I Married Her Sworn Enemy

The staff member handed the marriage certificate back to me. "Mr. Evans, this marriage certificate is a forgery. According to our records, Mrs. Fielder's spouse is Marcus Brown. They have a six-year-old son together." The words on the certificate blurred before my aching eyes. I held my daughter tightly in my arms as my ears rang. A second later, my phone vibrated. A message had arrived from Marcus, Natalie's assistant and her legal husband. Marcus: [Matthew, my wife is at our son's parent-teacher conference. She doesn't have time to register your illegitimate daughter.] I clutched my phone and stared at the message until tears blurred my vision. So I was the other man all along. The grand wedding we'd once held, the years we'd spent inseparable, the marriage I'd been so proud of... None of it had been real. On the way home, I called the woman Natalie hated most, her sworn enemy. "I'm single now. If you're still willing, I'll marry you in seven days," I said. Chapter 1 When I walked out of the police station, my steps felt unsteady, as if I were walking on cotton. My phone vibrated again. Natalie had sent me a message. Natalie: [Honey, I'm finally done with my postpartum recovery today. Can you come pick me up later?] The word "Honey" almost made me laugh. Throughout all the years we'd been married, Natalie had called me that every day. She always told me when she went out and hugged me whenever she came home. All those thoughtful gestures and little displays of affection now felt like layers upon layers of bitter irony. Most wealthy couples had their own agendas, but I'd once believed Natalie was the exception. The incident that had left the deepest impression on me happened during one of my physicals. A nurse had accidentally handed me the wrong report and told me I had kidney failure. Natalie's eyes reddened on the spot. She grabbed the doctor by the coat and screamed, "Take my kidney and give it to him! Take both of them if you have to! If he's gone, I won't live either!" Later, when they discovered the reports had been mixed up, this pampered heiress had crouched in the hospital hallway and cried like a child. People around me had always warned me that as Natalie's business grew, there would inevitably be men who developed feelings for her. But she'd treated me so well that I'd never been able to bring myself to doubt her. So why did it have to be Marcus? Natalie had once looked down on him more than anyone. He used to be Fielder family's personal driver, and once, he'd deliberately tried to seduce her. She hadn't even spared him a glance. "I'll only ever love Matthew. Don't let a piece of trash like you show your face in front of me again." Marcus had packed his things and left that very day. Later, when Natalie hired him as her personal assistant, she explained, "Matthew, after he lost his job, his creditors were going to sell him to some criminal operation overseas. I figured I'd do a good deed and pray for blessings for our future baby." I had believed her then. But now that I thought about it, she'd spent an entire year overseas on a business trip before we got married. Maybe that was when she'd secretly had a child with Marcus. I sat in the car with a dull ache cutting through my chest, then drove home in a daze. … That night, I pretended nothing had happened and went to the postpartum recovery center to pick Natalie up. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw me. "Honey, was it tiring taking care of our baby today?" I casually shifted away from her. "About registering our daughter's birth—" "I'll take care of it another day. Don't worry about it!" Natalie's tone abruptly turned stern. When she noticed my expression, she immediately softened her voice. "Honey, we haven't really had a chance to be intimate. Tonight..." Chapter 2 My stomach churned. I was about to speak when Natalie's phone suddenly rang. She gave me a guilty glance before answering. When she hung up, anxiety filled her voice. "There's an emergency at the company. I need to go in." I didn't call her out. I watched her leave, then quietly followed her in my car. … Natalie's car slowly pulled up outside a secluded villa. A few minutes later, Marcus climbed into the passenger seat. The car soon began rocking violently, making it painfully obvious what was happening inside. I opened the spy app on my phone. How ironic. I'd installed it because I was afraid something might happen to her while she was out socializing. Now, it had become a tool for catching her cheating. Natalie's voice came through the phone. "Good thing you lied and said little Ryan had a fever to get me here. Otherwise, I'd have to keep pretending in front