Chapter 1

Waking up in the middle of the night after feeding Lily, my chest still aching, I couldn't fall back asleep. I scrolled through my phone and stumbled upon a post.

"My wife doesn't want to go back to work after childbirth, what should I do?"

One highly upvoted comment read:

"Isn't that the best? She doesn't go to work, so she can be a free nanny at home! You can even use her not earning money as leverage to control her!"

A chill ran down my spine. The commenter's profile picture was identical to my husband Liam's.

But he had just spent today comforting me because I was feeling down about possibly not finding a job.

I had just finished feeding Lily and changing her diaper. Only after putting her back to sleep did I finally have some time to myself.

I grabbed my phone, leaning against the headboard, cherishing these precious moments.

Scrolling through my feed, I suddenly saw a post: "My wife doesn't want to go back to work after childbirth, what should I do?"

The original poster explained that his wife was six months postpartum. His mom had specifically come from out of town to help with the baby, hoping his wife would go back to work and earn money, but she refused. He was seeking advice from other users.

Below, almost all the comments echoed the sentiment that women shouldn't abandon their careers even after having a child. They insisted she should work, even if it was just for a small income, to avoid becoming disconnected from society.

But there was one highly upvoted comment that said: "Isn't this great? If your wife doesn't want to work, just let her be a free nanny at home. You can even use her not earning money as leverage over her! What's not to like?"

"Taking care of a baby is exhausting; I wouldn't want my mom to go through that!"

"OP, lighten up and learn from me. My wife wanted to go back to work after having our kid, but I convinced her not to. Kids need their mom's presence. Now our kid is one, and she's dutifully my nanny at home, taking care of the kid, cleaning, and cooking for me every day."

"The best part is, with your wife as a stay-at-home mom, you can play the field outside. Even if she finds out, she won't dare say anything."

Below this comment, it was all "Genius!" and "Spot on!"

"Brilliant strategy! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Awesome, OP! Learning from you."

"Looks like I need to have a serious talk with my wife tomorrow and tell her to quit her job and stay home with the baby."

"Guys, he's right. Because I do the same thing. My wife caught me cheating, she cried all night, then she was fine. She wouldn't dare divorce me because she doesn't earn money. Without me, she has nothing."

As I scrolled through the comments, my heart grew colder and colder, until tears blurred my vision.

That highly upvoted comment was from my husband. His profile picture was a photo of our family of three—a picture I had put up for him.

Liam and I met at work.

We had overlapping projects, and he was gentle, friendly, and always knew how to make me feel good. Before long, we were deeply in love.

We dated for two years before getting married.

Back then, we were both in the rising phases of our careers. Mine was even going better than Liam's. I'd switched jobs twice, each company bigger than the last, and my salary grew with each move.

Just as I was about to compete for a general manager position, I found out I was unexpectedly pregnant.

We always used protection, so how did this happen? I sat on the edge of the bed, a double-lined pregnancy test in my hand, my lips pressed together in disappointment.

Once a woman gets pregnant, she often loses her competitive edge at work.

I might even lose the position I currently held.

I didn't want a child yet. I felt I was still young, and at that moment, I should be fully invested in my career,

striving to secure that general manager position.

But Liam tried to persuade me. He said a child was a blessing, a matter of fate. If you got rid of it now, what if the child got angry and never came back? Wouldn't that be a terrible loss?

Liam's cousin had terminated an unplanned pregnancy for her career, and then couldn't conceive for ten years.

She eventually spent tens of thousands and went through three rounds of IVF just to have a boy.

Because of this, her weight, which was originally under 100 pounds, skyrocketed to 200 pounds. Not only did she waste time and money, but she also damaged her health.

After Liam's persuasion, and with such a clear example right in front of me, I suddenly got scared.

I was afraid that if I got rid of the baby, I might really become infertile.

Even though I'd say having children or not was the same, not being able to conceive and not wanting to conceive were two completely different things.

So, half-heartedly, I decided to keep the baby.