him, I went out to eat.

To my surprise, Elena was still sitting at the dinner table, inviting me to join her. "Maeve! Come and eat. Don't just focus on the child. Come on!"

Gratefully, I devoured the food but soon felt sick when Elena uttered her next words.

She said, "Maeve! I dreamt about Carlos's father last night. He told me that you need to have your own children, and the Gomez family needs its own flesh and blood. As for Ryder, we have been kind enough to raise him until now."

She continued with a chilling suggestion, "I have a fellow villager who works at an orphanage. I asked her, and she said Ryder can be sent there. Kind people will surely adopt him."

Shocked and doubting my own ears, I looked at Elena, but her expression was serious.

Turning to Carlos, I found he remained silent with his head down as usual.

"No! Ryder is my biological son; I could never abandon him," I protested. "Didn't you love him before? You insisted on adopting him!"

I remembered how Carlos and I had only been married for five months when Elena insisted that we adopt a child.

At the time, I firmly disagreed since we had just taken out a loan to buy a house, and having children, let alone adopting one, wasn't even on my radar.

However, Carlos told me that during his recent company physical examination, the doctor suggested he might have azoospermia, making it difficult for us to conceive.

He pleaded with me, explaining that Elena was lonely and desiring a grandchild was normal. Rather than causing her future sadness if we couldn't have our own child, he proposed giving in to her wishes.

Although I argued that medical treatments were advanced and his condition might be treatable, I couldn't sway Carlos's decision.

Back then, both Elena and Carlos were adamant about adopting a child. But now they wanted to give up on Ryder? How could they be so heartless?

"Maeve, you're not even 30 years old; you should have your own child. I'm doing this for your own good," Elena said.

As I stared at Elena, memories of when she insisted on adopting Ryder flooded my mind.

I didn't know what Ryder meant to her. Was he just a plaything in her eyes?

Firmly, I declared, "Elena, give up on this idea. I will never abandon Ryder. I have told you countless times that he is my biological child."

Elena scowled and exclaimed, "Carlos, I warned you not to marry a woman like her, yet you insisted. Now she's going to piss me off!"

As Elena spoke, she feigned tears. Carlos hurried to comfort her, but she didn't appreciate it.

Pressing him aggressively, Elena asked, "Carlos, are you going to send Ryder to the orphanage or not?"

Carlos only kept his head down in silence. This infuriated Elena further, "Fine! So now you won't listen to me at all, huh?" Carlos remained silent.

I grew increasingly frustrated and retreated to the bedroom.

After a while, Carlos entered and asked hesitantly, "How about we... send Ryder to the orphanage for a few days?"

I looked at him in disbelief. He appeared guilty yet determined. "He'll only stay there temporarily. Once I can persuade mom, I'll bring him back."

I questioned, "Why would she insist on sending Ryder away? She treated him like her own grandson before."

Carlos avoided eye contact, turning his back to me as impatience tinged his voice. "Maybe my father really told her in her dream, and she wants a grandson!"

I blurted out, "Then just tell her that you're infertile."

My words struck a nerve, causing Carlos to erupt in anger. "Didn't I tell you never to mention that? Do you want everyone to know?"

Realizing I had wounded his self-esteem, I fell silent and began packing my belongings.

Carlos asked in a gentler voice, "What are you doing?"

Ignoring him, I continued packing my belongings and replied firmly, "I'm taking Ryder somewhere else to live. We'll return when you can persuade Elena. I won't leave Ryder alone in an orphanage."

Seeing me with a suitcase and holding Ryder, Elena made no attempt to stop me. Instead, she loudly declared, "Once you leave, don't come back!"

Carlos tried to dissuade me from leaving at night, but Elena interjected, "Why are you trying to stop her? She's just pretending. Do you think she can survive without you? Let her go."

Hearing that, Carlos fell silent and completely disregarded Ryder and me.