Chapter 2

"You're the older one. You've always been mature ever since you were a child. Why don't you let Vince have his way this time? Just treat it as you doing him a favor," Mom said.

I hung up and leaned against the elevator's cold wall.

It seemed that even Mom had been in on the scheme. My entire family had been plotting against me behind my back.

I staggered back to my home.

There were traces of Connor in every corner of the house. There were lines on the doorframe that I used to measure his height. His favorite superhero figurines were scattered across the couch.

My breathing turned ragged as I rummaged through the cabinets. I also yanked out all of Giselle's drawers and smashed them on the ground.

Finally, I found a metal box in the bottom drawer of the bedside cabinet. Inside the box was Connor's birth certificate.

"Father: Vincent Sawyer.

"Mother: Giselle Lambert."

There was also a property deed inside the box. Only Giselle's name was printed on the document.

To buy this house, I used up all my pre-marital savings. It seemed that all of my efforts had been in vain now.

I turned the metal box upside down.

A yellowed receipt fell out among the mess of ticket stubs. It was a receipt of a donation that was made to Sunshine Orphanage located in the suburbs.

Giselle had donated two thousand dollars to the orphanage a month after she gave birth.

Giselle wasn't the type to do charity. She would even scold the beggars on the streets. So why did she make a donation to an orphanage that was located so far away?

The doorbell rang.

A few seconds later, the door swung open to reveal Giselle.

A hint of panic flickered in her eyes when she noticed the mess on the floor and the birth certificate. She quickly regained her composure and fixed an adoring expression on her face. She then pulled out a cake box from behind her back as well as a tie.

"Don't be angry anymore, Hayden. I got your favorite chestnut cake for you. I also bought the tie you've been eyeing recently but weren't willing to splurge your money on.

"Mom was hounding me for a grandson. The Lambert family needed a male heir to carry on the bloodline. On top of that, you became impotent after the accident. The doctor also said it would be incredibly difficult for you to have children in the future.

"Why don't you treat Connor as your biological son? I swear that I'll never divorce you for the rest of my life if you do."

I was suddenly reminded of all the preparations I had made to ensure that Giselle would get pregnant. I had actually suffered a great deal to increase her chances of conceiving our child.

I stopped smoking and drinking, and I also sacrificed sleep in favor of studying relevant information that might come in handy when Giselle was expecting. I also prepared balanced meals for her every day to ensure that her body was in the best condition.

To earn more money so that we could have our IVF procedure conducted at the best private hospital, I worked in the office during the day while moonlighting as a cab driver at night. Due to overworking myself, I ended up developing a rather severe stomach illness.

I even got into an accident while I was on the way to the hospital to accompany Giselle when she went into labor. Not only did I fall unconscious due to my heavy injuries, but I also ended up becoming impotent.

At the time, Giselle had held my hands tightly, her eyes turning red. Her sobbing was reminiscent of a child when she exclaimed, "Let's give up on having a child, Hayden! My heart hurts so much watching you work yourself to the bone like this."

And now, Giselle was using the gentlest tone to say the cruelest words.

My eyes widened when my gaze landed on the cake.

The box was transparent, so I could clearly see that a corner of the chestnut cake was missing. It became blatantly obvious that someone had taken a bite out of it.

As for the tie, I could see some cologne stains on it that the person had failed to wipe clean.

My limbs suddenly felt unbearably cold.

I suddenly recalled that Vincent had updated his social media just an hour ago.

"I'm sure there's a recycling center out there that's willing to accept my outdated ties and the desserts that I dislike."

He had attached a photo with his message, showing the same cake that was missing a corner and the same tie.

Giselle was attempting to appease me with Vincent's leftovers.

My gut twisted uncomfortably. I grabbed both the cake and the tie and hurled them in Giselle's face.

"Get out. And take your kept lover's trash with you."

Giselle's expression darkened as she wiped the cream from her face. "Don't push your luck, Hayden Sawyer."

She then pulled out a stack of cash from her purse and tossed it on the table. "This is this month's household allowance."