My husband was not fully conscious from anaesthesia after waking up from surgery, and he started spouting nonsense.

I laughed while recording his comical reaction, but while helping him into a chair, I paused when I heard him calling for his son.

"Be a good boy, all right? Daddy is busy."

My smile froze, and I was stunned.

We had been DINKs for 10 years. When did he get a son?

My hands trembled as I turned on his phone. It was the first time I was looking through his phone in our years of marriage.

When I browsed the phone’s data, I found a private album filled with intimate photos of him with another woman and a child.

It was a boy who looked very similar to him, and the timestamp on the photos indicated that the boy was three.

All three of them were smiling happily, but their smiles hurt me.

He had once told me with conviction that he hated kids and did not want to be tied down by family, which was why he convinced me to be a DINK.

However, I now knew that he was not really sincere about being a DINK; he just did not want to have kids with me.

Chuck Jameson's surgery was a success.

After his anaesthesia wore off, Chuck looked at me with reliance and gratitude. "It's been hard on you, honey." His voice was hoarse as he was still weak from the surgery.

I sliced up some apples to feed him, and I watched him nibble on them. "The doctor says you're recovering well. He just needs to observe you for a couple more days before you’re allowed to be discharged," I said calmly.

Chuck pulled my hand to his lips and kissed it. "This is all thanks to you. Once I've fully recovered, I'll take you to Glacier Island to see the northern lights. It's something you've always wanted to see, right?" He started planning a wonderful future for us as he always did.

Were it not for the phone, I would have teared up after listening to him express his 'deep feelings' for me. I pulled my hand away and tucked him into bed. When my fingers touched his warm skin, I felt nauseous, and I had to hold myself back from throwing the apples at his hypocritical face. "You should rest. There's a lot of work waiting for you at the office."

Chuck closed his eyes with a happy smile on his face. I felt pangs of pain in my heart as I watched him smile. I had been with him for 10 years, and now wondered what I was to him.

When I got home, I turned on the computer. That woman's name was Candice Wilson, the New Media director of Chuck's company. She was promoted unconventionally two years ago, and her social media persona portrayed her as a well-groomed single mother.

Her latest post was of a man's hand tucking in a little boy, who was fast asleep. The watch on that hand was the wedding anniversary present I had bought for Chuck the previous year. The accompanying message was: [ I feel safe whenever you're with me.] The timestamp on the post matched the night when Chuck told me he had to go on an emergency business trip.

I followed the traces online and found the boy's social media account, and I managed to log in to his account by guessing his birthday as his password. The account was called 'Edwin Jameson's Magical World'.

His name was Edwin Jameson. He took Chuck's surname.

I clicked on his photo album and scrolled through the photos. I saw Chuck carrying Edwin on his shoulders; Chuck and Edwin playing with Lego; and Chuck, Candice, and Edwin at the beach together like a happy family of three. Their heads leaned in close to each other while smiling brightly.

Every photo was like a knife that cut my heart over and over. It felt like my marriage of ten years was a well-planned sham. I was not the person he loved, but someone he used as a tool to put up a facade and make it easier for him to raise a perfect family elsewhere.

I turned off my computer and headed into the kitchen to get iced water from the fridge and gulped it down. The cold drink slipped down my throat, and the chill spread to my limbs.

Good. The game was about to begin.

Chuck's mother came over the day he was discharged. The moment she stepped into the house, my mother-in-law started looking me up and down critically. "It's not that I'm picking on you, Willow, but how can you feed Chuck delivery food when he's a patient. What kind of wife are you?" She said with disdain while pointing at the nutrition set for patients that I had ordered from a five-star hotel.

This prompted Chuck to quickly try to smooth things over. "Mom, Willow ordered this specifically for me. It's really expensive."

"Nothing is more expensive than sincerity. Women of our generation would wake up early and sleep late to take care of our husbands. Youngsters nowadays are just too spoiled for it, aren't they?"

I said nothing as I quietly opened the meal boxes to plate all the dishes, while my mother-in-law continued complaining. I knew she wanted to emphasize how much of a failure I was as a wife, and most importantly, how I had not given Chuck any children.

"Just look at how old Linda's son is right now. We shouldn't be wasting the excellent genes of the Jameson family." She glared at me viciously while complaining about this.

All I did was look up at her to smile graciously. "You're right, Mom. I was stubborn before and wanted to enjoy some personal time with Chuck. Now that Chuck has recovered, I think it's time we should consider having kids."

The table went silent for a while. My mother-in-law thought she had heard wrong and stared blankly at me, while Chuck choked on his soup and coughed until he went red. I passed him some tissues and patted his back gently.

