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My Wedding Gift Was His Love Child
Novelix
Completed
The day Ethan and I picked up our marriage license, my best friend Chloe placed a newborn in my arms. "He's Ethan's and mine. You were too scared to have one — so I had one for you." Ten years of love. A husband who swore he'd never push me. A brother who swore he'd protect me. All of them, lying. But they didn't know I'd secretly conquered my fear. That I was pregnant too. When they locked me in that apartment, I lost the baby on the floor. They think I'll come back. They have no idea who I am now.
Chapters (3)
第1章
The day Ethan and I get legally married, my best friend Chloe hands me a newborn as a gift.
“You were too scared to have a baby yourself, so I had one for you. Consider it my way of repaying you for saving my life. ”
“He’s Ethan’s and mine. So don’t worry—you can raise him as your own.”
I stare at her, stunned.
But Ethan just nods, like there's nothing wrong with this.
"You never wanted kids. I never tried to change your mind."
"But you know my family needs an heir. This way, everybody's happy."
My hands tremble. The baby nearly slips out of my arms.
My brother Ryan's face changes instantly. He lunges forward, catches the baby, and snaps at me.
"Careful! They spent three years trying to have this baby. Do you have any idea what Chloe went through?"
"I was the one who covered for them the whole time — making excuses, giving them chances to be together."
Ethan reaches over and brushes the tears off my face. His voice is soft.
"Chloe went through so much to give us this baby."
"To make it up to her, Chloe will take your place as my bride at the ceremony next week. You don’t mind, right?"
The wedding ring I'd waited ten years for gleams on my finger.
Suddenly, none of it means anything.
I don't want the wedding anymore.
I don't want Ethan anymore.
……
I say nothing. Ethan takes the baby from Ryan and speaks to me gently.
"Look at him. He's adorable. Just hold him. Chloe was so afraid you wouldn't like him, she couldn't sleep all night."
I hide my trembling hands behind my back and step away from the baby, refusing to look anywhere but at Ethan.
"You promised me we'd be childfree."
Ethan meets my eyes, calm as ever.
"I know you're scared of giving birth. I've always understood that."
"But my family needs an heir. It's a win-win."
My fists curl at my sides.
The day he first asked me out, I told him straight — I'd never have kids.
He laughed and said as long as we were together, nothing else mattered.
I believed him. For ten years, I did.
But his mother refused to approve our marriage because of it.
I saw how torn he was, so I offered to break up.
He wouldn't hear of it. Stood outside my building every single night, begging me not to give up on us.
To force his family's hand, he went on a hunger strike and wasted away frighteningly fast.
When he showed up again, he was skin and bones — but smiling. "They said yes."
I held him and sobbed. But I still gave him an out.
Before we married, if he ever changed his mind, we could walk away. No hard feelings.
He said, "I'll never regret marrying you."
I thought our love was honest. Turns out, I was the only honest one.
My gaze falls on the baby's face. Every feature — unmistakably Ethan's.
My stomach turns. I gag, over and over.
I swallow the nausea and look at him.
"I told you — if you couldn't accept childfree, we could just break up…"
Ethan looks genuinely confused.
"Why would we break up? I did all of this so I could be with you — no strings attached."
"Now my family's satisfied, and you're still my wife. Problem solved."
Ryan shoots me a look and cuts in.
"Break up? Easy for you to say. Last time you two split, you couldn't eat, couldn't sleep."
"If Chloe hadn't offered to have the baby, you think his mom would've ever come around?"
"You got your marriage certificate, and you don't even have to carry a baby yourself. What the hell are you making a fuss about?"
Every word cuts deeper than the last.
Tears pour down my face. I scream at him.
"Ryan — you know why I can't have children. Everyone else might not get it, but you? How could you not understand?"
When I was seven, my father walked out on us for another woman.
My pregnant mother went into premature labor from the shock. She bled out — her and the baby both.
She died in my arms. I felt her last breath leave her body.
The blood on my hands was still warm.
Ryan held me that night, shaking, crying. "Don't be scared. I'm here."
After that — nightmares every single night. A terror of childbirth so deep it lived in my bones.
When I bring it up now, his eyes flicker — just for a second. Then he doubles down.
"That's exactly why I helped them keep it from you! I was protecting you!"
"This was all for your own good. What more do you want?"
I go rigid. Even my tears stop.
What exactly am I supposed to be grateful for?
That my husband of ten years had a baby with my best friend?
Or that my own brother helped them hide it?
But at this moment, every question feels pointless.
The last of my anger, my grief, and every last flicker of hope I had for any of them —gone.
Like air hissing out of a punctured balloon.
Just — gone.
第2章
The valet pulls the car around just then.
Chloe looks at me, all concern.
"Avery, are you okay? You should get in the car."
Ethan steps forward, slides his arm around her shoulders, and guides her gently into the back seat.
"You first. It's too hot out. You just had a baby — you need rest."
