The Life I Chose Alone

By the time I snapped out of it, Matthew Carrington had already paid the bill.

Seeing me staring at him, he smiled and waved the black card in his hand.

"Pretty fancy, right? It's actually just a credit card. I always thought it was some kind of premium debit card with a ton of money in the account. If my wife hadn't told me, I never would've known she was the one paying off my bills."

A week ago, I had been doing Madeline's laundry when I accidentally found a black card in her pocket.

I had joked that maybe she had a secret stash of money.

But Madeline had thrown herself into my arms, her voice full of concern. "If I had a black card, I'd buy us a bigger house. I wouldn't let you and Rebecca struggle."

So the black card had been real. It just had not been meant for me.

Matthew handed me the shopping bags and casually continued, "I noticed your daughter had been staring at those frozen fruit bars for a long time, but she never worked up the nerve to ask for one. A kid that well-behaved just broke my heart."

He chuckled softly. "When my kid is born, they'll get whatever they want. They'll never have to worry about money."

When Madeline had been pregnant, she had made the same promise. She had sworn our child would grow up to be the happiest kid in the world.

She said daughters naturally connected more with their mothers, which was why Rebecca had even taken her last name.

But before Rebecca was even a year old, Madeline had gone bankrupt. She sold everything she had to pay off her massive debts and moved us into a rental.

I stared blankly at Matthew. "Your wife… She's pregnant?"

His face lit up with happiness. "Yeah. We just found out today. We came to the supermarket together. She was craving a milkshake, so she sneaked off to get one. She thinks I didn't notice."

As soon as he finished speaking, a woman's playful voice rang out. "Excuse me? Spending my money and bad-mouthing me to other people?"

I turned stiffly.

Madeline stood there with a milkshake in her hand, looking at Matthew with a mix of mock annoyance and unmistakable affection.

When Rebecca was five, her birthday wish had been to try a milkshake.

Back then, Madeline stayed home to take care of her and could not work.

I had just been laid off, and all I could make from odd jobs was $100 a day. Even so, I spent half a day's pay on two milkshakes, one for Madeline and one for Rebecca.

Madeline had looked at my battered, injured hands and cried, scolding me for wasting money.

My wounds had been throbbing, but I had smiled proudly. "A man works to provide for his wife and daughter."

Rebecca had nodded hard. "Mommy, when I grow up, I'll make lots of money so you can have a milkshake every day!"

I could not remember what that milkshake had tasted like anymore. But the warmth of that moment had stayed sweet in my heart.

Now, Rebecca tugged on my sleeve and stared at the woman in front of us. "Is that Mommy?"

The elegant, beautifully dressed woman before her looked so different that even after recognizing Madeline's face, Rebecca did not dare approach her.

Before I could answer, Matthew slipped an arm around Madeline's shoulders and said with a laugh, "I was just doing a good deed. I bought groceries for a poor father and daughter."

Only then did Madeline follow the direction of Matthew's finger and look at me. A flicker of panic crossed her eyes.

"All right. Let's go home."

But Matthew had already walked over to me and transferred $5,000 to my phone.

"My wife is the CEO of Westcott Group. This is nothing to her. Your daughter's still young. Use the money to get her some good food. Girls should grow up spoiled."

My mind went blank. I looked up at Madeline in disbelief.

After Madeline went bankrupt, she had sold everything she owned to pay off her debts.

I, meanwhile, had taken whatever manual labor jobs I could find.

It was not until Rebecca started elementary school that Madeline finally had enough time to take a cleaning job and help ease the burden on me.

But she had not gone bankrupt at all. It had all been a lie.

Madeline avoided my eyes and told her assistant to call a private car. "It's not easy taking care of a child. You should get home."

I was practically forced into the car.

Then my phone buzzed with a message from Madeline. "I'll explain later. Matthew is innocent."

Rebecca spoke timidly. "That really wasn't Mommy?"

I choked back a sob and covered her eyes. My voice broke as it disappeared into the wind. "You were mistaken. She's not your mommy."