The scumbag husband exchanged babies to set me up
This was because in my previous life, my husband Wyatt Courtland's first love Grace Wilson and I gave birth on the same day. She successfully delivered a healthy baby boy, while I gave birth to a mixed-race child.
Wyatt flew into a rage and publicly denounced me as a slut, saying I had an unspeakable relationship with a foreigner.
I desperately tried to explain, crying repeatedly that the child wasn't mine, but no one believed me.
Not only that, he also took the initiative to report me, turning in several foreign letters he found in our home. I was taken away by the FBI and sentenced to prison on espionage charges.
I was sentenced to ten years in prison. When I was released, I was nothing but skin and bones.
Wyatt, however, was promoted for his merit in reporting me.
That day, he held Grace's hand and my biological son's hand, throwing me five hundred dollars like charity.
He said: "Grace was accidentally deceived back then and got pregnant. Unlike you, she's too fragile to endure hardship. I had no choice but to switch the two children. This five hundred dollars is compensation for your ten years and your innocence. You have a criminal record now, and I've already filed for divorce and gotten together with Grace. Our son also thinks you're not worthy of me. You'd better take care of yourself."
My son also looked at me with disgust: "Grace is very good to me. And you've been in prison! I don't want a mom like you!"
The moment I learned the truth, I was so angry I coughed up blood and died.
Now that I'm living again, I want to see what they can use to scheme against me this time without a child!
*****
Returning to the Courtland house from the hospital, I ran straight into Wyatt helping Grace prepare to go out.
Fortunately, I had wrapped my belly with padding beforehand to conceal the truth, so they didn't notice anything unusual.
Grace smiled and said: "Rylee, my stomach feels a bit uncomfortable. I mentioned it to Wyatt, and he said he'd take me to the hospital for a checkup. Look at him, making such a big fuss over a small matter. He's so responsible - when you have your baby, he'll definitely be a good father too."
If it were before, I really would have fantasized about raising children with Wyatt because of her few words.
But after being reborn, I realized how ridiculous I had been, actually believing that Grace and Wyatt genuinely cared about me.
Their eyes fell on my belly without a trace of concern, only naked greed and calculation.
In my previous life, I never noticed that Wyatt, my husband, cared far more about Grace than me.
Even when we went into labor on the same day, I was still foolishly thinking how coincidental it was, and if the children happened to be a boy and a girl, we could arrange their engagement in advance.
After the children were born, Wyatt rushed into the hospital room holding a swaddled baby and slapped me hard across the face without a word.
He said I had betrayed him and actually had relations with a foreigner.
I couldn't believe it, but I still took the child and looked - it was indeed a mixed-race baby.
Wyatt demanded a divorce from me in front of everyone at the hospital, and no matter how I explained, he refused to believe me.
He even reported me to the FBI for allegedly colluding with foreigners and suspected of selling state secrets, attaching so-called "evidence" he had found in the study - letters of my correspondence with foreigners.
I instantly became a despised spy, arrested and sent to prison before my body had recovered, sentenced to ten years.
I suffered endless torture in prison. Finally, on the day of my release, Wyatt embraced Grace and told me the truth, and I realized it had all been a scheme they had orchestrated together.
Wyatt held Grace's hand and my biological son's hand, throwing me five hundred dollars like charity.
He said: "Grace was accidentally deceived back then and got pregnant. Unlike you, she's too fragile to endure hardship. I had no choice but to switch the two children. This five hundred dollars is compensation for your ten years and your innocence. You have a criminal record now, and I've already filed for divorce and gotten together with Grace. Our son also thinks you're not worthy of me. You'd better take care of yourself."
My biological son looked at me with disgust: "Grace is very good to me. And you've been in prison! I don't want a mom like you!"
Already weakened by my imprisonment, I was literally killed by their shameless behavior.
Thinking of my miserable end in my previous life, while Wyatt climbed higher by stepping on me and lived sweetly with Grace, the hatred in my heart almost burst through my chest.
"A good father? That's not necessarily true." I smiled coldly, my tone sarcastic. "I said I had a cold and needed to go to the hospital, but Wyatt didn't care about me either. It seems his concern for you is indeed much more than for me."
Wyatt's expression changed slightly, and he forced himself to remain calm as he explained: "Don't misunderstand, Rylee. You used to be a soldier with good physical condition. Grace is different - she's been frail since childhood. Moreover, her parents were both martyrs and are no longer in this world. Now she's alone with her husband not by her side, so naturally I, as her brother, should take extra care of her."
He spoke so righteously, as if he truly had no selfish motives.
Before leaving with Grace, Wyatt turned back to add: "If you're not feeling well, just rest in bed. Oh, and don't take cold medicine carelessly - it could affect the baby."
