Craved By My Stepfather And His Son

　　Elena Adams

　　For two years, he made me believe that I was infertile. His family treated me like I wasn't worth anything because I hadn't given birth to a child.

　　I swallowed everything.

　　Like a fool, I believed them.

　　They chose all the doctors whenever I wanted to get checked. And the worst part? My husband always got upset whenever I asked him to check himself.

　　"Why are you getting married at such a young age? You still have so many years ahead of you, and you don't have to do this right now." My mother's voice always replayed in my head whenever I thought about how miserable my life had become.

　　I was just twenty, and my boyfriend had proposed to me. I didn't listen to my mom because I felt like she was saying all those things from a place of hate.

　　I mean, she was on her fourth marriage after she ended things with my father. She wasn't exactly in a position to give me marital advice.

　　Lucas was the love of my life—he was my first everything, so I didn't want to pass up on the chance when he had asked me to marry him.

　　Our marriage was going great, until his family started pressuring us about kids. Ever since then, I have been restless.

　　I always pictured myself being a mom, and hearing that I was infertile broke something inside me.

　　"Mrs Reed, are you listening to me?" The doctor's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "You're perfectly fine, and I'm sure that those other hospitals were fabricating the test results."

　　My chest tightened as I struggled to process everything. Why on earth would my husband and his family make me believe that I couldn't bear a child all this time?

　　"But we have tried several times and I never got pregnant," I replied, my voice small. "If I'm actually fertile, what could have been the problem?"

　　The doctor looked at me for a moment before he cleared his throat. "If I could take a guess… your husband may be the one who is infertile."

　　His words hit me like a slap. My ears rang.

　　"No…" I shook my head slowly. "If that were the case, he would have told me," I replied.

　　Would he? Maybe I was just saying it to console myself. Now that I was thinking about everything, all the red flags were there. But I chose to ignore them because I was in love.

　　The doctor didn't argue. He simply slid a piece of paper toward me. "These are your test results. You can seek a second opinion if you want. But medically speaking, there is nothing wrong with you."

　　My fingers trembled as I took the paper and shoved it into my purse. Soon enough, I was out of the office.

　　"How did it go?" My best friend, Lydia, asked me as she saw me. "Did he say something was wrong with you?"

　　I pulled out the test result from my purse and showed it to her. "Nothing is wrong with me, Lydia," I muttered under my breath. "They have been lying to me for two years."

　　How did I let myself be so naive? Why did I let those people take advantage of me? If my best friend hadn't advised me to see a different doctor without their knowledge, I would have still been living with a lie.

　　"I knew it," Lydia said sympathetically. "But at least, you know the truth right now."

　　Well, I didn't know the entire truth.

　　I still had no idea if Lucas knew that he was the infertile one, or what the actual problem was.

　　"What am I going to do, Lydia?" I asked as we walked over to the car. "What should I tell him?"

　　Lydia paused and gave me a flat look. "You already know what to do… show him the result and divorce his ass," she said firmly.

　　My breath hitched. "But I still—,"

　　She didn't let me finish. "I hope you're not about to say you still love him," she replied in an irritated tone. "Apart from the fact that he has been lying to you, he has also been cheating on you."

　　My heart twisted.

　　That was a painful reminder.

　　I didn't respond immediately.

　　Lydia continued. "You're still young, and it's better you leave now before it gets more complicated."

　　"It's not that simple, Lydia."

　　"From where I stand, it looks pretty simple," Lydia replied without hesitation. "You have to choose yourself, Elena!"

　　"You wouldn't understand because you're not married yet." The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.

　　Lydia stared at me for a long second, then she laughed coldly. "And I'm glad that I'm not married yet. I'm still a young girl who has other priorities."

　　I'd expected her to get angry, but she didn't.

　　I sighed. "I'm sorry, Lydia. I didn't mean to say that to you."

　　She smiled. "I know… you're just stressed and when someone is in love, they lose all their senses."

　　Her statement made me laugh and I hit her playfully on her shoulder. "But I'm genuinely sorry about what I said."

　　She brushed off my concerns with a dismissive wave. "I know. We've been best friends for so many years and I know you."

　　With that, we got into the car and shortly after, I was at the house. Lucas's car was parked outside, so I knew he was around.

　　As I walked to the front door, my hands became clammy with sweat. I had no idea how I was going to confront him.

　　A part of me was scared of the truth.

　　I had no idea what I would do if it turned out that Lucas was actually the problem but he had been lying to me all these years.

　　Letting out a deep exhale, I pushed the door open and walked straight to our bedroom.

　　But just as I was about to open the door, he beat me to it. The door swung open and my mouth dropped when I saw that he was with a woman. In our matrimonial bedroom.

　　Her hair was scattered. He wasn't wearing a shirt. I didn't need anybody to tell me what had just happened.

　　That was the height of it all.

　　Without thinking, my fist connected with his jaw and he stumbled backward.