Chapter 5

Yvonne froze, staring at him in disbelief.

Teddy was her cat, but to her and Cole, he was also their baby.

Three years ago, Yvonne had witnessed her mother's death in a car accident and developed PTSD. Hoping to help her recover, Cole gave her a kitten.

Teddy stayed by her side as she slowly made her way through that devastating period and became her greatest source of comfort.

Yvonne had never imagined Cole would use Teddy to force her to admit she was wrong.

Her whole body shook uncontrollably. Her heart felt as though it were being torn apart, the pain making it almost impossible to breathe.

Seeing her reaction, Renee hugged Yuri and sobbed.

"Cole, forget it. If Yvonne doesn't want to apologize, then don't make her. Yuri's life doesn't mean anything to her anyway."

At that, anger flared in Cole's eyes. He turned toward the bodyguards by the door and ordered coldly, "Take the cat away. Get rid of it."

"No!"

Yvonne panicked. She rushed forward and grabbed Cole's arm.

"I'll apologize.

"Cole, I'm begging you. Don't take Teddy away."

She looked at Renee and Yuri, biting down so hard on her lip that she tasted blood.

Her voice trembled.

"I'm sorry. It was my fault. I shouldn't have tried to hurt Yuri."

Now that she had finally given in, Cole's expression softened. He turned to the bodyguards.

"Take Teddy to the animal hospital and have him boarded there."

"I apologized. Why are you still taking him away?"

Cole tried to reassure her.

"Don't worry. Someone will take good care of him. Once Yuri's surgery is over, we'll bring him home."

Yvonne sagged against the wall as if all the strength had drained from her. The last trace of light disappeared from her eyes.

Without another word, she turned and walked out.

Her phone screen lit up with a message from a friend.

[Your paperwork is all set. I'll pick you up in two days.]

Yvonne wiped the tears from her face and told herself that she only had to wait two more days.

Then she could take Teddy and leave them for good.

The next day, Yvonne went straight to the office. She planned to hand in her resignation and pack up her things.

But the moment she walked in, she found all her belongings scattered across the floor.

Her coworkers' mocking voices reached her.

"Working in the same office as a homewrecker is disgusting. No wonder she was always sucking up to Ms. Abbott. Turns out she was just looking for a chance to hurt her and her son!"

"Ms. Abbott already remarried her husband, and she still wouldn't leave him alone. She even got pregnant, hoping she could take her place. How shameless."

Yvonne clenched her fists and shouted at the crowd, "I'm not a homewrecker! I never broke up anyone's family!"

But no one wanted to listen.

They kept mocking her, and some even recorded videos and posted them on social media.

A group of coworkers shoved and crowded her toward the door.

Yvonne picked up her things, packed them into a box, and left as quickly as she could.

By the time she got home, it was already evening.

Renee stood by the staircase in a silk nightgown, blocking Yvonne's path with mockery in her eyes.

"Yvonne, you're pathetic. All this time with Cole, and you don't even have a name or a place beside him. Now the only thing your baby is good for is saving my son."

Yvonne looked at Renee, who had finally dropped the pretense.

"You knew about Cole and me from the very beginning."

Renee smiled smugly.

"Of course I did. I'm the one who was always meant to be Mrs. Foster.

"You were just something for him to play with while we were apart. The moment my son and I need him, he'll drop everything and come back to us."

Yvonne's heart trembled.

She drew a deep breath and said evenly, "Fine. Then I hope the two of you stay together forever."

Seeing that Yvonne was still composed, Renee gave a cold laugh. Her red lips curved as she said,

"To thank you for taking care of Cole for free all these years. I'll be sure to prepare a gift for you."