Chapter 3

Cora had once been the number-one beauty in Jenton. Even now, at 40 years old, she was still stunning. Thanks to her good maintenance routine and a pampered lifestyle, there was no trace of age on her face—she looked like she was 28 at most. Her age only added a touch of mature charm to her.

She was also the richest woman in the city, sitting on a fortune in the tens of billions. Naturally, there was no shortage of men pursuing her. Still, there was a huge difference between having suitors and having an actual lover.

A paternity test was scientific evidence. It wouldn't lie. Cora's daughters weren't related to Joseph by blood, which meant she had definitely cheated.

Joseph didn't expect Cora to bare her soul and confess her filthy, shameful private life, but he had full faith in science. That was his leverage and what gave him the courage to finally confront her.

Sure enough, Cora didn't own up to anything. She simply smiled at him and asked, "What, are you that lacking in confidence? You're underestimating yourself and me."

"Maybe. But I've been getting this nagging feeling that you've been sleeping around behind my back. You've cheated on me time and time again!" Joseph spat out.

"What nonsense are you spouting? There's a limit to how far jokes can go. Don't throw words like that around, or I'll get seriously mad," Cora snarled.

"I knew it. You won't admit it until the truth's in your face. Explain this to me, Cora!"

Joseph finally lost his patience. He pulled out a creased paternity test report and shoved it at her.

Cora glanced at the conclusion. The smile on her face slowly froze, and her eyes suddenly sharpened as she swept a look over Joseph.

But she didn't panic. With infuriating calm, she tore the paternity report in half, folded the pieces, and ripped them again into shreds. "Honey, the joke's over. I'm full, so let's go home."

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Joseph didn't budge. He'd already guessed how she might react, and he wasn't interested in bickering with her. "Do you know how many times I checked? I've done at least three rounds of tests at judicially certified labs—institutions appointed by courts for these things, like Jenton Rovo Biotech.

"On top of that, I mailed multiple samples anonymously to top labs in other cities. Every single result says the same thing—that Natalie isn't my daughter. She's the product of your little fling with some other man."

"Joseph, you…" Cora's face finally turned serious. She fixed him with an even harsher stare. "You actually went behind my back and did all this?"

A strange, suffocating pressure rolled off the woman Joseph had called his wife for over a decade. She'd always been lofty and imperious. In the past, he would have backed down and tried to placate her. He would've swallowed his pride and compromised.

But not anymore. He refused to shrink back. He met her gaze head-on and said, "Natalie is 15 years old. Add in the months you were pregnant, and that's 16 whole years. You've lied to me for 16 years."

"Joseph, you must've drunk yourself stupid to be saying something this brainless. How can you actually let those words come out of your mouth?" Cora's tone turned icy. "You're going to come home with me right now. From this moment, you're not stepping foot outside our front door without my permission!"

"What do you take me for? I'm never going back there from now on. In fact, I'm divorcing you!" Joseph forced the words through gritted teeth. He'd ultimately made himself bring the divorce up.

"Divorce? You actually want to divorce me? You've completely lost your mind. You're being ridiculous!"

Cora's overwhelming presence crashed down on him. But when she saw how stubborn Joseph remained and how he looked like he had nothing to lose, her fury spiked. She shot to her feet and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Joseph drew in a deep breath and touched his forehead. It was clammy with cold sweat. This was the first time he'd ever stood up to Cora, who'd always been high and mighty.

He was just an ordinary attending physician with no power and no connections. Cora, on the other hand, came from a prestigious family and was the richest woman in Jenton. She held enormous influence.

In a world stacked so heavily in her favor, for him to file for divorce was like a commoner rebelling against a queen. If she really decided to go after him, he would be ruined in Jenton and unable to do anything else.

But there was no way he could go on silently shouldering the humiliation of raising someone else's children. He couldn't live as a pathetic, clueless stand-in any longer.

Now that he had seen Cora's ugly true colors, it was impossible for him to go on pretending they still had a marriage. He was going to divorce her and live his own life.

Not long after, the door swung open again, and Cora walked back in. This time, she spoke to Joseph gently. "Honey, just apologize to me. Admit you said something wrong just now and that you'll never bring up divorce again.

"Promise me you'll quit drinking, and I'll act as if none of this ever happened. We'll go back to the way we were, just like before. We'll still be a happily married couple."