My Husband's Secret Family

At our college reunion, my friends made a bet. The game was simple: whoever's husband called first was crowned the most pampered wife in the group.

One of my former classmates was absolutely positive. "It's going to be Chloe's husband, hands down," she said.

But to everyone's surprise, the first phone to buzz belonged to Serena. She smiled and picked up. I was sitting right next to her.

Through her speaker, I clearly heard the familiar voice of my husband, Lucas. "Serena, why aren't you at the house?" Serena's smile was dripping with happiness. "I was getting bored at home, so I came to a college reunion with my cousin, Lauren.

It's wrapping up soon." His voice softened into a gentle murmur. "You're pregnant, babe. You have to take care of yourself.

I'm driving over to pick you up right now." The blood in my veins turned to ice. One by one, everyone else's phones started ringing. Only my screen remained dark and cold.

Serena tried to ease the tension with a sweet smile. "Chloe's husband is a Clevel executive, guys.

He's probably just swamped with meetings." I forced a smile and locked my eyes on her. "He's on his way.

You'll all see him soon." "Just wait until Chloe's husband gets here," Zoe said, leaning forward. "You'll see how much he absolutely adores her." "Seriously!

I've been thirdwheeling them for years and getting sick of their PDA. Now it's your turn to suffer with me!" Zoe was my closest friend from college.

Over the past seven years, she had been the primary witness to my seemingly perfect marriage with Lucas.

She used to tease me constantly, saying Lucas treated me like a fragile glass doll, terrified that a single drop of rain might ruin me.

Honestly, besides getting busier with work lately, Lucas was the perfect husband. We had been married for seven years.

He handed over his paychecks, texted me his location constantly, and was incredibly generous—not just to me, but to my parents as well. We had never even had a real argument.

He had never once raised his voice at me. Yet, this exact "perfect husband" had another woman on the side.

I pushed down the burning rage clawing at my throat and deliberately redirected the spotlight to Serena. "Well, the first man to call is definitely the one who loves his wife the most.

There's no arguing with that." Immediately, the attention shifted from me to Serena. Serena's face flushed with a smug, undeniable glow of satisfaction.

One of our former classmates nudged her playfully. "Serena, you must be living the absolute dream. Just look at you. You're practically glowing." "Right?

And look at what she's wearing! Everything is designer. Serena, what does your husband do for a living?" She was wearing a chic, tailored Chanel tweed set.

On her wrist was an Audemars Piguet watch easily worth eighty thousand dollars. Her bag was a classic Hermès Birkin, and even her heels were expensive designer brand.

From head to toe, she looked like a spoiled billionaire's wife. My eyes subtly drifted down to her flat stomach. She wasn't even showing yet.

A thousand questions raced through my mind. Was she independently wealthy? Or was Lucas funding this lavish lifestyle?

I played cool and chimed in casually. "Hey, who says a woman needs a man to live like a queen?

Maybe Serena is just a selfmade boss babe." Serena laughed softly, waving her hand. "Oh, please. I'm not smart enough to be a boss babe.

I'm just incredibly lucky to have my husband." "He works for a major multinational tech firm. The pay is amazing.

Plus, his family's old estate was just bought out by a luxury real estate developer, so we have a pretty solid nest egg." A massive explosion went off in my chest.

Lucas's family indeed had an old property back in his hometown. But two years ago, his parents moved to our city to retire.

They had told me they sold that old house to buy their retirement condo. I forced a curious smile. "Oh, really? Where was the property?

My family has an estate that might get bought out soon too.

How much did they get for it, if you don't mind me asking?" "Around 1.2 million dollars," Serena replied casually. "Not too crazy, but a decent amount." Serena's cousin, Lauren—who was my actual college classmate—joined in with a proud grin. "You guys have no idea how lucky my cousin is.

Her husband transferred the entire payout directly into her bank account." "And it's not just her husband who spoils her. Her motherinlaw absolutely adores her too.

The very first time they met, she gave Serena their family heirloom!" Lauren nudged Serena's elbow, hyping her up. "Serena, show them!

