After Caring for My Husband's Pregnant Ex-Wife, He Regretted Losing Me

The moment my client was wheeled into the delivery room, I stood at the door clutching the meal box, my palms slick with sweat.

Then Ryan Delgado appeared out of nowhere and said quietly,

Stop wearing yourself out trying to get pregnant. Once Cecily Summers finishes her confinement, go get an IUD.

I stared at him, stunned.

"Why?"

Ryan answered as if it were nothing,

"Cecily's my ex-wife. The baby she's carrying is mine."

I gripped the handle of the box, the steel edge biting into my palm.

"Then what were these ten months I spent waiting on her?"

Ryan smoothed a hand over the top of my head and smiled,

"Jean, you're the person I trust most. Only if you take care of Cece yourself can I feel at ease."

"Besides, I promised her. This will be the only child I ever have."

"After the baby's born, we'll put it under our names, and you'll raise it as your own. We'll be the happiest family in the world."

The truth came down on me all at once, heavy and cold, leaving my arms and legs numb.

Today was the day Cecily gave birth.

It was also my third wedding anniversary with Ryan.

Ryan's hand paused, and he asked gently,

"What's wrong?"

My eyes stung. My voice shook as I demanded,

"Ryan, why are you doing this to me?"

He lowered his hand. No panic, no guilt. That calm, unbothered look chilled me far more than any shouting could have.

"I was afraid that if you knew the truth, you wouldn't take proper care of Cece. She's frail, she can't afford a single mistake. You're professional, careful, steady. I trusted her to you and I could relax."

My throat burned and tightened.

Ten months of round-the-clock work, all of it given with my whole heart, and now every bit of it turned into a blade carving up the sincerity I'd poured out.

"So you just lied to me?"

"You made your own wife personally nurse your ex-wife through her entire pregnancy, and now you want me to raise the child the two of you had as my own?"

Ryan looked at me and fell silent for two seconds.

"Jean, don't get emotional."

"You're scared of pain, scared of childbirth. Now you can have a child without going through any of it. For you, that's a huge stroke of luck."

"I'll be honest with you. In these three years we've been married, Cecily and I never stopped. Every important holiday, I was with her. Even the house she lives in was a gift from me. Her having my child was only a matter of time."

"If we hadn't registered our marriage behind my mother's back and set her off, if she hadn't threatened to kill herself to force us to divorce, you'd never have gotten to marry me at all."

He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

As if I were the one who'd broken up the two of them.

Seeing my face change, he took the temperature-controlled meal box from me and patted my shoulder.

"I'm telling you all this because I don't want to keep hiding it from you anymore."

"And don't read too much into it. Aside from one extra child, nothing changes. The place of Mrs. Delgado is yours forever."

I looked at his face and suddenly didn't even have the strength left to argue.

It wasn't that I was afraid of childbirth. It was him who'd wanted no children after we married.

I'd only lied and said I was scared of the pain, too scared to have a baby, so he wouldn't feel any guilt about it.

Three years married, and I never once spent a holiday alone with him.

Even when I spent a whole day preparing a candlelit dinner, even when he promised he'd celebrate my birthday, in the end he always had some reason he was too busy, some excuse for not showing up.

Over and over I'd comforted myself, telling myself he was just cold by nature, that he didn't understand romance.

Only now did it hit me. It wasn't that he didn't understand romance, that he didn't like celebrations.

All those missing holidays, all those broken promises, he'd spent them at Cecily's side.

Ten months ago, he told me Cecily was the family member of an important business partner, that she was frail and needed a dedicated nutritionist to care for her, triple the pay, no further questions.

As a senior nutritionist, I believed him. I was on call day and night, controlling every bite of food, every ratio in every medicinal-broth meal.

I even went out in the rain to buy the freshest ingredients, adjusted her menus until dawn, and turned Cecily, weak and with an unstable pregnancy, into a woman with a steady pregnancy and a healthy glow.

Every day Cecily would take my hand and say, smiling,

"Jean, how are you this good to me? I'd rather have no husband than lose you."

