Raising a Wolf in the Henhouse - Part 2

Suddenly, the sound of a newborn baby's piercing cry echoed nearby.

I instinctively wanted to walk toward the crying, but I suddenly stopped and looked around.

Ah, it's this place.

I found Nikhil on this very road.

This was a shortcut that only I know, a path where there are no other houses around, just a desolate field. It’s a shortcut I took to go home, and also a secret path.

When I found Nikhil here, I thought it was fate.

But turns out, it was all a ploy. Bhuvan, my dear husband, had put his own illegitimate child here to make sure I would adopt the baby.

Now fate had brought me back to the origin of everything.

8.

This time, the sound of the baby's cry no longer moved me.

In the past, I used to care for him dearly — when he was sick, I took care of him through sleepless nights; everyday he went to school, I would pick him up, regardless of the rain and wind. There were times when I picked him up after school, he didn't have his coat and was shivering from the cold, I would give my warm clothes to him, not hesitating for a second about my own feverish body. There were so many memories, too vivid that they keep gnawing at my heart.

Ah, I was so silly.

I looked around, seeing no one but a baby crying on the street.

Bhuvan was always a careful person, after all he kept that big of a secret from me for more than twenty years. If he wanted to make me believe it was fate, he would not leave anyone else around to raise any suspicion.

He also knew me too well — he knew I couldn’t ignore anyone in need, he trusted me enough to completely abandon his own child in such cold weather.

Didn't anyone tell him a broken soul can also grow to become cruel and heartless?

I smiled bitterly, and without a final glance at the baby left on the road, I headed toward a different direction.

Because you were so sure, let's just wait and see.

This time around, without my interference and approval, I'd see how Bhuvan could take this illegitimate child home.

9.

When I received a call from Bhuvan, I was in a shopping mall, trying on a beautiful dress.

Of course, it was quite expensive.

At that moment, I felt foolish. How could I forget Bhuvan’s words? He often said, “We have to save money as a family.” But in reality, he was the one spending recklessly without hesitation, while I rarely went to the mall to buy anything I liked. After adopting Nikhil, I hardly ever shopped for new clothes. Any savings I made were used to raise and educate him.

And what was the result? I was raising a snake in my own sleeve.

Every time I thought about it, my heart ached as if filled with sand.

The phone kept ringing. I stared at it for a long time before answering, my face devoid of emotion.

On the other end, as soon as he picked up, Bhuvan tried to suppress his anxiety and asked, “Aditi, your boss told me you left work a while ago. Why aren’t you home yet?”

Hearing the cold and distant tone in his voice, I felt a chill, and a thought of vengeance crossed my mind.

So, I tried to suppress my emotions and responded calmly with a hint of concern:

“Me? I’m at the hospital... I’ll be home a bit late. Don’t wait for me for dinner. Oh, and my phone’s about to die, the battery is low. We’ll talk later, okay?”

After hanging up, I couldn’t stop thinking, wondering what Bhuvan’s state of mind was at that moment.

Did he suspect I had gone to the hospital to check on the abandoned child?

I knew he wasn’t planning on going back to where he left the baby. He didn’t want to expose this secret. What if I called the police? What if the police found the baby and found him nearby? How would he explain why he had been seen there?

At the same time, I knew that any second passing without me and the baby safe at home today, he wouldn’t feel completely at ease.

The winter is freezing.

When I came home and he realized I hadn’t brought the baby with me, what would he feel?

As I pondered this, I found the thought amusing yet saddening.

10.

I left the shopping mall just after 8 PM. I wasn’t in a hurry to go home. Instead, I first found a nearby clinic, where the doctor carefully bandaged the torn nail on my hand, which had been scratched against the car door earlier.

By the time I got to the "home" in my memory, it was almost 9 PM.

From a distance, I could see the familiar silhouette of Bhuvan walking back and forth anxiously.

If this had been in the past, I might have been moved by the sight. But now, my only focus was on his face. As he drew closer, I kept my gaze locked on his eyes.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t holding the child—just a beautiful shopping bag.

"Aditi... You... How are you? Why are you so late? You didn’t go to the hospital, did you? What happened?"

His words were hesitant, his voice trembling with uncertainty.

I feigned ignorance and replied with a casual smile, "Oh, I was just wandering around... I bought a dress for the holidays. Want to see? It’s a beautiful one..."

The memory of how helpless and desperate I had felt was still so vivid. But now, looking at Bhuvan’s anxious face, I felt calm—calmer than ever before.

I didn’t even care about his obvious worries. He kept glancing at me, but I continued to look at him with amusement, as if watching a film unfold.

"Hospital? Oh, I just went to get my hand bandaged," I said casually, raising my hand to show the fresh bandage. "The doctor said I’ll be fine as long as I keep it clean. No infections or anything."

I waved my hand slightly, watching him blink in surprise. His eyes darted from the bandage to my face, looking as though he had just met a stranger. For some reason, his expression was both puzzled and somewhat helpless, as if unable to grasp what had changed.

"Did you say you liked this dress? Well, I’ll wear it tomorrow," I added with a playful smile, lifting the shopping bag slightly as if it meant nothing.

When I finished speaking, Bhuvan hesitated for a moment, then asked, "So… you didn’t go to the hospital at all?"

I smiled again, my eyes reflecting his. "I was at the hospital when you called. I just happened to be nearby and remembered I had hurt my hand earlier."

I wasn’t lying. Bhuvan was too focused on the call and his thoughts to realize how cold my response was.

Perhaps he even forgot to ask why I left work early today.

"Are you done? Let’s get inside."

He stood there frozen, still lost in thought. It seemed that Bhuvan had convinced himself that everything was perfectly planned. In his mind, there were no loose ends—until now.

I watched his expression change continuously until, as if suddenly remembering something, he rushed out the door, his panic barely concealed. I watched his figure disappear and smiled.

Yes, since I didn’t bring his son back, that little boy might have been left alone in the cold for hours on that deserted, rarely traveled road.

A newborn child, abandoned by his own father in the middle of a desolate road during winter—how pitiful.

Haha.

(continued)

Read: Raising a Wolf in the Henhouse - Part 1