Chapter 3

The other guests roared with even louder laughter.

Someone jeered, "Mr. Calter is so generous! But really, isn't three hundred too much for goods like this?"

Lisa leaned into Freddy's side, joining in the mockery with a tinkling laugh.

I raised my voice, trembling with fury. "Freddy, are you really going to let them humiliate me and Elise like this?"

He stood expressionless, as if I were nothing more than a stranger.

Only when the laughter finally died down did he speak, his tone flat and impatient.

"Valerie, stop disgracing yourself here. We're celebrating Eugene's birthday party today. Take your daughter and leave now, or I'll have security escort you out."

In my arms, Elise shook violently, her tiny fingers clutching the fabric of my dress. She buried her face against my chest, too frightened to look at the sea of cruel, mocking eyes.

"Mommy… is it true? Are they right?"

Her trembling question stabbed straight through my heart, leaving me gasping for air.

Twelve years of marriage—repaid with this public shattering of dignity.

"No, no, sweetheart… Elise, don't listen to them."

I covered her ears, my throat thick with bitterness. How could I explain all this to her?

I thought back to those early days, when Freddy first started his business. We squeezed into a shabby office barely ten square meters wide.

The company couldn't afford staff, so I wore every hat—administrator, cashier, account manager.

To help him win clients, I swallowed my pride and begged every relative and acquaintance I could find.

I still remembered the day he landed his very first big client. He had spun me around in giddy excitement, then used that first pot of gold to buy me an expensive dress.

I hadn't told him then that the deal only came through because that "big client" was an old friend of my uncle.

As the company found its footing, I carried Elise. Freddy told me to stay home and rest.

"From now on, I'll take care of you. You've suffered so much for me. It's time you enjoyed life," he had said.

But now…

I looked down at the faded dress I'd worn for three years.

While Freddy stood there in a crisp tailored suit, and Lisa glowed in luxury brands from head to toe. Together, they looked like a perfect match, basking in the guests' flattery.

And I—dismissed as nothing more than a maid. Not a soul doubted it.

"Valerie," Lisa said sweetly, her tone dripping with mock compassion, "I know life must be hard for you. But your daughter is old enough to understand now. Even if you don't care about your own dignity, you shouldn't drag her down with you."

From Lisa's delicate designer purse, she drew out a neat bundle of bills, her expression smug as she held it out to me.

"I don't have much cash on me. I don't know what your troubles are, but here—take these two hundred dollars. Buy a bus ticket back to your village. Maybe even see a psychiatrist while you're at it."

As she leaned closer, her voice dropped to a whisper only I could hear. "Valerie, so what if you met Freddy before me? The one unloved is always the third wheel."

Then, with a dramatic little cry of "Oops!" she let go of the bundle.

The bills slapped across my face before scattering across the floor in a humiliating spray.

Lisa smiled without a hint of regret, her gaze condescending. "Sorry… slipped right out of my hand."

The beer-bellied vice president bellowed with laughter. "Now that's the true Mrs. Richmond! Magnanimous, full of class!"

Freddy cast me a cold, dismissive glance. "Pick it up, and leave."

My rage burned so hot it twisted into a laugh.

"Two hundred? You think that's enough to buy me off? Freddy, tell me, when your company was nothing but a struggling startup, how do you think you won those projects?"