of him at home tonight. "Your abs feel so different. Just looking at Matthew's body makes me sick." Marcus thrust harder. "Then don't go home tonight." The car wasn't enough for them. Before long, Marcus carried Natalie into the villa. I sat motionless in my car all night, unable to understand how the woman who had once claimed she loved me more than life itself could have become like this. On the way home, I called Natalie's sworn enemy. "I'm still single. If you're still willing, I'll marry you in seven days." … Early the next morning, I went to the company to take stock of my shares and projects at the Fielder Group. There, I discovered that the Guardian Project, which I'd been in charge of, had been transferred to Marcus' name. It was the smart bionic prosthetic limb development project Dad had cared about most while he was alive. While Natalie was pregnant, I'd spent months caring for her day and night while forcing myself to keep the project moving forward. I had only allowed myself to ease up after the project was finally on track, shortly before Natalie gave birth. I never expected her to strip me of my authority the moment she finished her postpartum recovery. I went straight to the CEO's office. Marcus hurried over and blocked my path. "Without Ms. Fielder's permission, you can't go in!" I held up the documents proving that Marcus had cut corners and used inferior materials in the project's products. "What you've done may constitute a criminal offense. I'm calling the police." The moment I finished speaking, a small figure suddenly slammed into me. "You bad guy! Don't bully my daddy! Mommy, hurry up and beat him to death!" It was Ryan, with Natalie right behind him. The impact knocked the breath out of me, and my face instantly went pale. Marcus hurriedly pulled Ryan to his side and pretended to scold him, "Ryan, that's very rude. Apologize to him!" Before I could say anything, Natalie spoke first. "Don't scold him. Take him home. I'll explain everything to Matthew." I stared straight into Natalie's eyes. "Explain what? Why he calls you Mommy?" Natalie reached out as if she wanted to touch my hair. "I-I have to go on a business trip for a few days. When I get back, I'll—" I couldn't be bothered with the pair of cheaters anymore. I turned and walked straight out of the company. … After I got home, I finished taking stock of the resources and shares under my name, then immediately booked a flight to Hartford for three days later. Suddenly, a heart-wrenching cry came from the nursery. I rushed into the room and found several razor cuts across Lily's leg. I frantically scooped her into my arms and rushed her to the hospital. … The doctor held up the report, his expression grave. "She has a blood-clotting disorder. She needs a blood transfusion immediately." My lips trembled. "Doctor, take mine! I'm her father..." "Parents can't directly donate blood to their children. Your daughter has Rh-negative blood. We need to check the blood bank's inventory first," the doctor said. Chapter 3 A few minutes later, a nurse hurried in. "Mr. Evans, Ms. Fielder's son urgently needs a blood transfusion. Since she's one of our major shareholders, all the Rh-negative blood in the blood bank has been sent to the VIP ward." Her words struck me like a bolt from the blue and shattered the last shred of reason I had left. I handed Lily to the nurse, spun around, and sprinted straight for the VIP ward on the top floor. I kicked open the door to find Marcus sitting beside the bed, playing a game with Ryan. The scrape on the boy's knee was so tiny that it didn't even need a Band-Aid. The sight felt like an ice-cold blade plunging straight into my heart. Hatred surged through my chest and nearly consumed me. I couldn't stop myself from screaming, "Give that blood to my daughter!" Marcus jumped at the sight of me. When he saw me about to charge forward, he frantically stamped his feet. "Security! There's a lunatic in here! Get him out!" The security guards rushed over and dragged me from the room. The fury burning in my chest threatened to tear through my throat. "There was enough blood in the hospital! He's the one refusing to give it up! I'm calling Natalie right now!" The commotion caught the attention of the hospital director, Leonard Miller. His brows immediately furrowed. "Which one of you is Ms. Fielder's husband?" he asked. Marcus immediately held up his phone and showed Leonard a digital copy of the marriage certificate. "Look carefully! I'm Natalie's husband. Our marriage is legally registered with the county! Ryan is her biological son!" He shot me a venomous sideways glance. "That bastard's daughter is nothing but a little bastard." My heart