My cousin Evelyn came to stay with us for a few days, and I happily agreed.

In the middle of the night, I woke up to strange sounds coming from the bathroom—sounds I couldn't even begin to describe. And they were coming from Evelyn and my husband, Damian Holloway.

“Damian, am I the one who makes you happy, or is it Vivian who does?”

Evelyn’s voice was sweet, soft, almost like honey. It was enough to melt anyone. Then, just a second later, I heard my husband’s eager reply:

“Baby, of course, it’s you. Vivian’s like a dead fish in bed, and she has stretch marks on her stomach. Just seeing them makes me lose my appetite. How could I possibly feel anything for her?”

...

Lately, with the changing season, I’ve had trouble sleeping. But Evelyn has been so thoughtful, making me a cup of warm milk every night, claiming it would help me sleep better.

And sure enough, after drinking the warm milk, I’d sleep soundly, hearing no noise until morning.

But tonight, I forgot to drink the milk Evelyn had made for me, and in the middle of the night, I woke up again.

The clock on the bedside table read 2 a.m., and the space next to me was empty. I reached out, but the bed was already cold.

The bathroom light was on, and I assumed it was Damian in there.

But the next second, I heard Evelyn's voice.

“Damian, am I the one who makes you happy, or is it Vivian who does?”

Evelyn’s voice, naturally soft and seductive, was even more so now, dripping with sweetness.

Damian’s voice immediately followed:

“Baby, of course, it’s you. Vivian is like a dead fish in bed, and she has stretch marks on her stomach. Just seeing them makes me lose my appetite, how could I feel any desire?”

I was shaking with anger, my fists clenching in fury.

Then, I heard something that hit me like a ton of bricks.

“Thanks to her, we have Kylo. Otherwise, you'd probably be disgusted with me by now.”

Evelyn’s voice oozed satisfaction as she giggled, smug and triumphant.

I froze. Kylo was the child I had struggled so hard to conceive. What did she mean by “helping them have him?”

“Haha, I’m so glad you even came up with the crazy idea of having Vivian be a surrogate for us.”

I felt like I’d been struck by lightning. My whole body trembled.

After two years of marriage to Damian, we hadn’t been able to have a child.

We went to the hospital for tests, and it turned out that Damian’s sperm count was too low. Despite trying various treatments, nothing worked.

Seeing our frustration, the doctor suggested in vitro fertilization (IVF), a method with a higher success rate than natural conception.

Damian initially refused, worried that egg retrieval would hurt my body. He didn’t want me to go through that.

Damian was an orphan, and I knew how much he wanted a child, a family to call his own.

So I comforted him, telling him I wasn’t scared. I don’t even remember how many ovulation shots I had to take or how many times I lay in that hospital bed before the fertilization finally worked.

But I never expected that the egg used wasn’t mine—it was Evelyn’s.

During my pregnancy, my symptoms were severe. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, and lost so much weight. I became thin and exhausted.

Damian was heartbroken, even offering to quit his job to stay home and take care of me and the baby.

After ten months of suffering, I gave birth to Kylo.

I’ll never forget that day. Damian stood beside my bed, tears in his eyes, holding my hand tight, telling me that he would only ever want one child—and that he would never let me suffer like this again.

But to think that the child I went through all that pain for was actually Evelyn and Damian’s.

I trembled with rage as the sounds from the bathroom continued.

“Baby, I miss you so much.”

Then came the rustling sounds, and just after that, Evelyn’s shameless moans filled the room.

"You’re in a hurry, why?"

"Keep it down, don’t wake Vivian."

"...What are you afraid of? She took a whole pack of sleeping pills, she's out cold, like a dead pig. Even if we’re lying right next to her, she won’t know a thing..."

Damian nodded, agreeing with the logic, and continued without any hesitation.

The sound of heavy breathing filled my ears.

Tears streamed from the corners of my eyes, and I pressed my hand tightly to my mouth, fighting to keep the sobs from escaping.

It only lasted for a few minutes, but to me, it felt like a lifetime.

After a high-pitched scream, the noises in the bathroom finally came to a stop.

"Damian, are you sure your method is safe?"

"Don’t worry. Once Vivian starts eating the incompatible foods, it won’t be long before her health deteriorates. By then, solving her little problem will be a piece of cake—no one will even suspect a thing."

"That's good. After she's gone, you and Kylo will inherit her fortune, and then the three of us can live happily ever after."

The two of them continued their loud plotting, speaking more vile words in the bathroom.

Before they came out, I quickly closed my eyes and pretended to still be asleep.

I met Damian back in college.

He worked part-time to support himself, not only taking jobs off-campus but also substituting for teachers on campus.

One day, during a class, the teacher called the name of the student he was substituting for, and Damian didn’t respond. The teacher suspected he was there to take someone’s place and refused to mark him present.

By some stroke of luck, I intervened and helped him, allowing him to finish the class without issue.

Afterward, he somehow got my contact information and started asking me out to dinner and dates.

