My Oxygen For His Mistress

My husband, Mark, took me and our son, Ethan, on a diving trip.

Ethan's oxygen tank failed.

I immediately took off mine and handed it to Mark so he could swap them out.

But Ethan still drowned.

And I ended up in a coma for six months from oxygen deprivation.

When I finally came to, I overheard Mark talking to his assistant.

"Mr. Lewis, the inheritance beneficiary has been changed. The young master was still breathing when they pulled him from the water. Why did you…?"

Mark's voice was ice cold.

"If I hadn't run into Sarah at the beach that day, I wouldn't have even known we had a child. My inheritance has to go to Jason. That's what I owe them."

"Don't bring this up in Amy's room again. She can't find out I used her oxygen tank to save Sarah."

His assistant glanced nervously at me—still lying motionless in the hospital bed.

"Mr. Lewis, the doctors said there's still a chance Mrs. Lewis could wake up. If she does… how do we explain Jason?"

Mark walked over to me. His cold fingers brushed against my cheek.

His voice was unbearably soft.

"If Amy wakes up, I'll tell her we adopted Jason. That way, she can move past the pain of losing Ethan, and we can still be a happy family of three."

I had to squeeze my eyes shut to keep myself from screaming.

So, in the ocean, he hadn't given my oxygen tank to Ethan at all.

He gave it to his first love, Sarah.

He knew Ethan was still alive when he threw him back into the water to drown.

All to make room for the son he had with Sarah.

This was the man I had loved for seven years.

My life—my son's life—meant nothing next to Sarah.

The injustice of Ethan's death consumed me with rage, and I blacked out again.

When I woke, I grabbed my phone without a second thought.

"Captain, it's me. I'm awake."

"Sign me up for the program. As soon as possible."

Three hours after the doctor called him, Mark rushed into my room.

"Amy… you're finally awake!"

He dropped to his knees beside my bed, his eyes red and swollen.

"You have no idea how hard it was without you. If you hadn't woken up… I was going to join you."

He looked at me with so much emotion, his eyes full of love and relief.

I almost believed him.

But the unfamiliar perfume on his clothes reminded me he'd just come from another woman.

Tears filled my eyes.

"Where's Ethan? Where's our son?"

Mark hesitated, then gripped my hand.

"Amy, please try to stay calm. Even though I gave Ethan the oxygen tank right away, he still… didn't make it."

Seeing my silent tears, he pulled me into a hug.

"Don't cry. We can have more children."

No. We can't.

My heart shattered.

I'd hemorrhaged after giving birth to Ethan. The doctors said I could never have another child.

Mark knew that.

And yet he still killed the only child I'd risked my life to have.

How could he be so cruel? He was Ethan's father.

Mark stayed by my side all night, comforting me.

As if nothing had happened. As if we were still the happy couple we used to be.

He left just before dawn.

"Amy, get some rest. I'll come back after work."

I didn't say a word. As soon as he was gone, I opened the security camera app on my phone.

Sarah was waiting for him in the living room.

"Mark, you're back! Is Amy awake?"

Mark nodded. Something dark flickered in Sarah's eyes before she smiled sweetly.

"That's good. Now that she's awake, I should probably go. This is your home, after all."

Mark stopped her immediately.

"Sarah, don't be ridiculous."

"I promised you a home back in high school. Even though I'm married now, my home is your home. And besides, Jason is our son. I would never leave you two with nowhere to go."

Sarah put on her best fragile, innocent act.

"But what if Amy comes back?"

"She's an orphan. She's used to adapting."

Mark showed no remorse. He took Sarah's hand.

"You've suffered enough, raising Jason on your own all these years. Just stay."

Watching them gaze lovingly at each other, I felt my heart break all over again.

I rewound the footage to six months earlier.

I found out Sarah and her son had moved into our house the day after Ethan and I had our accident.

My son was gone, and he was embracing another woman's child.

He didn't deserve to be a father.

As soon as the sun came up, I ignored the doctor's orders and took a cab home.

The first thing I noticed was that our family photo was gone.

Not just that—the whole house felt like it had a new woman in charge.

Fluffy bunny slippers by the door, pink covers on the doorknobs, even the placemats were pink.

But I clearly remembered Mark hating pink.

When we decorated, he refused to have anything pink in the house. He insisted on black, white, and gray.

He said pink was tacky.

So why was it everywhere now?

"Amy? What are you doing home from the hospital?"

Mark, still in his pajamas, looked shocked to see me.

"I'm here to get some clothes."

I headed straight for the bedroom.

Mark tried to stop me, but the door opened.

"You must be Mark's wife."

Sarah stood there wearing a silky nightgown, smiling sweetly at me.