He Cheated While I Was in Labor,So I Took His Company

New Year's Eve. My water broke without warning.

Derek Shaw didn't even stop to put on shoes. He scooped me up and carried me to the car, his bare feet scraping across the frozen pavement until they left bloody streaks on the concrete.

My eyes burned with tears—grateful, overwhelmed.

Then I saw it. On the back seat. A torn condom wrapper.

"What... is this?"

I struggled to steady my breathing, fingers trembling as I picked up the small foil packet.

Derek glanced at it in the rearview mirror. His expression didn't change—not even a flicker.

"Must've been Adela Matthews eating takeout in my car yesterday. Probably a wrapper from one of those disposable gloves."

"Viola Henson, don't overthink it. The only thing that matters right now is getting you and the baby through this safely."

I stared at the residue clinging to the inside of the wrapper. For a long time, I couldn't move.

He was right about one thing.

The only thing that mattered was delivering this baby.

The poor child. Born into a world where his father was already gone.

——

The hospital emergency room was packed, even on the eve of the holiday.

"Honey, you're going to be fine."

"Honey, I'll be right outside. You've got this."

"Honey—"

Derek jogged alongside the gurney as it rolled through the corridor, his hand locked around mine, his face tight with worry. Beads of sweat glistened at his temples—proof, to anyone watching, of how deeply he loved his wife and unborn child.

Every person we passed looked at him with admiration. Envy, even.

I was the only one drenched in cold sweat, and it had nothing to do with the contractions.

The sweat was for Derek.

He played the devoted husband like a master performer—every line rehearsed, every gesture pitch-perfect.

That face. That earnest, loving face. It had fooled me for five years.

Now all I had to do was think about that wrapper, and my stomach turned inside out.

At the operating room doors, the nurses stopped him.

"Doctor—nurses—my wife is terrified of pain. Please, please take care of her..."

His voice shook. The raw, anguished worry on his face was enough to move anyone.

Inside, the midwife prepped instruments while chatting with me, trying to ease my nerves.

"You and your husband must have a wonderful relationship. A man that devoted? We don't see that often around here."

"Honestly, he looked like he was about to cry out there."

"Right? Before we closed the doors, he told the doctor that if anything went wrong, save the mother first. No hesitation." She laughed softly.

If it hadn't been for tonight's discovery, I would have believed it too. I would have sworn Derek Shaw was the man who loved me most in this world.

But now, hearing their praise, I couldn't even summon the energy to smile along.

Love or no love—it didn't matter anymore.

The pain of labor and the pain inside my chest twisted together, knotting into something unbearable. I clenched my jaw and let the sweat pour.

When I'd dilated to three centimeters, a long, sharp needle slid into my spine, and the agony slowly dulled to numbness.

I forced myself to focus on the delivery. Just the delivery. But my thoughts kept drifting, slipping out of my grasp like water through fingers.

The grief spread, quiet and relentless.

Then—a sharp, piercing cry.

My baby was born.

"Six pounds, three ounces—a healthy little boy! Congratulations, Mama."

The midwife placed him beside me. I traced every feature of that tiny, scrunched face with my eyes, and something inside me crumbled into softness.

Baby, I hope you won't blame me for the decision I'm making right now.

If I could, I'd give you a whole, perfect family.

But your father can't give that to us.

A tear slipped down my temple. I turned my head away and pressed my lips together, fighting the sting in my nose, refusing to let myself break.

"Honey!"

Derek burst through the doors, grabbing my hand, his face bright with joy. When he saw my reddened eyes, his expression crumpled, and he leaned close.

"Was it bad? God, I'm so sorry—I should've arranged to be in the room with you—"

I slipped my hand out of his without making a scene. "Where's the baby?"

"With the nurses, getting checked out. Don't worry—I already looked him over myself, every little detail. Took photos of everything, memorized his wristband info and all."