My Marriage Was Built on Lies

For five years of marriage, Sophie Lane had always believed her husband, Daniel Hart, was just an ordinary call center operator.

He was busy with work, so she learned to handle everything at home on her own.

His salary was low, so she stretched every dollar as far as it could go.

It wasn’t until she was hospitalized during a difficult labor and ran into Daniel accompanying his fallen comrade’s widow, Clara Bailey, that she finally learned the truth.

Daniel had never been a call center operator at all; he was a commanding officer in an elite unit.

To give all the privileges of a commander’s wife to his childhood sweetheart, Clara, he had hidden his identity from Sophie for five years.

When Clara lost her child, and to spare her the pain, he had even made Sophie give her own baby to her.

Sophie’s heart went completely cold.

After recovering in the hospital, she went alone to audition for an out-of-town performing arts company.

With the offer letter in hand, she petitioned the court for divorce.

She was going to end this marriage built on lies.

And leave Daniel forever.

After losing her baby during a traumatic delivery, the neighbors all started saying Sophie Lane wasn’t the same anymore.

On the first day, she cooked herself three eggs.

She no longer set aside the best cuts of meat and fresh eggs for Daniel Hart, no longer living off scraps and cheap starches herself.

On the second day, she went to a boutique and bought herself a quilted floral coat.

She no longer kept stitching up her worn-out jacket, no longer scraping and saving for months just to buy Daniel extra gear.

On the third day, she accompanied her neighbor, Joanne, to the hospital and bought a course of postpartum medicine, only to be stopped in the lobby by his aide.

“Mrs. Hart! Captain Hart was injured during a mission. He’s been calling your name. You should go see him!”

Sophie looked at her quietly, not a trace of worry in her expression.

“Are you sure he was calling for Sophie, and not Clara?”

She smiled faintly. “You should go find Clara Bailey. The one your captain wants to see will only be her. She lives at the far west end of the military housing compound, a single-unit house. You’ll find her easily.”

With that, she took Joanne’s hand and moved to leave.

A weak yet steady voice called out from behind her. “Sophie.”

The aide sucked in a sharp breath. “Captain Hart, why did you come out yourself?!”

Daniel Hart ignored her and walked straight to Sophie.

His face was pale, but he forced a gentle smile, reaching out to touch her cheek.

“The one I want to see is you, Sophie. What kind of husband, after getting hurt, goes to see another woman instead of his wife? Are you still upset about what happened the day you gave birth?”

Sophie stepped back, avoiding his hand. “I’m not upset.”

“Clara is your fallen comrade’s widow. As the team captain, it’s your duty to take care of her. Besides, she’s pregnant. As your wife, I should be understanding and accommodating. I know that.”

Looking at his empty hand and her indifferent expression, a flicker of unease rose in Daniel’s chest.

The Sophie he once knew would ache over every wound on his body, would treasure every second they spent together…

She would never be this distant, like a stranger.

He opened his mouth to say more, but Sophie had already taken Joanne and walked straight out of the hospital.

Joanne, who had witnessed everything, lowered her voice in surprise.

“Sophie, am I seeing things right? Wasn’t Daniel just a switchboard operator? Since when did he become captain? Congratulations! You finally made it!”

A bitter taste rose in Sophie’s chest, and she let out a faint, helpless laugh.

Daniel had never been a switchboard operator.

From beginning to end, he had always been the powerful Captain Hart.

Half a month ago, Sophie’s water had broken suddenly, and she was admitted to the hospital. Due to complications, she needed a C-section.

She had only eight dollars on her.

How was she supposed to afford the surgery?

Just as despair set in, the captain’s aide pulled her into a ward.

“Ma’am, our captain is willing to cover your surgery and pay for recovery. But he has one condition. You must hand the baby over to Clara Bailey to raise.”

Sophie felt the blood in her body turn cold.

The captain they were talking about… wasn’t he her switchboard-operator husband?

Their eyes met, and Daniel frowned. “Sophie? Why is it you?”

There was no panic on his face, only relief.

“Since it’s you, then there’s nothing to discuss. Go for the C-section immediately. Clara and I grew up together. She’s carrying the child of my friend, Zack—his only legacy. If she wakes up and finds out the baby didn’t survive, she won’t be able to take it.”

Sophie stared at him in disbelief.

“For that woman, you lied to me for five years, pretending to be a switchboard operator? Because her child might die, you’re going to take mine? How can you be so heartless?”

Daniel’s face hardened with impatience.

“Enough. It’s just a child. We can have more in the future. Can you stop being so narrow-minded? As my wife, it’s your duty to understand and support me.”

She was forcibly pressed onto the operating table.

And when Clara suddenly woke and insisted on seeing the baby, before the anesthesia even took effect, Daniel ordered the doctors to cut her open.

Sophie passed out from the pain. The moment she woke, her first thought was to take her child back.

Daniel locked her inside the hospital room.

On the first day, with a single phone call, Sophie’s closest friend was fired from her job at a restaurant.

On the second day, he had her elderly father reassigned from a light warehouse job to the hardest manual labor.

On the third day, with just a word from him, her uncle, who suffered from a chronic illness, could no longer get his medication.

One by one, relatives and friends sent messages through others, begging Sophie to spare them.

Daniel walked into the hospital room. “As long as you stop trying to take the child back, I’ll let them go.”

Something inside Sophie went completely still.

She didn’t ask why he had lied to her all these years. She didn’t cry or demand any kind of compensation.

After recovering in the hospital, she went alone to audition for an out-of-town performing arts company.

With the offer letter in hand, she petitioned the court for divorce.

Once the approval came through, she would board a southbound train and put an end to this marriage built on lies.

She would leave Daniel forever.