Chapter 1

The call button was pressed, but Susan Brown didn’t stop speaking.

“Myles, I have worked so hard all these years to build this business,” she said, her voice softening as she wiped the bright red blood from the back of my hand. “I need a child to inherit everything I’ve built. Our relationship has grown a bit stale lately anyway. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a sweet little child running around the house to liven things up?”

A soft smile crept into Susan’s eyes.

“As for Owen… he has suffered a lot for my sake. He is gentle and sensible; he won’t ever threaten your status as my husband. I can’t mistreat him, so please, don’t make a scene, okay?”

Watching the sheer tenderness in Susan’s eyes, I laughed until the tears came.

So, that six-month “business trip” she took was actually just a cover to go off and bear a child for her lover. The reason I couldn’t reach her wasn’t that she was busy; she just didn’t want me disrupting her secret life. And through it all, I had been blind to her betrayal.

Even yesterday, when my surgical wound got infected, I called her six times in a row, and not a single call went through. Right up until the moment I passed out from the pain, I was still foolishly making excuses for her, worrying that she was working too hard and forgetting to eat.

How utterly pathetic I was.

“Let’s get a divorce,” I said, my expression cold as I yanked my hand out of Susan’s grasp. “I have zero tolerance for infidelity.”

Susan’s face froze for a second, but she quickly let out a mocking scoff. “Oh, so you insist on making a scene? Fine. Then sign the paperwork.”

She whipped out a set of divorce papers. Her signature was already on the document. It turned out she had come prepared all along.

I let out a self-deprecating laugh and picked up the pen without a moment’s hesitation. However, just as the pen touched the paper, Susan suddenly pinned my hand down. Her expression was ugly.

“Myles Thompson, since when did you become so incredibly impulsive?”

Who was truly the impulsive one here, though?

“You need to face reality. No woman out there is going to accept a man who can’t give her children. Where will you even go if you leave me? Back to some small town to find some old sugar mommy who has one foot in the grave? Myles, haven’t you had enough of living in poverty? Why can’t you just be good and cherish the comfortable life you have right now?”

“You’re filthy. Don’t touch me!”

I wrenched myself free from Susan’s grip, practically screaming the words. Yet, her cruel taunts still felt like a million tiny needles piercing through my heart, and I couldn’t stop my tears from falling.

Ironically, she was the same person who used to tell me that love shouldn’t be chained down by children, and that true happiness had absolutely nothing to do with wealth.

I closed my eyes, forcing the tears back. The woman standing in front of me right now was not the Susan I loved, and she wasn’t worth a single one of my tears.

When I opened my eyes again, my voice was firm. “Susan, staying by your side will only disgust me. Accepting your illegitimate child isn’t happiness. It’s a slap in the face.”

These words enraged Susan, and she slammed her fist down onto the hospital bed. The nurse’s hand shook just as she was trying to reinsert my IV, causing the needle to pierce straight through my skin. The nurse was so terrified that she apologized repeatedly.

Susan glared at my bloodshot eyes as she said, “Myles Thompson, if you’ve got the guts, then get the hell out right now!”

She immediately ordered the nurse to process my discharge papers.

“But Ms. Brown, Mr. Thompson’s wound hasn’t recovered yet. We highly recommend keeping him under observation for another couple of–”

Before the nurse could finish her sentence, Susan stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. The nurse looked at me with pity, and I simply flashed her a bitter smile. Not caring anymore, I picked up the pen to finalize my signature.

What made Susan think she would decide whether I would stay or leave?

I unlocked my phone, intending to call her, but my finger accidentally tapped on her profile picture instead. Her latest Instagram update popped up. It featured two photos: one of a newborn wrapped in a blanket and another of a man leaning down and gently kissing her pregnant belly. The caption read, “Mommy loves you, but she loves Daddy even more.”

It felt as though someone was squeezing my heart.

Uncontrollably, my thumb scrolled down through her feed. Over the past six months, she had carefully documented all of their dates, prenatal checkups, and anniversaries. It turned out she didn’t hate posting about her life on social media; she had simply blocked me from seeing her happy. However, now that everything was out in the open, she clearly didn’t see any need to hide it from me anymore.

The thought of it made me nauseous, and I choked until tears streamed down my face. If this was how it was going to be… then Susan, this was where we end.

I dialed Susan’s number.

“I’ve signed the divorce papers. When are we going to–”

Before I could finish, the hospital room door opened. The moment I saw the person walking in, the blood in my veins froze.

I broke down and demanded from the person on the other end of the line, “Susan! Why would you do this?”

Her voice on the other end was entirely flat, offering no explanation. “Myles, whatever is going on between us, make sure you tell your grandmother everything. You know her heart can’t handle any stress.”

With that, the line went dead, leaving me trembling uncontrollably.

Susan knew exactly how to manipulate me. Grandma had just undergone major heart surgery last year; she absolutely could not handle any stress.

"Myles, dear, I heard you and Susan had a little misunderstanding… Over all these years, I’ve seen exactly how well Susan treats you…”

I forced a yawn, using the movement to wipe the tears from my face. However, I could feel a lump in my throat.

How could I possibly tell her the truth? How could I tell her that the woman who used to run across the entire city in the middle of the night just to buy me strawberries and who used to skip dinner for a whole month just to save up for a gift to show me she loved me had gone out and had an illegitimate child with another man?