Chapter 1

On New Year's Eve, my water suddenly broke. My husband was so frantic he didn't even put on shoes before rushing me to the hospital.

His feet were scraped raw and bleeding.

I was moved to tears, until I found an opened condom wrapper in the back seat.

"What is this?"

I struggled to regulate my breathing as I picked up the wrapper.

My husband glanced at it briefly and explained without missing a beat:

"Norris borrowed my car last week to go to a party. Probably one of her friends accidentally dropped it."

"Clark, don't overthink this. The most important thing right now is delivering the baby safely."

Looking at the residue on the condom, I froze for a long moment.

Yes, the most important thing right now was delivering the baby.

Poor child, about to be born without a father.

The ER on New Year's was still packed with people.

"Honey, you're going to be fine."

"Honey, I'll be right outside waiting for you. You can do this."

"Honey..."

Beside the moving gurney, Murphy kept pace with a tense expression, gripping my hand tightly.

The fine sweat on his forehead constantly proved his love for me and the baby.

Everyone cast admiring, envious glances our way. Only I was breaking out in cold sweat from pain.

That cold sweat was for Murphy.

He performed his devoted husband act flawlessly.

I'd been fooled by that face for five whole years.

Now, just thinking about that condom wrapper I'd seen made my stomach churn.

At the operating room entrance, the medical staff stopped him and ordered him to wait outside.

"Doctor, nurse, my wife is afraid of pain. Please take good care of her..."

The man's voice trembled uncontrollably. His anxious, heartbroken appearance was truly moving.

Inside the operating room, the midwife chatted with me while preparing equipment to ease my nerves.

"You and your husband must have a great relationship, right? We don't often see men who care about their wives this much."

"Yeah, your husband looked like he was about to cry."

"Right? Before we closed the door, he even told the doctor that if something went wrong, to save the mother first, haha..."

If not for tonight's accident, I definitely would have thought Murphy was the person who loved me most in this world.

But hearing these words now, I didn't even have the mood to play along.

Love or not, none of it mattered anymore.

The pain of childbirth intertwined with the pain in my heart. I gritted my teeth as sweat poured down.

After I dilated to three centimeters, a sharp, long needle pierced into my spine, and my pain gradually went numb.

I forced myself to focus all my attention on giving birth, but I couldn't control my wandering thoughts.

The sadness in my heart spread bit by bit.

"Waaah!" A loud cry rang out. My baby was born.

"Seven pounds, a boy. Congratulations."

The midwife placed the baby beside my bed. I traced every feature of that little face with my eyes, my heart melting completely.

Baby, I hope when you grow up you won't blame mommy for the decision I'm making now.

If I could, I would have wanted to give you a complete, perfect family too.

But your father can't give that to us.

Tears slid from the corners of my eyes. I turned my head, holding back the stinging in my nose, forcing myself not to cry out loud.

"Clark!"

Murphy rushed forward excitedly and grabbed my hand. Seeing my reddened eyes, he couldn't help but lower his head.

"Does it hurt a lot? It's all my fault for not booking a spot for me to be in the delivery room..."

I calmly pulled my hand away. "Where's the baby?"

"The nurses are doing checkups! Don't worry, I already watched every step, took photos for records, and memorized the wristband information."