The Paternity Puzzle

"Dear, grow strong in your mother's belly. Daddy is waiting for you to come out!"

Martin, inebriated, spoke as he caressed my belly.

My body stiffened, and I dared not make a sound, my mind constantly replaying his words.

I reassured myself that he must have said it wrong due to his drunkenness.

But how could I explain Martin's kiss? He was my husband's brother, for heaven's sake. Even if he was drunk, he shouldn't be kissing my belly.

My mind was in turmoil, and my breathing became rapid.

Just as I was about to lose my composure, Martin stood up, let out a drunken burp, and staggered out of the room.

Since that day, whether it was psychological or not, I always felt an eerie look in Martin's eyes when he looked at me.

He used to call me by my name, but now he suddenly started to call me Vicky, just as Ray and Linda did.

Linda was also surprised at how intimate he had become with me.

Martin, however, clapped me on the shoulder and said, "Vicky has married into the Davis family. She's like my sister. I don't want to call her so formally!"

But all I felt was a crawling discomfort wherever he touched me, as if a million ants were biting.

Linda accepted his explanation, and Martin's behavior became even more audacious.

When he handed me a water glass or fastened my seatbelt, he would always make subtle skin contact with me, sometimes even gently rubbing.

Moreover, he no longer dressed neatly when working out. Instead, he loved to display his impressive physique shirtless in front of me.

I subtly mentioned this to Ray during a video chat, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Martin and I used to work out shirtless when we were together!

"He's just being comfortable around you because we've been close for so long. You can ask my mom. She's seen him working out without clothes many times. You shouldn't read too much into it."

Talking about working out, Ray began to lament how he had neglected exercise since work, causing his eight-pack abs to reduce to just one.

Unable to do anything else, I could only tell myself to forget about that night and not to view Martin through tinted glasses.

But a few days later, I found that my underwear had disappeared from the balcony.

At first, I thought it might have been blown away by the wind.

Fearing that someone might pick it up and use it for something inappropriate, I made sure to clip it securely with several clothespins and hung it in the innermost part.

Eventually, the underwear still vanished without a trace.

Suspicious, I took advantage of Martin and Linda being out at a wedding and sneaked into Martin's study and bedroom.

I silently prayed that I was overthinking.

However, I found those pieces of underwear in the pocket of one of Martin's jackets.

There were still several white streaks on them, emitting a musky scent!

I couldn't imagine what disgusting things Martin had done with them!

I was furious. Despite knowing that doing so would alert him, I still burned them all with trembling hands, unwilling to let him desecrate me in such a way.

I took out my phone and called Ray, urging him to come home that day.

In the afternoon, Ray rushed back.

Seeing that I was fine, he relaxed, untied his tie, and slumped on the sofa.

I leaned against him and whispered, "Ray, can we move out and live just the two of us?"

Ray sat up straight, looking at me with concern. He asked if anything had happened.

I didn't dare tell him the sordid truth, so I evaded.

"Nothing. I just feel it's not very convenient living with Martin."

Ray looked incredulous.

"Vicky, Martin is so good to you! All our neighbors envy us for having such a great brother. He might be heartbroken if he heard you say that!"

I wanted to tell him that the brother he thought was so good had indecent thoughts about me, but I couldn't bring myself to say it.

So, I made an excuse to avoid Martin temporarily.

"I haven't seen my mom for a long time and want to stay with her for a while. You can take me back today!"

I packed a lot of luggage and planned to stay at my parents' house until the baby was born, trying to avoid Martin as much as possible.

I was thrilled to stay at my parents' house with no intention of going back.

Ann was a bit unhappy.

"Vicky, you said you were coming back for a short stay. Why are you still here? Listen to me. Go back in a few days. If Linda gets upset with you, she will make things difficult for you when you return!"

I ate fruit without responding, but Ann still ushered me out.

Reluctantly, I returned to Davis Villa. The moment I opened the door, I heard a fierce argument.

Linda's voice sounded quite agitated.

"Martin, you're utterly immoral! How could you replace my son's sperm with yours! You will face retribution for this!"

Martin's voice was cold, devoid of his usual gentleness.

"If I don't switch it, should I just watch you take away what's rightfully mine?

"Linda, keep this matter buried in your heart forever, or I will expose your affair, and you'll leave my house without a penny!"

I was thunderstruck.

The baby in my belly wasn't Ray's but Martin's?