After ten years of choosing a child-free life together, my wife, who had gone abroad on a research trip, suddenly updated her social media. In the photo, she stood pregnant, visibly so, shyly curled in the arms of a man. Beside them were two little boys, identical from head to toe.

The caption read: [For you two, I’m willing to give up the whole world.]

My heart skipped a beat. In disbelief, I dialed her number. The moment the call connected, her irritated voice snapped through the line.

"Don’t call me if it’s nothing. How many times do I have to repeat myself? I’m very busy. Don’t you get that?"

She hung up without waiting for a response.

I stared at the photo, my gaze fixed on the two children. Slowly, my hand drifted to my abdomen, stopping at the old scar that still burned like betrayal.

So this was why she insisted we remain child-free. This was why she refused to let me undergo treatment.

As I looked at the woman I had loved for over twenty years, the dam finally broke. Tears streamed down without shame.

——

After making ninety-nine unanswered calls, Assistant Vale came to find me.

Without hesitation, I told him to call Reese Ellison and inform her that I was sick and had been hospitalized.

Vale looked confused but still dialed her number. The call connected after just one ring.

“Hello, Vale. What’s up?”

Reese’s cheerful voice drifted through the speaker. I could almost picture her, legs lazily draped over that Italian man’s lap, lips curled into that familiar, carefree smile.

“President Ellison, Vice President Maddox is hospitalized. Do you plan to return soon? The company can’t run itself.”

There was a pause. Then her voice dropped, cold and dismissive.

“Sick again? Honestly, what does he even do all day? Completely useless.”

She sighed, then added, “I know Sebastian’s tenth birthday is coming up. I’ll spend a few more days with them and head back after that.”

As the call ended, Vale looked toward me, his expression twisted with awkwardness. He stammered, “Vice President Maddox, what do you want to do now?”

I simply waved him off. “Just go back to the office.”

Three days passed. Reese finally returned.

I sat slumped on the sofa, surrounded by empty liquor bottles, each one a silent witness to the storm inside me.

She burst in with joy, threw her arms around my neck, and kissed me with force.

“Darling, Vale said you were sick. Are you feeling better? Did you miss me?”

She smiled sweetly. “This time, I’m not going anywhere. You should take a break from work and just focus on getting better.”

As she spoke, she lifted a watch and held it out.

“Look, I picked this out just for you. I even had our names engraved. The ticking hands represent my love, steady, constant, never-ending.”

If not for the strong scent of a man’s cologne clinging to her, I might’ve believed those words.

After all, she had always been good at acting in love.

Even before she boarded the plane, she had been locked in a deep embrace with that Italian man, his scent still clinging to her skin like an unforgivable truth.

I looked at Reese with a heart full of sorrow, my gaze falling to the gentle swell of her belly.

With a hoarse voice, I asked, “You’re pregnant?”

She froze for a heartbeat, then blurted out, “No!”

I let out a bitter smile.

“I saw the post you made. So does the world you’re willing to give up include me, too?”

Her fingers stiffened. She hesitated, then slowly pulled out her phone and opened her social media. Her expression shifted, over and over.

Moments later, in silence, she peeled off her clothes and unfastened the belly band around her waist.

“Since you’ve already seen the post,” she said flatly, “I won’t hide it anymore.”

“They’re my husband and children overseas. They’re my family.”

I stared at her in disbelief, searching her face for guilt, remorse, anything. But she looked calm. Unshaken. As if none of this was betrayal.

I straightened up, fury flaring in my chest. “Husband? Kids? Then what the hell am I?”

She didn’t flinch. Instead, she gently reached for my hand and clasped the watch around my wrist. Her tone was light as if she were talking about the weather.

“They’re my family over there. It has nothing to do with you. Evander Hale lives in Italy. He’s not coming here; it won’t affect your role at all.”

“He runs his trading company; you have your tech research and production; there’s no clash between you two.”

“Besides, I did it for our family. Your health isn’t the best, you can’t have children, and the Ellison Group is such a large company that it needs an heir, doesn’t it? Evander is tall, handsome, and a top university graduate. What’s wrong with me giving birth to an outstanding successor for the Ellison name?”

I stared at Reese in disbelief. Had I not seen her with my own eyes, I would’ve thought someone had swapped out her soul.

We had known each other for twenty years, yet I had never realized her values had rotted this far. Had she been poisoned by some twisted view of love and family?

My chest heaved. The scar on my lower abdomen, the one I got shielding her from a bullet, still flared up on rainy days. And now, she tossed it aside as if it meant nothing.

On our wedding night, she had clutched my hands and promised we would live a child-free life, swearing I would never have to endure the pain of surgery. Her solemn vow still echoed in my ears.

And now, she spoke of an heir like it was some noble mission?

Just as I was about to speak, the phone rang sharply, slicing through the silence.

Reese glanced at the screen and immediately rose to her feet.

"I’ve been on a plane all day. I’m exhausted. I’ll sleep in the other room tonight," she said, patting my shoulder lightly. "You should get some rest, too."

She turned slightly, her voice softening as she looked at me.

"Darling, I know this is hard to swallow all at once. But we’ve known each other for twenty years, been married for ten, and weathered so much together. I do love you; please try to understand me."

Unwilling to let her go like that, I reached out and caught her wrist.

"Get rid of the baby," I pleaded. "Let’s have our own child… okay?"

She froze for a breath, then suddenly shook off my grip, her face flushed with fury.

"Matteo, I never thought you could be so heartless! He’s already six months old, and he is moving inside me. How can you even say that? He’s alive, he’s real!"

Just as her voice trembled with anger, her phone rang again.

She shot me a glare before picking up the call.