twisted in agony. The thought of Lily's pale little face in the emergency room drove me to my knees in front of Marcus. "I'm begging you. Please save my daughter..." Marcus didn't even bother to look at me. He leisurely pulled up Natalie's number and called her. The moment she answered, I screamed into the phone, "Natalie! Lily was cut, and she has a blood-clotting disorder. She needs a transfusion immediately! If she doesn't get one, she's really going to die!" A brief silence followed before Natalie's impatient voice came through. "Matthew, I'm the one who had the blood sent to Ryan. Stop making a scene. "How could a newborn have a blood-clotting disorder? Are you really going to curse a baby that small?" Tears streamed down my face. "Your own flesh and blood is about to die! Do you even understand what I'm saying?!" Leonard suddenly leaned closer to the phone, his tone ingratiating. "Ms. Fielder, this man keeps insisting that he's your husband..." Natalie's voice turned icy. "My husband is Marcus. He's taking care of my son, Ryan. I... don't have a daughter." Everyone looked at me with even greater contempt, as though I were some lunatic. Marcus suddenly let out a cold laugh. Right in front of me, he slammed the bag of blood onto the floor. "You think that bastard you picked up off the street deserves blood like this?" He ground his heel into the spilled blood, each word dripping with venom. "I'd rather pour it out and feed it to a dog than give it to you." At that moment, it felt as though someone had crushed my heart in their fist. Even breathing hurt. I staggered back to Lily's hospital room, my tears falling onto her pale little face like beads from a broken string. Just as despair began to swallow me whole, my phone screen lit up. Marcus had posted on social media again. The photo showed the 7,000 dollars Natalie had just transferred to him, along with the note: [Take good care of our son.] I stared at the picture as every drop of blood in my body seemed to turn cold. In my arms, the little girl's breathing grew weaker by the second. Just then, a clear, deep male voice came from the doorway. Chapter 4 "Hi. I have Rh-negative blood. I can donate to your daughter." … Thankfully, the blood donated by that kind stranger saved Lily's life. How ironic. Her biological mother wouldn't give her a single drop of blood. Yet a complete stranger who didn't even know us donated his blood, then left without so much as a way to contact him. After I got home, the nanny showed me several sharp pieces of utility blades. "Sir, I found these tucked into the folds of the baby's velvet bedsheets." My mind went completely blank. Natalie had asked Marcus, her assistant, to buy the crib while she was recovering from childbirth. A chill crawled up my spine, and my entire body went cold. Did Marcus want to kill Lily? Did Natalie know? And even if she did, would she stand up for her own daughter? I held Lily in my arms and closed my eyes, then whispered, "Don't be afraid, Lily." Thankfully, I only had two days left. Then I could take my daughter and escape to a new life. … When Natalie returned from her business trip, she immediately started berating me. "Matthew, you're being completely unreasonable!" She glanced at the sleeping baby in my arms, and her frown deepened. "You actually dragged our daughter into this mess. You've really disappointed me—" "Natalie, we're done," I cut in coldly. Natalie froze. She grabbed my arm tightly. "What do you mean, we're done? We've been together for over a decade! How can you make such a big deal out of something this trivial?" She actually had the nerve to bring up all the years we'd spent together? My heart felt as though a thousand needles were piercing it. "Didn't you say Marcus was your husband and Ryan was your son?" Guilt flashed across Natalie's face, and she turned away. "That was an emergency!" I was about to reveal that we weren't even legally married when her phone suddenly rang. Natalie glanced at the caller ID, tossed out a quick, "Stay home and think about what you've done," and hurried away. The moment the door closed, the tension I'd been holding inside finally snapped. Tears poured down my face. My phone chimed with a notification. The payment for the transfer of my shares had come through. I hurriedly wiped away my tears, and resolve hardened in my eyes. Tomorrow, we'd finally leave this nightmare behind for good. … I spent the entire night erasing every trace of our life there. At daybreak, I carried Lily into the taxi I'd booked. "Take us to the airport." Just as my taut nerves finally began to ease, the pungent smell of ether filled my nose. When I opened my eyes again, the car was parked outside an