After giving birth to five stillborn children, I raised my stepson as my own for eighteen years. However, after my stepson graduated from college, my husband brought back his ex-wife. When he asked me to serve as a nanny for their family of three, I finally realized this marriage had been a scam all along. My stepson suffered from a rare heart condition, and my husband’s sole purpose in marrying me was to have me give birth to a matching heart donor. My five children had all been murdered by my husband’s own hands. Upon learning the truth, I carefully devised a revenge plan to make both my husband and stepson pay the price. ***** After I gave birth to my fifth stillborn child, my husband Wyatt Patel brought home his six-year-old stepson Logan Patel. He told me that from now on, this child would treat me as his biological mother. Since then, I devoted myself to caring for Logan for eighteen years. Just as Logan graduated from college that year, Wyatt brought his ex-wife Victoria Flores back home. When their family of three reunited, I finally realized that my marriage had been nothing but an elaborate deception. It turned out that Logan had a rare heart condition and they couldn’t find a suitable heart donor match. So Wyatt married me. Over five years, I became pregnant with five children, and all five of those children became tools to find a heart match for Logan. Yet I spent eighteen years feeling guilty about giving birth to five stillborn babies. The day Wyatt brought Victoria home, I was cooking in the kitchen. He casually ordered me, “Victoria will be living with us starting today. Move your things to the guest room. From now on, she’ll be staying in the master bedroom.” My hands suddenly froze, and I stared at Wyatt in disbelief. The food in the pot quickly burned, filling the air with a acrid smell. Wyatt sniffed and frowned with displeasure. “Stop cooking for now and go clean up the room. Victoria’s been shopping all day and she’s tired. She needs to rest.” Then he pulled out a list of requirements and slammed it down on the dining table. “Victoria has high standards for quality of life. Prepare everything for her according to what’s written on this list.” I picked up the list and looked it over, finding it densely packed with items. Everything had to be the finest quality—it was incredibly extravagant. I smiled bitterly and asked, “Wyatt, do you realize what you’re saying?” Did he really mean that not only would he be living with his ex-wife, but he was also forcing me, his current wife, to give up the master bedroom to them? What did that make me? Was I supposed to be their live-in maid? At that moment, Victoria feigned concern and said with a smile, “Wyatt, forget it. If Athena doesn’t want me to move in, I can just stay at a hotel.” Athena Brown is my name. After a pause, she continued, “After all, I’ve already endured eighteen years of this. I don’t mind enduring a few more days.” Hearing her words, Wyatt’s brow furrowed deeply. His eyes filled with sympathy for Victoria. Then Wyatt said to me, “Athena, when you gave birth to five stillborn children, I had no choice but to bring my son with Victoria home to keep you company. You’re the reason they were separated for eighteen years. This is what you owe Victoria.” I was instantly speechless. Back then, he was the one who voluntarily brought Logan home. Why was I now being painted as the villain who caused their mother and son to be separated? Wyatt kept going: “Although Victoria and I divorced, she’s still my original wife. In the old days, you would have had to serve her properly. Now I’m just asking you to give up the master bedroom—are you really unwilling to do even that?” He acted as if I had received some great favor. Victoria just smiled at me quietly, as if to say, “Now do you believe me?” I stood there stunned, fear coursing through my entire body. No one knew that Victoria had approached me alone a few days earlier. She told me she was getting back together with Wyatt and that I should be smart, pack my things, and leave this house. I thought she was talking nonsense and started to walk away. But Victoria blocked my path and asked, “Do you really think those five children you gave birth to over the years were all stillborn?” Then she showed me five videos. Although the footage was somewhat blurry, I could still make out Wyatt’s face. In all five videos, he was holding a living baby, walking from the delivery room into another operating room. I was stunned. Could those babies have been my five