My Husband Hid His Son from Me

Chapter 1

"Congratulations, your test results show you're seven weeks pregnant, and the fetus is perfectly healthy."

When Chloe Carter stepped out of the consultation room, she was gripping the pregnancy test slip so tight it crumpled a little at the edges. She was so consumed by this sudden, overwhelming joy that she couldn't snap out of it for the longest time.

Five whole years. Ever since her twin son and daughter had passed away so tragically, she'd finally gotten pregnant again.

All those years after losing her children, she'd cried herself to sleep nearly every night. Her dreams were filled with nothing but the faces of her two little ones.

Her body had been left weak and frail after the miscarriage, making it almost impossible for her to conceive again. For the longest time, she'd been stuck in a deep funk, going through the motions of daily life without any spark. But once she'd made up her mind to try for another baby, she worked to nurse her body back to health with her husband's help: drinking herbal remedies, keeping up a yoga routine, slowly working past her crippling fear of getting pregnant again, until she actually found herself looking forward to welcoming a new little life.

Today was her lucky day.

She rummaged wildly through her bag for her phone, her hands shaking so badly with excitement she could barely tap open her contacts list.

She had to tell Wesley Warren this good news right away. She wanted to let him know all her effort and persistence had paid off, and everything finally had a purpose now that this baby was on the way.

She dialed his number right away. While she waited for him to pick up, she held her breath without even realizing it. Her mind already raced with images of how over the moon Wesley would be when he heard she was pregnant.

She was sure he'd cry happy tears right along with her. But her sweet daydream shattered in an instant when she heard a familiar ringtone go off a short distance behind her. At almost the exact same time, that all-too-familiar, detached male voice came through the receiver. "I'm on a business trip abroad. Whatever it is, wait till I get back to talk about it."

Chloe blurted out urgently, "But Wesley, I'm at the hospital..."

Before she could even finish her sentence, a bright, clear child's voice piped up on the other end. "Daddy, who are you on the phone with?"

Chloe froze on the spot, convinced she must have misheard. "Daddy? Wesley, where are you? Why is there a kid there?"

It sounded like the phone was being moved away from his ear as Wesley said dismissively, brushing her off. "I'm abroad. Where would a kid even come from? I'm busy. Talk later."

He hung up abruptly before she could even finish her sentence.

And almost at the exact same second, that same voice she'd just heard through the receiver drifted from behind her again. "Colton, can Daddy take you to get your shot first, hm?"

The familiar deep tone came from around the corner, warm and soft, nothing like the cold, clipped edge he'd had on the phone just moments ago.

Chloe's mind went completely blank with a sharp, buzzing wham. An invisible hand clamped around her heart so hard it ached, and every drop of blood in her veins turned to ice in an instant.

That was Wesley!

She'd listened to that voice for five whole years. There was no way she was mishearing it.

She squeezed her phone so tight her knuckles went white, then turned around stiff as a board.

Her husband, who was supposed to be halfway across the world on a business trip, was sitting right there on a chair outside the clinic, holding a little boy with a fever patch stuck to his forehead in his arms.

Wesley was tilting his head down slightly, pressing his forehead gently to the kid's to check his temperature.

The little boy was clutching his hand, calling him Daddy in such a sweet, familiar tone that it sounded like he'd said it a thousand times before.

She was carrying this man's child in her belly right now, and here he was, lying about being out of the country just to coo over someone else's kid!

Chloe's legs went wobbly, and she had to grab the wall to stay upright. The longer she stared at the boy's face, the more her blood ran cold. He was the spitting image of Wesley, a perfect little carbon copy!

Wesley was totally relaxed with the kid in his arms, so patient and gentle.

But for the past five years, the only expressions he'd ever worn around her were exhaustion and cold indifference!

Even on the anniversary of their twins' death, when she'd called him begging him to go with her to visit the kids...

He'd picked up the phone and just tossed out one cold, sharp line. "I'm busy. I don't have time to entertain your nonsense."

He'd even avoided her over that whole mess and didn't set foot in their home for an entire month!

Chloe's reeling thoughts were cut short by the little boy's shout.

The little boy wrapped his arms around Wesley's neck and snuggled deeper into his embrace. "Daddy, I'm scared of needles! I don't want a shot!"

Chloe's breath caught in her throat, her eyes boring into the pair of them. He called Wesley Daddy? Could Wesley be cheating on her?

The second that thought crossed her mind, all the color drained from her face. It felt like someone had ripped a chunk of flesh straight out of her chest, the pain so sharp it sent her whole body trembling uncontrollably.

Wesley, sitting just a short distance away, doted on the boy as he coaxed him patiently. "Daddy's right here with you, okay? Can you be brave for me?"

The boy clung to him like he was his whole world. His voice was small and hopeful as he asked, "Then if I am good and get the shot, will you sleep with me tonight, Daddy? Tomorrow's my fifth birthday, and I want to see you the second I open my eyes!"

The man ruffled the boy's hair and agreed without a second of hesitation. When the boy nuzzled closer to his chest and mumbled that he loved him, he curled his lips into a soft smile. "Daddy loves Colton too."

The child's cute, playful chatter and the man's gentle, patient reassurances felt like they were flaying Chloe alive. Every single word was a fresh, searing cut.

Five years old. Their own twins had only been gone for four years. That boy was already five?

It felt like her heart was being ripped to shreds, and the overwhelming, crippling grief churned her stomach so violently she barely had time to lurch for the nearest trash can. Clinging to it for dear life, she retched violently.

The sound of her retching caught the boy's attention. "Daddy, that lady over there looks sick too. She seems really unwell."