Show everyone the vintage emerald bracelet your motherinlaw gave you." Lauren turned to the table, her eyes wide. "I swear, guys, I have never seen a piece of emerald this flawless in my entire life.

Not even on TV."

Serena put on a show of being humble, blushing as she opened her Hermès bag. She pulled out a stunning, deep green, perfectly translucent emerald bracelet. My blood boiled.

Underneath the table, my hands clenched into tight fists, my nails digging into my palms. I kept my face completely expressionless. I recognized that bracelet instantly.

I had seen it when Lucas and I first got married. At the time, Lucas's aunt had pulled me aside, whispering that the heirloom bracelet would be handed down to me one day.

Last Christmas, the family had gathered, and the topic of the bracelet came up. An aunt who never got along with my motherinlaw asked pointedly, "Hey, Martha.

Chloe has been married to Lucas for seven years now.

Shouldn't you have passed down that family heirloom bracelet to her by now?" My motherinlaw's face had turned bright red with embarrassment.

Lucas quickly stepped in to save her. "Oh, there's no rush. Chloe is very understanding.

She said we should wait until Mom is much older before passing it down." I had never said any such thing.

During our seven years of marriage, my motherinlaw, Martha, and I never had an open conflict. But there was always an invisible wall between us.

No matter how hard I tried to please her—even when she was hospitalized and I was the one cleaning her up and feeding her—she remained cold.

She even kept that same cold distance from my sixyearold son, Ethan. I never, in my wildest dreams, expected that she not only knew about Lucas's affair...

But had actively handed over the family's most precious heirloom to his mistress. Everyone at the table gasped, fawning over the dazzling emerald on Serena's wrist.

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat and asked, "How long have you two been married?

Your motherinlaw sounds like an angel." "Just a year," Serena replied sweetly. "My inlaws are incredibly sweet to me." One year.

It took her only one year to win over the entire Vance family. "How did you guys meet? Come on, share the love story!" someone called out.

Lauren, being the loudmouth she was, cut in before Serena could answer. "My cousin used to sell organic wellness supplements.

She's super honest, not like those shady scammers who lie just to get a sale." "Because she's so sweet and actually cares about elderly people, her motherinlaw fell in love with her first." Serena smiled, nodding. "Yeah, actually.

I met my husband because of his mom. If she hadn't played matchmaker, we wouldn't have gotten together so quickly." It felt like a physical dagger plunging straight into my heart.

For seven years, I had called Martha "Mom." I had sent her a thousanddollar allowance every single month. And she had stabbed me in the back without a second thought.

Lauren continued, her voice dripping with envy. "Seriously, her motherinlaw is nextlevel.

Not only does Serena's husband give her a generous allowance, but her inlaws also give her their entire $6,000 monthly pension to spend however she wants!" Another lightning bolt struck my mind.

Right after Lucas and I got married, Martha had demanded a monthly allowance from us.

She claimed that she and her husband had no retirement pension and needed our financial support to survive.

My monthly salary after taxes was around $8,000, and Lucas made about the same. So, giving them $1,000 a month was easy. We did it gladly.

I had no idea they had a massive pension all along. They had spent seven years lying to me just to drain my bank account. Lauren kept babbling. "And get this!

The grandparents have already bought a luxury condo in the city for the unborn baby." "They've even set up a massive trust fund for his future education." The girls at the table were sighing in envy.

They immediately started complaining about their own inlaws. None of their husbands' families could even compare to Serena's. My chest was so tight it was hard to breathe.

I clenched my jaw and asked quietly, "Wow.

Your inlaws must be incredibly wealthy." "Not really," Serena said softly. "It's actually because my husband puts half of his paycheck into a savings account managed by his parents.

It's a trust fund for the baby." My throat locked up. Since the very first month of our marriage, Lucas had split his paycheck. He gave half to his mother, and half to me.

He told me the half he gave to his mother was for our son Ethan's college fund.

He said his mother was great with longterm investments and had done the same for him when he was a kid. I had never doubted him. After all, Ethan was his own flesh and blood.

