Nathan Turner disliked children and insisted on being childless shortly after our marriage.
Until our third anniversary, when I found his sterilization report, along with the twins he’d kept outside our marriage.
The children were already four years old.
Like a bolt from the blue, we had a terrible fight.
Our elders and friends urged me,
"It's rare for Nathan to want a child. Why make such a fuss? The Turner family needs an heir."
"The children were likely unexpected, and Nathan Turner probably had no choice. Just treat them as adopted kids."
I looked at Nathan with heartbreak, his noble, aloof demeanor exuding the resolute aura of a seasoned man at thirty.
“As long as you don’t see them, I can stay in this marriage. That’s my biggest compromise.” Nathan stood, slowly removing his ring and placing it on the coffee table.
“Victoria carried them for ten months. I’m their father; caring for them is my duty.”
“She won’t threaten your role as Mrs. Turner, so why be so hostile?”
Hearing his crushing words, I gave up any hope of reconciliation.
“In that case, let’s get a divorce!”
——
“Bang!” A teacup shattered at my feet. My father, bruised and livid, pointed at me in fury.
“If you dare divorce him, I’ll break your legs!”
“Isn’t scandal common among the wealthy?” "It’s nothing unusual—why make such a scene?" My mother-in-law stood, clasped my father’s arm, and tried to calm him, though she eyed me in displeasure.
"Catherine, you come from a good family. How can you act like those crude women who fight over men?"
"Look at the uproar you caused—this will disgrace the Turner family." Everyone fired their opinions, and my tears finally fell onto my hand as I uttered the painful question:
"Nathan, why did you get a vasectomy behind my back?" We had agreed to let nature decide about children, and if he refused, I would accept it.
I thought that if I conceived unexpectedly, it might awaken his fatherly instinct and change his views.
But for three long years, nothing happened.
Thinking it was my problem, I visited doctors for two years, taking endless herbal medicine. It turned out he’d already had a vasectomy.
A flash of guilt crossed Nathan’s face as he sighed deeply.
"Catherine, I had no choice!"
Then he walked over and gently held my shoulder, speaking with sincerity.
"Victoria grew up poor and endured endless bullying. How could she compete with you, the Wallace family’s daughter? How could her child compare to yours?"
"I don’t want my child to suffer, to be judged and humiliated like her."
"Catherine, we’ve been childhood friends for twenty years. You should understand me."
He spoke wistfully about fate, urging me to accept his choice.
All I felt was shock, a crashing wave of emotion.
So deep love creates long-reaching plans. Nathan had done just that.
I was merely the sacrifice for his true love.
I pushed his arm away, stepped back, and looked at him in anguish.
"Nathan, you’re despicable!"
"Let’s divorce. I refuse to share a bed with a beast."
His face hardened, then flickered with shame and fury.
"Catherine Wallace, as heirs of noble families, we all face constraints. Why can’t you be more generous and tolerant?"
"You were born into comfort and privilege that Victoria never had. I gave you the status of Margaret Turner. She only wants to live quietly. Must you force me to abandon her?"