She must have been so smug inside when she said it.

I gave a tired laugh and said, cutting,

"You two, the cheating bastard and the shameless bitch. What a flawless little act you put on."

Ryan frowned and grabbed my wrist, his voice dropping into a warning.

"Jean Simmons! You've gone too far!"

"Once Cece has the baby, I don't want her upset by anything. Rein in that temper of yours, or you won't be able to bear the consequences if she suffers!"

I wrenched my hand free and answered through my teeth,

"Screw you! I'm done waiting on anyone!"

I turned and walked out.

Ryan snapped at my back.

"Jean Simmons, stop right there! Where do you think you're going if you're not here watching her?!"

I didn't slow down. I walked straight out of the hospital.

Outside, I pulled out my phone and called Old Mrs. Henson, matriarch of the richest family in Harbor City.

Three months ago, she'd called me herself, offering a generous fee to design meals for a granddaughter-in-law who was trying to conceive.

I'd already promised Ryan I'd keep looking after Cecily's confinement, so I had turned her down.

When she heard I was free to take it now, she was so delighted she could hardly stop smiling.

She sent over the digital contract right away.

I signed it, hung up, and went straight back to Cecily's place.

No to the apartment Ryan had bought for her, to be exact. I went to pack my things and leave.

At one in the afternoon, a message came from Ryan.

"She's given birth. A boy. Bring the confinement meals and come straight to the hospital to help."

Right after, Cecily posted to her social feed. The photo showed her hand and Ryan's overlapping, cupping the newborn's tiny fist, the caption soft and sweet.

"Blessed by such love, my life is finally at peace. Thank you for giving me a whole life."

I glanced at it and typed back two words.

"Not coming."

Two minutes later, my mother called.

The second I picked up, she tore into me.

"Jean Simmons, what has gotten into you?! Ryan just told me you're throwing a tantrum and refusing to look after his ex-wife! Do you want to ruin your brother's whole life?!"

I gripped the phone, cold all the way through.

My mother is greedy and grasping, my brother idle and good for nothing.

In their eyes, the whole point of my existence was to earn money, keep the family fed, support my brother, and turn a profit for all of them.

Back then, when Judy Delgado tried to break up Ryan and Cecily, she threatened to kill herself and ended up hospitalized with a sudden heart condition.

My mother heard about it somehow, dragged me to Judy's bedside, and pushed hard for Judy to keep me on to take care of her.

She dug her nails into my arm and warned me under her breath.

"Haven't you had a crush on Ryan for years? Judy's at rock bottom right now. Get a hold on her, and marrying into the Delgado family is as good as done."

I'd liked Ryan since college, but the gap between us was so wide I never let myself imagine anything more.

After graduation, he took over the family business and became the famous Mr. Delgado.

I was only a nutritionist. There was no chance our paths would ever cross.

I never expected that years later, fate would put us in the same room again.

Ryan is no fool. He saw straight through my mother.

To keep Judy's condition stable, he gave in and agreed to marry me.

The whole time I cared for Judy, neither of them ever mentioned Cecily, so I knew nothing about this ex-wife of his.

Ryan understood my weak spot too well. One sentence from him was all it took.

My own family would leap in on his side, crushing me for him, pushing me back into line.

Like the second year of our marriage, on Valentine's Day, when I spent a whole day decorating the apartment and preparing a candlelit dinner, wanting to surprise him.

I waited until deep into the night, until the candles had burned out and the steak had gone cold and stiff, before he came home.

No flowers, no guilt. He just frowned and told me to stop doing pointless things like this.

I broke down crying, and for the first time I demanded to know why he'd married me only to leave me out in the cold.

He looked at me for two seconds, then dialed my mother.

That night, my mother cursed me out for a full hour.

She was still going on the other end of the line.

"Your brother's engagement is next month! Ryan bought the apartment, sure, but we're still six hundred and sixty thousand short on the bride money!"

"You picking a fight with him now, is that so your brother can't get a wife, so this whole family can't hold its head up?"

