Throughout my ten-year marriage with my husband, Simon Sader, he refuses to let me sleep with him by claiming that he's asexual.

I visit my in-laws' home and get urged to give birth as soon as possible. Then, I find out that Simon has a child on the way, and another woman is carrying it.

To the outside world, he declares that the child is mine. Behind closed doors, he tells me, "I want this child to be given a legitimate status."

As I encourage Simon to let the woman give birth to her baby, I secretly leave my signature on a divorce agreement.

During a visit to my in-laws with my husband, Simon Sader, my mother-in-law, Tiffany Moran, stealthily tugged me into the kitchen, where she asked if I had been taking supplements regularly lately.

I forced an awkward smile, allowing her to rake her gaze across me.

Tiffany sighed loudly. "Then, why aren't you pregnant yet?"

Whenever she pestered me about having a baby, I would simply tell her that I had difficulty getting pregnant.

The truth, however, was that Simon was asexual. The most intimate thing we had ever done in our ten years of marriage was kiss.

After the meal was over, the sound of someone retching suddenly rang out in the living room. It had come from Simon's phone.

However, before he could do anything, Tiffany was already zooming toward me. Shooting me a delighted look, she asked, "Are you pregnant?"

I was certain she would be disappointed at the answer, but to my surprise, Simon nodded calmly in response to her question.

"Simon, what are you still doing over there? Quickly come and support your wife. Or have you lost your wits from being too happy?"

Suppressing my shock, I kept assuring myself that this must all be a misunderstanding. After all, Simon should know better than anyone that there was no way I was pregnant.

The moment we returned to our own home, the smile on Simon's face vanished, replaced by an indifferent expression. He informed me coolly, "Melanie, we're going to have a baby."

He then handed me a pregnancy test report.

My hands shook when I read the report, which showed that the woman had been pregnant for six weeks.

Six weeks ago coincided with the period he had been away on a work trip.

After crumpling the report, I looked up at him.

"Simon Sader, what have I ever done to you in all these years? How could you do this to me?"

However, Simon simply responded self-righteously, "Melanie, haven't you always wanted a child? Well, you have one now."

What I wanted was a child with both our blood running through its veins, not a bastard from an unknown woman!

Dissatisfied with the frown furrowing my brow, he habitually reached out to smooth the lines.

I took a half-step back, unwilling to let him touch me.

"Simon, were you lying to me all along about being asexual?"

So this was what people meant when they said that it felt as though their heart was being stabbed by a knife.

For ten years, we had been married, and I had been played for a fool all that time.

An annoyed and bored look appeared on Simon's face. He didn't seem inclined to explain anything; instead, all he said was, "There's no point in talking about all this now. I'm keeping that child no matter what."

Pinning me with a sharp stare, he then added, "I also plan on having it be born legitimately, so you have to be that child's mother!"

With that, Simon left me alone in the room to calm down while he called my parents to tell them about the good news.

I unballed the crumpled test report and stared at it. I found this entire situation ridiculous.

How could I have believed Simon's nonsense all these years? He claimed not to have any sexual interest in me, disliking even something as chaste as a kiss, yet he had been willing to impregnate another woman.

Fury raged through me, eating away at my logic, and I decided to disclose this incident in the family group chat.

Simon stopped me. "Think about your mom's medical fees and your younger sister's job."

My head snapped up so I could level him with an astonished look.

How could he be using them as blackmail material?

All these years, I had been working for his company, but not once had I ever asked for a salary. Now, he was using this as leverage against me?

He gripped my hand tightly in his and attempted to persuade me. "Melanie, this child won't affect our relationship. As long as you're willing to accept it, I can compensate you in any way you want. I can even give you a baby, if that's your wish."

Having a child, the fruit of our love, was something I had always dreamed of, yet here he was, using it as "compensation".

In the past, Simon had been so against having a child with me that he had even come up with the most ridiculous excuses. Yet, he was now willing to break his principles, all for the sake of that bastard child.

When I remained silent, Simon assumed that I was agreeing to his suggestion.

However, I suddenly said, "I can pretend as though this never happened, and we can return to what we were like before."

Surprise and delight crossed Simon's face. He was so excited that he hugged me voluntarily.

"But I have one condition: that baby has to go."

I wasn't so magnanimous that I could accept someone else's child. Besides, with that baby out of our lives, we could just start over.

Unexpectedly, he was particularly stubborn on this matter and insisted that he wanted to keep the child.

"No way! I went through much effort and begging to get that child, so I'm definitely keeping it! I can fulfill any other condition of yours but that."

Simon was truly too much! I was already making the biggest concession I could, yet he absolutely refused to budge on his stance.

Infuriated, I stormed out of the house.

Simon's voice rang out behind me. His words were sharp, and they were an order. "Melanie Lowe, stop right there!"

Nonetheless, I continued forward without a backward glance, leaving him to shout, "If you don't come back here right now, you can forget about coming back ever again!"

For the next few days, I slept at the office. Just in case, I also headed to the finance department to tell them to transfer this month's salary to my bank account.

The finance department employee was rather bewildered. After all, in the past, my salary and bonus had always been transferred directly to Simon's account.

Though Simon didn't lack money, I had always been aware of my role as his wife.

"Er… I have to inform Mr. Sader about this…" The employee had a conflicted expression on her face.

As she reached out to dial the landline phone, I stopped her. "Don't I have the right to decide where my own salary goes?"

The employee nodded. "You do, Ms. Lowe, but Mr. Sader informed us just the day before that your salary was to be transferred directly to him."

Simon was clearly forcing me to behave and accept his terms. He was well aware that I didn't have much money, so he was deliberately using this method to get his way.

