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My Husband Gave Our Lost Daughter's Name to His Illegitimate Daughter
Novelix
Completed
"After being apart from my husband for a full year, I ran into one of his coworkers at the mall. She smiled and greeted me. ""Congratulations on your second daughter."" I felt like I'd been struck by lightning. I froze on the spot. She didn't notice my expression and kept going. ""I'll definitely be at the baby's baptism this weekend."" As she spoke, she waved a gold-edged red invitation. ""The design is so thoughtful. Really beautiful."""
Chapters (3)
第1章
After being apart from my husband for a full year, I ran into one of his coworkers at the mall.
She smiled and greeted me. "Congratulations on your second daughter."
I felt like I'd been struck by lightning. I froze on the spot.
She didn't notice my expression and kept going.
"I'll definitely be at the baby's baptism this weekend."
As she spoke, she waved a gold-edged red invitation.
"The design is so thoughtful. Really beautiful."
I forced a smile and calmly took the invitation from her hand.
In the father column, I saw my husband Marco Falcone's name.
In the mother column, Gianna De Luca.
I didn't know this woman.
I quietly memorized the banquet hall address, then handed the invitation back.
"Thank you. See you this weekend."
That weekend, I went to the address on the invitation.
At the lively venue, a pretty woman stood at the entrance holding a hundred-day-old baby girl, greeting guests.
She smiled at me. "You must be my husband's coworker? His office really has so many beauties. Come sit inside."
...
A storm surged inside me. I looked at the baby girl in her arms. Fair-skinned.
There was a trace of Marco in her features.
I asked flatly, "Where's Marco?"
I didn't see him anywhere.
But I did see several familiar faces from Marco's family.
I'd only met Marco's relatives once, at our wedding seven years ago.
But I have a good memory. I remembered a few distinctive elder relatives.
I never imagined Marco would be this brazen—publicly acknowledging an illegitimate daughter in front of relatives.
"Marco went to pick up his parents. He'll be back soon."
My heart lurched again, like a hole had been torn through it, the pain suffocating.
Two days ago, Marco's parents told me they'd signed up for a senior tour group.
They'd be traveling for half a month.
I was worried their pension wouldn't be enough, so I transferred 8,000 to Marco's mother as a travel fund.
Now I understood. The so-called tour group was just a cover. They never left.
In recent years, the two elders had been in poor health, on medication year-round, and had never traveled.
When they said they wanted to get away, I supported it.
All these years, I'd treated them like my own parents.
In public and in private, they praised me as a virtuous, filial, rare good daughter-in-law.
I never imagined they were fooling me just like Marco.
Gianna didn't notice the emotions churning behind my eyes.
She led me to the section where Marco's coworkers sat.
As soon as I got close, a middle-aged man said enviously to Gianna.
"I'm so jealous of him. Not only is his wife beautiful, his daughter is even more beautiful."
A few men and women chimed in one after another.
"Gianna, you really bet right. When you quit your job to be a homemaker, I was a little worried."
"Six years later, you and Marco are still this happy. Now you have a love child. I'm so happy for you."
My hand curled into a fist. My nails dug into my palm.
So my marriage to Marco was only seven years.
And he'd been cheating with Gianna for over six years.
Even more absurd—in those long seven years, I'd known nothing.
Even this morning, he'd sent me his usual [Good morning.]
And a line: Darling, I miss you again.
For seven years, we'd had a good marriage.
He never lost his temper with me. Base salary 20,000, he kept only 1,000 for himself, gave me the remaining 19,000 every month. Commission separate.
Every year's year-end bonus went to buying me gold bracelets.
Just from the gold jewelry at home, I'd accumulated quite a bit.
A year ago, he discussed with me that an out-of-town posting would raise his monthly salary by 5,000.
We had to plan for our son's future.
College, marriage, a house—all would cost money.
He wanted to earn more, save for our son.
After careful thought, I agreed to his posting in a city a thousand miles away.
Now I realized—he was like the night, making it impossible for me to see him clearly.
第2章
"He's amazing. Top sales for years. Base salary is 20,000 now. Commissions are pouring in every month."
"Good at earning, good to his wife. A rare good man."
Only then did I learn that what he'd told me was his salary was always just the base.
And his commissions went to supporting his other family.
Gianna's face was full of smiles.
"Everyone's happy."
Someone else said enviously.
"Time flies. Six years ago I attended your wedding. Now six years later, you have a child."
So they'd even held a wedding, openly.
When Marco and I married, we held a simple banquet back in his hometown.
He didn't invite coworkers.
I stood in the crowd, slowly listening to my husband's hidden secrets.
A female coworker took Gianna's arm and asked humbly.
"Gianna, you're so good at managing your husband. Teach me. Why is he so obedient to you, so good to you?"
I grew a little curious too and glanced at Gianna without showing it.
Her smile was full of the flavor of happiness. Not a trace of worry about daily life.
"Marco is just good himself. Meeting him is my blessing."
"Couples need to understand each other. If you're afraid he'll stray, keep the money in your hands."