The first half was insignificant; the second half was his real point.
Noticing his gaze fall on my belly again, I casually brushed him off with a few words, then turned and went upstairs, taking out cold medicine and swallowing it directly.
What a joke! That ungrateful child was already gone - what could possibly be affected?
That very evening, I used my pregnancy discomfort as an excuse to demand separate bedrooms from Wyatt.
Wyatt was initially reluctant to agree.
Grace convinced him, saying that letting me, a pregnant woman with physical limitations, rest properly would benefit the baby's development. Only then did he reluctantly consent.
He said, "Grace is right. If sleeping separately is good for the baby, then we'll sleep separately. But Rylee, you must take care of your health. If anything seems wrong with the baby, call me immediately."
If I hadn't already known he was only worried about something happening to my child—leaving no one to take the blame for Grace—I might have actually believed he cared about me.
Unfortunately, it was all just an illusion.
I lowered my eyes, hiding the hatred within them, and nodded gently. "Don't worry, I'll definitely take good care of the baby."
Hearing this, Wyatt felt much more at ease.
He knew me well and understood that I always kept my word.
When we first met through a mutual colleague's introduction, I fell for him at first sight. Learning he was a traditional man, I had even promised that if I could marry him, I would focus on our family.
After our marriage, I indeed applied to suspend all my work commitments.
Therefore, even though my former military rank was slightly higher than Wyatt's, he remained convinced that I was deeply in love with him, even certain that he had me completely under his control.
Over the following period, I pretended to know nothing while quietly watching his undisguised favoritism toward Grace.
Military work was indeed demanding, but whenever he had the slightest free time, he would accompany Grace to her prenatal appointments. The hospital staff had long since assumed Wyatt was Grace's husband.
When the doctor mentioned that "the baby's mother is a bit underweight," Wyatt immediately bought plenty of meat, cooking nutritious meals for Grace every day.
Of course, since Grace suffered from severe morning sickness, most of that meat ended up in my mouth instead.
Her health didn't improve much, but I became considerably more robust, feeling much more energetic during my morning physical training.
Wyatt was somewhat displeased about this, but couldn't say much.
After all, I was his wife in name.
What husband buys meat that his wife can't eat?
Perhaps seeing Wyatt and Grace growing too close, many neighbors came to warn me.
"Rylee, I know you're easygoing, but you can't be indifferent to everything. Wyatt is young and promising—you need to be careful not to let another woman steal him away."
I simply smiled and thanked them for their concern.
Right now, I couldn't be happier that Wyatt was putting all his attention on Grace.
Otherwise, if he had touched my belly even once or suddenly decided to accompany me to a prenatal appointment, he would have discovered there was no baby in my stomach at all.
The belly that now appeared similar to Grace's was actually the result of my daily observations of her changing figure, constantly adjusting padding to create the effect.
Wyatt didn't disappoint me. Right up until the due date, he never noticed anything unusual, only growing anxious about my belly showing no signs of labor.
Grace had been experiencing frequent contractions lately and could give birth at any moment.
The doctor advised her to stay at the hospital, but fearing complications, she insisted on returning home, watching my belly obsessively every day.
After two more days, Grace couldn't wait any longer.
She cried that she was in pain, and Wyatt immediately brought a plate of drugged lobster bisque and knocked on my door.
He said, "Rylee, this is lobster bisque my mom sent over. Try some quickly—get some nutrition."
I glanced at the lobster bisque—only broth remained in the plate.
The so-called lobster meat had probably been sent to Grace long ago.
I took the plate of lobster bisque, and under Wyatt's expectant gaze, I simply set it aside.
Sure enough, Wyatt immediately lost his composure.
He couldn't help but say, "Mom made this soup herself. If you wait any longer, it'll get cold and won't taste good. Try it quickly—don't waste her kind gesture."
"She has kind gestures for me?" I almost laughed out loud, my tone dripping with sarcasm.
Wyatt's mother, Hayley Courtland, had always despised me for not being gentle and considerate enough. She thought I wasn't the type who could keep a household running smoothly.
She looked down on my ordinary background—my parents were from the countryside. Compared to Grace, a war hero's descendant, I naturally fell far short.
Her favorite line was: "Sigh, why didn't I set up Grace and Wyatt back then? I adore Grace so much more than that cold Rylee."
After we both got pregnant, she only had eyes for Grace.
Whatever good things the family had, she gave them all to Grace. My turn never came.
Wyatt knew all of this.
Remembering Hayley's attitude toward me, a flash of guilt crossed his eyes.
But quickly, he found an excuse: "Rylee, Mom just has a tough exterior but a soft heart. She's actually very kind. How could she possibly not care about our child? She made this soup with her own hands. Just don't hold it against her, okay? She's my mother!"