children? My five children were clearly alive—why did Wyatt tell me they had all died? After enjoying the sight of my distress long enough, Victoria finally revealed the truth with cold composure: “Logan has a rare heart condition, and we’ve never been able to find a suitable heart match for him. That’s why Wyatt married you. He wanted to use your womb to produce a child who could provide a heart transplant for our son. But we never expected you to be so useless—it took you five whole pregnancies to finally produce one child whose heart could match Logan’s.” I kept shaking my head, finding this too absurd to believe. I refused to accept that Wyatt could be so cruel. I rushed home to confront him, only to be told he was away on business. I spent the next few days in agony, waiting for his return so I could demand the truth. But when he finally came back, he brought Victoria with him. Wyatt said, “Athena, you haven’t given the Patel family a single child. Victoria and I will have to rely on our son Logan to take care of us in our old age. If you behave yourself now, your life might be easier when you’re older.” I snapped back to reality and stared at him. “Is it really true that I can’t have children? Did the five stillborn babies I delivered really die at birth?” Wyatt replied, “Of course they did.” He unconsciously touched his nose—a habit of his when lying. My heart raced as overwhelming helplessness consumed me. He really had killed our five children! The next moment, my legs gave out and I collapsed to the floor. But Wyatt thought I was just trying to get his attention. He let out a disdainful laugh: “Athena, we’re not kids anymore. Stop playing these childish games. I’m taking Victoria out to dinner tonight. You’d better do some soul-searching. I expect the master bedroom to be cleared out by the time I get home.” The door slammed shut, and my tears finally began to fall. The husband I loved so deeply was the murderer of my five children, and he had only married me to produce a transplant tool for his child with his ex-wife. I couldn’t accept this reality and collapsed on the floor, letting out anguished screams.
Just then, Logan opened the front door and asked, “Why isn’t dinner ready yet?” Seeing me collapsed on the floor, Logan was startled: “Why are you sitting on the ground? Where’s Dad?” I didn’t respond. After all, my five children had died to save him—they never even got the chance to call me “Mom”—yet I had lovingly cared for Logan for eighteen years. Logan called out several times in succession: “Mom! Mom! Mom!” I hesitated, then responded anyway. The child was innocent, after all, and I couldn’t bring myself to be so heartless toward Logan, whom I had personally raised for eighteen years. But after hearing my response, Logan frowned unhappily: “Ms. Brown, I was calling my mother. Why did you answer?” Logan’s look of disgust was identical to Wyatt’s. I froze, trembling as I asked him, “What did you just call me?” Logan said, “Hasn’t Dad told you yet? My real mom has moved in to live with us. To keep things clear, I’ll call her ‘Mom’ from now on, and I’ll call you ‘Ms. Brown.’” He said it as if it were nothing. My heart ached with anger, but Logan kept twisting the knife: “Ms. Brown, our family is finally reunited. You’d better not bully my mom.” Looking at him, I suddenly found myself speechless. This was the child Wyatt had once promised would treat me like his real mother. I felt like I had never truly known him at all. Just then, Wyatt and Victoria returned. Wyatt complained, “What rotten luck—we got splashed with dirty water on our way out.” Victoria added, “My phone got damaged when I dropped it.” Seeing them, Logan instantly became excited and rushed over to them. He said, “Dad, Mom, you’re finally back from your date. You two are still so in love.” Wyatt lovingly patted his head and said, “You little rascal! How dare you tease your parents? If we weren’t in love, how would we have you?” Victoria also showed Logan maternal affection, saying, “You’re still so reckless. Look at you, all sweaty. Let me wipe that off for you.” Logan buried his head in Victoria’s arms: “Mom, you’re the only one who cares about me. Ms. Brown didn’t even notice I was sweating.” Wyatt said, “Well, she’s never had children, so she doesn’t understand these things. Now that you have your real mother by your side, it won’t be like that anymore.” His hurtful words pierced my heart one by one. I wanted to leave, but inadvertently caught sight of the charm on Victoria’s phone. At