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They Planned to Replace Me in German, Not Knowing I Understood
Novelix
Completed
"I speak fluent German—yet at dinner, my son asked my husband, Charles, a question in German. ""Dad, when are you going to divorce Mom and marry Aunt Daisy?"" I furrowed my brow and glanced at Charles. He was cutting my steak for me, and without so much as a flicker of expression, he answered our son in German. ""Well, we'll have to wait until Aunt Daisy says yes to my proposal."" Our son let out a helpless sigh. ""Then you'd better hurry, Dad. I really don't want to keep calling that old witch 'Mom.'"""
Chapters (3)
第1章
I speak fluent German—yet at dinner, my son asked my husband, Charles, a question in German.
"Dad, when are you going to divorce Mom and marry Aunt Daisy?"
I furrowed my brow and glanced at Charles. He was cutting my steak for me, and without so much as a flicker of expression, he answered our son in German.
"Well, we'll have to wait until Aunt Daisy says yes to my proposal."
Our son let out a helpless sigh.
"Then you'd better hurry, Dad. I really don't want to keep calling that old witch 'Mom.'"
I kept eating, but I couldn't stop the tears from slipping down my cheeks.
Charles tensed at once. "Fannie, what's wrong?"
I shook my head. "It's nothing. A piece of steak went down the wrong way."
But I hadn't taken a single bite of the steak he'd cut for me. The tears came because I understood every word of what they'd just said.
Charles must have forgotten by now—I majored in German at university, and I graduated top of my class. He was the one who chose the same major just so he could chase after me.
Now Charles was watching me with a face full of concern. "Fannie, are you feeling better?"
I gave a vague nod, not knowing what to say, and reached instinctively for the glass of milk beside me.
Before it even reached my lips, Charles snatched it away. "It's gone a bit cold. Let me warm it up for you."
Watching his retreating back, I couldn't wrap my mind around it—this gentle, devoted man was cheating on me, in love with another woman.
Our son rolled his eyes. "Dad, you spoil Mom too much. She's basically useless now."
For a moment I couldn't tell whether he was teasing or sneering.
Charles smiled at him. "One day you might love your wife even more than I love your mother!"
"Besides, if your dad didn't love your mom this much, where would you have come from?"
Our son nodded and let it drop.
Maybe he, too, was quietly admiring Charles's flawless performance.
Charles and I had been married for fifteen years. I was twenty when I married him.
The second year of our marriage, I quit my job and followed him abroad so he could build his career.
That same year, our son was born.
For fifteen years, I'd looked after the family. I'd long since given up any career of my own, any social life. Every day I cooked for them, tidied their clothes, cleaned their rooms.
And now, not only had my husband betrayed me—my own son looked down on me.
I'd nearly forgotten it myself: I was once a top student in finance. Back in university, I was fluent in six languages.
Charles came back with the warmed milk and set it beside me.
Seeing me lost in thought, he asked curiously, "What are you thinking about, Fannie?"
I narrowed my eyes and smiled at him. "I was wondering whether you're this kind, this gentle, with other women too."
Charles ruffled my hair tenderly. "You're always imagining things. How could there be any other woman in my heart?"
His eyes were full of devotion as he spoke—not a hint of panic.
If I hadn't been able to understand their conversation, God knows how much longer he could have gone on deceiving me.
Seeing that my face was still troubled, Charles took my hand.
"Darling, didn't I promise you all those years ago? For the rest of my life, I'll love no one but you. Don't you trust me anymore?"
I gave a small smile. Of course I believed the things he'd said when he was courting me—back then, he really had loved me. But vows are only true when a person still loves you.
When Charles was pursuing me, he had none of the success he had now, and he wasn't particularly handsome either.
But back then, I had plenty of suitors. Whether it was looks or grades, I was at the top of my class.
Charles spent a great deal of time trying to win me over.
In the end, his sincerity moved me, and I chose to be with him.
For his career, even though my advisor tried desperately to keep me on, I gave up my chance to pursue a PhD without hesitation.
Over the past fifteen years, he had, in fact, taken very good care of me, and I had never once regretted my choice.
Who would have thought that this very man would betray me six months ago—with his own secretary?
I'd believed Charles and I would go on being this happy until the end of our lives.
But now, it seemed, it was time to leave.
I didn't make a scene. I didn't confront him.
Instead, quietly, without his knowing, I began preparing to go.
I counted down the days in silence. In one more month, the acceptance letter for my PhD program would arrive.
Then, I would be able to leave Charles for good.
第2章
After breakfast, Charles cleared the dishes as usual.
While he tidied up, he said, "Fannie, I actually have some free time today. Let me take you shopping."
But our son, home for the weekend, insisted on going camping.
Charles frowned. "Didn't we agree? In this house, your mother comes first."
Watching the way Charles disciplined our son, I thought that if it weren't for Daisy, he would have been a decent husband and a fine father.
But knowing the truth as I did, how could I lie to myself and believe in this illusion?
Just then, my phone buzzed on the table.
Curious, I picked it up—only to find that Daisy had sent me an intimate photo of herself with Charles.
I turned the screen off and didn't reply.
A few minutes later, having gotten no response, Daisy sent another message.
"Charles has the day off. Guess whether he'll come keep me company, or stay home with you?"
I found her almost laughable. After all, the only person who still cared about that question was her.
Charles walked over and rested his hands on the back of the chair behind me, watching me with a puzzled look.
"What is it, Fannie? Something wrong? Who's texting you?"
I flipped the phone face-down on the table. "Spam. It's nothing."
In the past, I would have thrown the photo in his face, screamed at him, demanded to know why he had betrayed me.
But now I no longer had the strength for it. It no longer felt worth it.
Instead of fighting with him, of making everyone miserable, I wanted only to slip quietly out of his world.