But now I realized... the money meant for my son's future was being hoarded for the mistress's unborn child.

In the middle of my spiral, my phone buzzed. Lauren immediately started chanting, "Ooh! Chloe's husband is calling! See?

I told you she's just as spoiled as my cousin!" I looked down at the screen. The caller ID read: My Baby Boy, Ethan. I swiped to answer.

My son's crying voice came through the speaker. "Mommy... Daddy lied to me again.

He promised he'd take me to Universal Studios tomorrow." "But Grandma just said Daddy had to go on another business trip!

He always lies to me!" He sniffled, his little voice trembling. My heart shattered into a million pieces. Over the past year, Lucas had barely spent any time with Ethan.

He was always "too busy" or "traveling for work." He would leave before dawn and come home after midnight. Ethan hadn't spent a weekend with his father in six months.

Last week was Ethan's birthday. Lucas missed it. He claimed he was closing a massive deal out of state and couldn't fly back.

To make it up to him, he promised to take Ethan to Disneyland. But a few days later, he backtracked.

He said flights were too expensive and that we needed to budget because of the rough economy. He asked Ethan if we could just go to the local Universal Studios instead.

My sweet boy had agreed without a complaint. And now, Lucas had bailed on that too. This entire year, he hadn't kept a single promise to our son.

He had even missed our wedding anniversary because he was "stuck at a conference." He had mailed me a Cartier necklace two weeks later to apologize.

As a career woman myself, I had understood. I thought he was just hustling for our family's future. Even though he was rarely home, he texted me constantly.

I had trusted him blindly. I never imagined that his heart had left our home long ago.

Before we even divorced, he was already being cheap with our son while throwing millions at his mistress. I forced my voice to remain steady, soothing my son. "Hey, sweetie.

Daddy is just really busy with work right now. When he gets back, Mommy will make sure he makes it up to you, okay?" Ethan was always a good kid.

A few reassuring words were enough to calm him down. I hung up the phone.

One of my classmates tried to comfort me. "Chloe, your husband being this busy just means he's indispensable at his firm. That's a good thing!" I forced a tight smile. "Yeah.

I'm used to it." Serena was looking down at her phone, texting. Lauren leaned over her shoulder and gasped loudly, making sure the whole table could hear. "Oh my god, Serena!

Your husband is literally obsessed with you and that baby!" "The baby isn't even born yet, and he's already planning a trip to the Maldives?!" "Seriously, he's taken you to Europe, Japan, and now this?

Just in the last few months?" "A man with that much money who actually makes time for you is a unicorn, babe.

You better hold onto him." The table erupted into compliments for Serena. But I felt like I was suffocating.

It was the middle of summer, the AC was blasting, but I felt like I was freezing to death in an icebox.

He had the money and the time to take his mistress to the Maldives, but he couldn't find one day to take his son to a local theme park.

He thought a trip to Disneyland with his own son was a "waste of money." When a man's heart changes, he becomes utterly heartless.

Before Lucas cheated, he would have given Ethan the world. When Ethan was four, we took him to Paris. Ethan had pointed at a silly designer baby blanket in a boutique.

Without hesitation, Lucas spent five thousand dollars on it just because Ethan smiled at it. I had tried to stop him, saying it was a massive waste of money.

But Lucas had looked at me and said, "As long as our boy likes it, it's worth every penny." "If Ethan wanted the moon, I'd find a way to drag it down for him." Then, he had leaned in and whispered in my ear, "And if you wanted the stars, Chloe, I'd catch them for you too." That was only two years ago.

Now, he treated our son like an afterthought. Suddenly, someone asked Serena, "Are you going to hire a nanny after the baby is born?

I know a great agency if you need a recommendation." Serena smiled politely. "Oh, thank you, but no need. My husband already booked the perfect postpartum doula."

Lauren chimed in proudly. "The lady my cousin's husband hired isn't some agency nanny." "She's incredibly educated.

I heard she's a retired Ivy League professor from Columbia University!" "And she's incredibly patient.

