A Baby at Sixty

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While cleaning my mother-in-law, Susan's room, I discovered a pregnancy test with two lines under her pillow.

My mind immediately jumped to the young housekeeper who had recently joined our household.

My heart sank as I suspected my husband of infidelity.

I confronted my husband with the pregnancy test, but Susan snatched it away, her face flushed as she shouted at me:

"This is mine! I'm with Mr. Wilson from downstairs, and I want to give him a son. Is that so wrong?"

My husband tried to calm me down:

"Mom's getting up there in years. If she wants to pursue true love, we should support her."

Though it seemed absurd, seeing how determined Susan was, I had no choice but to let it go.

I even bought her some expensive supplements.

That is, until the day I came home early and heard strange sounds coming from the housekeeper's room.

I pressed my racing heart down and put my ear to the door.

Then I heard a man's urgent panting and a woman's moans.

And Susan's anxious voice:

"Jackson, push harder! We need a boy this time!"

My stomach churned.

So it wasn't Susan who was pregnant after all.

My husband, after three years of marriage without children, had conspired with his mother to stage this absurd affair.

I was shaking with rage, my nails digging deep into my palms. The pain brought back a thread of rationality.

I couldn't let this slide!

I wanted to burst in there and tear apart that cheating bastard and his mistress!

I wanted to make this mother and son pay!

Just then, the door opened from inside.

Susan emerged with a flushed, satisfied face. When she saw me at the door, she jumped, and the smile on her face instantly froze.

"You... when did you get back?"

I stared at her, fire blazing in my eyes.

"Get out of my way!"

I pushed her aside and tried to force my way in.

"What are you doing!" Susan shrieked and lunged at me, gripping my waist tightly.

"Mr. Wilson is still getting dressed! Have you lost your mind?"

She shouted while desperately pushing me away, her strength surprisingly formidable.

I was furious, grappling with her.

"Let go of me! You liar! Didn't you say you were pregnant? Where's Mr. Wilson? Make him come out!"

"You crazy woman!"

Susan insisted Mr. Wilson was inside, then grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the wall.

A sharp pain shot through my scalp, and my vision went black.

Just as I was about to collapse, a pair of strong hands caught me.

A familiar yet shocking voice rang out behind me.

"Honey? Mom? What are you doing?"

My entire body stiffened. I whipped around.

My husband, Jackson Thorne, stood behind me in a crisp suit, briefcase in hand, a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead, looking at me with concern and confusion, as if he had just gotten home from work.

How was this possible?

How could he be here?

Shouldn't he have been in that room just now?

I looked at him, then at the door Susan had shut tight again.

The whole world spun around me.

Had I heard wrong?

"Honey, are you okay? Why is your face so pale?"

Jackson held me, his brow furrowed with concern.

He touched my forehead, then turned to Susan with a slightly reproachful tone.

"Mom, what's going on? Did you have another fight with Aria?"

Susan immediately put on a pitiful expression and pointed at me, starting to cry.

"How would I dare! It's her, acting like a maniac, insisting on barging into the room to find Mr. Wilson! My old bones are about to fall apart because of her!"

Jackson sighed and pulled me to sit on the couch.

He knelt in front of me, holding my cold hands.

"Aria, I know you're under a lot of pressure because we haven't been able to have a child."

"But you can't take it out on Mom. She's getting old, and finding a companion isn't easy. As the younger generation, we should turn a blind eye."

His voice was gentle yet helpless, as if I had truly become an irrational madwoman due to infertility.

I looked into his sincere eyes, momentarily speechless.

Those sounds I heard, that panting, those filthy wordswere they all hallucinations?

"No... it's not like that..." I murmured, "I clearly heard..."

"What did you hear?" Jackson pressed, "Have you been too tired lately and started hearing things?"

Susan chimed in.

"Exactly! I think she's mentally unstable! She can't have children herself, so she can't stand to see me happy!"

The mother and son had formed a united front.

