The Mistake My Husband and Mother-in-Law Made

My husband was sterile. Necrospermia, they said. His brother was in a coma and had no partner. Their mother wanted me to sleep with both of them and get knocked up with the family's heir.

I refused and applied for a divorce. Ninety-nine times. Ninety-nine failures. Then, I put in the hundredth application. When that failed, I agreed to my mother-in-law's request, holding a pregnancy test result.

My husband disagreed. That night, he stopped me before I could sleep with his brother. Harshly, he said, "My mother was just testing you. I can't believe you'd get pregnant with the illegitimate child."

I was amused and annoyed. "You're the one who said yes, as long as I could get pregnant with your family's heir."

Paternity Test

Fury took over Cassius Lichtenstein's face. "I knew it. You're a shameless woman, Rachel Bowson!"

My heart trembled in pain, as if it had been hit by a thousand needles. For five years, I was married to Cassius, and I had been nothing but caring and faithful to him. And what did I get in the end? Him giving me to someone else like I was a piece of meat.

I protested and protested. I tried to appeal for a divorce time and time again, but I failed. After my hundredth failure, I decided to give in and sleep with my brother-in-law willingly. For three months, I got entangled with my brother-in-law, and I got pregnant.

Cassius closed in on me, his eyes sharp. "You act like an innocent and chaste woman, but when I'm not around, you sleep around like a common wench."

My eyes were turning red. I tried to hold everything down, but I couldn't anymore. "I'm pregnant with your brother's child, Cassius. Watch your tongue."

Cassius punched the vase beside him, and he roared at me, "You know damn well how you got knocked up!"

The vase shattered, and one of its shards grazed my calf. Blood trickled down my leg and drenched the shards of the broken vase.

My mother-in-law checked out the commotion, and when she saw what was going on, she went white. "Rachel is pregnant, Cassius! You can't do this to her!"

Furious, Cassius snapped, "We have no idea who the baby's father is, Mom! This woman is lying to you!"

Horrified, she responded, "But we do know the father. It's Donald. But don't worry, we'll raise it like it's your son."

I sneered. "Hear that? The baby is your brother's doing. You're sterile, after all."

That humiliated Cassius. In a fit of rage, he clasped his hand around my neck. "My brother is in a coma. He can't even do it anyone! Who's this bastard's father?"

I was going purple from the lack of air, and breathing was becoming harder to do. I knew I was suffocating. My mother-in-law was more terrified than ever, and she stopped talking. She was worried Cassius might kill me and the baby.

Cassius quickly let me go and snickered. "Keep your secrets, but I have ways to get it out of you."

I crumpled to the ground, the vase's shards digging into my hand, cutting my skin. I was already weak to begin with, and I felt waves of pain coming from my belly.

He had always been a paranoid man. Once he became suspicious of something, it was nigh impossible to kill his doubts. I raised my face, no doubt pale right now, and proposed, "A paternity test, then. We'll see if it's your brother's."

Cassius scoffed. "If you insist." He shoved me into the car and buckled me up hastily. Then he drove at a frightening speed of 180 miles an hour. I could feel my heart jumping out of my chest.

He screeched to a stop right outside a paternity test center. A woman was standing at the door. Jessica Riverson was her name, and she was in a coat.

Jessica was Cassius' first love back in college, but her family wasn't on the same level as Cassius', so their relationship didn't come to fruition.

I was retching right on the sidewalk. Cassius' driving was dangerous. Jessica looked at me with disdain. "So, this is the rich lady your family matched you up with? The one with grace, morals, and finesse?"

Before I could say anything, Cassius yanked me up. Through his teeth, he hissed, "You're not scared, are you, Rachel? You should've expected this when you cheated on me."

The torment was taking its toll on me. My stomach was starting to twist again, and I went white. The crowd was throwing insults at me.

"She seems like a proper lady. Can't believe she's a cheater."

"Yeah. She looks rich. Why would she betray her family?"

"I think that's Professor Lichtenstein's wife."

My mother-in-law noticed the look on my face, and she stood up for me. "Cassius, she didn't cheat. I know the father of her baby, I swear."

Cassius clenched his fists. "You're still defending her now, Mom?"

"Her baby is our family's heir. I know that's true!" My mother-in-law insisted that my baby was the Lichtenstein's heir.

Jessica, however, was seemingly sure that my child didn't belong to the Lichtensteins. A moment of hesitation later, she said, "Donald might be in a coma, but he could make a baby through IVF. If her baby is the Lichtensteins' heir, then good news. But if it's not… Then, the family will fall into the hands of another."

Cassius looked at my bulging belly coldly, and a shiver ran down my spine. "She's getting this paternity test whether she likes it or not!"