03

3

I swiftly lay back down on the bed, closing my eyes and pretending to be asleep.

My wife softly called my name, and seeing no response, she too lay down on her side.

Before long, her steady breathing indicated she had fallen asleep.

I gently lifted her nightgown, my gaze falling on the scar on her stomach.

Using the faint light from my phone, I looked at it again and again, then lowered her nightgown.

I took my phone and walked to the bathroom, researching the differences between C-section and appendectomy scars.

Even though I had heard my wife say it was a lie, I still hoped I had misheard.

A glimmer of hope still lingered in my heart.

But reality slapped me hard in the face; that scar was clearly from a C-section.

I took out a cigarette and started smoking in the bathroom.

My wife and mother-in-law had really gone to great lengths to orchestrate this elaborate scheme.

After finishing a pack of cigarettes, I decided to keep my cool and uncover the child's father.