"Don't overexcite yourself, hubby. I've thought it through, and I agree that a family is only complete with children. I know how much you love kids, and we shouldn't waste any more time with this." I made sure to emphasize that he loved kids.

Chuck turned pale instantly, and he started to avoid my gaze. My mother-in-law slapped her thigh excitedly. "You've finally come round! I told you before that no woman in this world would reject being a mother. Did you hear that, Chuck? Willow has agreed to have kids! You should get to work as soon as possible!"

He forced himself to smile. "We're not in a hurry to have kids, Mom."

"What do you mean? You're already 35! If you wait any longer, Willow will be too old to have one!"

I looked down to hide the coldness in my eyes as I said sadly, "She's right, Chuck, but I'll follow your lead. We'll have a child whenever you think we're ready for one." I passed the ball to him.

My mother-in-law turned her attention to Chuck right away. Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead as his lips moved, but no words came out of them. I felt vindicated when I saw how uncomfortable he was. Everything suddenly became tasteless to Chuck.

That night, he hugged me from behind while trying to probe the reason for my sudden change. "Honey, why did you suddenly talk about wanting kids today? Didn't we agree that we'd be DINKs?"

I turned to look him in the eye. "I thought you weren't serious about it because you like kids. After all, which man wouldn't want a child of his own?"

Chuck froze. "It's… It's not that I don't want one, but I think kids are troublesome."

"Really?" I smiled. "But why do I think you'd be great with them?" I took out my phone and clicked on the photo of him teaching Edwin to play Lego, and showed it to him. "Look at how patient you are with him."

There was tension in the air as Chuck turned pale. His lips quivered while looking at the photo, and it took a while before he finally spoke in a broken voice.

"Willow, I… I can explain."

"All right." I put my phone away and went to sit on the sofa while looking nonchalantly at him. "Go ahead."

Chuck's explanation was filled with loopholes. One would say that it was the year's worst crisis management attempt. He told me that Candice was his distant cousin, and it had not been easy for her to bring up her son after her husband's passing. Chuck took extra care of her out of sympathy.

He went on to explain that the photos only made them seem intimate because of the angle of the photos. Chuck had been dragged into the photo because the kid wanted him in it. He went on to declare that I was the only one he loved, but that he kept this from me for fear that it would cause a misunderstanding.

Chuck observed my expression while explaining, and he started to sweat profusely.

I listened quietly without interrupting him. When he was done, I said slowly, "Cousin?" I stood up and went over to Chuck, gently touching the collar of his shirt to straighten it. "We've been married for 10 years, Chuck. Why haven't you mentioned your cousin, Candice, all this time?"

Chuck gulped. "That's because she… She's a distant cousin, and we haven't been in touch for years. It's only two years ago that we started…"

"Is that so?" I interrupted him. "Why does your cousin's son look so much like you?" I leaned in close, saying it right into his ear in a voice low enough for only both of us to hear. "Even that mole on his eyebrow is in the exact same spot as yours."

Chuck's body stiffened while I stepped away from him to admire the fear in his eyes with a smile. "Do you think I'm stupid, Chuck?"

He finally ceased the pretense and went down on his knees before me with a plop. Chuck grabbed my hand as tears streamed down his face with his snot. "I made a mistake, honey! I'm a horrible person! Please forgive me just this once. I promise to break it off with her. I'll make sure it's a clean break, and I won't see her again!

"I was being stupid! You're the only woman I love. We've been together for 10 years, honey. Please give me a chance on account of our time together." He cried hysterically and with regret.

If I had not found out that he purchased a 5 million trust for Candice's son last month, I might have forgiven him. I pulled my hand away and looked down at him."How are you going to have a clean break? Do you want your son to be without a father? Or do you plan for your mistress to lose her financial backer?"

Chuck turned pale and started to ramble, "No… I…"

"Let's get divorced, Chuck," I said calmly.

His head jerked up to look at me with disbelief. "No! I won't agree to it. I don't want a divorce!"

"It's not your choice to make." I gave him the divorce papers I had prepared. "I've already signed them. We'll each get half of our assets. I'll get the house, and you can have the car. The company has always been yours, even before we were married, so you can have it back."

Chuck looked incredibly upset while starting at the divorce papers, and he shook his head vigorously. "No, you can't do this to me, Willow. You had a part in building our company too! We can't get divorced!"

He grabbed the leg of my pants and refused to let go.

I know what he was really afraid of. He was not afraid of losing me, but what I could give him if I were still with him. His company was at a critical stage of getting a new round of investment, and the main investor was someone I had connected with through my long-term contacts.

If his persona as the perfect husband faltered at this time, it would affect his reputation in the industry. He could not afford to lose a good wife like me at such an important moment.

"Listen to me, Willow. That child… He's not…"

"Not what?" I looked at him coldly. "Not your son?"