Chapter 1
I thought it was a prank, but when I hurried home, I overheard my mother-in-law sighing.
“Olivia, Mom knows you married your cousin to make up for taking his virginity when he came of age.”
“But now the situation is special. If you don’t give Adam legal status, aren’t you afraid he’ll be chosen to marry that princess?”
She looked worried, but my wife of five years said calmly:
“Everyone knows Adam is my husband. He won’t be chosen.”
“Besides, Jack’s business in the city isn’t easy. If he loses the title of being married to me, it would certainly make things difficult for him.”
“We have a son together after all. I can’t cruelly cut off his lifeline.”
“As for Adam, I love him very much. Even without a marriage certificate, he’s my only husband.”
“So Mom, don’t worry. I know what to do.”
The woman spoke, her eyes full of determination.
Her mother, who had wanted to say more, was stunned into silence.
After a while, she couldn’t help but say: “Olivia, find a way to bring that child back.”
“Mom knows Adam is a good kid, and only wants to recognize the child you have with him as a grandchild.”
“But Mom has waited five years. My bones are getting old. I really can’t wait any longer.”
The mother-in-law spoke, her whole body hunched over.
At this moment, there was guilt towards me in her eyes, but even more, a longing for a grandchild.
Hearing this, Olivia understood.
“I’ve already considered it and told Jack to bring the child back to the city.”
“I’ll talk to Adam today about accepting the child.”
“After all, that child is still my flesh and blood. As a mother, I have to pave the way for his future.”
She spoke, smiling when she thought of her cousin and that child.
Inside the house, the mother and daughter were happily chatting, but I felt like I had fallen into an ice cellar.
The conversation just now echoed in my ears, accompanied by a buzzing sound.
I dazedly clenched my sleeves, instinctively fleeing in panic.
I didn’t want to look pathetic, but tears still blurred my eyes.
Because I had never imagined that the happy marriage I had for five years was fake, and Olivia’s real husband was someone else.
Their marriage certificate was even issued several months earlier than my fake one.
But I was like a bird trapped in a cage, unable to see anything clearly.
Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but cry, not understanding why things had turned out this way.
After all, Olivia and I had been childhood sweethearts, and we got married right after becoming adults.
We were each other’s first love, and we promised to only have each other for life.
Everyone said I was lucky to have such an excellent woman love me for life. Even my mother-in-law was fond of me.
And in these five years, there had only been me by Olivia’s side. No pretty boys ever appeared to make me unhappy.
In fact, she was known in the city for doting on her husband excessively.
No matter what good things she came across, she always thought of me, even indulging my every request.
But it turns out that in the fifth year of marriage, I finally learned that my happiness was fake, and the marriage certificate was fake too.
I thought I was her husband, but the husband stamped on her household registration was someone else.
They even had a child together.
And now, she still refused to give me legal status, and wanted to bring back their child…
Thinking of this, the tears in my eyes suddenly fell.
Olivia confidently thought that everyone knew I was her husband, so I wouldn’t be chosen by the city princess.
But she didn’t know that the princess had lost her legs and was disfigured in a car accident. Not a single man in the city was willing to marry her.
The matchmaking banquet had already been cancelled due to the manipulation of various wealthy families.
Now the only suitable unmarried man left was me.
Sorrow rose from my heart as I bitterly wiped away my tears, wanting to leave and not feel sad anymore.
But after just a moment, Olivia opened the door: “I knew you’d come back at this time. Come in quickly.”
Just like before, she was holding my favorite dessert, waiting for me at the door.
After pulling me inside, she wanted to feed me, but saw my tear-stained face.
She didn’t know I had heard everything, and concern immediately filled her eyes.
After hugging me, she couldn’t help but worry: “Adam, why are you crying?”
Thinking I had gone to watch the commotion of the princess choosing a husband, she helplessly tapped the tip of my nose.
“I know you feel bad for those men who were chosen, but everyone has their own fate that we can’t change.”
“So Adam, don’t be sad. I don’t want to see you sad and crying.”
She spoke, her eyes full of tenderness.
Involuntarily, I wanted to know: [If the person chosen was me, would she also be so indifferent?]
I opened my mouth but couldn’t make a sound.
As my heart tightened slightly, I remembered that I had lost my voice last year after taking a drugged drink meant for Olivia.
Now, I couldn’t say anything. Only tears fell one after another, wetting the woman’s clothes.
Seeing this, she helplessly kissed away my tears, wanting to comfort me.
But when she spoke, it pierced my heart even more.
Because she took out a stack of documents and said: “Adam, let’s adopt a child.”
Hearing this, I gave a slight smile, but it looked worse than crying.
Seeing this, she raised her hand to rub my hair and promised: “You’ll like this child. He’s really well-behaved, and even looks a bit like me.”
“My health isn’t good, and I’ve miscarried several times. You’ve also been taking medicine for so many years. I don’t want you to suffer anymore.”
“From now on, let’s not have children of our own. We’ll just raise this child as our own, okay?”
She asked, but bitterness filled my mouth.
She knew how much pain I had gone through because she couldn’t keep our children.
But now she wanted me to raise her child with someone else, stabbing a knife into my heart.
At this moment, she put on an act of doing this for my own good, but I shook my head frantically, tears pouring down.
In fact, I felt somewhat relieved that our children hadn’t survived.
Because a woman with an impure heart doesn’t deserve to have children.
She also doesn’t deserve to be the mother of my children.
In response to her words, I said: [I don’t want to adopt.]
But when I opened my mouth, there was still only silence.
Olivia didn’t understand my meaning. When my fingertips touched her belly, her eyes darkened with sadness, thinking I was still upset.
So she hugged me tightly and comforted: “If you really want a child of our own, then let’s focus on getting healthy first.”
“We’ll bring this child back for now, and then we can try for our own later. The children can be companions, okay?”
Her hot breath fell on my ear, like a lover’s most tender whisper.
But I only felt cold all over.
Sarcastically, I silently said where the woman couldn’t see:
[Olivia, I don’t want to have children with you anymore.]
With those words, I also suppressed the bitterness in my heart.
But Olivia seemed unable to see my resistance, still holding me tightly in her arms.