Five Years of Lies: My Wife, Our Marriage, and Another Man's Child

"You can explain the situation to me when we're back home," I said coldly.

The moment we arrived home, Lydia fell to her knees in front of me with a loud thud. Her voice was shaking when she said, "I can explain, Jasper—"

I interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. My voice sounded eerily calm even to my own ears when I asked, "Explain what? Are you going to tell me that that child isn't your daughter?"

Tears streamed down Lydia's face as she grabbed my hand. "I made a mistake, Jasper. I've learned my lesson… It was Simon! He's the one who tricked me! I drank so much that night… I had no idea what happened. But he threatened me when I wanted to get an abortion after I found out I was pregnant."

"What about after the child was born?" I asked.

"I had no choice but to stay!" Lydia screamed shrilly, her voice pitching. "At the end of the day, she's still mine! She's my flesh and blood! What else could I do when you weren't willing to have a child with me?"

Her words were like knives that stabbed themselves into my heart.

I watched her as she pinned the blame on everyone else but herself.

"So," I said slowly, "You were lying to me when you said you hated children—that living a child-free life was your idea of a perfect life. You just wanted to tie me to you while you had a bastard child out of wedlock."

Lydia was stunned by my words, seeming to belatedly realize that she had misspoken. She softened her tone and said, "It's not like that, Jasper. I was forced to give birth to her. Please believe me. The person I love the most is still you!"

I didn't want to waste my breath talking to her any longer. I slammed the door behind me when I left the house, cutting off her shouts. I then got into my car and started the engine.

I drove for a long time before I noticed that tears were rolling down my cheeks. I scrolled through my phone, looking for the number that I had saved a long time ago but never had a chance to dial until now.

"Mr. Lambert, it's me, Jasper Swanson. I want Lydia to lose everything."

A low and steady voice echoed from the receiver, saying, "Understood, Mr. Swanson."

…

The next day, I showed up to work as usual.

I had just sat down at my desk when the sounds of a commotion and shouting echoed from outside the office.

An ominous feeling festered in my heart.

A few seconds later, someone barged into the office.

It was Simon, and he had his child, Lindsey Young, with him.

He looked completely different from yesterday, while Lindsey sobbed, tears running down her little face.

Simon made a beeline for my desk when he spotted me. He intentionally raised his voice when he shouted, "You'd better have a good explanation for what you did, Jasper!"

He had successfully caught the attention of the rest of the office staff.

"You can't expect Lydia to be so cruel and ignore her child's existence. You're her husband, so you had better explain yourself."

Simon tried to grab my sleeve with his free hand while keeping Lindsey in a death grip with his other.

Lindsey stumbled forward when he yanked her, causing her to wail even more loudly.

My colleagues had no idea what was unfolding and could only watch in shock as the scene played out before their eyes. They then began to whisper among themselves.

When Simon managed to grab my sleeve, Lindsey was pulled forward once again. She ultimately lost her balance and fell.

Chaos erupted in the office.

"I'm begging you, Jasper. Do it for Lindsey's sake. She can't be without her mother."

The ruckus he was causing spread through the entire floor, prompting my clueless colleagues to whisper among themselves.

"I didn't think that Jasper was this type of person…"

"That poor child."

"He carries himself with such a dignified demeanor normally. I never would have expected him to force another person into a corner…"

My entire body was shaking from anger, and I felt as if the blood in my veins had turned to ice.

"Let go of me right now, Simon. Take your child and leave. Stop trying to put on a show here!"

Frustrated beyond belief, I pulled out my phone and dialed Lydia's number.

"Lydia, Simon is causing a commotion at my office. Come here right now and deal with him."

Lydia showed up about ten minutes later. She was breathing heavily when she ran into the office, and there was sweat beading all across her forehead.

Simon immediately shoved Lindsey at Lydia the moment he spotted her. "Look at your child!" he shouted. "You can't be so cruel!"

Lydia had no choice but to kneel and comfort Lindsey first. She pulled Lindsey into her embrace and gently cooed, "Don't cry, Lindsey."

Once Lindsey stopped crying, Lydia looked up at us and spoke in a tone tinged with frustration and panic.

"Let's talk outside."

The confusion in my colleagues' eyes had morphed into disdain. It didn't take long before their whispered words filled the air.

I glared daggers at Lydia and hissed, "I'll remember what you did today, Lydia. You're the one who forced my hand. Don't blame me for being heartless for what happens next."

I straightened my back and marched out of the office once I was done speaking.

My phone vibrated then, informing me that I had received a message.

It was from Lydia's father, George Cooper.

"I heard that you know everything now. Let's meet at Phoenix Loft for a chat at 3:00 pm tomorrow."

I gripped my phone tightly as I stared at the screen.

I was going to make sure they understood that I wasn't a doormat they could trample.