The sterile scent of the hospital was what finally dragged me back, but the grotesque scene from that midnight still clung to my mind like a phantom limb. Three months pregnant, I’d been jolted awake by a searing cramp in my abdomen, only to find the bed beside me cold and empty. Was he, Adam, working late again? I clung to the wall, dragging myself to the next room, hoping to find my live-in “mother-in-law” for help. The door was unlocked, a gentle push all it took to open it – and my blood ran ice cold. Adam’s arm was draped beneath the woman’s head, their bodies spooned together, sound asleep. The agonizing twist in my stomach combined with the horror unfolding before my eyes sent me spiraling into unconsciousness. When I next opened my eyes, I was in a hospital bed. The more I thought about it, the more wrong it felt. My hands shaking, I dialed Mr. Roberts, Adam’s father, who lived in the countryside. When I mentioned “my mother-in-law,” Mr. Roberts’ voice on the other end was laced with confusion: “Mother-in-law? Adam’s mother?” “Adam’s biological mother passed away when he was ten, honey. Where did you get a mother-in-law from?” Mr. Roberts’ words hit me like a thunderclap, sending shivers down my spine. 1 My hands began to tremble uncontrollably, barely gripping my phone. Adam’s mother died when he was ten. So who was the woman who’d lived in my house for three years, the woman I’d called “mother-in-law” for three whole years? My phone was on speaker, so my parents, sitting beside me, heard Mr. Roberts’ words too. Seeing me frozen, my dad snatched the phone. “Mr. Roberts, are you certain?” “Adam’s mother passed away twenty years ago?” Mr. Roberts’ voice still held a hint of amusement, as if he’d heard a ridiculous joke. “My dear man, what kind of talk is that? She was my wife, Adam’s birth mother. You think I wouldn’t know if she was alive or dead?” Dad’s face was beet red, he was about to say more, but I grabbed the phone back. “Okay, Dad, I understand.” After hanging up, I sat on the hospital bed, unmoving, tears streaming down my face. Mr. Roberts’ words confirmed my suspicions. The so-called “mother-in-law” living in our home was absolutely not Adam Roberts’ mother! Seeing my tears, Mom frantically tried to comfort me, but couldn’t help tearing up herself. “Aurora, please don’t cry. You just lost your baby, and you’re in your postpartum recovery. You absolutely mustn’t cry. You’re so young, what if you damage your eyes?” Dad’s face was livid with rage. “That scoundrel! That absolute scoundrel!” “Don’t worry, Dad won’t let him off easy. I’ll make sure he gives you answers!” I fiercely wiped away my tears, looking up at my parents. “Dad, Mom, trust me this once.” “I want to handle this myself.” No sooner had I spoken than Adam and my so-called “mother-in-law,” Elaine Walker, pushed open the hospital room door. The moment he entered, Adam rushed to the bedside, his face etched with anxiety. “Aurora, please let me explain. It’s really not what you think. Last night, my mom wasn’t feeling well, her back was aching terribly. I was just helping her with a back rub. It got late, and I accidentally fell asleep in her room. You truly misunderstood.” Before I could even speak, Dad couldn’t restrain himself and was about to curse him out. I shot Dad a look, and he reluctantly held back his fury, though his tone was still stiff. “You’re thirty years old! Don’t you know the basic decency of a grown child keeping their distance from their parents? Adam! You caused the death of your own child, you’re an animal!” Adam hung his head low, unable to meet my father’s gaze. Elaine, seeing this, looked heartbroken, but knowing they were in the wrong, she dared not quarrel with my parents. “My dear in-laws, please don’t say such things. It’s all my fault, I didn’t raise him well. Don’t worry, I’ll be more careful from now on, this kind of situation definitely won’t happen again.” Mom was about to speak, but I gently squeezed her hand. 2 “Mom, let it go.” Hearing my words, Adam looked up, his face brightening with surprise. “Aurora, you forgive me?” My parents looked indignant, but remembering my earlier instruction, they ultimately kept silent. I landed two sharp slaps across Adam’s face. “This slap, that’s for me!” “This one, that’s for our baby!” Elaine’s face was a mask of pain, but she bit her lip, not daring to step forward. They were clearly in the wrong, so they couldn’t say much. What exactly was going on between him and Elaine? I absolutely needed to find out. Though I couldn't push for a divorce just yet, I wasn't going to swallow this insult. Three days later, I was discharged from the hospital. Despite my parents’ worry, I declined to recover at their house and went back home with Adam and Elaine. Shortly after we arrived, Adam, who hadn’t been to work for three days, rushed off to the office. Elaine also grabbed her grocery basket and headed to the supermarket. Seizing the opportunity while they were both out, I made my way into Elaine’s room. Before, I always believed in maintaining boundaries between in-laws, so I’d never entered her room. But my gut told me there was something I needed to find in there. Sure enough, in the bottom drawer of her wardrobe, I found a stack of photographs. The subject of almost every photo was Elaine. There were pictures of her wearing an apron, cooking in the kitchen; watering plants on the balcony; wiping tables in the living room. And even some intimate ones, utterly