At that moment, the hospital called to ask why I still hadn't paid the hospitalization fee for my mother this month.

Since Simon used to be responsible for this, I had no choice but to hurry to the hospital to handle it.

Unfortunately, when swiping my card to pay, I was informed that I didn't have enough balance. The shrill notification had the people nearby glancing over curiously.

Despite trying all the cards I had, none had enough money to pay the bill.

"Swipe this." Simon suddenly appeared at the payment counter like some sort of savior rescuing me from my predicament.

My phone chimed with a notification saying that I had received 100 thousand dollars from Simon.

However, his next words swiftly extinguished the gratitude that had been welling in me.

"You could've just told me that you didn't have money. Why did you have to humiliate yourself at the finance department? Don't forget that you're a general manager. How is it that you still haven't changed all those cheap habits of yours after so many years?"

Disdain dripped from his every word. Although I had come from a poor family, that didn't mean that I had no pride.

Before I could say anything, Simon's phone chimed with a message notification.

A silly grin spread across Simon's face once he had read it. "I have to accompany her to a prenatal checkup in the afternoon. I've already had my secretary clear your schedule, so you have to come with us. After all, you're a first-time mother."

Again with the baby!

Just how deep were his feelings for the baby's mother for him to love the baby that much? It was to the point that he would even disregard me, his wife!

At last, all the emotions that had been accumulating in me burst forth like a broken dam.

I demanded loudly, "Just who is the baby's mother?"

"Is that important?" Simon avoided answering the question. "You just need to treat it like it's biologically yours. As long as you and I remain silent, no one will ever know the truth."

It seemed that he loved the baby's mother so dearly that he wouldn't even allow her to be brought into this conversation, yet he was adamant about me accepting that baby and pretending to be blind and mute.

When I didn't speak, Simon's expression turned frosty, and he warned me, "Don't even think about looking into the baby's mother. Otherwise, I won't guarantee that you'll get the money for your mother's medical bills next month."

Simon seemed unaware that every time he showed just how protective he was of that woman, he was digging the knife in my heart just a little deeper.

"Simon Sader, have you ever loved me?"

Caught off guard by my question, Simon paused momentarily before answering sincerely, "Of course, I love you. Why else would I have married you? It's just that this baby is a dream of mine, so just treat it as fulfilling my dream."

What ridiculous words.

The instant that the baby was born, everything between us would change, and it would be all over for us.

"He's not just a dream, but a life! Has it ever occurred to you that he'll learn the truth about his birth one day?"

Simon fell silent. Clearly, he hadn't thought this whole thing through.

It still wasn't too late to turn back now. Grabbing his arm, I begged him not to keep the baby.

Nevertheless, Simon flung my hand away. "Melanie Lowe, I never knew you were such a heartless person! It's just a child! Can't you even accept that?"

"Are you so determined to keep it that you'll go ahead, even if I divorce you?"

That had Simon hesitating for a moment. Then, he answered me firmly, "Yes, I'm keeping the baby no matter what! Nobody can stop me!"

"Alright, then keep it."

It was no use talking to someone who had already made up their mind, so I gave up, especially since he was being a lot more stubborn than I had imagined.

To Simon, right now, I was no longer his wife, but an evil person wanting to take the life of his child.

Simon's tense expression eased as he assumed that I had conceded.

"If you had been able to think this way from the beginning, we wouldn't have needed to fight."

He reached out to take my hand, but I avoided him and took a step back. Disappointment flashed in his eyes before he lowered his gaze.

"I still have a meeting, so you can go to the prenatal checkup with her yourself."

Somewhat at a loss, he could do nothing but stand there as though rooted to the spot.

After that, I immediately contacted a lawyer to inquire about the divorce procedures. Since there was no keeping Simon by my side, I might as well get things over with as soon as possible.

However, I hadn't expected that news about my intention to divorce him would leak that quickly. I had barely finished meeting with the lawyer in the early afternoon when the Sader family learned about it.

Simon's father, Michael Sader, had the most explosive reaction, as the Sader family was known for their strong family values. For generations, the married couples had been loving and harmonious, with none ever divorcing.

Hence, my wanting to divorce Simon thoroughly shocked the entire family.

"I told you all before, didn't I? That a child was needed—" Simon's older sister, Yelena Sader, started snidely, only for Tiffany to clamp a hand over her mouth.

Tiffany whispered something into her daughter's ear that caused Yelena to glare at me. When Yelena walked past me, she spat at me before calling me shameless.

Simon hadn't yet arrived when Michael bellowed at me furiously, "Kneel!"

Although I was his daughter-in-law, I wasn't the meek and obedient sort.

"Dad, just say whatever you have to say. Your blustering won't work on me."

"How dare you still sound so righteous when you cheated on Simon!" Yelena railed at the injustice on her brother's behalf.

Ah, her earlier insult made sense now. They thought that I was the one in the wrong.

Before I could explain, Tiffany came over to talk me out of it. "Melanie, it doesn't matter that you did something wrong. What's more important is that you learn from your mistakes and change your ways. You and Simon are about to have a baby, and as the baby's parents, you need to set an example."

"The baby isn't—"

"Dad! Mom! Why have you called Melanie here?"

Having just arrived, Simon hurriedly cut me off. It seemed he still didn't know that his family thought I was a disloyal wife who had cheated on him.

Yelena tugged on Simon's arm. "She cheated on you, you know!"

Simon shot me a disbelieving look, and when he spoke, his voice quavered. "Is that true?"

"I didn't cheat on you. I just want to divorce you."

Despite the calm manner in which I said those words, Simon looked as though I had dealt him an even greater blow than earlier. His body swayed like he was about to faint at any moment, but he managed to force himself to stay standing.