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This story is the anonymous confession of a man who made his foreign helper pregnant and kept his illegitimate son a secret from his wife.
My wife and I had always had a fairytale marriage. We were both Penangites who met in KL, and within 5 years of courtship, we blissfully tied the knot.
Early on, we found out that she could not get pregnant. At first, there was pressure from both sets of parents to have kids, but we decided to be explicit about her condition to our families, and after the initial wave of disappointment, the pressure stopped.
Since then, we were at peace with our choice to be a childless couple, and life was good. We weren’t well-off by any means, but we both had stable, high-income jobs in the private sector. We travelled around the world, had fantastic experiences and we grew rich in shared memories.
I love my wife, and still do to this day. Looking back on what happened, if only I knew how things turned out, I would’ve done everything differently.
When the pandemic arrived, it caused a strain in our marriage.
At the time, I was holding down a well-paid job in Singapore, and my wife was practising at a Singaporean private hospital as well, while we stayed in Johor Bahru.
Due to my wife’s work in the medical field, and not being able to cross from Singapore daily, she had to stay over in Singapore for long periods of time. Meanwhile, my legal work had moved completely online, so I did not need to travel daily.
Everytime she wanted to cross over to Malaysia, she would be required to a 7-10 day quarantine. Not only was it too long to not be working, according to her, but she said the experience of being cooped up was making her go crazy.
We had a discussion and at her request, we decided she would stay for longer in Singapore. I supported her as I knew how important her work is, especially during the pandemic. However, what I didn’t realise is how much of a strain this would take on our marriage.
For the first time in 22 years of our marriage, we were now a long-distance couple. For the whole lockdown, she had only come back once, a month after she left. Her long and odd hours meant it was harder for us to schedule calls, and for the next two years we never had any date nights, new experiences or shared moments together.
I didn’t mean to start an affair with our maid.
Just a few months prior to the lockdown, we had hired a young Filipino lady, around 21 or 22, to help out with the household chores.
We were pretty easy going employers, as there was not much to manage in the house besides some simple cooking, cleaning and groceries. With no kids or elderly to take care of, she was free to do as she pleased as long as she did her tasks, which she did diligently.
In the first few months, my wife was away in Singapore, so the helper and I were stuck together in the house. I would be working most days, she would complete her daily tasks, and we mostly kept to ourselves. Nothing inappropriate ever happened. We co-existed in peace.
One day, I was watching a movie as part of my after work routine. I saw her pass the living room and invited her to join me. At that point, I was just craving human interaction. All of my social interactions were over a screen and this young lady was the only person I actually saw.
I started asking innocent questions about our past, family and other small talk conversations, and we started to get friendly. This became our new routine, and it became something I would look forward to every day.
One day she asked me what my favourite food was and that she wanted to make it for me. Usually, our usual meal was a menu tailored by my wife, filled with nutritious proteins, greens and grains. I told her I love a good fried chicken and hot white rice, an omelette and sambal.
The next evening, I was presented with a plate of said meal, and I ate to my heart’s content. Later that night, while we were doing our ritual of watching a movie, I asked her to sit next to me. One thing led to another and we ended up in bed together.
The next morning, I remember the guilt that overwhelmed me. I sent my wife a text that simply stated “I miss you”. I quickly headed to my home-office to start my work, without even going to have my coffee.
For most of the day, I avoided my helper. At dinnertime, I saw a message from her on my cell that informed me that dinner was ready. I was planning to tell her it was all a mistake and that last night shouldn’t have happened.
To my surprise, she was wearing a skimpy nightgown and some heels. It truly was a sight to behold for a lonely old man like me. With almost 27 years between us, I’m afraid to say that my will power was not as strong as I wished it to be. We continued to have an affair that was beyond my wildest imagination for the next few months.
My maid told me that she was pregnant.
One day, about 3 months later, she came to me with some worrying news. She said she was late for her period, and wanted to get a pregnancy test. We ordered one online and lo and behold! My maid was pregnant.
A thousand thoughts ran through my mind that day. I knew that no matter what, my wife could never find out. She would be devastated especially since she could never have a kid. I considered sending my maid for a discreet abortion at a private local hospital, but something stopped me.
Deep down, I wanted the kid to be born. I’ve always yearned to have my genes pass on. Whether I could be in their life or not, I wanted to know I had a biological child. One thing that always made me regret not having kids, is knowing that my family line would end with me as I was an only child.
So after some discussion with the young lady, she agreed to my terms. I would pay for her to move out and stay at an apartment until she could go back to her hometown in the Philippines once the restrictions were lifted.
I also would cover all the costs and expenses of raising our son. I decided that I did not want any contact as it would devastate my wife if she found out, so part of the agreement was that she would not reveal my identity.
I sent the maid away and hid the truth from my wife.
Within a week, I had withdrawn some of my investments and come up with a handsome sum. It was substantial, more than half of my total savings, and I hoped and prayed it would not be missed nor noticed by my wife.
Two weeks later, my maid had moved out and I was living alone in my house. It wasn’t hard to explain our helper’s absence to my wife as a lot of foreigners were leaving during this time period.
It’s been about 5 years now, and things with my wife are as good as it always was. After the pandemic chaos, our relationship improved and continues to thrive. We are back to where we were: Travelling, new experiences and enjoying life.
Meanwhile, I ceased all contact with my former helper. By now, my son would be 5 years old. I don’t know what he looks like, or his name, but I’m comforted by the fact that he exists. One day, maybe he’ll come looking for me, and I will explain everything to him. But I hope that day never comes.
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Also read: What I Wish I Knew Before I Cheated On My Wife With A 25 Year Old
What I Wish I Knew Before I Cheated On My Wife With A 25 Year Old
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