Maybe Charles could sense that I wasn't quite myself, because he reached out for my phone.
I clamped it firmly against the table. I didn't want him to know.
The next second, Charles's phone rang.
A soft, coquettish voice came through the speaker: "Charles, come and be with me, please? I miss you so much."
Afraid I'd hear something I shouldn't, he quickly stood up and moved farther away.
I didn't pay him any attention. I got up and went back to the bedroom to sort through my clothes.
Half an hour later, when I came out of the bedroom, Charles had just hung up.
I picked up my bag from the console. "Come on. Weren't we going shopping?"
Seeing me all dressed and made up, his eyes flickered guiltily. "Fannie, something urgent came up at the office. I can't go with you today."
I nodded. "Then hurry along. Don't let it hold up your work."
Seeing that I wasn't upset, he actually hesitated.
I pushed him toward the door. "Everyone else is waiting for you. Any longer and it'll be too late. Work comes first."
Charles pretended to be reluctant and kissed my forehead—a gesture that now, honestly, made my skin crawl.
Once he was gone, I let out a breath of relief.
Because I had something more important to do today. My visa had been approved, and I needed to pick it up in person.
An hour later, I walked out of the government office with a brand-new visa in hand, feeling lighter than I had in years.
By now Charles was probably in bed with his secretary.
After all, ten minutes earlier, I'd received another message from Daisy: a photo of Charles's back as he showered, with a single line of text.
"Fannie, you lost again. One word from me, and he'll drop everything to be with me."
I didn't rise to her provocation. I got in the car and drove myself to the mall.
Without Charles, I could still walk around and buy clothes on my own—freer, in fact.
After all, most of my clothes had been picked out by Charles.
Since I'd made up my mind to leave, I intended to replace all of them.
第3章
By the time I'd finished everything and got home, it was already eight in the evening. The house was very quiet.
I called our son, but no one picked up.
I understood at once. Charles had taken him out to dinner with the secretary again.
Fine—if he preferred someone else to be his mother, then I no longer wanted to be a mother who sacrificed everything for him.
I opened my phone and scrolled. Daisy hadn't messaged again. Probably she didn't have time.
I sat quietly on the sofa for a long while, remembering everything I had shared with them over these fifteen years.
Back when he first married me, he was like a soldier returning from a victorious battle.
Now, he probably saw me as nothing but a burden.
I got up, packed all the new clothes I'd bought into my suitcase, and took the packaging downstairs to throw out.
Just as I was heading back inside, I ran into Charles and our son coming home.
Charles rolled down the window from a distance and called out.
"Fannie, haven't I told you a hundred times? I'll take out the trash."
"It's freezing—get back inside before you catch a chill."
As he spoke, he climbed out of the car and wrapped his arms around me.
But the thought that those same arms had just been around another woman made me sick. I pulled free and hurried back into the house.
Upstairs, he asked what I'd been running for.
I feigned nonchalance. "It's cold. I wanted to get inside faster."
Charles remembered clearly: when I was pregnant with our son, I'd suffered a great deal, and ever since, the slightest chill would leave me doubled over with back pain.
So over the years, he had never let me touch cold water. Whenever I went out, he arranged for a driver to take me door to door.
Only now, perhaps, he was just as gentle with another woman.
He set the paper bag down on the table.
No need to guess—he'd brought me a slice of cake, as always.
I grew up in a seaside town far from here, and in the more than ten years I'd spent following him to this foreign country, the only taste of home I could find was the carrot cake from that little shop on the corner.
Every time he used "work" as an excuse to be with Daisy, he'd come home with one of those slices, as if to soothe his own guilt.
He sat down beside me on the sofa and rested his head on my shoulder. "Fannie, I'm so tired today. Can you give me a hug?"
I lifted my hands, still in their gloves. "I'm eating. I can't hug you."
He nuzzled against me.
"Fannie, what are you going to give me for our anniversary next month?"
I looked into those tender eyes of his. "A very big present."
Charles snuggled against my shoulder like an eager puppy, his voice as bright as it used to be.
"I knew Fannie was the best. You never forget any of our anniversaries."
What he didn't know was that the "big present" I was giving him was my absence—leaving so he and Daisy could have their life together.
I thought he'd probably like it.
I ate two bites of the cake and dropped the rest into the trash.
Charles looked surprised. Normally I'd eat most of it and keep the rest in the fridge for the next day.
He asked carefully, "What's wrong, Fannie? No appetite? Or is the cake not as good today?"
I picked up a napkin and dabbed my mouth. "The taste's changed. Or maybe it's the person who's changed."
He looked confused. "That can't be right. I saw the same owner working there just now."
I pressed my lips together. "Maybe I've changed, then. Maybe I don't like this flavor anymore."
I had changed—changed enough that I no longer cared about him, no longer wanted to eat a cake meant to lessen his guilt.
Charles's instincts had always been sharp. He could pick up on every shift in my mood.
Perhaps sensing that something was off, he stayed home with me for several days after that, even working from home.
It hadn't been easy for Charles to reach the position he was in. I knew exactly how hard he had worked to get there.
So over the years, I had never blamed him for the time it took away from me.
But how could I not wish for him to spend more time by my side?
In the past, I would have urged him to hurry back to work, telling him I understood.
But now I knew—it wasn't that he didn't have time. It was that his time was being spent on someone else.
His presence now only made my stomach turn.
Charles's phone had been on silent for days, but I could still clearly hear it buzzing against the tabletop.
Carrying a plate of fruit over to him, I picked up his phone.
He instinctively reached to take it back, but I calmly held it out to him. "Answer it. It's been ringing for a while."
He faltered. "It's nothing important. I said I'd spend these few days with you."
I hit the answer button for him. "Work matters more."
