My Vitamins Were Swapped For Contraceptives

After three years of marriage, Eliana and Christopher Harvey had settled into the comfortable rhythm of weekend spouses.

At seven o'clock on Friday evening, the door to their villa swung open right on schedule.

“Chris, you're home!”

Eliana greeted him warmly at the entrance, helping him slip off his coat, which still carried the chill of Dublin weather.

“The temperature dropped sharply today. I've drawn you a hot bath. Why don't you go relax upstairs for a bit, then come down for dinner?”

“Sounds good.”

Christopher's deep, bottomless eyes lingered on her graceful face before he nodded and headed upstairs.

A year ago, he'd moved to Birmingham to oversee the Harvey Group's branch office. Since then, weekends were all they had.

As Eliana held his coat, it suddenly buzzed—Christopher's phone ringing. Without thinking, her finger brushed the screen and answered.

“Daddy!”

A child's voice burst through the speaker, freezing Eliana in place. At first she thought it was a wrong number; after all, she and Christopher had no children. But the phone screen read “Octavia.”

Her grip tightened. Octavia Jensen was Christopher's first love.

This call...

“Daddy, tomorrow's my birthday, and I really want you here. Will you come back to Birmingham?”

“Sweetheart, don't use Mommy's phone. Don't disturb Daddy. Hang up now.”

The call ended abruptly, but the woman's voice clung to Eliana's heart like a vice.

Octavia. A child. Birmingham.

Eliana's fingers trembled as she held the phone, her knuckles growing pale...

Half an hour later, Christopher came downstairs in a black robe, loosely tied at the waist. His defined abs were visible as he approached the silhouette by the panoramic window and placed a warm, dry hand on Eliana's stomach.

“Did you miss me? Hmm?”

His deep, alluring voice whispered against her ear. The room felt saturated with his presence as his fingers gently tangled in her silky hair.

His lips, warm and attentive, traced the curve of her ear and the delicate lines of her neck. He knew exactly where she was most sensitive. Normally, she'd close her eyes and lean into his embrace.

But this time, she brushed his hand away, turned, and stepped back.

“What's wrong?”

Disappointment clouded Christopher's features.

Eliana bit her lip, speechless, her eyes fixed on his handsome, almost regal face under the chandelier above.

Her mind echoed with the child's and the woman's words from the call. While they'd lived apart for the past year, had he formed a new family?

Before she could voice her thoughts, Christopher's phone rang again. This time, he answered:

“Mom? What happened? I'll be right there.”

Christopher's mother had called, telling him his grandmother had suffered a stroke and was in the hospital for emergency treatment.

That night, Eliana accompanied Christopher to the hospital. Tessa Mason was still unconscious after surgery.

Eliana remained outside the ICU with Christopher throughout the night, aware this wasn't the time for questions.

But the next morning, Eliana overheard Christopher in the stairwell:

“Sorry, Gage. Grandma is ill, so Daddy might not make it to your birthday today. Be good, okay? I'll make it up to you when I return...”

Christopher's patient, gentle voice as he spoke to the child was painfully clear to Eliana as she stood outside, her nails pressing into her palm, her face pale.

The truth dawned on her—Christopher's work in Birmingham was a cover for another life, another family that needed his presence.

Stifling her tears, Eliana left the hospital, only to run into her mother-in-law, Winona Harvey.

“Eliana, where are you headed?”

Winona had never approved of Eliana—an adopted daughter—marrying her son. Only Mrs. Mason's insistence had made her allow it.

“I have something to handle. I'm leaving.”

Eliana had no energy for Winona's disdain, but Winona grabbed her arm:

“What could be so important? Three years and still no child. If Mrs. Mason doesn't wake up, she might take her regret to the grave. You're just a decorative piece!”

“If I'd known how useless you'd be, I'd never have consented to this marriage. You're like a curse intent on ending the Harvey family line!”

Winona's accusations cut deeper than the biting wind, making Eliana laugh bitterly.

“You're right. I may be useless, but rest assured, your son has already ensured the Harvey family line won't end with me. Congratulations!”

“What? What's that supposed to mean? Eliana, explain—”

Ignoring Winona's outcry, Eliana walked away.

In late November, the cold wind bit at her face, and she hugged her own shoulders against the chill.

When Christopher moved to Birmingham, she'd offered to join him, but he wanted her to stay and care for his mother and grandmother. Now she knew why—so she wouldn't interrupt his life with Octavia and their child.

Her tears mixed with laughter, confusing passersby who looked at her as if she were mad. She felt she truly was.

Inside a taxi, Eliana got a call from her friend, Zora Morales:

“Ellie, where are you? The test results are in, and we found out why you've struggled to conceive.”

During her marriage, Eliana hadn't been able to conceive. Zora, an experienced OB-GYN, refused to accept that there was no explanation. Recently, she had grown suspicious of the imported vitamins Eliana had been taking.

Rushing to the Women's and Children's Hospital where Zora worked, Eliana reached the office and saw Zora holding the bottle she'd been taking.

“Ellie, those aren't vitamins. They're birth control pills!”