I swallowed the hurt, my throat dry.

"His ex-wife just had a son for him."

She paused for a beat, and a faint, barely hidden panic crept into her voice.

"So so what if his ex gave him a child? She's given Ryan an heir. As his wife, you should be grateful and take it in stride!"

Then she slid straight into scolding me.

"You're the one who's Ryan's wife. Whatever he does, you swallow it! You cannot let anyone snatch the place of Mrs. Delgado away from you, you hear me?!"

"Ryan's such a good man rich, capable, and he treats you well enough. He even sends us twenty thousand a month for your keep. Don't you dare not know how good you've got it!"

I couldn't believe it. The tears spilled over before I could stop them.

"I was kept in the dark for ten months caring for his ex-wife. I was lied to, used, put through every kind of misery. And to you, none of that counts for anything?"

"That's your duty!"

My mother didn't hesitate. Her voice was ice.

"Keeping your marriage steady and helping out the family that's what you're supposed to do!"

"Get back there and apologize, wait on her confinement, coax Ryan back into a good mood. If you wreck your brother's marriage and cut off our living, I'll skin you alive!"

Duty. That one word had pressed down on me for twenty-eight years.

For so long I'd waited for my family to love me, for my husband to favor me. Only now did I understand it had all been asking too much.

I hung up. My chest was tight and heavy, but not one more tear would come.

Just then, another message from Ryan.

"Your mother's already apologized to me on your behalf. Stop being difficult and get back here. Cece keeps asking for you, and the baby needs you too."

I drew a deep breath and typed back one word. "Fine."

Some things, it was time to end.

I drove to the hospital, pushed open the door of the ward, and the first thing I saw was Ryan sitting at the bedside.

Gone was all his cold distance. His eyes were full of a tenderness and doting I had never once seen from him.

So it turned out he wasn't cold by nature. The warmth had simply never been for me.

When he saw me come in, he frowned in displeasure.

"Why so slow? Cece's weak right now. She almost missed the best window for her recovery meal."

Cecily looked over at me, her whole face glowing with happiness.

"Jean, come see my baby, he's really so adorable."

"Thank you for taking such good care of me these ten months. I'll be counting on you from now on too."

My eyes fell to the bassinet, and my steps stopped short.

The tiny infant lay there with his eyes closed, and the shape of his brows, the bridge of his nose, the line of his lips were almost cast from the same mold as Ryan.

Absurd. Sickening. A cold that went to the bone swept through me.

Seeing my fist clench, Ryan lowered his voice in warning.

"Jean, don't throw a tantrum. Cece just gave birth. She can't handle any upset."

I lifted my eyes and looked straight at him.

"You were willing to marry me just to get your ex-wife and her child a free, private nutritionist. Isn't that right?"

His face darkened slightly.

"Don't put it so ugly. I genuinely wanted to build a life with you. It's just that the child is innocent. Once Cece finishes her confinement, I'll make it up to you, and things can go on as usual."

"Go on as usual?"

I only found it laughable, and I looked at Cecily.

"You and her go on being sweet and in love, and I raise your bastard for you?"

Cecily's eyes reddened at once, her voice choking.

"Jean, don't say that about my child. I didn't know you'd mind this much. I thought you'd accepted me and the baby a long time ago."

"I never once thought of tearing you and Ryan apart. If it makes you unhappy, I can leave right away."

As she spoke, she clutched her belly and moved to get out of bed. She hadn't shifted an inch before she collapsed weakly into Ryan's arms, weeping like a rain-drenched blossom.

Ryan's face went cold in an instant as he pulled her close, aching for her.

"Jean Simmons, are you done making a scene?!"

I couldn't be bothered to watch the two of them act out their tragic romance. I took out the meal plan I'd prepared and tossed it onto the nightstand, my voice icy.

"I've marked the postpartum menu clearly. Any caregiver can follow it. This job ends when the client finishes giving birth, so I won't be coming again."

Ryan's face went blacker still.

