My Husband Lied About My Pregnancy to Adopt His Illegitimate Child

At three months pregnant, I was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy.

My husband, a doctor, was overwhelmed with worry, pulling every string he could to arrange surgery and remove the baby.

"As long as you're okay, it doesn’t matter if we don’t have our own child. We can always adopt. I can't lose you, Evelyn!"

Heartbroken, I blamed myself for being useless, for failing to carry our child, and for disappointing my husband.

But then, I accidentally saw his chat messages with another woman on the phone.

"Don’t worry, I already told her she had an ectopic pregnancy."

"I’ll have her sign the adoption papers soon, then find a way to bring you into our home."

"Asher is my only son. I will make sure he inherits everything I have!"

That was when I realized that the husband I loved so deeply had long since built another family behind my back.

The noise outside the hospital room was still loud, but I sat there in a daze, staring at the chat messages on his phone.

"I've already told my wife. Once she gets rid of the baby, I'll bring our son home."

"Don't worry, Asher is my son. I'll make sure he has the best of everything."

Like some kind of self-inflicted torment, I kept scrolling up, reading through the sweet words of their so-called love.

Outside, Jacob Barrett, as the hospital director, was discussing my condition with the other doctors.

"My wife has always been in poor health. This ectopic pregnancy was an accident. The longer she carries it, the more dangerous it is for her.

"Our hospital has regulations. As a doctor, I can't perform the surgery myself. Please, do me this favor."

The doctor hesitated.

"Surgery schedules are really tight these days. The earliest available slot is in a week. Jacob, maybe you should reconsider."

"No matter how much it costs, as long as my wife is safe, I’ll do whatever it takes."

To anyone listening, Jacob Barrett sounded like a devoted husband.

But the chat messages on his phone told me otherwise.

He already had a son with the name Asher.

Back when we first got together, we talked about baby names.

He suggested "Asher," saying it meant peace and happiness.

When I found out I was pregnant, I imagined so many times that we would give that name to our child.

I never expected that, without my knowledge, he had already given it to someone else’s child.

Wiping away my tears, I forwarded the messages to myself and deleted the chat history.

By the time Jacob returned, I had already placed his phone back in its original position.

He walked over to me and pulled me into his arms, comforting me.

"Evelyn, don't be sad. We'll have children in the future."

His embrace was as warm as ever, but no matter how tightly he held me, I couldn't find any comfort in it.

Those messages were etched into my heart, word by word.

Jacob never came home for dinner on weekend nights, always claiming he had social events to attend.

But the chat messages clearly showed that he was spending those nights with that woman and their child.

He was devoted to me, always indulging my every request, yet he treated another woman with the same tenderness.

I no longer knew what was real.

Jacob noticed my pale expression and handed me a resume.

There was a photo on it—of a mother and her son, standing at a scenic spot, both smiling brightly.

I just saw this child.

It was Asher.

I froze, my fingers trembling as they brushed over the boy in the picture.

Jacob noticed and said, "You like this child too, don't you?

"Evelyn, I looked into it. This woman is raising the boy alone, but she's seriously ill now and wants to find a good family for him.

"You have an ectopic pregnancy, and the doctor said future pregnancies will be difficult for you. Why don’t we adopt this child? That way, you won’t feel so sad."

My mind buzzed, unable to process the fact that these words came from Jacob.

Even after reading their chat messages, I never imagined he would actually say this to me.

I wanted to ask him—if he had already decided to bring that child into our home, then what did our relationship even mean?