that moment, I felt like I’d fallen into an ice cellar, chilled to the bone. Victoria shouted, “Athena, why are you grabbing my phone?” Holding the phone, I looked at Wyatt and Logan with a pale smile: “Don’t you owe me an explanation?” The charm on Victoria’s phone was a protective amulet I had personally bought for Wyatt and Logan. After giving birth to my fifth stillborn child, I had nightmares every night. After raising Logan, my nightmares became even worse. I was afraid I was an unlucky person, destined never to have children in this lifetime, and even more afraid that Logan would suffer misfortune because of me. So, starting from Logan’s first Christmas in my care, I would go to the church every Christmas to buy protective amulets. I prayed to God to keep Logan safe, prayed that God wouldn’t take away any more of my children. Ever since Wyatt had that car accident, I also made it a habit to buy him a protective amulet every Christmas. This Christmas, when I went to buy the amulets, I unfortunately encountered a flash flood and nearly died on the mountain. The two protective amulets I had risked my life to buy were now in Victoria’s hands, casually hanging on her phone case. I was trembling with rage. Logan, however, pointed at Victoria’s phone and said nonchalantly, “You mean this charm? I didn’t really want to give it to my mom, since it was something you gave me after all.” I asked, “Then why did you give it to her anyway?” My expression softened slightly. No matter what, Logan still treasured the things I gave him. But Logan said, “You’ve had five stillborn babies, so you’re definitely an unlucky person. How could I dare give my mom something you gave me? If my mom hadn’t insisted on having it, I never would have given it to her.” His words struck my heart like lightning, the pain making it hard to breathe. The next second, Wyatt frowned and snatched Victoria’s phone, then roughly removed the protective amulet. He said, “Could this amulet have stolen your good luck? You need to throw it away! How dare you want something bought by an unlucky person?” Victoria playfully stuck out her tongue. Despite being middle-aged, she still put on the coquettish act of a young girl: “I’ll listen to you from now on, okay?” I looked at them coldly, my heart already numb. After a long while, I finally said quietly, “Wyatt, let’s get divorced.” Upon hearing my words, everyone looked at me as if I were being unreasonable. Wyatt glared at me and asked, “Athena, do you know what you’re saying? You caused Victoria and Logan to be separated for eighteen years. I just want to let this mother and son reunite. Are you so unwilling that you’d even threaten me with divorce?” Logan also stepped in front of Victoria, taking a protective stance. He glared at me with hatred and asked, “Dad, you’re not really going to abandon me and my mom again for Ms. Brown, are you?” Wyatt immediately replied, “Never! Athena is an orphan who’s had five stillborn children, so her mind is inevitably twisted. She can’t stand to see others reunited with their families. But I will absolutely never abandon you two because of her.” The three of them looked like such a warm, happy family, while I felt like an outsider who could never fit in. But Wyatt had pursued me relentlessly back then. He said he wanted to give me a home, wanted to have more children with me, and let me experience the warmth of family. I was so caught up in his sweet words that I didn’t care he’d been divorced once before, and I agreed to marry him. I never imagined this marriage was a scam from the very beginning. All five of my children became someone else’s “nourishment.” And my status as an “orphan” became his weapon to attack me. Thinking of this, I trembled as I slapped Wyatt hard across the face. Wyatt stared at me in disbelief for a moment. After snapping back to reality, he immediately darkened his expression and dragged me in front of the mirror. He said, “Athena, what the hell are you making a fuss about? Take a good look at yourself. You’re not young anymore. Without me, you probably wouldn’t even have a place to live.” He threatened further, “You’d better serve our family of three properly. That way, I might still give you something to eat. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless.” After saying this, Wyatt shoved my hand away, and I collapsed to the floor again. Logan rolled his eyes at me. He said, “Ms. Brown, stop making a scene. Go cook dinner. My mom loves grilled ribs.” I looked at Wyatt and Logan in silence.
