The Choices We Made

"Sir, the madam is home."

Upstairs, Channing heard the words and glanced down from the tall window. A woman with a curvy figure was just stepping out of a car and walking into the manor.

When Samantha came upstairs, a powerful hand caught her and pulled her in. She turned and saw Channing.

He rarely talked when he did that kind of thing. He pulled her into his heated embrace, so hot that she felt she was melting.

The heat slowly faded after some time.

Samantha looked at the marks and creases their passion had left on the blanket. Then, she calmly got up and took out a bottle of birth control pills. She took a pill out into her hand.

Channing's low voice came from behind her. "Didn't you always want a child of your own? It's not like I refused to give you one."

Samantha swallowed the pill.

"Did you forget? When your dear childhood sweetheart made me lose my baby, I told you that if you dared sign that letter of forgiveness for her, I would never have your child ever again."

Her eyes reddened as the painful memories flooded back.

Five years ago, she had thought she would spend the rest of her life safe under Channing's love and protection after marrying him. She never expected Sydney to come to her when she was seven months pregnant and kick her hard in the stomach, causing a miscarriage.

What hurt even more was that Channing had asked her to be generous and forgive Sydney.

She would never forget what Channing had said. His tone had been so flat that she couldn't tell his intentions, or whether he had any feelings at all.

"Sydney didn't mean it. We can have another child, but Syd can't go to prison."

Syd?

How intimate.

But that woman had killed the child in her womb. She was a murderer.

Samantha had cried for three days before saying, "I'll never forgive her, ever! I'll never sign a letter of forgiveness for the person who made me lose my child. I hate her too much."

And yet, in the end, no matter how hysterically she swore at Channing, he still signed the letter of forgiveness in her name.

Channing's voice rang next to her ear.

"That was years ago. Didn't we adopt a son afterward? Why keep bringing it up? You're only hurting yourself."

He said it in such a nonchalant tone, as if it meant nothing at all. His hand brushed her face, seeming to comfort her.

"If you don't want a child, then don't have one. Do whatever you want."

After that, he got out of bed and went to the bathroom to shower.

Samantha had wanted to check on Harold as soon as she got home, but Channing had delayed her. She quickly cleaned herself up and went to Harold's room.

She met Opal, Harold's nanny there.

"Where's Harry?" Samantha asked.

"He's asleep," Opal said.

Samantha entered the room and found that Harold was wearing his pajamas, but he wasn't asleep. He sat at his small table, fully absorbed in a video call on a phone that he was holding.

He didn't even notice her coming in.

"Harry?" Samantha asked.

The moment Harold heard her voice, he ended the call without even turning around.

Samantha walked over and pulled him into her arms. She had only just kissed him when he burst into tears.

"I don't want Mommy! I don't want the fake Mommy!"

Samantha froze. An indescribable sadness rose in her chest.

Harold was not her biological son, but she had always raised him as her own. She had never told him where he came from.

Why had he suddenly started calling her fake when she was simply gone for only half a month? Why was he rejecting her so fiercely to the point of saying he did not want her?

Samantha let go and said, "I haven't seen you for so long. I missed you."

But no matter what she said, Harold kept crying and throwing a tantrum. He only calmed down after she left.

Samantha took the phone with her. He was only five. It wasn't good for him to get addicted to a phone.

She checked it and saw that the person Harold had been video chatting with was saved as "Syd."

Samantha's chest tightened, but she told herself it might be a new teacher from kindergarten. It couldn't possibly be that woman…

After closing the door, Samantha suddenly thought of something and asked Opal, "Has Harry's kindergarten hired a new female teacher recently?"

Opal shook her head.

When Samantha returned to the bedroom, her heart sank. Why would the name of the woman she hated most suddenly appear on her son's phone? Who exactly was this Syd?

Samantha suddenly looked at the phone. It was Channing's phone, and an unread message was right in the center of the screen.

[Sydney: I'm really happy I can spend time with Harry together with you.]

Samantha's throat felt tight. Her fingers clenched the phone until they turned white before she tapped the message. Countless messages appeared in the chat box Channing and Sydney shared.

They had been chatting almost every day.

Samantha had never imagined that after Sydney caused them to lose their child years ago, Channing had not hated Sydney at all. Instead, he had gotten even closer to her.

Never had Samantha imagined Sydney would sound so intimate whenever she mentioned Harold in the chat logs, as if Harold were her and Channing's illegitimate son.

Samantha's tears rolled down her cheeks, and they fell on the screen of the phone she was holding.

Her whole body trembled as rage, humiliation, and pain crashed over her.

So the reason she had lost her own child five years ago was because Sydney had planned everything on purpose. She had done it so she could place this illegitimate child in their home.

Had she and Channing decided on it together?

Back then, Samantha had been so fragile that she treated Harold as her only emotional anchor because she lost her child. Had she been played by them like a fool all along?

Just as she was about to record the evidence, the sound of running water in the bathroom stopped and Channing came out.

Samantha had already put his phone down, but she looked deranged. Her hair was disheveled, her face was covered in tears, and she was sobbing so hard her whole body shook.

Channing lowered his eyes and looked at her. The desire he had to sleep with her again vanished instantly.

"Do you still remember the date our child died?" Samantha asked.

"You're not in the right state of mind. Calm down. We'll talk tomorrow," Channing said coldly.

With that, he picked up his phone and the pajamas on the bed before leaving the bedroom.

Despite being married for so many years, he had always been cold and distant with her unless he wanted to sleep with her. He couldn't even remember the day their only child had died.

Yet with Sydney, he was being so responsive and patient.

Samantha should have gotten used to it by now.

But she no longer wanted to continue this.

Perhaps it was time to end this marriage.