abandoned factory in the middle of nowhere. Natalie stood with her back to me, talking on the phone with Lily in her arms. She hung up and turned toward me. When she noticed I was awake, her brows drew together. "You're up?" Rough hemp rope had rubbed my wrists raw, leaving angry red marks. I struggled to sit up. "Natalie, what are you trying to do? Let Lily go!" "Ryan's been kidnapped. The kidnappers specifically demanded my biological child. They think Ryan is my only child." "So you're planning to trade Lily for him?" My voice rose sharply. "She isn't even a month old! Have you lost your mind?!" Natalie avoided my gaze. "The kidnappers said they have to see the child in person before they'll release him. Ryan is six. He'll remember this. Being kidnapped will scar him for life. "Lily is still so young. She doesn't understand anything. She won't be traumatized." Her voice remained unnervingly calm. Suddenly, Ryan's heart-wrenching cries rang out from inside the warehouse. "Mommy! I'm scared!" Natalie's expression darkened. She clutched Lily in her arms and started toward the warehouse. I grabbed her ankle with all my strength, my voice hoarse. "She's your biological child too! How can you be this heartless?!" Chapter 5 Natalie looked back at my reddened eyes and let out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry." The next second, a needle suddenly pierced my neck. "When you wake up, I promise... our daughter will be completely unharmed." The drug surged through my system, and my vision flickered in and out before darkness swallowed me completely. … When I opened my eyes again, the sharp smell of disinfectant sent me into a violent coughing fit. Natalie's cool voice came from beside me. "You're awake?" "Lily!" I shot upright and frantically threw off the covers, desperate to get out of bed. Natalie quickly held me down. "Don't panic. The baby is fine." I shoved her away. "Get lost!" Her expression darkened. "I know you're still angry, but the situation was urgent when Ryan was kidnapped. I didn't have a choice—" "So you had no choice but to sacrifice my daughter? Get lost! I never want to see you again!" Impatience crept into Natalie's voice. "You've become so unpredictable lately. Fine, I'll leave. Call me when you've calmed down and thought things through." She slammed the door behind her and left me alone in the silent room. Before I could recover, Marcus pushed open the door and walked in with a confident smile. "Your daughter is in the nursery. As long as you stop showing up in front of Natalie, I'll let you take her with you." I looked up at him. "You staged your son's kidnapping, didn't you?" Marcus raised an eyebrow and made no attempt to deny it. "Smart. I just wanted you to see that, in her heart, Ryan and I are her real family." I said nothing more. When the nurse brought Lily to me, I finally couldn't hold back my tears. Marcus watched me for a moment, then sighed. "I used to think she loved you too. The first time between us was an accident. She avoided me for more than six months until she realized she was pregnant and contacted me. "But people's hearts change. Maybe she loved you once, but now she loves me. "I know you look down on me, but if you were in my position, you might not be any nobler than I am." I curled my lips, unwilling to waste my breath arguing with him. … Before I left, I returned to the company and conducted one final review of the Guardian Project's production records. I compiled the evidence that Marcus had secretly replaced our suppliers with cheaper alternatives and pocketed the difference, then stored everything in an encrypted file. Thankfully, every detail had been documented. The traps he'd laid for himself would blow up sooner or later. I couldn't wait to see whether Natalie could still protect this greedy "husband" of hers when that day came. … Once Lily and I boarded the plane, I sent a message to Natalie's sworn enemy. [Sorry for the delay. I'm on my way.] The reply came instantly. [I'd wait as long as it takes.] My nose stung. Just then, I happened to see another of Marcus' social media posts. In the photo, Ryan wore a birthday hat while Natalie and Marcus kissed his cheeks from either side. The caption read: [Our little birthday boy is seven! Mommy and Daddy will always love you.] The next second, a message from Natalie popped up. Natalie: [Matthew, something urgent came up at the company. I'll register our daughter's birth as soon as I get back. I will always love you.] I let out a mocking laugh and blocked both her and Marcus on every platform. "From now on, our daughter is going to call the person you hate most Mommy. Natalie, you'd better look forward to it," I muttered.