Author's Note:

It feels so good to be back. I have been so busy with school that I hardly find time to write fics of my own anymore. Most of the time I am just so tired so I always chose to be on the passive side, just reading fics and leaving reviews afterwards.

Anyway, I rated this fic M due to its sensitive themes. If you know me very well, you would know that I love writing fics with sensitive themes, such as marital infidelity and the like. And so, marital infidelity is again the theme of this fic, but this time, I opted to add a little twist to it. Now a friendly reminder, if you are not comfortable with such types of stories, I suggest that you refrain from reading this anymore. Refrain from doing anything that stresses you out, and if reading fics wherein Goku cheats on his wife gives you stress, this story is definitely not for you.

I did not write this fic for me to be bashed. The idea just all came into my mind, and I felt the need to write it all out.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN DB AND ITS CHARACTERS.


"My husband is having an affair..."

I blinked twice as I looked at Chichi, her once calm expression slowly turning into a frantic one, her voice shaking a bit as she said the last few words.

"Are you sure?" I asked as I sipped on my tea, my eyes never leaving hers as I waited for her answer.

"I'm pretty sure.." she said before taking a sip from her own cup. "I'm pretty sure that Goku is having an affair. There were evidences.."

"Like what?" I questioned once more.

Chichi placed the cup of tea she was holding on the table and held onto my hands. "Bulma, there were lipstick stains on his sash and on the collar of his gi, and his shirt smelled of a woman's perfume. And..." her voice faultered as tears started forming in her eyes. "And just yesterday, as I was washing his clothes, I... I saw a ring in his pocket. It was the male version of a couple ring. I know that because.. because I have seen that ring before when we went shopping together a few weeks ago. We went to the jewelry store and he asked about it. I was starting to think that he wanted one for us but he didn't buy the pair of rings that time. I thought he chose to forget about it.. until yesterday, when I saw the same ring, the male version of it in his pocket.." by this time, Chichi was already in tears. I offered her a tissue as I eyed her with sympathy.

"Are you sure that it's the same ring? And Chichi, maybe Goku wanted that ring so much so he bought it for himself. You know, maybe it can be bought even without its pair." I said, though I knew that it was far from possible. I have seen these couple rings that Chichi was referring to, and I knew that these couple rings are always sold in pairs.

"Bulma, it is the same ring!" She said as a few tears escaped her eyes. "I'm sure of it. When Goku asked about that in the jewelry store I had a good look at it. So I know that the ring I saw yesterday was the one from the jewelry store."

I sighed. "Do you have it with you now?"

Chichi nodded as she opened her purse. She fumbled through its contents before she brought out the ring for me to see.

"Here. Now tell me it's not a male version of a couple ring." She said as she handed the item to me.

I took the ring from her and studied it. True enough, it is indeed the male version of a couple ring. Chichi isn't mistaken. And I am also quite sure that I already saw this ring, or at least the female version of it, before. No, I haven't been to that jewelry store Chichi was talking about, but I knew it indeed has a pair. As I have said, I already saw the female version of it.

"Now tell me that I am wrong, that I am just imagining things.." Chichi said as new tears formed in her eyes. "I told you, Goku is cheating on me. I already suspected this but... but it still hurts when your suspicions have been confirmed." Her words dissolved into a torrent of tears and I pitied her, so I rose from my seat to hug her and comfort her.

"Chichi..." I began. "Maybe it's best if you talk to Goku regarding this. You should at least ask him, or tell him that you are suspecting something."

"Ask him? So that he can just lie to me about it?" Chichi asked back.

"No.. you should ask him so that you will have the answers you're looking for." I said in reply. "You know, Chichi, there are only two types of answers that you might get, a positive or a negative. And I know it hurts, but you have to be ready for it... especially for the positive answer." Chichi's sobs grew louder as I said the last words.

"I know that, and that's what I'm afraid of." She said as more tears flowed down her cheeks. "I'm afraid that if I ask him, Goku might answer me positively, and of course my next question will be about his feelings for that woman. It scares me to think that Goku might already have developed feelings for her, and I am worried that he might tell me that when I ask him questions. I don't want it to happen, Bulma. I can't bear to hear Goku say those things to me. Just by thinking about it already hurts me so much... because if Goku tells me that he indeed loves this woman, he might think of leaving me.. and he might ask me for his freedom. I can't give him his freedom, Bulma. I love him too much and I don't want to lose him." Chichi lamented.

