The Husband's Secret

I never imagined that I would be the one to deliver my husband's lover's baby.

1

At three in the morning, I had just finished a surgery. Exhausted, I stretched my stiff neck and checked my phone to see if my husband, who was away on a business trip, had messaged me.

Every night before bed, he would always wish me sweet dreams. It was a nightly ritual in our home.

But tonight, there was nothing, and both Whatsapp and text messages were empty. It was as if he had disappeared.

My heart sank with worry, fearing something might have happened. I was worried and checked Karson Holt's location and found he was on the highway heading back to the city, approaching the exit.

At 3 a.m., why was he on the highway?

A colleague urged me to go home and rest, but I stayed put because I realized Karson was heading straight for my workplace, the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital.

I couldn't help but smile, even after all these years of marriage, he could still surprise me with romance.

I told my colleague I would leave once my husband arrived.

My colleague teased me, occasionally showing exaggerated expressions of admiration and envy.

When I saw Karson had arrived at the hospital, I went downstairs to meet him.

But suddenly, chaos erupted downstairs. The emergency department doctor called me in, saying a pregnant woman had a uterine rupture, and both the mother and baby were in critical danger.

The situation was critical, and I had to step in to help. When I saw Karson rushing in, I quickly told him not to wait for me. But his expression changed briefly, a flicker of unease passing over his face.

I didn't have time to think it over, as I heard his low, barely audible response meant only for me, "Alright, I'll head back first."

The woman was crying as she was wheeled into the operating room.

Inside the delivery room, things were critical. The woman's uterine rupture had caused massive bleeding, and the baby needed to be delivered immediately.

However, the woman kept crying and insisted on having her husband accompany her.

I had just reviewed the woman's basic information and called her by name, hoping she would cooperate, "Gwyneth Martin, your situation is critical. By the time your husband puts on his protective gown and completes the necessary preparations, it will be too late."

Seeing her still crying, I instructed the nurse to take the consent form out to Gwyneth's husband. A while later, the nurse returned, saying there was no one outside, and then the nurse tried calling the number on the file, but no one answered. Seeing Gwyneth on the verge of shock, I quickly gave the order to start the surgery.

By the time the surgery was completely over, I was so exhausted I could barely stand.

Marissa Hopkins, the nurse, looked at the safe and sound Gwyneth and the tiny baby, shaking her head, and saying, "The emergency department doctor said this woman had been staying at a district hospital for a while. The doctors there had advised her to have a C-section early, but she insisted on waiting for her husband. And now look what happened, waiting until her uterus ruptured, with such a thin uterine wall, she was risking her life recklessly."

I didn't know whether to think of her as deeply in love or just foolish. All I wanted to do was go home and rest.

When I got home, I saw Karson busy preparing breakfast. Karson said to me, "Honey, you worked hard. Did you work overtime again last night? Why didn't you call me to pick you up?"

I smiled and said, "Didn't you come to pick me up at dawn?"

He paused, then laughed, saying, "I was just taking a chance. I did see you, but I didn't expect you'd still be in surgery."

I felt a bit guilty. As a doctor at a major obstetrics and gynecology hospital, I was always busy, so sometimes I couldn't even answer his calls. I quickly apologized to Karson.

Karson didn't continue the conversation but suddenly asked about the woman with the massive bleeding.

"They're both fine," I replied, too tired to say more before falling asleep.

But then, unexpectedly, my mother-in-law came over, saying I was working too hard and had made comfort food for me.

"Mom, it's not easy for you to come over. I'm really fine." I said.

To my surprise, my mother-in-law said, "I'll take care of you for four or five days. You won't turn me away, right?"

I was taken aback but had to show respect, as she was here to take care of me.

I reluctantly drank a small bowl of comforting soup and rushed off to work.

My mother-in-law, coming from the countryside, believed that the soup had to be greasy for its health benefits, but it was too greasy for me.

She knew I didn't like it, yet she made a big pot this time.

I honestly didn't know how I was going to endure the next few days.

As soon as I arrived at the hospital, Marissa told me about Gwyneth. She said, "Did you know the two rooms next to Gwyneth's room are saying she's a mistress, It's been so long since she gave birth, and her husband hasn't shown up. You know how hard she fought to have this baby. Last night, she was wailing in agony, constantly calling for her husband."

I was indifferent. Just because no one was with her didn't mean she was a mistress.

