The Bride He Replaced

“Daddy?” Shawn’s grip loosened suddenly, and his face turned deathly pale. “Tiana, how dare you marry other guy with my child!”

He stared at me, his gaze dark and menacing, as if trying to pin me in place.

I rubbed my reddened wrist and looked at him calmly. “That’s right, I’m married. Tessa is his child. Shawn, you really think too highly of yourself.”

“You think I’d believe you’re married just because you just found some random man to pretend to be your husband?” As if trying to convince himself, Shawn’s expression grew more certain.

“Tiana, you hate me for choosing Jessica back then, so now you’ve brought our child to take revenge on me.”

His absurd logic almost made me laugh. “Are you delusional?”

He ignored me and stepped closer, lowering his voice as he threatened. “I’m telling you. Don’t think you can fool me by marrying just any man? I’m taking this child. If you know what’s good for you, come with me obediently with the child.”

I looked at his crazed expression and scoffed. The cold, selfish man from five years ago had only become more unreasonable. He did not care about the truth. All he cared about was his pride.

I took a deep breath and spoke slowly. “Shawn, do you really think I couldn’t live without you after leaving?”

He sneered, “Isn’t that the case?”

“Do you think I showed up here with a child just to get your attention?”

“What else could it be?” He curled his lips mockingly. “Tiana, what else can a woman like you rely on besides men?”

I looked at him silently, then laughed. “Shawn, you’re pitiful.”

That word completely enraged him. His fingers dug into my shoulder. “Tiana, who do you think you are? If I hadn’t taken pity on you back then and saved you from those thugs, would you even be alive today?”

“You took pity on me?” I shook off his hand as my eyes reddened.

It was true that Shawn had once saved my life. On my way home from school, I was dragged into an alley by a group of thugs. He was the one who saved me. To protect me, he fought them like a madman and was stabbed several times in the abdomen.

That was when I first began to fall in love with him. Even knowing I was just a substitute for Jessica, I endured it.

Tessa tugged at my sleeve, pulling me back to reality. “Mommy, can we go find Daddy?”

I touched her cheek gently. “Okay, I'll take you to Daddy right now.”

I looked up at Shawn, all my patience gone. “Shawn, I’ll say this one last time. Tessa is not your child. She’s only three years old this year. Stop deceiving yourself.”

However, Shawn did not believe a word of it. He looked at Tessa.

“Tessa, call me 'Daddy.' I can give you a good life. You won’t have to pick through trash with your mom anymore.”

Tessa bit her lip, her eyes filling with tears as she shook her head desperately.

When Tessa still refused to call him 'Daddy', Shawn reached out to snatch her. I held my daughter tightly, protecting her.

However, the difference in strength between us was too great, and I was thrown aside. My back slammed into a donation box, and I went into a momentary blackout due to the sharp pain.

My phone slipped out of my pocket, and the screen lit up. It was a photo of my family of three.