The words "illegitimate daughter" cut into me like a knife.
I couldn't hold back anymore. I screamed at Lauren's retreating back, "Tessa isn't illegitimate! She's Arthur's and my daughter. The day she was born, you and Arthur weren't…"
I froze mid-sentence because I remembered Lauren's marriage certificate date perfectly.
It was the exact day Tessa was born.
I remembered that day clearly. It was a rainy noon.
I had just finished feeding Paula lunch and was scrubbing the dishes with my huge belly sticking out.
The moment my water broke, I called Arthur immediately. But no matter how many times I tried, I couldn't get through.
I had to run outside and ask our neighbor, Sophia Carson, to watch Paula.
Sophia's husband, Steven Huff, took me to the village clinic on his tricycle.
As I lay in the delivery room, the pain was unbearable.
Yet, Arthur's phone seemed cursed. I dialed incessantly for a day and a night before the call finally got through.
There was no concern or joy in his voice. All I received was a jagged torrent of resentment. "Do you know how busy I am? This is a critical point in my career! Why did you keep calling me? Are you trying to ruin me?"
My hand shook as I held the phone. The words stuck in my throat turned into choked sobs of frustration.
After a long while, I managed to say, "She's six pounds, one ounce. It's a girl. I named her Tessa."
The call ended. Soon after, a transfer of two thousand dollars appeared in my account.
Arthur sent me a text. "I'm swamped and can't go back. Buy something nice for yourself."
Tessa was already five now. She hugged me and gently rocked me, pulling me back from my spiraling thoughts.
"Mommy, can we move to the city and live with Daddy?"
Her words shattered me.
She had breathed for the dream of a life shared with Arthur. Now, it seemed that dream would remain forever out of reach.
I saw Arthur again the next day at 4:00 pm.
Perhaps my expression was too broken. He sighed and took my hand. "Hattie, you know the full story now. I admit that I was in the wrong.
"But I was forced to marry Lauren. Her family has a lot of influence where I work. She pursued me for two years. She said that if I didn't marry her, I'd lose my job. You were pregnant then, and my mom was… I couldn't lose my job, so…"
So he could lie to me for seven whole years, keep me tied to his paralyzed mother, and trick me into giving birth to Tessa.
Now that Paula was gone, he was eager to kick me to the curb.
Even Tessa was just a tool to keep me trapped in this family.
I looked at his face, and all I felt was disgust. I pulled my hand back coldly and slapped him across the face.
"You make me sick."
Arthur's head turned from the slap.
Frowning, he pressed his tongue against his cheek. For a moment, he even looked relieved.
"I'll give you some money for Tessa's child support. After that, it's over between us."
As I stared at him, my heart sank completely.
Seven years of devotion, and I couldn't even buy a shred of his conscience.
His so-called love, promises, and excuses were all lies. To him, Tessa and I were nothing more than caretakers for his paralyzed mother.
When Tessa saw me crying, she immediately wiped my tears with her hands.