"You don't know she's only 22 and already has a child. She was in a daze for a long time when I asked her about registering the baby this morning," Marissa stopped talking when we reached the ward.

I was about to knock when I heard Gwyneth's hysterical tone inside. She said, "You said you were going to divorce her. Now the baby is born, and registering the child is urgent. Karson, last night I almost died. Why didn't you come to the delivery room? Didn't you lie to your wife about a business trip just to be here and see your son? I'm telling you, you have to divorce her!"

Gwyneth ended the call, and I stood at the door for a long time without knocking.

Karson?

Was it him?

I tried to calm myself down, knocked on the door, and went in to do a routine checkup on Gwyneth.

When I saw the bracelet on her wrist, I froze. As I was leaving the room, I lifted my hand in the hallway. On my left wrist was a bracelet almost identical to Gwyneth's.

When my mother-in-law gave it to me, she said it was a family heirloom. It was a pair. She gave me one, saying she would give me the other when I had a child.

I had seen the bracelets with exquisite dragon and phoenix motifs. I had even researched it, and there were no such designs on the market.

"Dr. Holt, do you see the nursing assistant, Kayce Buckley bullying the elderly?" Marissa said.

I turned to look in the direction Marissa pointed and saw Kayce taking an insulated bag from an elderly person. I was about to say it might be his parents delivering food when I saw my mother-in-law's face.

Seeing her hand money to Kayce, I immediately became alert.

At the door of Gwyneth's private room, I saw Kayce and asked, "Delivering food to the patient? Why not have the family do it?"

Kayce smiled and replied, "Dr. Holt, the old lady said she's not feeling well, so she didn't come up. Since the money was good, so I'm her exclusive caregiver."

Kayce went in, and the rich smell of comforting soup wafted out.

Gwyneth seemed to have calmed down and made a phone called, "The soup Mom made tastes so good. Thank her for me. It's not easy for her to come and go. Oh, she's staying at your place? That's much more convenient. No wonder the soup is still warm."

My anger flared up, and I rushed to the bathroom to vomit up the greasy soup from the morning.

No wonder my mother-in-law had suddenly came over, claiming to take care of me. She just wanted to be close to the hospital, just a few hundred meters away, making it easy for her to take care of her preferred "daughter-in-law."

I couldn't believe that after all these years, everyone now treated me like a fool. The child was already here, just waiting to be officially registered with the government!

I stayed in the bathroom for a long time before finally coming out.

That evening, Karson came home, looking preoccupied, and glancing at me as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"We should get a div-" Karson finally said.

I pretended not to understand and interrupted, simply pulling him into the dining room and serving a bowl of a special tangy pasta soup he loved from his childhood.

He paused for a moment, looking at me in surprise.

I smiled, urging him to sit down. He took a sip of the soup and then, with delight, finished the whole bowl.

I remembered how he had longed for this taste. But my mother-in-law's cooking skills were average, and he often reminisced about this particular flavor.

"How did you make it so authentic?" Karson asked.

"I noticed you've been working hard with all the business trips lately, so I called your aunt to ask how to make this soup. Surprisingly, I picked it up quickly." I replied, heading out to throw away the trash, but the soup spilled out from the garbage bag.

Karson came over and saw a whole bag full of wasted soup pasta. Karson asked, "You?"

"Well, you know I'm not great at cooking. I tried making it several times before I got the taste right, but I wasted so many ingredients. My hands really are clumsy," I sighed, and Karson noticed my hands, red and swollen from the heat.

Karson became anxious, saying, "These are the hands of a surgeon." He quickly took the garbage bag from me, grabbed my hand and led me to the sink, his lips pressed tightly together, looking quite upset.

I glanced at him silently. After years of marriage, we didn't have many conflicts besides the one about not having children.

I considered myself to have a decent temper and emotional intelligence, always getting along well with his relatives, offering support when needed, and never stingy with saving face for him.

Karson's father passed away early, and his mother wasn't very involved in his upbringing. He grew up with his aunt and uncle, feeling closer to them.

I won his aunt's favor and approval, and he always said he was lucky to have met me.

Still, despite all that, our family felt as fragile as glass, ready to shatter at any moment.

"Honey, I love you very much. Without you, what use would I have for these hands?" I said and smiled at him, and he lowered his eyes, pulling me to the coffee table and gently applying medicine to my hands.