"Jean Simmons, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Have you gone so deaf and blind you can't understand plain speech anymore?"

"Jean Simmons, there's a limit to throwing a tantrum! Cece just had a baby and you have to pick this moment to sulk and provoke her? Where's your professionalism?"

I looked at him.

"Professionalism means serving the client. It doesn't mean footing the bill for your affair."

"I forgot to tell you. I've already signed my next contract. Three years."

Cecily pressed her lips into a thin line, resentment flashing through her eyes.

"Cancel it. I'll pay the penalty. Cece's used to having you care for her, and the baby needs to bond with you too."

I smiled.

"You can pay the penalty. But the Henson family, are they someone you can afford to offend?"

"The Hensons? How could you..."

The Henson family of Harbor City held sway over the whole region, with deep roots, the top elite household that even the Delgados bowed to and feared.

His face went livid with anger.

"You just walk out like this, so irresponsible. What are Cece and the baby supposed to do?!"

I ignored his demand and pulled out a divorce agreement, shoving it in front of him.

Ryan couldn't help but laugh.

"You want a divorce? You wouldn't dare. Would your mother even agree to it?"

I looked at him, my voice steady.

"I don't need her to agree."

Ryan let out a scornful laugh, and what he said was cruel and blunt.

"Jean, you can't leave me."

"Your brother's bride money, the mortgage on the house, your parents' living expenses. Which one of those doesn't take money?"

"On your salary, you think you can hold up that bottomless pit of a family?"

He was so sure of himself.

Sure that I was chained to the family I was born into, too afraid to break free. Sure that in the end I would bow my head and give in.

"Then from now on I'll live only for myself. I won't pay for your affairs anymore, and I won't let them bleed me dry for the rest of my life."

Ryan looked at my stubborn face, his patience gone.

"I'll say this to you one last time. Stop clinging to this. You're my wife, so you should be gracious and understanding, and you have to take good care of Cecily and the baby."

"Is being your wife supposed to be some kind of honor? Do I deserve to burn up my whole life for your affair?"

"What else?"

He said it like he had every right.

"The child is my flesh and blood. Cecily can't fend for herself, so there's no way I'm leaving them to fend on their own. You're mature, independent, capable. What's wrong with giving a little more for this family?"

I couldn't be bothered to say one more word to him. I turned and walked out.

Ryan yanked me back hard by the arm, his other hand swiping fast across his phone screen.

The next second, my mother was calling again.

I hung up right away.

She kept calling. I kept hanging up.

Before she could send a message and start cursing at me, I blocked both her and my brother, Clint Simmons.

The world was finally quiet.

I shook Ryan's hand off and left without looking back.

Starting at the Hensons' was no simple matter. The medical exams alone took me three days.

When I'd finished sorting out all my exam reports and was ready to go to the Hensons', Ryan came home with Cecily.

He moved her and the newborn into our marital home.

"Cecily's place needs a nursery put in, so she'll stay with us for now. The master bedroom has good light and more space, better for the baby. You put a small bed next to it and look after the two of them."

Cecily sat there like the lady of the house, holding the baby, settled comfortably on my marriage bed.

"Jean, I really can't manage the baby on my own. I'll have to trouble you."

The weaker she played it, the more it tugged at Ryan.

Before I could get a word out, Ryan stepped in front of her, his eyes cold as he warned me.

"Don't give her that face. She's weak right now, she can't take any stress. You bear with things around the house."

I gave a cold laugh.

"You can let her live here for the rest of her life for all I care. We're getting divorced any day now anyway."

Ryan frowned.

"Throwing a tantrum is fine, but you actually want a divorce?"

I looked at him, my expression dead serious.

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

Ryan's face turned vicious.

"Fine! Jean, if you're this set on it, don't come crying later!"

On my second day working at the Hensons', the police suddenly showed up at the door.

"Sorry to disturb you, Old Mrs. Henson. We received a report. The nutritionist, Jean Simmons, deliberately poisoned a new mother and put her life in danger. We need to take her back to the station to cooperate with the investigation."