I was defenseless.

That night, I couldn't sleep.

Jackson slept beside me, his breathing steady.

I tried desperately to fall asleep, but every time I closed my eyes, those unbearable sounds from the housekeeper's room echoed in my ears.

I wasn't crazy, and I definitely hadn't misheard.

The next day, I decided to investigate on my own.

Using a walk as an excuse, I started chatting with the neighbors in our building.

"Amy, I heard Susan got together with Mr. Wilson from this building. Do you happen to know him? I want to check him out for Susan."

The neighbors looked at me with sympathy and bewilderment.

"Aria, is Susan pulling your leg? I've lived in this building for decades, and I know pretty much everyone here. There's no single old man in this building."

"Right, and Susan stays home all day. We've tried to get her to go shopping with us, but she won't come out, says she needs to stay home and do housework for you."

I became the laughingstock of the entire neighborhood.

Everyone thought that due to the pressure of infertility, I had started overthinking and even imagining a Mr. Wilson to attack Susan.

I wasn't ready to give up.

When I got home, only the housekeeper Rachel and I were there.

Rachel was on the balcony, holding a bowl and sneakily pouring its contents into a flowerpot.

I pretended nothing was wrong as I walked into the living room and poured myself some water.

When Rachel came back from the balcony and saw me, her eyes clearly shifted nervously.

"Mrs. Thorne, you're back."

I nodded, my gaze falling on her pale face.

"Rachel, are you not feeling well? Why are you taking medicine?"

The housekeeper's face went white.

"No, no, Mrs. Thorne, I just felt a bit dry lately, so I'm brewing some tea."

She explained frantically, then turned to head back to the kitchen.

After she left, I immediately rushed to the balcony and dug through the soil in that flowerpot.

I carefully collected the contents in a plastic bag.

Then I headed straight to the city's most reputable drug testing center.

Soon, I received the test report.

Based on the main components in the residue, it was a pregnancy-preserving supplement.

I held that thin test report, my hands trembling.

All my suspicions weren't unfounded!

That evening when Jackson came home, I was unusually calm.

I prepared dinner and even served him a bowl of soup.

"Honey, I have something to show you."

After dinner, I gently placed the test report in front of him.

He just picked up the report, glanced at it, then looked up at me with disappointed eyes.

"Aria, why... why won't you just trust me?"

I froze.

I practically shouted.

"The housekeeper is taking pregnancy-preserving supplements! Why would the housekeeper need to take these?"

His eyes reddened, but he didn't speak.

He just stood up, walked to the bedroom, and opened the bedside table drawer.

He pulled out another document and threw it in front of me.

It was a diagnosis report in Susan's name.

In black and white, it stated the diagnosis: threatened miscarriage.

The date was the day after I discovered the pregnancy test.

I stood there as if struck by lightning.

"Are you satisfied now?"

Jackson's voice trembled as he pointed at the diagnosis report.

"Mom is old and her health is poor. The doctor said her pregnancy is unstable and she needs medicine to prevent miscarriage!"

"I was afraid you'd overthink again, so I had Rachel help Mom with the medicine! Every day I'm on edge, taking care of Mom on one side and trying to reassure you on the other!"

He looked up, his face covered in tears.

"Aria, why are you pushing our family to this point! Why are you forcing me to become a liar!"

At that moment, I felt like I was the executioner holding the knife.

His tearful accusations, that diagnosis reportthey made all my righteous indignation seem like a joke.

I was speechless, my heart filled with helplessness and extreme pain.

I had lost, utterly defeated.

I suddenly felt so tired, so very tired.

Fine.

The next day, after the family finished breakfast as usual, I called out to the housekeeper Rachel, who was about to return to her room.

"Rachel, come here, this is for you."

I pulled out a beautifully wrapped gift box containing an adorable teddy bear.

"Mrs. Thorne, this... I couldn't possibly."

Rachel seemed flattered.

I smiled warmly and stuffed the bear into her arms.