I said nothing more, as if convinced by his words, and picked up the plate of soup, draining it in one go.
Wyatt breathed a sigh of relief and contentedly took away the empty plate.
I knew that plate of soup definitely contained labor-inducing drugs.
Before long, I pretended the medication was taking effect, clutching my stomach and crying out in pain: "Oh no, my stomach hurts so much! Am I going into labor? Wyatt, get me to the hospital quickly!"
Wyatt and Grace exchanged glances, barely containing their excitement.
Grace immediately pressed her hands to her stomach too: "Wyatt, I think I'm going into labor too!"
"Perfect, Grace is going into labor too! I'll take you both to the hospital right now!" Wyatt eagerly ran to a neighbor's house to borrow a car, then drove Grace and me to the hospital.
Just as we arrived at the hospital, Grace's pants were already soaked, and she was crying pitifully: "It hurts so much... Wyatt, am I going to die?"
He tenderly picked her up, only throwing me a single line: "Grace's situation is more urgent. I'll take her first—figure it out yourself!"
I rolled my eyes at his retreating figure and leisurely walked into the private delivery room I had arranged in advance.
Standing in the room was the very doctor Wyatt had paid off.
What he didn't know was that a few days ago, I had already renegotiated terms with this doctor, offering him a higher price to work for me instead.
I lay on the hospital bed for several hours, finally waiting for Wyatt's arrival.
Wyatt was carrying a baby blanket. Seeing me lying with my eyes closed as if asleep, he tiptoed in, heading straight for the "child" placed beside me.
He carefully set the blanket by the bed. Before he could get a good look at "our" child, I called out to him: "Wyatt, what are you doing?"
Caught off guard by my voice, Wyatt was so startled he nearly dropped the bundle in his arms.
Fortunately, he reacted quickly, securing the child and forcing a weak smile in my direction. "I wasn't doing anything. Look, Grace has already given birth. I just wanted to come see you and our child."
At that moment, Grace's baby in his arms seemed to sense the change in environment and suddenly burst into loud cries.
Wyatt's eyes flickered as he pulled back the swaddling cloth.
With just one glance, his expression changed drastically, fury blazing in his eyes. "Rylee, is this really your biological child? You actually had an affair?"
This angry outburst caught the attention of all the patients and families in the ward.
People crowded around, wanting to see what was happening.
The Courtland family, who had just received the news and rushed over, pushed to the front.
Hayley immediately spotted the mixed-race child.
She shrieked, "Rylee, you shameless woman! My son Wyatt is accomplished and handsome. When you two got married, we prepared so many wedding gifts for you. How have we ever wronged you?
You actually had an affair with a foreigner and gave birth to his child. You're absolutely shameless!"
She collapsed to the floor, wailing and crying, saying she wanted to drag me out and beat me to death.
Her performance won the sympathy of the onlookers, who joined in condemning me.
In the chaos, Grace also struggled out on her weak legs.
Seeing the situation before her, a flash of satisfaction crossed her eyes, but she covered her mouth and feigned surprise, saying, "Oh my, Rylee, you actually had an affair and had someone else's child?
No wonder when I was at home, I always saw you writing in characters I couldn't understand..."
After saying this, she put on an act of looking at me with some remorse, as if she was afraid.
She said, "I'm sorry, Rylee. This was your secret. I shouldn't have said anything."
Wyatt immediately shielded her behind him and righteously scolded me: "Rylee, I never imagined you were this kind of person, actually corresponding with foreigners?
Did you leak military intelligence from my unit? You were once a soldier too—don't you know this information can't be shared?
Even if you're my wife, I absolutely won't cover for you! Mom, Dad, contact the FBI immediately and tell them we've discovered a spy!"
Hearing the word "spy," everyone's gaze toward me filled with hatred.
"Traitor, bitch! Lock her up in prison!"
"She's shameless! Mr. Courtland did the right thing reporting her. She doesn't deserve such a good man!"
"Stone her! Let's see if she dares to be a spy again!"
In this sensitive era, emotions ran high, and the crowd was furious, ready to beat me to death on the spot.
Someone threw a precious egg they normally couldn't bear to eat, hitting my bedside and splattering yolk on my face.
Seeing my disheveled state, Grace hid behind the crowd and smirked.
But when our eyes met for an instant, her heart trembled and her smile froze.
In her imagination, I should have been frantically trying to defend myself.
But I just stared at her coldly, as if I could see through all her pretenses and schemes.
Grace felt a wave of unease.
Her gaze fell on the baby in Wyatt's arms, and she suddenly froze.
This baby seemed to have barely cried from the beginning.
Just as she was about to pull Wyatt aside to say something, commotion came from outside.
"We're with the FBI. Please step aside, everyone!"
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