Chapter 1I went to replace my lost ID. Clerk told me I needed to update my son's information.
I'm like... what son? I DON'T HAVE A KID!
She just looked at me like I'm brain-dead. "Lady, YOU'RE the mom on file. YOUR husband brought in the paperwork. How do you not know you got a kid?"
My brain just... stopped.
Did some digging. Turns out my husband knocked up his side piece—and put their kid under MY name.
Confront them? Nah. I had something way better.
They made me the legal mom? Fine. Then I get to pick what address goes on that thing.
So I transferred the little bastard's registration to some shithole village in the middle of nowhere.
Enjoy the mountain air, assholes.
---
"See this? Caspian Aldridge. That's your son."
The clerk pulled up the file, looking at me like I was wasting her time.
"Seriously? You don't even know you have a kid?"
I stared at the screen.
Caspian Aldridge.
Born June 1st, 2023.
How the hell was this possible?
June 2023—I was overseas for work. Wasn't even in the country. How could I have given birth?
"Look, there's gotta be some mix-up. My husband and I don't have kids. We're childfree."
She looked at me like I was insane.
"Your husband's name Darius Aldridge?"
I nodded.
"Then there's no mix-up. He came in here himself and put the kid down. We got everything on file."
She spun the screen around. I could see Darius's signature right there on the form.
"That his handwriting or what?"
I looked. My stomach dropped.
It was definitely his.
But we agreed on no kids. Before we got married, I told him I wasn't ready to have children yet.
He said he got it—he wasn't in a rush either. Said he didn't even like kids.
So we decided: no kids. Just us.
And now there's a three-year-old registered under my name?
"Wait—what if someone forged his signature?"
I still wasn't buying it.
The clerk looked at me like I'd lost my mind.
"Everything's backed up. It's all online now. No way we messed up."
"Look, I don't get you. This is your kid. Why are you acting like it's not?"
I was losing it.
"If I had a kid, I'd say so! But I swear I never had a baby!"
"Okay, so what—kids just magically appear now?"
She rolled her eyes hard.
I tried again. "Maybe the computer messed up? Like, this is someone else's kid?"
"Are you serious right now?!"
"We got the newest system, and real people check everything twice. We don't just screw this stuff up!"
"What's going on with you? You trying to dump this kid or what?"
She was looking at me like I was about to commit a crime.
"Just so you know—you can't abandon a kid. That's illegal."
She stared at me like I was some deadbeat mom.
I couldn't explain. Couldn't make sense of it.
So I called Darius.
He didn't pick up the first time.
I checked the clock—he should be off work by now.
Called again.
Third time, he finally answered.
But before I could say anything, I heard it.
A kid's voice.
"Daddy!"
Chapter 2
I went ice cold. My brain was buzzing.
Then the kid's voice cut off.
Suddenly, it was quiet on the other end—like he'd walked somewhere private.
A few seconds later, Darius's voice came through.
"Hey babe, I'm kinda in the middle of something. Some kid just about ran into me. What's going on? You called like a million times—you good?"
I opened my mouth to tell him about the registration office. About the kid.
But all I could hear in my head was that little voice.
"Daddy."
That was definitely a child. I wasn't imagining it.
Sure, maybe Darius was just out somewhere and some random kid ran by. That's possible.
But the way he reacted—the way he explained it so fast—felt off.
The more I thought about it, the more my head spun.
When I didn't answer, he spoke again.
"Babe? Hello? Something wrong?"
His tone sounded normal. But I had this weird feeling—like he was testing me.
I took a deep breath and forced myself to sound casual.
"Nah, I'm fine. Just wondering when you'll be back. What do you want for dinner?"
He laughed. "Don't wait up for me. Got a work thing tonight. Just eat without me, yeah?"
I said okay. But my heart sank.
Something was wrong.
Yesterday morning, Darius told me his project wrapped up. Said he could finally take a break. Even said he wanted to spend more time with me.
So where the hell did this work dinner come from?
After I hung up, I texted Ivy Marshall—one of his coworkers.
I'd met her at a company party. She was bubbly, sweet, easy to talk to. We'd stayed in touch.
She worked on Darius's team as an intern.
I casually asked if they were swamped lately. If she was working late. Maybe we could grab drinks?