Victoria stood behind them, giving me a contemptuous smile. Looking at her elegant attire, then turning to see my haggard reflection in the mirror, I finally couldn’t take it anymore and ran out. But Wyatt’s voice followed me closely, impossible to shake off. He said, “She won’t last more than a few days. Once she can’t stand the hardship and comes back, she’ll obediently serve as our nanny.” I stayed at a motel for one night. First thing the next morning, I rushed to find a divorce lawyer. Over the years, Wyatt’s career had become increasingly successful. Even if we were getting divorced, I had to get something back from him. This was the price he should pay for deceiving me for twenty-three years. But the lawyer looked at me seriously and said, “Ms. Brown, your marriage certificate is fake.” I froze in place, unable to move. Just then, Victoria sent me a message. I opened my phone and the first thing I saw were five photos of dead babies. Victoria’s messages popped up immediately after. [Stop obsessing over my son. If you really miss children that much, look at your own kids—though they’re already dead.] I stared at those five photos of the children, my heart feeling like it was being torn apart. Victoria’s messages kept popping up. [I bet you didn’t know—Wyatt and I never got divorced.] [The divorce papers he showed you back then were fake, and the place where you two got your marriage certificate was fake too. You idiot actually believed it.] [Back then, after your useless self gave birth to the fifth child who could finally match Logan’s blood type, Wyatt wanted to kick you out immediately. But later, he felt sorry for me being so tired taking care of the child, so he decided to continue this fake marriage with you.] [For the past eighteen years, every time he told you he was going on a business trip, he was actually with me.] Below these messages were various travel photos Victoria had sent. My hands trembled as I held the phone. While I was racking my brains over Logan’s education, they had traveled to famous landmarks across half the world. I don’t know how I walked out of that law office. Looking at the flowing river before me, I felt like my entire life had been a complete failure. Thinking of my five dead children, my heart ached like it was being cut by knives. I even thought, “Maybe I should just jump in and join my children.” But just as I closed my eyes, ready to jump into the river, a pair of hands stopped me. I heard someone shouting: “Athena, I finally found you.” Someone else called out: “Ms. Brown, why did you run so far?” I opened my eyes to see Wyatt and Logan. They grabbed my hands and started dragging me back. On the way, Wyatt said: “You need to come with me to Logan’s company and apologize.” From their conversation, I learned that Victoria had offended Logan’s boss, Ruby Brooks. Last night, Ruby had sent Logan a message, and Victoria saw it. Mistaking Ruby for a woman trying to seduce Logan, Victoria cursed at her and deleted Ruby’s contact information without permission. This morning, Logan walked into the office only to be reprimanded by Ruby and even faced the risk of losing his job. That’s when Wyatt and Logan thought of me—they wanted me to apologize on Victoria’s behalf. Logan said to me: “Mom, when we get to the office, you need to apologize to my boss and beg for her forgiveness.” I laughed sarcastically. Now he was calling me “Mom” again. I yanked my hand free and said firmly: “I’m not going! Victoria is your mother—go find her!” Wyatt frowned and said: “Athena, stop throwing a tantrum.” He covered my mouth and forcibly dragged me to Ruby’s office. Wyatt said: “Ms. Brooks, this is my wife. I brought her here to apologize to you.” Ruby looked puzzled as she watched them covering my mouth. Logan quickly explained: “Ms. Brooks, this is my mother. Ever since she had five stillbirths, she’s had some mental issues. She’s extremely protective of me, her only son, and constantly fears that others will take me away from her.” Logan shamelessly used my most painful experience to attack me. I was so furious that I let out a low growl from my throat, which only seemed to confirm his claim that I was “mentally unstable.” Logan continued: “Ms. Brooks, my mother screams and shouts like this whenever she has an episode. That’s why we’re covering her mouth—we didn’t want her voice to disturb you. Now let her apologize to you.” As soon as Logan finished speaking, Wyatt kicked me in the knee and forced me to apologize. Finally, Ruby couldn’t stand watching this absurd charade any longer and put a stop to it. After they dragged me out of the company building, Wyatt finally released his grip on my hand. He patted my head like he was patting a dog, then said: “Athena, you helped Logan solve a big problem today. I won’t hold yesterday’s incident against you.” Then Wyatt generously transferred $100,000 to my phone. He said: “Take this money and buy some necessities for Victoria. Keep whatever’s left as my gift to you. From now on, let’s just live peacefully as a family of four.” With that, they drove off quickly.
Leave a Reply