No Child, No Chains

That night, I used the excuse of feeling unwell from the pregnancy to ask Declan if we could sleep in separate rooms. At first, he did not quite agree.

It was Jane who convinced him. She said being pregnant was highly inconvenient, and I should get proper rest for the baby's development.

Only then did he reluctantly agree and said, "Jane's right. If sleeping separately is good for the baby, then we'll sleep separately. Sierra, you need to pay attention to your condition. If anything seems wrong with the baby, call me immediately."

If I had not already known he was only worried that if something happened to my child, there would be no one to take the blame for Jane.

I might have been moved for a moment and thought he really cared about me. Unfortunately, it was all an act.

I hid the hatred in my eyes and nodded gently. "Don't worry. I'll definitely take good care of the baby."

With my words, Declan felt much more at ease.

He knew I had always kept my promises.

When we first got together through Beatrice Truman, our commanding officer, I fell for him at first sight. Knowing he was a traditional man, I promised that if I could marry him, I would focus on family life.

After our marriage paperwork was approved, I immediately applied to my commanding officer to suspend all my work duties. Even though I had outranked him when I was serving in the military, Declan believed I loved him so deeply that I would always stay under his control.

For a while, I pretended not to notice anything, quietly watching as he openly favored Jane over me.

Military work was indeed quite busy, yet whenever he had any free time, he would accompany Jane to her prenatal checkups. Even the hospital staff had started treating Declan as Jane's husband.

The moment the doctor remarked, "The baby's mother looks a little underweight," Declan would wake up early to buy fresh meat, cooking daily to nourish Jane's body.

Of course, since Jane had severe morning sickness, all that meat ended up in my mouth. She did not gain much weight, but my belly became considerably rounder and had more energy for my daily morning fitness routine.

Declan clearly noticed and began to show signs of irritation, but he could not say anything. After all, I was still his wife in name.

What kind of husband would buy food and not allow his wife to eat?

Perhaps because Declan and Jane were getting too close, quite a few wives on the base gave me reminders.

"Sierra, I know you're easygoing, but you can't be so trusting about everything. Declain is young and promising! You need to be on guard so he doesn't get lured away by another woman."

I just smiled and brushed off the ladies' good intentions.

What a joke.

I could not wait for that scumbag Declan to put all his energy into Jane. Otherwise, if he had reached out to touch my 'child' even once, or suddenly decided to accompany me to a prenatal checkup, he probably would have discovered immediately that my baby was long gone.

My belly was about the same size as Jane's. However, it was nothing more than cotton padding that I adjusted daily based on observing her belly size.

Declan did not disappoint me either. Right up until the baby was nearly full term, he never discovered the cotton padding. He just stared at my stubbornly still belly, anxiety burning so fierce that blisters rose around his mouth.

Jane had been having intense contractions lately and could go into labor at any moment. The doctors advised her to stay at the hospital, but she was afraid something would go wrong and insisted on going home, constantly watching my belly.

After another two days, Jane could not wait any longer. She cried about how much pain she was in.

Declan immediately brought a bowl of chicken soup and knocked on my door. "Sierra, this is chicken soup my mom sent over. Drink some quickly to nourish your body."