"Marco's base salary is 20,000 a month. He keeps 1,000 for cigarettes. The remaining 19,000 goes to me. Commission separate."
"Every year's year-end bonus buys me gold bracelets. Where a man's money is, his heart is."
My already shattered heart took another blow.
His year-end bonus went to buying Gianna gold bracelets?
I thought of the gold jewelry at home, the ones he'd given me, the ones I treasured.
Suddenly nausea rose—were they all gold-plated fakes?
Emotion surged like a tsunami into my throat.
They chatted enthusiastically, never noticing I sat like an iceberg, silent, out of place, stiff.
Gianna's phone rang.
She smiled. "Marco's calling me."
As she spoke, she casually put the baby in my arms.
"Help me hold her."
I froze.
The baby girl, soft as cotton, lay quietly in my arms.
She opened her bright eyes, didn't cry, didn't fuss.
I looked at her with complicated emotions.
Even though I was on the verge of collapse several times, looking at this soft little thing.
I pushed my emotions down.
Gianna was right beside me. Marco's voice came clearly through the phone.
"Darling, you just gave birth. Don't tire yourself out."
"I've picked up Mom and Dad. Traffic's a bit heavy. Don't worry."
Gianna said understandingly.
"I'm not tired. Drive slowly. Don't rush."
The moment she hung up, envy poured in from the crowd.
"You two are so in love. At the office he texts you every hour."
"You've been together so many years, and your feelings haven't faded at all. They've only grown stronger."
"Marco acts like he's afraid you'll run away. Calls you every little while."
"Gianna, you really found a good man. Even if every man in the world cheated, Marco never would."
I'd always thought Marco was attentive to me. Called once a day, sent one message.
The calls were short, usually under a minute.
But I'd never suspected him.
Work, family, child, everything big and small filled my time.
He was busy with work too. Every call was short.
I never imagined he shared every detail of his life with another woman.
第3章
I held the baby and found an empty seat.
I accidentally noticed the baby's wrist wore a custom gold ornament.
The pendant was a blooming lily.
I recognized it at a glance—seven years ago, when I'd just found out I was pregnant with twins.
My mother went to a gold shop and custom-ordered a pair of sacred heart gold ornaments symbolizing "protection" and "hope."
She traveled a thousand miles to a church to pray and had a priest bless the ornaments.
But fate didn't cooperate. There was an accident during delivery.
Only my son survived.
I was devastated. My uterus was damaged. I couldn't have a second child.
That pair of gold ornaments, with the cross, my son had worn on his wrist since childhood.
The one with the lily, I'd carefully kept in the home safe.
Whenever I thought of the child who never made it, I'd hold that ornament and cry for a long time.
My hand trembled as I touched the lifelike lily pattern and gently turned it over.
On the back, clearly engraved: "Sofia Falcone."
This was the name I'd spent months looking up in dictionaries, for our unborn daughter.
Hoping she'd be happy all her life.
"My daughter is named Sofia Falcone. Marco chose the name." Gianna smiled and sat beside me.
"This ornament was custom-made by Marco too. You don't know how much he loves daughters."
My heart cracked into fine pieces. I stayed composed.
"He's so good to you."
Gianna smiled and chatted familiarly with me.
"You must be new to the company? I knew all the old employees."
"I left later. Heard Marco say a lot of new employees joined."
I said against my will, "Mm."
"The company's benefits are good. Just always has business trips. Marco only stopped traveling in the last year."
"Before, he was always on trips. Couldn't see him for a month. Good thing it's over now."
A faint bitter smile rose at the corner of my lips.
"Yeah."
Before Marco was posted away for a year.
He traveled about half a month every month.
I felt for him, rotating through different cities every month.
I never let him worry about anything at home.
Even when Marco's parents were sick, hospitalized, needed care, I never made him handle it.
Even as our married life dwindled over the years.
I never complained.
Now I knew—he wasn't on business trips. He was taking care of another home.
Gianna showed no intention of taking the baby back, occasionally getting up to greet friends and relatives.
She looked at the baby quiet in my arms and said in surprise.
"My daughter really likes you. I had friends hold her, and she cried as soon as they did."
"You've held her so long and she hasn't cried. Amazing."
I said lightly, "Maybe because I have a child too. I've got experience."
She was delighted, not polite at all.
"Then please hold her a bit longer. I'll go greet the new guests over there."
I nodded.
She went off to greet guests with peace of mind.
I looked at the large banner hanging in the middle of the banquet hall.
It read: Congratulations to Marco and Gianna's beloved daughter, Sofia Falcone, on her happy baptism.
My body felt filled with glass shards.
My son never had a baptism.
At the time, the whole family was immersed in the pain of losing the other child.
Marco proposed not holding a baptism.
My parents disagreed, thinking a baptism was a big deal for a child.
But he insisted on not holding it, on the grounds that losing our daughter was too painful.
Now he had a daughter, and he could happily hold a baptism.
Only I still remembered the daughter who never made it.