No Longer Growing Old Together

I quietly followed them.

Inside the examination room, Daniel's voice trembled as he spoke to the doctor.

He had always been calm and composed—I’d never seen him so panicked before.

The woman clutched his hand tightly, her words spilling out in a frantic mess. “Danny, my stomach hurts so much… I’m scared…”

Daniel patiently comforted her. His voice was so gentle it could have melted into water. “It’s okay. Our baby is safe inside you, remember? The doctor said this morning that in just one more month, we’ll finally get to meet him.”

She calmed a little under his soothing words but still refused to let go of him. “Danny, do you prefer a boy or a girl? What if the baby isn’t cute? Will you stop loving them?”

Daniel let out a helpless chuckle, and his voice was filled with indulgence. "I'll love them no matter what. And with a mother as beautiful as you, our baby will definitely be adorable. Don't overthink it…"

Tears streamed down my face. I just could not watch any longer—I turned and walked out of the hospital.

I forced myself to make it home, but the pain in my heart made it hard to breathe.

Daniel and I had dated for three years and been married for seven. A third of my life had been spent with him.

When we were together, he had always been gentle and thoughtful, his eyes filled with nothing but love for me.

I came from a broken home, so I grew up sensitive and insecure. He had spoiled me, little by little, turning me into a willful princess.

His parents had never approved of me, and after our marriage, their dissatisfaction only grew as I failed to conceive.

Daniel had argued with them for my sake, insisting that our fertility issues were his fault, not mine.

He had treated me so well that I had never even considered the possibility of us parting ways. However, today, at the hospital, seeing the way he treated that woman…

I finally realized that Daniel's gentleness and attentiveness had never belonged to me alone.

He could be this way with anyone, as long as he wanted to.

I had been such a fool to believe otherwise.

That night, Daniel came home. It had only been a few hours, but he already looked visibly exhausted, his eyes were clouded with fatigue.

He walked straight to me, knelt down, and buried his head against my knees.

It was a vulnerable posture—one that would have tugged at my heart in the past.

My nose tingled as tears threatened to fall again, but I reminded myself not to soften.

"Talk to me. Who is she? How does she know me? How long have you two been together?"

With every question I asked, I felt another piece of my heart shatter.

His muscles tensed for a moment before he finally spoke, his voice strained..

"She… she's my new assistant. She saw you once last year when you visited my office."

I thought for a moment and vaguely remembered. If I was not mistaken, her name was Elena Morris. She had just graduated last year.

When I went to see Daniel, she was the one who served me tea.

I vaguely recalled her sneaking a few extra glances at me back then.

During that time, Daniel often complained about her, saying she was clueless and could not do anything right.

He had made those comments while his eyes lingered on their chat screen. Lately, he had been like this often.

I would casually remark, "She seems pretty smart. And she's quite pretty too."

Daniel would hesitate for a moment before vaguely replying that he never paid attention to any woman's appearance except mine.

I’d laughed it off back then, calling him a smooth-talker. After that, he never mentioned her again.

I assumed he had fired her, until now…

I struggled to get the words out. "So, you two started this way back then?"

"No!" Daniel hurriedly denied it.

However, I did not know whether I could trust him anymore.

"It was an accident," he explained anxiously. "Last year, when you went on that trip, I had too much to drink at a business dinner. She helped me home, and I don't know how it happened…”

"I swear, it was only that one time. I had no idea she would get pregnant. She has a unique medical condition, so she couldn't terminate it, and I…"

Daniel was still rambling in a panic, but my eyes widened as realization hit me.

"So that time when you suddenly came to see me… that night, when you were especially intense…”

"It wasn't because you missed me like you said. It was because you had slept with her, and guilt was eating you alive, wasn't it?"

Daniel's pupils contracted. His lips trembled as he gave a small, almost imperceptible nod.