Serena's husband had to pull a ton of strings just to convince her to do it." "Otherwise, why would a prestigious, highly respected retired professor ever agree to be a baby nurse?" My fingernails dug so deep into my palms that I thought they would bleed.

The retired Columbia professor Lauren was talking about... was my mother. Yesterday, I had visited my mother, and she had casually mentioned it.

She said Lucas had asked her for a favor—to help take care of the newborn of one of his "most important corporate clients" in six months.

When I had Ethan, we had hired nannies, but their care was superficial.

My mother, unable to watch her grandson receive subpar care, took a monthlong leave of absence to nurse me and the baby back to health.

Lucas had seen how well she took care of us and had praised her endlessly, saying no expensive doula could ever match her. My mother loved Lucas like her own son.

And he was planning to turn her into a servant for his mistress! "Wow! That is a real man.

That's a husband who actually deserves a wife and kids!" The table erupted into another wave of praise.

The girl sitting to my left looked at me and smiled. "Serena's husband is just like Chloe's.

They're both Vance men who treat their families like gold." A cold, mocking sneer formed in my mind. Suddenly, the private dining room door was pushed open from the outside.

Lucas's familiar voice echoed through the room. "Hey, babe. I'm here to pick you up." I stood up, turning around slowly. I stared right into his eyes. "Hey, Lucas.

Which wife are you here to pick up?" The smile on Lucas's face froze instantly. He was holding a massive bouquet of fresh red roses.

We had dated for two years and been married for seven. He had bought me many expensive gifts, but he had never once bought me flowers. Once, I saw him walking home with a colleague.

The colleague had stopped by a florist to buy a bouquet for his wife and suggested Lucas do the same for me. Lucas had laughed it off, saying, "Chloe and I are practical people.

Flowers wither in a couple of days. It's a waste of money. I'd rather buy her something useful." His colleague had teased him for having zero romance in his bones.

But now I realized it wasn't that he lacked romance. He just had no desire to be romantic with me. The bouquet of roses slipped from his hand, crashing to the floor.

He stood frozen, completely dumbfounded. The room, which had been buzzing with laughter a second ago, fell into a suffocating, dead silence.

You could have heard a pin drop. "LLucas? What's going on?" Serena stood up, her chair screeching loudly against the wooden floor.

She walked over to Lucas, her voice trembling, on the verge of tears.

Finally, someone in the room gasped. "Wait... what is happening right now?" "Lauren, why is your cousin's husband the exact same person as Chloe's husband?!" Lauren looked utterly bewildered. "I...

I don't know!" I stared at Lucas, whose face was burning red, and pushed him further. "Come on, Lucas. Tell everyone.

Why is my husband of seven years the exact same man as my classmate's cousin's husband?" Lucas's shocked expression hardened.

He parted his dry lips and mumbled, "Chloe... go home first. I'll explain everything to you later, okay?" "Go to which home?

The house we've lived in for seven years, or the luxury condo you bought for Serena, your mistress?" Serena grabbed Lucas's arm, her voice filled with tears. "What do you mean 'explain' to her?

What about me? What about our baby?!" Lucas placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to soothe her. "I'll handle this.

Don't worry, just stay calm." Watching him comfort another woman right in front of me sent a volcanic eruption of fury through my veins. "How are you going to handle this, Lucas?

By divorcing me and giving her and her baby a family?

Or do you want to keep us both?" I took a slow step toward him. "Or are you going to dump her and crawl back to me?" "Which of these three options are you choosing?!" Lucas immediately stepped in front of Serena, shielding her behind his back as if terrified I would strike her.

He lowered his voice, pleading, "Chloe, let's go home. Don't do this in public, please." Slap!

I raised my hand and delivered a stinging slap across his face. "So you actually care about your reputation!" Lucas's head snapped to the side.

Serena lunged forward, trying to protect him. "How dare you hit him!" "I'm hitting my husband. Does a complete outsider like you have any right to complain?" I sneered. "Oh, wait.

I forgot. You do have a connection to him—as his dirty little secret."