He Left Postpartum Me to Travel; I Remarried, He Broke

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Fresh out of the delivery room, Joshua Gilbert had already packed his bags for the highlands.

I braced my weak body to stop him, wanting him to look at his son.

But his female friend, Ivy Pruitt, stepped between us: His wife, Joshua's only twenty-two. He's at the age where he wants to have fun.

You're a full six years older than him, so you have to be more patient and wait for him to grow up.

She smiled and winked. "And don't go saying you can see the future again. Last time you said his speeding would end in a crash, and nothing happened, did it?"

Joshua said nothing, only kept having the family look after me.

I stopped arguing.

A few days later, he suddenly called and said he wanted to make a detour to chase the aurora.

The next second, an image flashed through my mind of him dying on the ice.

Just as I was about to urge him to come back, Ivy's coaxing voice cut in from the other end: "Joshua, my bra strap just snapped, come help me!"

He promised in a rush, "I'll be back before our son's one-month mark."

I looked at Joshua's older brother, who was skillfully mixing formula for my son.

I shook my head and said there was no need.

After all, the baby was still so small. Give him a different father and he'd adjust fast enough.

......

"You're still in your confinement. Don't say things out of anger."

Joshua softened his voice. "When I get back, I'll focus completely on taking care of our family..."

Ivy cut in with a coy whine.

"I asked you to help fasten my bra, what are your hands doing groping around!"

Then she clicked her tongue.

And laughed, "After all these years, you still can't get my figure out of your head?"

"Well, no wonderwith your wife's dried-up flat chest, you've practically been bottled up into a Platonic saint, haven't you?"

The moment she finished, a wave of laughter came from the other end of the line.

My palm tightened around the phone. I forced down the anger rising in me and was about to hang up.

Ivy suddenly grabbed the phone, feigning ease as she explained, "His wife, don't read too much into it."

"Just some jokes between friends."

Seeing me stay silent, she sighed again. "I know you hate me, that you think I'm a homewrecker playing innocent."

"But listen, Joshua just graduated from college and you already tied him down with marriage. I really couldn't stand watching it, so I made him come chase the aurora with me, to give him some room to breathe."

"Whose fault is it that your health is so poor you had to go and have a baby right at this moment?"

Every word of Ivy's was an insult, and yet Joshua didn't say a thing.

Ever since we came home after the wedding, he'd been extraordinarily forgiving toward Ivy.

All my crying and fussing ever got me was one apology after another.

But the next time he did it again, he stayed just as silent.

Thinking of that, I drew a deep breath and calmly parted my lips. "Joshua, if you're going, then don't come back."

And with that, I hung up.

I took the formula Joshua's older brother, Rod, had mixed to exactly the right temperature.

As I fed the baby, he looked down at me.

He spoke quietly, to comfort me. "I'll have someone bring him back right now."

I shook my head and lifted my eyes slightly.

After a long moment, as if something had come over me, I asked, "Rod... if I said I wanted to register Mason's guardianship under your name."

"Would that be okay?"

Rod's pupils tightened, as if he hadn't heard right, and he asked me to say it again.

I pressed my lips together. "Never mind, just take it as me talking nonsense."

"I'm willing!"

Seeing me freeze, he suddenly caught my wrist. "What I mean is... no matter what you choose, Mason is of Gilbert blood."

The arms holding Mason gave a faint tremble, and I hummed in reply.

He didn't go on.

Instead he reached out and took Mason, who had finished his milk, holding him upright against his shoulder and patting his back with practiced ease.

He looked at me and said softly, "Get some sleep. I'll take care of the baby."

Watching his back as he left, I slowly closed my eyes.

Then all at once, the group chat that belonged only to the wealthy circle blew up with messages tagging me.

His wife, if you don't show up soon, Ivy and Joshua are going to be tongue-kissing!

I unlocked my phone and sent: ?

The next second, Ivy's message popped up: Don't listen to their nonsense, we're just playing a game.

Joshua just said you were definitely angry, so to prove it the guys in the chat teased you to draw you out.

So, don't tell me you're really angry again?

Even through the screen, I could feel Ivy gloating.

At first, I couldn't stand their relationship at all.

It often blew up into ugly scenes.

Every one of his friends said I wasn't just older, I had a worse temper too.

But Joshua, instead, gave in to me every single time, acting like it had to be me and no one else.

I rubbed my aching temples and tapped out: Not angry. Have fun.

