Love Amounts to Nothing

The next morning, I got up early as usual to make breakfast for Luke and our daughter, Susan Madden.Susan frowned at the bowl of oatmeal I placed in front of her and complained loudly, "Why are we eating this again? I want a bacon burger!"Patiently, I told her, "Bacon burgers aren't healthy. Oatmeal is good for your tummy."Unhappy, she shouted at me, "You're such a stick in the mud! Aunt Wendy says I can eat whatever I want. I want her to be my Mommy and take care of me. I don't want you!"I paused mid-motion. My heart felt as if it were being torn apart.I couldn't believe my daughter, whom I had endured countless rounds of IVF and injections to bring into this world, could say such cruel words.Luke quickly glared at Susan and took the ladle from my hand. "She doesn't know what she's talking about," he said hurriedly with a smile. "Don't mind her. Wendy is just my assistant. Here, sit down. I'll serve you."I did not expose his lie. Clenching my trembling hands, I did as he

When I got ready to try on the tailored gown I was supposed to wear to the banquet, I realized that it had been switched out.The one before me was far inferior in quality, and it was obviously several sizes larger than mine.Since I had to wear the gown the next day, I called the boutique angrily to question them. However, the woman at the boutique sounded aggrieved as she explained, "Ms. Lane, this really isn't our fault. Your husband said he'd take the dress home for you to try on, and when he brought it back, he told us that we needed to make some adjustments. We really don't know what went wrong."Suppressing my anger, I stormed over to Luke's office to question him. When he saw me, he frowned. "I thought I told you not to bother me during working hours—""Did you take my gown?" I interrupted him. "The woman at the boutique said you took it home for me to try on. Why don't I remember that?"After a pause, he said, "Wendy doesn't have a gown, so I let her wear that one. Besi

The entire hall was eerily silent. Everyone was stunned—no one had expected to see such a shocking scene at the banquet."Oh my god, isn't that Mr. Madden and his assistant? I can't believe they've been hooking up all this time!""They always seemed so uptight. I didn't expect them to be getting up to this behind the scenes!""I knew it! Something was off between them. No one calls the CEO by his first name—their relationship was weird!"Whispers swept through the audience, their gazes fixed to the scene.Meanwhile, I stepped off the stage and sat to the side, enjoying the emotions flitting across Luke's face.By the time the emcee snapped out of it and rushed off to pull the plug on the screen, the video was almost at its end."This… This video was AI-generated! Yes, that's it. Don't believe this," Luke spluttered.His explanation was laughably unconvincing. Most of the people gathered here were IT experts—they could tell instantly that the video wasn't fake.Luke's face twis

Luke returned to Wendy's house in a daze. She was lounging comfortably on the couch, wearing a skimpy nightgown and sipping on some juice.When she saw Luke, she quickly stood up and pouted at him coquettishly as usual. "You're finally home, darling! I've been waiting so long for you. You'll have to make it up to me."To her surprise, Luke pushed her hand away and said coldly, "When did you send those photos to Elizabeth? Who told you to do that?"Wendy was shocked, but she quickly put on an innocent look. "What photos? I don't know what you're talking about."As she spoke, she adjusted her nightgown, lowering the collar to reveal her cleavage. "Let's not talk about that," she said seductively. "Look, I bought a new nightgown. Don't you want to try stripping me out of it?"Luke threw a stack of photographs at her and yelled, "Are you a fucking cat in heat? Stop thinking about sex and take a good look at these!"The photographs were at an intimate angle—only two people would be ab

The divorce went smoother than expected, except Susan chose to stay with Luke. When I asked her why she didn't want to be with me, she gave me a disgusted look and said, "I don't want you. You're always stopping me from eating snacks and forcing me to eat things I don't want. Aunt Wendy is much nicer than you. I want Daddy to marry her so she can be my Mommy!"Her innocent voice uttered the cruelest words. I thought that I was hardened by now, but my heart still felt numb with pain.This was what I got after ten months of pregnancy and hardship to bring her into the world.When we exited the courthouse, Luke called out to me, his eyes brimming with guilt and reluctance. "Is there really no second chance for us? I know I have wronged you, but I've realized my mistakes now."Susan is still so young. Do you really want her to grow up without a mother? I just want her to have a complete family."He tried to use Susan to keep me tied to him. But did he think of her when he was havin