Chloe settles in, tilts her face up, eyes brimming.
"But Avery… she doesn't seem to like my baby…"
Ethan crouches down to her eye level.
His voice is tender. His expression certain.
"He's your baby. Of course she loves him. Don't overthink it."
He takes her hand, frowning softly.
"You're freezing."
He reaches over and turns up the heat — sweat still beading on his own forehead.
Then he looks back at me and Ryan.
"Everyone, get in. We'll talk at home. It's too hot — Chloe and the baby can't take this."
Ryan nods and climbs into the back.
I stand outside, staring at the passenger seat that has always been mine.
Ethan catches on. His jaw tightens.
"Chloe gets carsick. She needs to sit up front this time."
Chloe panics, clutching the baby, already moving to get out.
"No — that's Avery's seat. I'll move, I'll move—"
I press my lips together. A cold laugh slips out.
"Cut the act. You're nothing but a homewrecker.You already stole my husband — you think I care about a seat?"
Chloe's head drops. Tears roll silently down her cheeks.
Ethan's face goes dark. He turns on me, barely containing his fury.
"Homewrecker? If we're keeping score — you're the other woman."
Ryan jabs his finger at my face.
"They got married years ago so Chloe could have his baby and give his family the heir they wanted. They only divorced yesterday — so Ethan could marry you today."
"You tell me — who's the other woman?"
"Chloe nearly died giving birth for you, and this is how you treat her? You're goddamn ungrateful."
"Don't wanna get in? Fine. Walk home."
He shoves me back and slams the door shut.
Just before the door closes, I see it — the look in Ethan's eyes.
Irritation. Pure irritation.
The car pulls away.
The sun beats down, burning my skin raw.
I stand there, frozen.
And I remember something he told me — back when we were happy.
"If we ever fight and I walk away — just stay where you are and count to twenty. I'll come back. I'll always come back."
Ten years together, and we barely ever fought.
He never once walked away.
I hate myself for it, but I start counting.
At twenty, his car doubles back, just like he promised.
Tears spill down my cheeks.
He remembered.
So why does it hurt even more?
The passenger door opens. Chloe has moved to the back with the baby.
Ethan sits behind the wheel, one hand on it, the other pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Avery. Stop this. It's hot. You'll get heatstroke."
I bite down on my lip. My voice comes out shaking.
"Ethan — what if I told you I'm pregnant too?"
第3章
It wasn't like I hadn't tried.
When he was starving himself for me — I asked myself, over and over:
Would you really lose Ethan just because you're scared of having a baby?
Watching him waste away beneath my window, I found my answer.
If it was Ethan — I was willing to try.
I went to a therapist in secret. Session after session, chipping away at the fear.
Finally — no more nightmares. I could sleep through the night.
When I found out I was pregnant, I realized the terror was gone.
All I could think about was this moment — the day we picked up our marriage license — and the look on Ethan's face when I told him.
How happy he'd be.
Even now, after everything, I still want to see his reaction.
At least to prove I'm not completely pathetic.
The second I say it, all three of them go pale.
Chloe's eyes turn red. Tears spill like rain.
"Avery — I never wanted to compete with you. I just wanted to repay you for saving my life."
"This baby is Ethan's too. Please don't hate him. Please."
Ethan's eyes fill with something worse than anger — disappointment.
"If you were really willing to get pregnant, why wait until now?"
"You've got your marriage certificate. What the hell are you still making a fuss about?"
Ryan points at my face again, shouting.
"You think just because you pulled Chloe out of that lake, she owes you her whole life?"
"She had a baby for you. The debt is paid."
"And she's the one who just now begged Ethan, in tears, to come back for you. Do you even deserve any of this?"
I force the faintest smile.
I should've known.
The surprise I'd planned has already turned into something ugly.
A threat. That's all they see.
So Ethan didn't come back because he remembered his promise.
He came back because Chloe told him to.
Her mercy. Not his love.
"Let's get divorced," I say.
The engine roars in response.
The car shoots forward, taillights disappearing into the heat.
No one hears me.
I stand there, numb, and tuck the ultrasound back into my pocket — the one I'd half-pulled out.
This time, I don't stay and count.
I go to a lawyer's office and have them draft divorce papers.
I don't go home after that. Just check into some random hotel.
That night, the wedding group chat explodes — only now, Chloe is the bride.
The dress needs alterations. The invitations are too plain. The venue is too cheap.
Everything I'd chosen — replaced. One by one.
I leave the chat.
A second later, Ethan texts me.
"After the wedding, I'll take you to see the Northern Lights. I know you've always wanted to go."
"You have to be at the ceremony. Chloe says it's a promise you two made when you were eighteen."
"The baby's been fussy. Chloe's not sleeping well. I'm staying with her for a while."
I laugh — actually laugh — and block his number.
On the day of the wedding, I go back to the apartment to drop off the divorce papers.
The door next door swings open.
Chloe steps out.
I blink.
"You… live here?"