The moment the message went out, the group chat exploded.

Joshua fired off several question marks, demanding an answer.

I just switched off my phone, pulled the blanket over my head, and went to sleep.

But Joshua wouldn't let it go. When he couldn't get through to me, he called the housekeeper.

His first words were a complaint. "What did you mean by all that?"

"Lily Henson, so I didn't stay with you through your confinementbut those ten months you were pregnant, was there a single day I wasn't right there by your side?"

"Do you really have to pick a fight with me and make me lose face?"

I closed my eyes wearily. "Then what do you want me to do?"

"Cry and scream? Or tell you... that you'll die on the road chasing the aurora, to force you to come home?"

He choked, then suddenly said in a low voice, "Ivy's right. I never should have lost my head and married you."

The moment the words were out, even he froze.

Before the tears could fall, a slender hand gently covered the screen.

Rod took the phone away and hung up in the same motion. "Something like this isn't worth crying over."

Through the busy tone of the disconnected call.

Joshua's messages came bombarding in, demanding answers: Lily Henson, who's the man next to you!

I ignored it and simply blocked him.

But that night, his social feed was full of videos of him and Ivy passionately tongue-kissing amid all the egging-on.

Ivy tagged me in the comments underneath: His wife, it's just a game.

Joshua was drunk too.

Drunk?

Joshua is allergic to alcohol. How could he possibly have been drinking?

After a moment of silence, I forwarded those videos to the Gilbert family group chat.

Then I edited a photo of Rod's back as he mixed formula.

I posted it to my feed with the caption: A dependable dad.

When I woke early the next morning.

The chat was even quieter than I'd expected.

Looking at the downpour outside the window, I was about to message Rod and tell him not to come today.

The next second came the sound of the door lock being keyed open.

Holding Mason, I reached out and pulled down the towel, handing it over out of habit.

But once I saw the man's face clearly, my smile froze in an instant. "Why is it you?"

Joshua Gilbert's face darkened.

His voice tinged with anger. "If it wasn't me, then who? Some wild man you've got hidden in the house?"

"Lily Henson, are you really that lonely and starved?"

I glared at him furiously, my raised arm reaching him just as it touched his rain-soaked body.

And in the end, I softened.

I didn't hit him.

"That post online was just to make you angry"

"Hi, we meet again, sister-in-law!" Ivy Pruitt peeked out from behind Joshua.

She waved and smiled at me, then patted his shoulder.

Shaking her head helplessly. "Joshua's really too much. I just had a bad stomachache."

"He insisted on dragging me onto the next flight back, said this illness of mine only gets better if I eat the porridge he cooks himself."

Slowly I tightened my grip on my son and stood blocking the doorway.

I watched the two of them in silence, then spoke. "My son gets shy around strangers, so I won't be inviting you in."

"Joshua." As I said it, I lifted my eyes to him. "For the sake of the four years between us, let me give you one more word of advice."

"Don't go to the Arctic. If you do, you'll die out there chasing the aurora."

I closed my eyes, and the image of him dying flashed through my mind again.

When I finished, Joshua pressed his lips into a tight line.

Beside me, Ivy suddenly doubled over laughing and yanked the towel out of my hand.

Wiping the rain off herself, she strolled right in as if no one else were there. "Joshua, your wife's scaring us again."

"Let me guess where sister-in-law's hidden her lover?"

And with that, Ivy started rummaging through everything.

I stared at Joshua, forcing a bitter smile. "So you're just going to let her humiliate me."

"If you had nothing to hide, you wouldn't be afraid."

Tossing that off, he walked straight into the kitchen and caught sight of the baby food I'd prepared on the counter.

He casually moved it aside, and I was about to step forward to stop him.

With a bang, Ivy shoved me out of the way, and my son, still in my arms, hit the door frame.

Hearing my cry of pain, Joshua instinctively reached to steady me.

Ivy cut in sharply. "Look what I found."

"A man's coatand this size, Joshua, it definitely isn't yours."

"Lily Henson, I want an explanation!" Joshua gripped the unfamiliar coat tightly and demanded through gritted teeth.

Seeing that I stayed silent.

The air around him dropped cold. "Who exactly is that man?!"

Slap!

"Have you had enough?!"

My raised arm trembled, and I fought down the stinging in my eyes.

I pulled up the video of him kissing Ivy passionately the night before and shoved it in his face. "And you? What were you doing?"