A soft, milky voice came through the speaker, full of childish grievance. “Mommy, brother took my ice cream again. Daddy said to call you.”

Reese’s expression lit up in an instant. Her tone softened into something sweet and coaxing.

“Be good, Sebastian. When Mommy gets there, I’ll buy you more ice cream, alright?”

Then came a man’s voice, deep, gentle, and tinged with affection. “Darling, it’s okay. They just miss you too much. And I miss you too.”

“What should we do?” he chuckled lowly, a helpless kind of warmth in his voice. “We’ve only been apart for one day.”

Reese glanced my way, then turned her back and walked toward the bedroom. Even though she lowered her voice, every word still reached my ears, clear as day.

“Alright, alright, baby. Didn’t I say? One week at most, and I’ll be back.”

“Honey, next time, don’t post on my Instagram…”

“Hmm. I’m not mad, really. Just remember to keep it hidden next time. Love you.”

I collapsed onto the couch like a puppet with its strings cut.

A wave of invisible needles pricked at my chest, not sharp but steady and suffocating. The pain didn’t scream, but it spread slowly, tightening around my ribs until I couldn’t breathe.

Reese and I had grown up side by side. We were the classic childhood sweethearts — everyone knew we’d end up together.

When I was twenty-two, I had just returned from studying overseas when tragedy struck. Uncle Benedict and Aunt Ophelia died suddenly in a car crash.

With the company left without a leader, her uncles and cousins circled like vultures, all eager to snatch a piece of the Ellison Group. Within a month, the capital chain collapsed, and half the clients vanished without a trace.

Back then, Reese clung to me like a lifeline, her voice trembling in fear.

“Brother Matteo, what do I do? What should I do?”

At that turning point, I knelt before her in front of the entire company and proposed.

I promised her I would never touch a single share of the Ellison Group. I swore that if we had children, they would bear the Ellison surname, not mine.

My father flew into a rage and threatened to cut all ties with me. He didn’t even show up at the wedding.

But within just half a year of marrying Reese, I had stabilized the company, crushed a few power-hungry relatives, and fired her scheming uncle.

Who would’ve thought he’d hold such a vicious grudge? Fueled by resentment and aided by her eldest uncle, he hired a hitman to take Reese’s life.

The moment the trigger was pulled, I threw myself in front of her. The bullet tore through my lower abdomen, damaging my pancreas beyond repair and leaving me forever unable to have children.

That day, Reese clung to me, sobbing uncontrollably. Her vows were tear-soaked, trembling as she promised she would love only me for the rest of her life, that she would never leave me, no matter what.

Later, her uncle was thrown behind bars, and her eldest uncle resigned on his own. The entire Ellison family business has been in our hands since that day.

Reese, your vows still echoed in my ears. How could you treat me like this now?

Was your so-called love nothing more than pity? A transaction?

I didn’t know when I had dozed off on the couch. When I opened my eyes again, morning light poured through the window. My head was heavy, my nose stuffy, and I must’ve caught a chill after sleeping in the cold all night.

Suddenly, Reese opened the bedroom door, her voice bright and cheerful as she answered a call.

"Yes, yes, just follow the location I sent. Four cleaners right away; the sooner, the better. I’ve got relatives arriving this morning. I can pay extra if needed."

Relatives? I stared at her in confusion. Most of her relatives had already severed ties with us, and mine had long been out of the picture.

A strange unease crept into my chest, coiling tighter with each passing second.

No, it couldn’t be. She had just said yesterday that the white guy wouldn’t be coming to the U.S.

She promised she wouldn’t stir up our lives.

Watching Reese bustle around, light on her feet and humming softly, I asked, my voice laced with doubt, "Reese, who’s coming over?"

She froze for a beat as if only just remembering I was still there. Then, with an awkward smile, she walked over and spoke in a soft, careful tone.

"Matteo, I’m sorry. Evander suddenly decided to come with the kids last night. He only told me after boarding the plane. I couldn’t stop him."

"You know how he is, impulsive and emotional. Don’t be mad, okay?"

She slipped her arm around me, her touch light as she patted my back.

"Don’t worry. They’ll only stay a couple of days. I’ll send him back right away, alright?"

"Don’t be upset. I’ve got so much to prepare, rooms, supplies for the kids, so many things..."

She paused, then added casually, "Oh, right, Evander wants to try some American specialty liquors. Could you run to the supermarket and grab a few types? He also wants to try some local food, so get those too. I really can’t spare the time."

"And pick up the best pajamas and toiletries for them," she added with a wave of her hand as if it were no big deal.

As she spoke, she directed the cleaners, organizing them to freshen up our bedroom, changing the sheets and carpets.

My eyes widened as I watched them start moving my things out of the master bedroom and into the guest room downstairs.

I couldn’t hold it in any longer. The words exploded out of me.

"Reese, what the hell do you mean by this? You’re letting him stay in our bedroom?"

She didn’t even hesitate.

"You can sleep anywhere, can’t you? The master bedroom is bigger, and Evander has two kids. It’ll be more comfortable for them."

I met her gaze, my voice colder than I intended.

"So you want me to sleep downstairs while my wife sleeps upstairs with her ex-lover and their illegitimate children?"

Reese froze for a moment, her eyes flashing with fury. Then, her expression twisted, sharp, and angry.

"Matteo, when did you become so cruel? Illegitimate children? Ex-lover? I’ve told you, they’re my family too. Evander came all the way here overnight. That means he’s accepted you."

"He’s not jealous or trying to kick you out. And you’re making a fuss over one bedroom? When did you become so petty and narrow-minded?"

I stood there, stunned, the words ringing in my ears.

So this was how she saw me?

Two men, and she couldn’t even tell who truly came first.