After Losing My Child, I No Longer Love

For four days, Jake didn’t come home. I didn’t hear a word from him. No explanations, no apologies—just silence. On the fifth day, his call finally came. His voice was cold, detached, as though nothing had happened.

“Come downstairs. My mom wants us to join her for dinner,” he said, and before I could respond, he hung up.

Jake’s mother had always been kind to me, and as much as I didn’t want to go, I knew I had to. If only for her sake.

When Jake pulled up, I got into the car, dressed as impeccably as always. He took one look at me and sneered.

“Well, I see you’re still strong enough to dress up. Guess the ‘miscarriage’ you told me about wasn’t real, huh? Playing tricks again, Lauren?”

His words stung, but I didn’t let it show. I offered a faint smile and said, “Yeah, sure.”

Without another word, he turned on the car radio. As soon as the music started, a sweet, high-pitched voice chimed in over the speakers.

“Mr. CEO, don’t forget to drive safely while you listen to music! Love you~”

It was Angela’s voice. The secretary. Her sticky-sweet tone filled the car, making the atmosphere even more unbearable.

If this had been before, I would have demanded an explanation right then and there. I would have pressed him for answers, cornered him until he came up with some half-hearted excuse. But now, I didn’t care enough to ask. I just sat in silence, numb to it all.

Jake glanced over at me, a rare flicker of embarrassment crossing his face. “Angela said these custom voice prompts were trending, so I let her make one for me.”

I just nodded, pretending to be indifferent.

When we arrived at his parents’ house, dinner was tense. My mother-in-law, sensing the strain between us, kept giving me worried glances, her eyebrows practically glued together in concern. She’d always been good to me, but today, I could see that even she was growing uncomfortable with the obvious rift between her son and me.

By the end of dinner, she couldn’t hold back any longer. She leaned in and asked, “You two haven’t been fighting, have you?”

Jake let out a fake laugh, wrapping an arm around my waist like we were the perfect couple. “Of course not, Mom. You’re overthinking things.”

But his mother wasn’t convinced. “I heard some gossip online... rumors about you and your secretary. But I told everyone, ‘My boy wouldn’t cheat on his wife. That’s impossible!’”

“Rumors? What rumors?” Jake’s eyes narrowed, confused.

His mother pulled out her phone and showed him. “This. There’s a trending hashtag, something about ‘YangYu,’ talking about the ‘CEO and his secretary.’ Look, there are even photos!”

Through the gap in the conversation, I glanced at the screen and saw the truth unfold. The internet had compiled a collage of photos of Jake and Angela—pictures I hadn’t even seen before. One, in particular, caught my attention: the two of them painting ceramic figurines in a park. The same figurine that Jake had placed on my bedside table, telling me it was painted by an employee’s kid.

He had been lying to me for months, maybe even years.

Jake looked panicked as he handed the phone back to his mother. He grabbed my hand, desperate to explain himself. “Lauren, these were taken during a company retreat. It’s not what it looks like. Angela just graduated, and I’ve been mentoring her. She’s like a little sister to me, that’s all. She even tells me to go home early so you won’t get upset!”

His excuses fell on deaf ears. I didn’t care about his explanations anymore. I wasn’t interested in his version of the truth.

“Uh-huh. I understand,” I replied blandly, barely acknowledging him.

He relaxed slightly, thinking his words had worked. But then, I turned to his mother, my voice steady and calm.

“I want a divorce.”

Silence fell over the room. I pulled out the divorce papers I had prepared and placed them on the table in front of his entire family. His mother’s face drained of color, her hands trembling as she looked at me, then at Jake.

“What’s going on, Lauren? Why are you doing this? You’ve been married for seven years—haven’t things been good?” she asked, her voice laced with shock.

“Good?” I thought bitterly. Once, I had believed that. I had convinced myself we were happy, that we were building a future together. But now, I saw the truth. Our marriage had been dead for a long time, and I had been too scared to admit it.

“There’s nothing left to salvage,” I said firmly. “I’ve made up my mind, and no one can convince me otherwise.”

Jake snapped, flipping the table in a rage. Plates and silverware crashed to the floor as he stormed toward me.

“What the hell, Lauren? All this because I had dinner with Angela? She’s my secretary—an employee! You’ve been going on about this for days, throwing around accusations, making up lies about miscarriages! One day, your lies are going to catch up with you.”

He turned to his parents, his face red with anger. “Don’t listen to her. She’s just trying to make a scene. She has nothing else to do but stir up drama.”

But as he spoke, I felt the pain in my stomach return, sharp and sudden. I doubled over, clutching my abdomen, my legs barely able to support me. Beads of sweat rolled down my forehead.

“You still think I’m lying to you?” I gasped through the pain.

Reaching into my bag, I pulled out the miscarriage report and threw it on the table.

“As you can see, Jake, I had a miscarriage. So congratulations—you got what you wanted. I can’t have your child anymore.”