"Joshua."

I drew a deep breath and looked at him. "If you really regret it, then I'll let you go."

"It's not like we ever registered the marriage anyway."

When I said it, Ivy's hand tightened faintly around Joshua's arm.

In the middle of the standoff, a strange noise came from upstairs.

As if he'd finally caught me in the wrong, Joshua bolted up the stairs.

"That video was just a trick of the camera angle."

"Today I'm going to drag that wild man outbig brother, it's you?!"

He didn't get to finish.

Joshua stared at the sleepy-eyed man in front of him, wearing his brand-new pajamas, and the color drained from his face.

Rod Gilbert brushed past him and came toward me.

He easily took my son from my arms, the boy crying in fright, and patted him gently back to sleep.

Fixing his eyes on Joshua, he spoke coldly. "Now that you're back, take proper care of your wife and child."

"Haven't you heard that a woman in postpartum confinement is the easiest one to steal away?"

Then Rod turned his gaze to Ivy.

His voice was like ice. "The Gilbert family doesn't welcome women who throw themselves around like whores."

"Joshua, what is your brother trying to say!"

Ivy's eyes went red, thinking he'd back her up the way he always had before.

But Joshua only glanced at her, then immediately snatched the bottle out of Rod's hand to go make the formula.

He took two steps, then turned back and caught hold of my hand.

You could tell he'd panicked.

Seeing this, Ivy stamped her feet in fury, then shamelessly planted herself in the downstairs guest room anyway.

"Sweetheart, from now on, don't trouble my brother with looking after you."

I gave a small hum.

Halfway through mixing the formula, Ivy suddenly collapsed in front of the guest room door, clutching her stomach.

When I saw him drop the bottle without a second's hesitation and run to Ivy.

That bit of warmth that had risen in me was scattered completely.

I stared at the message from the relevant department pressing me to complete the guardianship registration, and hesitated for only a second.

Then, with my own hand, I struck Joshua Gilbert's name from the line marked "Father."

I happened to be practicing yoga when Joshua came upstairs.

He frowned when he saw that I'd set our son aside.

Reflexively, he scolded, "Why do you only think about yourself? Our son is still little. This is exactly when he needs someone."

I didn't even lift my eyelids. I took a deep breath and steadied myself.

Seeing him step forward, the postpartum nurse quickly cut in. "Mr. Gilbert, I've got the little one covered."

"During confinement, a new mother's physical and mental health matter just as much."

"And normally it's Mr. Gilbert... that is, your older brother, who takes care of the baby. Your wife at most just plays with him a little; mostly she focuses on her own postpartum recovery."

When she finished, Joshua's face went from pale to red and back again.

See? Even he knew it. He hadn't lived up to his responsibilities as a father.

But when he opened his mouth, it was still to accuse me, trying to pin some fault on me that way, so he could ease his own unease.

He stood there stunned for a moment, then stiffly picked up his son.

A few minutes later, Joshua ran out of patience.

Seeing how relaxed and carefree I looked, he was about to speak when Rod brought out the postpartum recovery meal he had made himself.

He said gently, "Now that Joshua's back, I won't be coming anymore."

"I've written down all the recipes. Joshua just has to follow them."

Seeing him about to leave, I finally opened my eyes.

Unhurried, I said, "You should stay after all, Rod."

"Once Ivy recovers, Joshua will be off chasing the aurora again. Where would he find the time to look after me and the baby?"

Joshua's eyes darted away.

He pressed his lips together, then forced the words out. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Suit yourself."

In the past, I would have cried and made a scene without end.

But after everything that had happened, I suddenly realized I wasn't a child anymore.

Four years together, from eighteen to twenty-two, all of it the fierce love that belongs only to the young.

But I was already twenty-eight. I couldn't act like a little girl and agonize over whether he loved me. What I cared about, more than anything, was myself.

With that, I didn't look at him again.

Maybe my attitude left him uneasy, because he started learning how to be a proper father.

But he was just too clumsy. He couldn't do anything right.

The moment our son saw him, he cried and fussed even harder, as if Joshua were some kind of savage beast.

For several days straight, he kept at his learning, and no matter how much Ivy played the victim, he didn't go see her even once.

I'd thought his fatal calamity might be averted this way.

Until early the next morning, when our son suddenly spiked a fever that wouldn't break.

As I threw on my clothes and rushed out, I ran straight into the sight of him and Ivy leaving with their luggage.