The honking of the car downstairs no longer surprises me. It seems that my husband is tired of Francine and has come home after his wife gave birth for half a day. I bet Augustin does not even know that I was in labour. But now I do not care much anymore. I just need to do my duty well, whether I am loved or not is no longer a concern. This marriage has become a shackle for both of us. Even if Andermis wants to, he cannot divorce. Asset management is always a concern for business-minded individuals like my husband's family.

I hear the sound of quarrelling on the floor below, it seems like the two Morten brothers are about to fight again, just like the previous night. The sound of footsteps constantly echoes up the stairs, making me shake my head in disgust. My husband walks into the room with dishevelled clothes and messy hair, I do not know if it was because of Andermis or Francine. But no matter how cold I am to him, I still cannot deny that my husband truly loves this baby. Augustin comes up to look at the baby in my arms. He reaches out his hand and asks softly:

"Can I hold her?"

"Of course, yes."

I smile lightly and reply. What excuse do I have to refuse him now? Augustin is the legal husband and biological father of the baby, neither the law nor ethics can prohibit him from holding his own child, even though during the difficult time of her birth, he was with another woman.

It has been a long time since I have seen him truly happy standing next to me, even though the newborn is the main reason. He sits next to us, fondly looking at his newly born daughter, lying peacefully in his arms like a little puppy. The baby sucks on his fingertip like she is latching onto my breast, and the sound of her enjoying her mother’s fresh breast milk just makes both of us laugh. Andermis stands outside the door, glaring at my husband with disdainful eyes. I shake my head at Andermis, signalling him to stop. He suppresses his anger and leaves the room, leaving me and Augustin with the baby. Augustin looks at me and asks, "Have you named the child yet?"

"Not yet," I shake my head. Part of me feels disappointed that he did not ask anything about me. "Mummy said to wait for you to come back."

Augustin looks thoughtful. We have never had a conversation about this until today, and it seems like Augustin has never thought about it before. I wait for him to ask for my opinion, but all I get is a face full of cunning. After a while, unable to wait any longer, I plan to tell him about the name I had thought of, but suddenly Augustin steps forward before me. And this step does not make me happy at all. "Daddy will call you Francine, my lovely dovey?"

I am just stunned by his decision. Out of all the names, my husband chooses the name of his lover, and that has pushed me to the peak of anger. I criticise, "Didn't you think you should have asked me first?"

"Didn't you say Mummy told me to name it?" Augustin looks at me coldly, asking me back.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"But I'm her mother!" I immediately change my attitude. I will not compromise if it concerns my child. "I went through all the trouble to give birth to this baby!"

"Well, thank you," Augustin responds gently as if nothing is wrong. "But I've already decided on the name."

"You won't name her Francine!" I shout. I try to stand up to grab my daughter, but I'm too weak to do that. I sit back on the bed, trying to resist, and growl. "I forbid you to do that."

My voice screams out, becoming a horrifying sound that makes our daughter cry. Both Lady Rose and Andermis immediately come to my room. Augustin scowls at me and rebukes, "You're scaring Francine!"

"I told you not to name her Francine!"

None of us can bear each other. Andermis stands by my side, while Lady Rose leans towards Augustin. Lady Rose looks at me sternly, "What's going on that's causing all this noise? You just gave birth, shouldn't you be resting?"

"I won't let him name our daughter after that bitch!"

I step forward to take my daughter, but my husband holds onto her tightly. Andermis steps in to help me. He questions Augustin, "Give the baby back to Fiona, August."

"Don't you think this is a matter that you can stay out of, little brother!" Augustin sneers. "You touched my wife, now you want to take my daughter too?"

But Andermis remains unshaken. He maintains his serious expression when facing his older brother. Andermis is slightly taller than my husband, and with his deep voice, he becomes even larger than ever before.

"The baby is crying. Let her go back to her mother."

At first, Augustin pays no attention to Andermis' words, but after failing to calm the baby down, my husband has no choice but to give her back to me. With the instincts of a mother, I immediately switch to protective mode. Just as I begin to feel that he might be a good father, his terrible character forces me to reconsider. I feel like he is doing this to confront me, not for any other reason.

"You should know that I will still name our daughter Francine," Augustin says.

My husband is right, I have no power in this matter. Augustin is my child's father and he has the right to name our child. This regime only brings me helplessness and confusion about justice. And now I must silently accept that my daughter will bear the name Francine for life, only because of the confrontation between her father and me. I turn away, pat my little girl's back, try to comfort her and we both cry quietly. The most uncomfortable feeling is the inexpressible powerlessness. I cannot do anything, even to protect my own child, I feel so small and helpless.

The sound of small footsteps gradually shows that Augustin has left, making me unable to hold back my tears anymore. Andermis immediately steps forward to lead me back to bed, then hugs me tightly. My child and I cry as if we were born at the same time. I was too naive to think that things would be easier if we had a child together. But I misjudged the feelings of a man full of hatred. This child is only a way to keep him at home more often, but it is not a long-term solution. And now I have to face the fact that my daughter is attached to that vile name, how can I pretend to be normal?