Chapter 3

When he heard from the nurse that I had given birth to a son, he looked surprised. Once he processed the news, he quickly said, "I would like to get a paternity test done as soon as possible." Brenda, who had just returned from taking a call, heard this. She was livid. "Shawn Hallow! Your wife just gave birth to your child, and you're already insulting her like this? Do you even have a heart?" Afraid of truly angering his mother, Shawn immediately changed his tone. "I was just joking." I heard what he said, but I wasn't angry. I already knew that he doubted that the child was his. I had told him multiple times that the baby had been conceived through IVF using his sperm, but still, he never believed me. So, I stopped explaining. Brenda brought Shawn to my ward and left us alone. Shawn stood a short distance away, never coming close to me, like he was just an unimportant visitor. I didn't mind. The room was heavy with silence. After a while, he finally approached me and spoke up, though his words were still as unpleasant as ever. "Having this child was your decision. Don't expect me to take care of him." He kept watching my face as he spoke, trying to gauge my emotions from my expression. I smiled lightly. "Brenda has already hired a nanny for him. Someone will take care of him." He frowned, clearly displeased by my answer. "And don't think you can use him to tie me down. I won't—" "Don't worry. Just be yourself," I cut him off before he could finish. "Brenda will take care of the child. He won't bother you." My reaction wasn't what he had expected. He pressed his lips together and fell silent. After all, when we had first gotten married, I had told him that I wanted my future child to have a complete family. I wanted them to have the love of both parents—something I had never experienced in my life. But now, I had no more expectations of Shawn. He opened his mouth and was just about to say something when his phone rang in his pocket. He took it out and checked the caller ID. Then, with one last look at me, he walked out of the room. Still, I could hear a coquettish voice from the other end of his phone. "The kid's not even yours. Why are you visiting her? I want to go to a concert. You have to come with me…" He went out to take the call and never came back. Just then, a pregnant mother walked past my open door, supported by her husband. "Honey, do you think the baby will look more like you or like me?" she asked. "Like you, of course. Our baby will be as beautiful as you," her husband replied. The woman giggled at that, and the man laughed along, his eyes filled with adoration as he looked at her face. His hands held her carefully as if he were afraid she might stumble. They radiated happiness. I couldn't help but envy them. If only someone could love me that way. While I was lost in thought, I suddenly heard a notification chime on my phone on the bedside table. I had received 50 thousand dollars in my bank account. The note attached to the transaction said, "Mom made me send this to you." I paused, but in the end, I didn't send the money back. After all, I deserved this. … I stayed in the hospital for a few more days before Brenda brought me home. I would be staying with her for a month for postpartum recovery. Then, as she had promised, I would divorce Shawn. With her promise, I finally relaxed for the first time in many years. That night, the director of the orphanage I had grown up in, Rosa Coleman, called me. She said she had found my biological parents. They had passed away many years ago, but they had left behind a letter and a key for me.