“Do you have any idea how jealous I feel every time I hear the neighborhood kids call their grandparents? But you—you selfish tramp—you won’t give my son children, and now you bring someone else’s bastards home? And then you dare tell my son to walk away with nothing? How thick-skinned can you be?”
Her cruel words won the crowd over, and they began clapping in approval.
I only sneered.
“Your son wanted to get that vasectomy, not me. Who knows if it was just a cover for his own infertility?”
“But look at me bringing back two kids—that proves I can have children. I’m fine. So what if I had an affair and brought home illegitimate kids? Later on, I can still give Ethan a few of his own.”
Seeing how self-assured I was, both Ethan and his mother turned red with rage again.
Ethan let out a furious sigh.
“What the hell do you mean? Didn’t you just say I’d be the one to walk away with nothing? Now you’re talking about having kids with me? Are you out of your mind?”
I ignored the sarcasm in his tone and laughed lightly.
“That was just anger talking. Why would I ever divorce you?”
“Besides, haven’t you always wanted kids? I just brought home two. Shouldn’t you be happy? And they’re both boys—plenty of people can’t even manage that.”
“This is the painless way to become a dad! Shouldn’t you be thanking me?”
With that, I pulled the two boys forward.
“Go on, call him Dad. Call her Grandma.”
“Daddy! Grandma!” their young voices rang out again and again. I didn’t stop them, so they kept calling.
Ethan and Mrs. Walker’s faces turned green.
Ethan coughed furiously from anger.
Even the onlookers, who had never seen such a scene, stood stunned.
My parents couldn’t take it anymore. Each of them clapped a hand over one child’s mouth to stop them.
My mother, who always loved me most, shook her head in disappointment.
“Melissa, you and Ethan are both only children. When you two decided to stay child-free, neither I nor Mrs. Walker understood, but we respected it. Even though we never got grandkids, seeing you happy was enough for us.”
“But if you wanted kids after all, why not talk it over with Ethan? What you’ve done now—you’ve disgraced us completely. Do you realize how many people will laugh at us? How could you be so foolish?”
Beside her, my father’s face darkened.
The onlookers had a point—our company’s growth relied heavily on Ethan’s resources.