"I noticed you're alone here and your room looks so empty. Put this doll therethink of it as keeping you company. It'll make the room feel cozier."

Rachel's eyes reddened as she gratefully hugged the bear.

"Thank you, Mrs. Thorne. You're so good to me."

That teddy bear's left eye contained a pinhole camera that could connect to my phone for real-time monitoring.

Over the next two days, I kept my eyes glued to my phone.

Sure enough, Rachel placed the bear on her bedside table, giving a clear view of most of the room.

I watched her secretly take medicine, caressing her belly with a happy, smug smile.

On the third afternoon, Susan sneaked into the housekeeper's room and deliberately closed the door.

In the surveillance footage, Susan pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to Rachel, unable to hide her joy.

"Rachel, take this money. Buy whatever you want to eat. Don't deprive my grandson."

Rachel stuffed the money into her bedside table and smiled ingratiatingly.

"Thank you. But Mrs. Thorne has been very quiet lately. I'm worried she might be plotting something."

Susan snorted dismissively.

"She's just a woman who's driven herself nearly insane! Jackson doesn't need her anymore. You just focus on your pregnancy. Once the baby's born, I'll find an excuse to make them divorce! Then you'll be the rightful mistress of this house!"

"Really?"

"Of course it's true! The fact that you're carrying my son's child is your greatest advantage!"

I watched those two faces twisted with malice and greed on my phone screen, my heart growing colder and colder.

I listened to every word of their plan and saved the video.

That night before bed, I suggested to Jackson:

"Mom's turning sixty next month, right? Let me organize ita big celebration. Consider it my way of making amends."

Hearing my words, Jackson's body visibly stiffened.

He turned around and cupped my face, carefully examining my expression.

"Aria, you... are you serious?"

I tried to make my smile look more genuine.

"I've come to terms with it. Family harmony is what matters most. If Mom wants to pursue happiness, we should bless her."

Jackson's face finally broke into a smile.

He hugged me tightly and whispered in my ear, "That's wonderful, Aria. I'm so glad you've come around."

When Susan heard I was organizing a big birthday celebration for her, she was overjoyed.

She completely changed from her usual sharp tongue, holding my hand and calling me a good daughter-in-law over and over.

"Aria, you're so understanding. I knew you were a good girl."

Since they're such good actors.

I'll just build them an even bigger stage.

Susan's sixtieth birthday was held at the city's most luxurious hotel.

All the Thorne family relatives and friends came.

Jackson greeted the guests with high spirits while Susan wore a custom-made gown, beaming.

She took my hand and introduced me to everyone.

"This is my daughter-in-law, Aria Reed. She's so kind. She organized this entire birthday banquet!"

The relatives all gave me approving looks.

Midway through the banquet, Susan pulled me aside and said smugly:

"Aria, don't worry. Once the baby is born, I'll register it under your name so you can experience being a mother too."

I looked at her hypocritical face and smiled.

"Thank you."

Jackson took the stage and delivered a touching blessing, drawing rounds of applause.

Then, smiling, he extended his hand toward me.

"Next, I'd like to invite my beloved wife, Aria Reed, to offer a blessing for my mother."

I lifted my dress and slowly walked onto the stage under everyone's gaze.

I took the microphone and surveyed the room.

Jackson and Susan both looked at me with expectant, satisfied eyes.

They thought this was their victory celebration, my formal declaration of surrender.

"Today is a good day."

I began, my voice so calm it held no trace of emotion.

"Here, I want to especially thank two people."

"I want to thank my wonderful mother-in-law and my wonderful husband."

I smiled at them, and as their smiles grew brighter, I pressed play on my phone, already connected to the large screen.

Two entangled figures instantly filled everyone's field of vision in high definition.

The banquet hall fell silent in an instant.

The next second, Susan's passionate voice echoed throughout the entire hall.

"This time we must have a boy..."

All eyes turned like a tide toward Jackson and Susan.