We went out three times before he confessed his feelings, and we became a couple.

After four years of dating, we got married right after graduation.

At first, my parents didn’t support the marriage. They thought Damian was all talk with no real action.

On top of that, his career wasn’t progressing, and they believed a man should establish his career before starting a family, so I would have something to rely on.

But I couldn’t resist Damian's charming appearance and sweet words. I was determined to marry him.

Now that I think about it, ten years of love and marriage were mostly lies.

The family I thought was happy and complete was just a veil covering an ugly truth, easily blown away by the slightest wind.

My parents’ assessment of him was spot on, but unfortunately, it’s too late for me to realize that now.

I didn’t sleep all night, and the next morning, when I looked in the mirror, my face was ghostly pale.

I barely managed to put on some light makeup to hide the exhaustion before heading downstairs.

Before I even reached the bottom of the stairs, I could hear the sounds of laughter coming from below.

Evelyn was sitting between Damian and Kylo, and the three of them were happily having breakfast together.

As soon as I appeared, the conversation abruptly stopped, and I felt like the outsider.

Damian awkwardly stood up, pulled out the chair for me, and poured me a glass of milk.

"Vivian, come on over and have breakfast."

Evelyn turned to me and called out my name, "Vivian," before turning back to Kylo to continue playing.

I didn’t sit in the chair Damian had pulled out for me. Instead, I walked straight to the head of the table and sat down.

After pouring myself a cup of coffee, I noticed Kylo wasn’t eating but playing with his toys, so I couldn’t help but scold him a few times:

"Kylo, don’t bring your toys to the table, eat your food first."

Perhaps my approach to raising Kylo has been too strict. Since he was old enough to remember, he’s never been close to me.

Instead, he’s always been closer to Evelyn. Every time she visits, he clings to her, listens to her more than he ever listens to me.

Just like now. I spoke to him, but Kylo didn’t even glance up, completely ignoring me as he continued to play with his little toy car.

“Kylo, it’s breakfast time. How about you wait to play with your car until after you’ve finished eating?”

Evelyn gently patted his head, and as soon as she spoke, Kylo immediately set down his toy car and began eating breakfast seriously.

She turned to me and smiled, a look in her eyes that was both teasing and triumphant. “Vivian, look how well Kylo listens to me.”

It wasn’t the first time this had happened. Evelyn’s words always had a much greater effect on him than mine.

I had never noticed anything strange before, but now it seemed clear that Kylo probably already knew Evelyn was the one who should be his mother.

I sneered inwardly but kept my face neutral.

“Kylo listens so well to Evelyn. Why don’t you let her be your mom instead?”

Kylo, being a child, couldn't hide his emotions or thoughts—they were all written on his face.

The moment he heard my words, his eyes lit up, and his face broke into an unmistakable expression of joy, ready to agree immediately.

Evelyn and Damian exchanged a glance, their faces suddenly panicked.

Before Kylo could speak, Evelyn quickly covered his mouth, forcing a dry laugh. “Vivian, why would you say something like that?”

“Yeah, Vivian, what do you mean by that?”

Damian’s face was full of caution, as though he was terrified I had uncovered something.

I lowered my head, feigning hurt, and spoke in a tone full of sadness:

“I just feel like Kylo isn’t very close to me, and I’m a little sad about it.”

As soon as I said that, Evelyn and Damian both breathed a sigh of relief and started to comfort me.

“Kylo is still young; kids are easy to teach.”

“Yeah, Vivian, don’t be too strict with Kylo in the future.”

I lowered my head, hiding the cold smile in my eyes, and after finishing breakfast, I left for the hospital.

I had arranged an appointment for a full body checkup early in the morning through my assistant Nathan.

Although I felt fine physically, I wanted the reassurance of a checkup.

The results came quickly, and the doctor said that my blood sugar and blood pressure were a little high, and emotional stress could lead to heart problems.

But thankfully, I was still young. With proper care, and by maintaining a good diet and lifestyle, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

This result wasn’t a surprise, and I let out a sigh of relief.

I kept the medical report safe, but as I was leaving the hospital, I ran into my uncle Lawrence and his wife, Clarisse.

Seeing me, the couple looked at me with concern. “Vivian, is something wrong with your health?”

Looking at Lawrence, who had become a bit rounder with age, I felt a lump in my throat.

Clarisse and Lawrence had originally been migrant workers. My parents, understanding their hard work, arranged a small managerial position for Lawrence at the company—basically a desk job.

Since my parents’ tragic passing, the couple had treated me like their own daughter, sometimes even better than they treated Evelyn.

Whenever I was wronged, Lawrence and Clarisse would always take my side.

Seeing their concerned eyes, an absurd thought suddenly crossed my mind.

What if they already knew about—perhaps even tacitly accepted—the relationship between Evelyn and Damian?

“My health is fine, just a minor cold. I came to the hospital to pick up some medicine.”

I began to casually probe, maintaining the same calm smile I always wore.