After My Husband's First Love Got Pregnant, I Made Him My Ex

5 years into our marriage, Dominic Ashford suddenly told me that he wanted to have a child with Mia Carlisle. I refused, but he repeated the same request almost every day. "I have explained this so many times, Elena. Mia was diagnosed with cancer. She doesn't have much time left. 5 years ago, when I had that car accident, she donated blood for me right away. The doctors said I would have died if the transfusion had been delayed by even 30 minutes. Her only wish now is to leave a child behind. I can't just ignore that." I had heard that speech more times than I could count this month. The first time he made that ridiculous request, I rejected it without hesitation. But Dominic was like a predator that had locked onto its prey. Once he had made up his mind, he refused to let go. His tone slowly changed from "I hope you can understand" to "You should understand," as if I were the unreasonable one for refusing. In his eyes, my hesitation wasn't an attempt to protect our marriage. It was a refusal to repay a life debt he believed was owed. What kind of husband tried to repay his first love by having a child with her? Was our marriage certificate nothing but a piece of trash? 1 month of endless arguments had nearly drained me dry. I no longer had the strength to raise my voice. I simply looked at the man I had been married to for 5 years and asked, my voice trembling, "Dominic, we have been married for 5 years. Now you want to have a child with a dying woman. What do these 5 years even mean?" His expression softened. Then he slipped into the persuasive tone he usually reserved for the negotiation table. "Elena, I know this is hard to accept, but this is about conscience. She doesn't have much time left. I can't let her leave this world with that kind of regret. Besides, it's only IVF. I won't even touch her hand. You love me. You'll understand, right?" I listened in silence as my heart sank inch by inch, like it was falling into a bottomless pit. At last, I understood. Dominic had never treated this as something that needed to be discussed. Every word he said wasn't a request for my consent. It was him informing me of a decision he had already made. And my 5-year marriage meant nothing in the face of his so-called conscience. Dominic seemed about to say more, but his phone rang first. He glanced at the caller ID, stood up, and walked into the study with it. Then he closed the door behind him. I looked at his retreating figure and gave a bitter, mocking smile. Dominic and I had met in the ER. That year, I had just graduated from medical school and was working as a resident physician at a downtown hospital. One night, while I was on duty, the ER suddenly admitted a man covered in blood. I still remembered how hard my hands had trembled, but I clenched my teeth and forced myself to bring him back from the brink. Only later did I learn that the man was the Ashford heir. A single deal he closed casually could buy an entire office tower downtown. Back then, I was only a newly licensed resident physician who had to calculate every dollar of rent. Without that car accident, our lives might never have crossed at all. After we married, Dominic had always wanted a child. Because of my health, getting pregnant was difficult for me. Even so, Dominic had never abandoned me. And now, when I had finally shown signs of pregnancy and wanted to surprise him, I discovered that Dominic wanted to have a child with a woman who supposedly didn't have long to live. How ironic. I was tired. Whether it was this marriage or my feelings for Dominic, I no longer wanted to exhaust myself trying to hold it together. Just as I was wondering how to tell him I wanted a divorce, Dominic came out of the study, his face bright with barely contained excitement. He grabbed the coat draped over the sofa and hurried toward the door. "There is an urgent meeting at the company. Think about this at home, all right?" Almost on impulse, I reached out and stopped him. Then I handed him the divorce agreement I had prepared long ago. "Dominic, I found a seaside villa I want to buy." He was too eager to leave. He didn't read the document at all. He flipped straight to the signature page and signed his name. After the door closed, I looked at the signed divorce agreement with red-rimmed eyes. My hand slowly came to rest on my lower abdomen. Then, without hesitation, I scheduled the termination procedure.