She replied fast.
[omg we were slammed last week but we finally have time off!! i'm totally free but darius is off too so i don't wanna third wheel haha]
I gripped my phone.
"Time off."
So Darius's whole team finished their last project and got a week off.
But he never told me.
And just now, he said he had a work dinner.
Then I thought about the kid on the registration.
Something clicked.
I wanted to run home and confront him right then and there.
But then stopped myself.
I had no proof.
If I asked him now, he'd just lie. And if he was hiding something, I'd be tipping him off.
So I called my best friend Sutton instead.
She's a lawyer. Got connections.
I asked her to dig into Darius and this kid—Caspian Aldridge.
And sent her the registration info.
Then I went home and started searching.
If Darius was hiding something, there'd be traces.
I tore through the house.
Most of it was normal.
But when I got to his side of the bed, I found something.
A small safe in his nightstand. I'd never seen it before.
It needed a password. I tried opening it.
I tried his birthday. Wrong.
My birthday. Wrong.
Our anniversary. Wrong.
Then I remembered the kid's birthday on the registration.
June 1st.
I held my breath and typed it in.
Beep.
The safe opened.
I felt sick.
Inside were documents. Caspian's birth certificate. Pictures of Darius with a little boy.
And receipts—investment accounts, gold savings, even a small condo. All for the kid.
The boy in the photos looked just like Darius. Like a tiny clone of him.
I sat on the edge of the bed, staring.
This wasn't some paperwork screw-up. The system didn't mess up.
Darius really had a kid behind my back.
Chapter 3
Suddenly, my phone buzzed.
It was Sutton.
She'd found everything.
[ok so caspian aldridge is 100% darius's kid. the mom is raina brennan]
[i dug into her a bit. turns out she and darius dated back in college. like first love type thing. they split up at some point but then got back together after you two got married]
[also i found something else you need to see]
She sent me a file.
My hands were shaking as I opened it.
Screenshots from Raina's social media. All of her posts were of her, Darius, and Caspian together. Playing at parks. Going on trips. Looking like a perfect little family.
Her captions were all about happiness. Love. Gratitude.
The most recent post was from three days ago.
No picture of the kid this time. Just two hands holding each other—one big, one small. One male, one female.
The man's hand had a wedding ring.
The same ring I'd picked out for Darius.
Her caption: "running a fever all night but he never left my side"
I bit down hard.
Three days ago, I got hit by a bike on my way home from the grocery store. My elbow slammed into a railing. It swelled up instantly—felt like the bone shifted.
I called Darius, wanted to tell him I was hurt.
He didn't pick up. Just texted: Working late.
I didn't push it. Knew he'd been busy.
That night, he didn't come home.
Turns out, he wasn't busy with work.
He was busy taking care of HER.
I kept scrolling.
More posts. More proof of their little life together.
Then stopped scrolling when I hit a post from two weeks ago—Caspian's birthday.
Raina had posted this whole thing—the three of them at some hotel by the river. Birthday hats, cake, everyone smiling.
Her caption: "another year with my little family"
Darius commented: "many more to come"
I felt something twist in my chest.
Two weeks ago. June 1st.
That was the day after Darius's mom had a stroke and got hospitalized.
The day she was admitted, he said he couldn't make it. Said he was swamped.
Turns out, he was celebrating his son's birthday instead.
While I was running around the hospital for his mom, he was off playing happy family.
I kept scrolling, numb.
Then I saw a post from a month ago.
Raina tagged someone.
[@SerenitySoul happy birthday mom!! stay forever young]
The account replied: [thanks sweetie best daughter-in-law ever]
I stopped breathing.
SerenitySoul.
That was Darius's mom's username.
I thought—even if he cheated—it was just him. Just his mistake.
But no.
His mom knew.
She'd known the whole time.
She never liked me. Always made little digs about me not wanting kids.
Two weeks ago when she was hospitalized, Darius dumped everything on me. Said this was my shot to win her over.
So I did. Stayed by her side. Took care of her. Wiped her down, helped her to the bathroom, stayed up all night watching her.
And the whole time, she complained. Nothing I did was good enough.
But she already knew.
She knew Darius had cheated. Knew about Raina. Knew about Caspian.
And she still let me take care of her like I was dirt under her shoe.