"From now on, don't do this anymore. You're a doctor and your hands are your life. You need to take care of yourself and your patients." Karson said.

I nodded and said, "You're right. I can't have children, and if I lost these hands, I might as well be dead."

Karson immediately stood up, angrily saying, "Don't talk nonsense."

In fact, we both had medical check-ups, and it was my mentor who told Karson that there was nothing wrong with either of us; perhaps it was just a matter of timing. But I sometimes joked about not being able to have children, and he seemed to have taken it seriously.

Several days passed, and Karson didn't bring up divorce. Gwyneth was discharged from the hospital.

Gwyneth was eager to register the child, so I took the chance to chat with Karson while we ate. I said, "A single mother came to our hospital. Everyone felt sorry for her, but she was strong and didn't seek out her husband, handling the registration by herself. She said if her husband changed for the better, the child could be added to his household registration later."

Karson listened thoughtfully.

About a month later, Gwyneth came back with the child for a follow-up check. Unfortunately, her condition wasn't very optimistic.

I told her that her uterine wall was extremely thin and severely ruptured, meaning it impossible for her to carry another pregnancy, and this meant she would only have this one child in her lifetime.

Gwyneth was saddened after hearing this and asked about the child's condition, because the child often choked on milk, had weak sucking, and didn't cry loudly.

I frowned and advised her to take the baby to pediatric department for a check-up.

Gwyneth left with the child, and Marissa happened to come in. She noticed the frail baby in Gwyneth's arms and asked me, "Could that child be...?" She pointed toward her head, and I shook my head without responding.

After all, the child was still young, and no one could be certain, however, the possibility was high. Gwyneth's uterine rupture led to massive bleeding, and the child might have suffered from oxygen deprivation, which might lead to cerebral palsy.

If Gwyneth found out the child had this issue, she would likely panic and might even hide it from Karson, forcing him to divorce immediately.

After all, this was her only child.

I turned on the computer, and soon a B-ultrasound report printed out, and then I called Karson's aunt and went to the railway station to pick them up.

On the way back, I received a call from Karson.

"Lucinda, I have something to tell you. When will you be home?" Karson asked.

"Soon." I replied, and hung up, guessing that Karson wanted to discuss divorce.

When I entered the house, I saw my mother-in-law and cheerfully said, "Mom, guess who's here."

Karson and his mother were surprised to see his aunt and uncle with their child, happily greeting them.

"What brings you here?" Karson asked.

"Lucinda invited us, saying it's summer holidays and she took time off to take the child out." Karson's aunt said.

His aunt and uncle had only one precious child. They could have had two, but they gave up the idea to take care of Karson.

Karson was deeply grateful and took special care of his cousin, who was about to take the college entrance exam.

Karson and my mother-in-law looked at me, suddenly at a loss for words.

Just then, Karson's phone rang, and he went to the bathroom to answer it.

I pretended to get a drink and overheard him saying, "Why are you in such a hurry? Don't push me to talk about divorce. I'll have my mom come over to help you later."

Everyone was chatting and laughing, and his aunt and uncle were praising me. I glanced at Karson and said, "I'm not that great. I want to give back ten times the love Karson gives me."

My mother-in-law suddenly said, "Everything's good, everything's great. It would be even better if there was a child."

The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and his aunt quickly said, "Didn't the doctor say both of them are healthy? They're still young, what's the rush?"

"Is what the doctor says always true? Isn't Lucinda worked at the hospital?" my mother-in-law muttered, and I couldn't help but tremble.

So that's how it is!

They believed I couldn't have children and even had the doctor give false information.

Of course, if Gwyneth could have a baby, the problem must be with me.

Just as his aunt was about to say something, I took out a report and handed it to my mother-in-law, saying, "Mom, I'm pregnant."

My mother-in-law was stunned, quickly opening the report and looking at it repeatedly. She didn't know many words, so she called Karson over, and only then did they both look up at me.

His aunt clapped her hands in delight, saying, "Now our family is truly perfect. Look at Lucinda, so outstanding, considerate, and gentle. She's a doctor at the city's top hospital and now she's bringing us great news. It must be a blessing from god."

I looked at Karson with warm eyes, and only then did he, with reddened eyes, stand up and embrace me tightly, saying, "Darling, you've worked hard."

I was held in his arms, yet my whole body was stiff.

I knew the real drama was just beginning.