Yating's birth was met with great excitement and vigor from Gu Rong. The next nine months were as blissful as they could be. Not only was his company on track, the good news doubled with him becoming a father.
Gu Rong could hardly contain his tears as he held Yating for the first time in his arms. He was so tiny and delicate that his heart melted.
"I cannot thank you enough Liuxian..."
Luo Liuxian was on the bed in her ward, staring at him holding their son.
Gu Rong's expression was complicated as he thought about his parents. He knew they must be wanting to love their grandson but if they never accepted Luo Liuxian, then chances were that they would never accept Yating either.
But he hoped that maybe after some years, they would eventually relinquish their hatred for her and accept her. Gu Rong strongly held that hope. The business was growing well and Luo Liuxian was on his side as his wife supporting him through thick and thin.
Wasn't that what his father wanted to see?
Gu Rong sighed. "Let's have some more patience, Liuxian. I am sure Dad will come around soon."
Luo Liuxian smiled with a strained countenance. "Yes..."
He kept Yating in the crib and hugged her. "Don't stress out about it, okay? You are tired with the delivery and so much pain. I only want you to rest and recover."
She gently hugged him back and nodded. "Please stay here with me," she whispered.
He smiled. "Of course. I will always stay wherever you are, silly."
—
Everything was going well for Gu Rong for the next three months. Yating was growing into a healthy child. But lately, that wasn't the case.
Yating began to fall sick quite often. Nobody really understood the reason. Baby Yating didn't have any health issues according to the pediatrician, which only unnerved Gu Rong more and more. The terror of something major happening to Yating crawled in his heart. He even took a break from his business to tend to Yating and help his wife out with the household chores.
"It's so strange..."
Gu Rong pressed his lips as he helped change baby Yating's diaper.
That alone was enough for his protective instincts to kick in and though he didn't fully comprehend the situation, he rushed ahead and pushed Luo Liuxian away. She fell back on the floor with a hard thud, her stupor snapping away.
"Ya-Yating...!" Gu Rong immediately held him in his arms when Yating finally got to wail.
"Waaaaaaaa...."
His small face had reddened due to crying hard. Gu Rong saw some faint marks on his neck and his eyes glazed with an unreadable emotion.
He slowly turned his head towards Luo Liuxian who was struggling to straighten up.
"You...you were strangling Yating?"
Luo Liuxian returned him a blank look. "Ah...so you came back...I failed..."
He wasn't able to register her words. Instead of explaining her actions, she was instead expressing her lament over how she failed in killing Yating.
Gu Rong placed him back on the bed, covering him with a duvet. He then grabbed her arm and forcefully pulled her up on her feet. "I am asking you something! Why would you strangle Yating!? What were you doing!"
Tears flowed down Luo Liuxian's cheeks. "I-I had no choice, Rong. P-please forgive me..."
"Huh?" He stared at her dumbfounded. "What are you even talking about? Are we even speaking the same language? What no choice? What forgiveness? How could you...I don't understand anything.
Yating is our son-"
"He is not our son!!!"
Luo Liuxian burst out breathlessly. Her head felt heavy and her chest gripped with dizziness.
"He is not our son! He is not our son!" She kept screaming until her throat hurt. "He is my son but he is not your son! That's why I want to kill him! I...I cannot bear this guilt anymore!!!" She collapsed on her knees, crying and shaking hard.
"What are you-"
"He..." her voice shook and tremored as she gasped. "He is n-not your son. He is from my c-colleague at office I slept with a year back!"