"But would you rather live like that?" I asked. "Would you rather live in constant worry and fear while thinking that Goku is indeed having an affair and could leave you anytime? Chichi, you deserve answers. Whatever Goku's answer might be, you have to be ready for it, even if it hurts so much. Maybe, you can just stick to the hope that he will choose you in favor of that woman since you are his wife, and you have been married for more than forty years. You can just hope that maybe he will think about your family, your sons, and he will be selfless enough to consider them if ever he thinks of leaving you for that woman." I told her as I patted her back gently. I didn't know what else to say. True enough, if I myself experienced this, I do not know what I would do, or if I can confront Vegeta should he choose to cheat on me.

We talked some more before Chichi said goodbye. She told me she still had to go to Gohan's house since she promised Pan that she would be spending the night there. I watched her as she left in her car, pondering on everything she had said.

As I walked back inside the house, I noticed that she left Goku's ring on the table. I sighed before I picked it up and I was contemplating on whether I should call Chichi to give it back because Goku might look for it, when I saw my daughter Bulla descending from the stairs. She was dressed a black and red lacy dress and on her feet were a pair of red high heeled pumps. I could smell the scent of her perfume as it filled the living room when she walked past me.

She looked at me and saw the ring in my hands. Her eyes widened. "Mom, how did you get that ring?" She asked.

"It doesn't matter how I got it." I answered before I walked towards her. "Bulla, honey, Chichi knows that Goku is having an affair. I think you should..-"

"What? Stop seeing him and break it off with him?" She asked, cutting me off. "I can't do that, Mom. Not now, not today, not tomorrow... never." She said with defiance.

"Honey, Goku is a married man, and Chichi loves him..-"

"I love him too Mom." Bulla said in a louder voice. "Don't you get it? I love the man. I wouldn't agree to enter into this kind of relationship with him if I don't. I'm beautiful and rich, men desire me and I could have any man I want in just a flick of my finger, yet I chose to be with Goku, to be his mistress, because I love him."

"Honey, it's not right to sleep with a married man." I said softly.

Bulla shook her head. "I don't care, Mother. I told you, I love Goku. I need to be with him. I need to see him, to feel his arms around me, to hear him say how much he loves me, I need him. And I can't live without him Mom." Her voice faultered a bit as she said these last lines. "I can't live without Goku. I can't lose him, and I don't care if his wife knows that he's having an affair. I will not stop seeing him and I will not break it off with him just because Chichi knows. Call me selfish Mother, but I won't do anything for Chichi's sake. I love her husband, and her husband loves me. I am happy with Goku, and he's happy with me. There's no reason to stop seeing him and being with him at all."

"Don't you get it?!" I asked, my voice rising a bit. "Goku is a married man! And you are being a homewrecker because of what you have been doing! If Goku doesn't want to stop, then so be it, but you.." I said the word "you" with conviction as I pointed a finger at her. "You should at least do something if Goku doesn't want to act upon it! My god, Bulla! You said it yourself that you are beautiful, rich and educated! You can have any man whom you choose to be with, but please! Please don't let yourself be a mistress of a man who's even a lot older than you! I know you love him, but honey, please do think of yourself too!" I ranted at her, my calm composure totally melting as my voice turned desperate while I spoke those words.

Bulla smiled bitterly as a lone tear fell down her fully made up eye. "It's too late for that Mother.." she said as she placed a hand over her flat stomach and caressed it gently. "It's too late for that now. You see, I'm pregnant with Goku's child, and I have decided to keep this baby. I can't break it off with Goku now. We need him, just as much as Chichi and his sons do." She said as she wiped the tear that fell on her cheek.

To say that I was surprised at her revelation is not enough. Shock is actually the proper term to describe what I had felt after hearing what Bulla just told me. My hands shook and the ring - Goku's ring, that I have been holding fell to the floor with a soft clank. Bulla bent to pick it up and she grasped it tightly in her fist. My eyes caught sight of the ring that she wore, the female version of Goku's ring.

When Chichi told me that Goku is cheating on her and is having an affair earlier, I knew she was right. And when she showed me the ring, I wasn't surprised at all, though I felt a little cold when she mentioned about the ring. For a few days before this day, I had seen the female version of the ring in Bulla's finger when we all ate dinner together to celebrate my Mom's birthday. And I also know that she has been seeing Goku for quite sometime now, however, I tried my best to play innocent when Chichi came crying and ranting to me earlier about her husband and her suspicions. Chichi is my friend, but Bulla is my daughter. How can I confirm her suspicions and tell her that Goku's mistress is in fact my daughter? That I once caught Bulla and Goku having hardcore sex in a secluded area in the garden and that Goku comes to visit Bulla every night in her room by doing instant transmission? If she learns all about it, she would hurt Bulla, and I don't want that to happen. Because I might forget that she is my friend once I see my daughter crying because of her.

Indeed, blood is thicker than water.

I care for Chichi as a friend, but I treasure Bulla as a daughter.


END