inappropriate, taken in a bedroom. These photos clearly suggested a relationship far beyond a normal mother-son bond. Besides the photos, I discovered numerous love letters, all written by Adam to Elaine. Adam was thirty now, and judging by the dates, they had been together for twelve years. At that time, Adam was eighteen. And Elaine was already thirty-nine. I steadied myself, took photos of all the pictures and letters, then carefully put everything back exactly as I’d found it. After I finished, I returned to my room, tears silently falling. Though I had suspected it all along, seeing the truth laid bare was utterly sickening. It all made sense now. Everything clicked. When we first met five years ago, Adam told me his parents were divorced, that he was from a single-parent home, and had grown up with his mother. Two years later, we decided to get married. But when it came time for our families to meet, Adam told me his parents had a bad relationship after the divorce, so we’d have to meet them separately. Before I met his father, he even warned me not to mention his mother. Elaine didn’t even attend our wedding. My parents and I didn’t understand, but we just assumed the divorce had been messy and painful. Fearing we’d stir up old wounds for Adam and his dad, we didn’t press for details. After we married, Adam’s father stayed mostly in the countryside and never once encountered Elaine. Looking back, from the beginning of our relationship until now, Adam had already brought Elaine into my life under the guise of being his mother, and she had lived with us for three years. The thought of it made my stomach churn, and I leaned over the bed, dry-heaving. At dinnertime, Elaine brought a bowl of chicken noodle soup into my room. She placed the soup on the bedside table. “Aurora, the chicken noodle soup is fresh, have some to tide you over. Dinner will be ready soon.” I glanced at the soup, a layer of grease floating on top. “Too oily.” Three minutes later, Elaine returned with a fresh bowl of soup. 3 I took a sip, then set it down. “Too bland.” A little while later, Elaine came in with another new bowl of soup. I didn’t even look at it. “I don’t want chicken noodle soup anymore.” “Go buy a fresh salmon, I want salmon chowder.” Elaine bit her lower lip, looking as if she’d suffered a tremendous injustice. After a moment, she seemed to compose herself, forcing a weak smile. “Alright, I’ll go get it right away.” Adam didn’t return until dusk. Perhaps Elaine had spoken to him, because the moment he entered the room, Adam sat beside me, his face etched with exhaustion. “Aurora, my mom is getting old, please don’t make her run around so much…” Adam’s words were cut short by a sharp slap across his face. “I’m making her run around?” “Adam! Whose fault is it that I lost our baby?” “I just wanted some salmon chowder. Is that a capital crime?” Adam stared at me for a long time, but ultimately said nothing, rising and leaving the room. I watched Adam’s retreating back, pondering deeply. Why? Why could Elaine stand by and watch Adam marry someone else? Why would Adam risk everything to give Elaine a fake identity, just so she could live under the same roof as us? If their love was so profound, why did he need to marry me? A million questions swirled in my mind. But I knew it wasn't the right time yet. For the next week, I tormented Elaine relentlessly. I complained that her cooking was terrible, that she didn’t wash clothes properly, that her loud movements around the house disturbed my rest. Finally, one midnight, thinking I was asleep, I heard Adam open Elaine’s bedroom door. Barefoot, I crept to Elaine’s door and pressed my ear against it. Elaine’s voice sounded tearful and resentful. “Maybe we should find someone else, Aurora is absolutely driving me insane these past few days.” “She finally got pregnant after three years of marriage, and now the baby’s gone. Who knows if she’ll ever get pregnant again?” “If that’s the case, we might as well get someone younger, maybe she’ll conceive faster.” Adam seemed to hesitate, and then, after a long moment, he spoke. “But her work performance is outstanding, she’s practically secured all the company’s current contracts.” “And besides, she just lost a baby. If I brought up divorce now, she definitely wouldn’t handle it well.” “Alright, Elaine, just bear with it a little longer. Once she recovers and gives birth, I’ll divorce her. Then we’ll be a proper family, the three of us, and no one will ever make you suffer again.” Elaine’s voice was choked with emotion. “Okay then, once she’s recovered, you need to get her pregnant quickly, and I’ll cook her more nourishing soups.” “Adam, you have to understand, if I weren’t too old to have children, why would I have put up with this for so many years?” “I’m doing all of this for you, for the Roberts family to carry on its lineage. If you ever betray me, I swear I won’t forgive you.” Soon, the room filled with intimate sounds. I staggered back to my room. The moment I closed the door, I couldn’t hold myself up any longer and slid down the wood, collapsing onto the floor. So, to them, my only purpose was to be a baby-making machine. From the very first day of our marriage, Elaine would constantly make me various nourishing soups, and the topic of having children was always on her lips. Though it made me uncomfortable, I just assumed it was an old “mother-in-law” who yearned for grandchildren.
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