My husband was a dancer. After we married, he refused to have children, fearing it would hinder his career. So, I took the initiative and underwent sterilization.
Ten years later, I received millions in compensation from a demolition project, only to have three children suddenly appear, demanding their share.
After digging into the truth, I uncovered a devastating reality. They were triplets, the children of my husband and his childhood sweetheart.
He had named them Diego, Mateo, and Bruno.
And his childhood sweetheart? Eulalie Hemsworth.
The money I had sent to my in-laws had been used to buy a spacious apartment in their hometown, not for me, but for him and her.
All those years, Hayden Radcliffe had used the excuse of seeking inspiration to shuttle between two cities, hiding a life I never knew existed.
Under this gut-wrenching revelation, I confronted him, my fury uncontainable.
His response? Steady, self-righteous, without a hint of guilt.
“For the promise I made in childhood.”
I felt myself unraveling, rage, and heartbreak colliding. The argument that followed was a storm neither of us could contain.
Relatives and friends surrounded me, their voices a mix of persuasion and thinly veiled pressure.
“You two were campus sweethearts who made it to marriage. Do you know how many people envy that? What’s a few children in the mix? You can’t have kids anyway, so why not accept them?”
“All these years, Hayden never looked down on you for being infertile. Now that you have money, wouldn’t it be better to have children to care for you in old age?”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I turned to Hayden. At nearly forty, he still looked as refined and youthful as ever, as if time had never once betrayed him.
“Give them some money and send them away. That’s the furthest I’m willing to bend.”
Hayden rose to his feet, his gaze unwavering, his voice chillingly firm.
“They are my children. They have every right to inherit my assets. If you refuse, then we’ll settle this in court.”
I wiped the blood from my hand with a detached calmness, my last shred of false hope crumbling to dust.
“Hayden, let’s divorce.”
——
At that moment, my mother-in-law shot up, her rage igniting like dry wood in a flame. A cup flew toward me, shattering just inches away.
“You’re nothing but a barren hen! How dare you ask for a divorce? If anyone’s leaving, it’ll be Hayden, not you! What right do you have?”
Relatives rushed to hold back my raging mother-in-law, each taking turns trying to talk us down. The room buzzed with frantic voices, but none of them spoke for me.
Hayden’s expression darkened, his sharp gaze locking onto mine.
“Ella, you want a divorce? What exactly are you trying to pull?”
The noise around me blurred into a distant hum as I took in the chaos, relatives talking at once, my mother-in-law pointing at me, her voice shrill with curses. A suffocating weight pressed against my chest.
This was the man I had once cherished like a rare gem. This was the elder I had once treated like my own mother.
And yet, somehow, my husband’s betrayal had become my fault.
Sensing the shift in my expression, Hayden’s tone softened as if a gentler voice could undo the damage he had done.
“Ella, I know I’ve wronged you, but I had my reasons.”
“Eulalie and I have been promised each other since childhood. I broke that engagement to marry you; that was already unfair to her. She has been alone all these years. Having children was her dream, so she could have someone to rely on in old age.”
“We’ve been married for twelve years, Ella. I thought you would understand me and support me. How could you embarrass me like this in front of everyone?”
He spoke as though he had been backed into a corner, as though I was the one being selfish.
His words sent ripples through my heart, unsettling the depths of emotions I had long buried.
I closed my eyes.
Ten years ago, Hayden had performed a breathtaking traditional dance, his every movement mesmerizing, like a prince stepping out of a dream. In my eyes, he had been perfection.
But behind that elegance lay a harsh reality: his mother had already arranged for him to marry Eulalie, binding him to a future he never chose. She had intended to make him a live-in son-in-law, only to squander the dowry on her gambling habits.
She had even boasted that Eulalie had promised to buy them a house and take her to the big city, a golden ticket she clung to.
When I spoke of marriage to my parents, my father’s fury was unrelenting.
“Foolish girl! Do you want to marry into a rural family? If you step out that door today, I’ll burn down the furniture factory and act as if I never had an unfilial daughter like you.”
His rage should have crushed my resolve, but I pleaded again and again until he finally relented. In the end, he gave my mother-in-law money for a down payment on a small apartment.
But it wasn’t enough.
So, I worked. I took on extra jobs, worked overtime in secret, and saved every cent until I finally bought the house in full, bringing her to the city myself.
I had thought that love was worth every sacrifice.
After we married, Hayden told me he wanted to focus on his career and that he didn’t want children. So, I took the initiative; I underwent sterilization, leaving no room for debate.
To put his mind at ease, I even had the doctor issue a certificate of infertility.
