He Wanted My Baby to Save His Mistress

Synopsis

Emily never imagined that the man who made her soup every day, rubbed her shoulders after work, and whispered, "Emily, the luckiest thing that ever happened to me was marrying you," would sneak into the bathroom after she fell asleep and poke holes in their condoms one by one with a sewing needle. At two o'clock one morning, Emily woke up needing to use the bathroom. She rolled over and realized Frank wasn't beside her. The bathroom door was slightly ajar, a thin strip of light spilling into the dark hallway. Barefoot, she walked toward it. Just as she reached for the door, she heard a faint sound from inside. A needle piercing rubber. It was soft, precise, and rhythmic. It was like something he had done many times before. Emily peered through the crack. Frank was crouched beside the toilet. In one hand, he held a condom. In the other, a sewing needle. Calmly and carefully, he pierced the same spot over and over, then held it up to the light to make sure the holes were nearly invisible before placing it back in the box. There were five more left. He picked up the next one and continued. Emily dug her nails into the doorframe. She didn't move. When Frank finished the last condom, he closed the box, returned it to the second drawer of the vanity, and pulled out his phone. Keeping his voice low, he made a call. "Sophia, the doctor says she'll be ovulating around the middle of the month. She should get pregnant soon." Emily couldn't make out the response on the other end. Frank's voice softened. "Don't worry. There's a good chance the baby's cord blood will be a match. And even if it isn't enough, we can use bone marrow once the child is older. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He paused for a moment. Then he said, "She'll never figure it out. She doesn't have a clue."