PEWARIS DALAM BAYANGAN

Elara Jones was carrying her daughter as she rushed to the hotel. At this moment, her son's fifth birthday party had already begun.

Meanwhile, Harvey Fisher stood beside their son as the warm glow of the candles illuminated the child's tender face.

Beau Fisher clasped his hands together and made a wish. "I wish Ms. Niamh could be my new mom."

Elara was shivering from the cold as it was raining heavily outside. She had gotten herself soaked trying to keep her daughter and the birthday cake dry.

Her clothes clung to her body like a thin layer of ice, wrapping her in cold discomfort.

Niamh Jones burst into hearty laughter. "How many times do I have to tell you? Don't call me Ms. Niamh! Call me Niamh! Your dad and I are more like brothers, so I can only be your second dad or something."

Her laughter echoed through the private room. The guests, who were all Niamh's close buddies, joined in the laughter. Only Niamh would dare to tease Harvey this way in front of so many people.

Beau blinked his bright eyes and gave Niamh a flattering smile.

Niamh pinched Beau's cheek and asked, "Why do you suddenly want a new mom, Beau?"

Beau glanced quickly at Harvey. "That's because Daddy likes Niamh!"

Niamh giggled even louder. She picked Beau up and sat him on her lap while wrapping an arm around Harvey's shoulder.

She raised an eyebrow at Harvey and bragged, "I guess Beau doesn't miss a thing!"

Harvey frowned and addressed everyone present, "Kids just say whatever comes to mind."

He was trying to tell them not to take her words seriously. Nonetheless, they knew children wouldn't lie. Everyone present knew Harvey and Niamh had been childhood friends.

Niamh had always surrounded herself with male friends, and the Fisher family's elders weren't particularly fond of her.

The Jones family had brought Elara back into their fold when she was 18, full of hope and love. She then married Harvey and bore his children.

The guests started to egg Beau on.

"Do you like your mom better, or Niamh better?"

"I like Niamh best! Mommy's just a bumpkin!"

A fleeting, almost imperceptible cold smile passed through Niamh's eyes. She then held Beau close and kissed his forehead.

Elara felt the blood in her veins freeze at that moment. Beau had never liked physical contact with anyone.

He would pull away in resistance whenever Elara tried to hold him. He was like his father—aloof and hard to approach.

Yet now, Beau was sitting in Niamh's lap while smiling affectionately at her. The way Harvey looked at Niamh carried a tenderness Elara had never seen before.

The three looked like a picture-perfect family.

"Mommy?" Bambi Fisher's voice pulled her back to the present.

Elara looked down at her daughter as tears blurred her vision.

"What's your birthday wish, Bambi?" Her voice trembled as she asked this question.

"Bambi just wants Mommy!"

"What about Daddy and Beau?"

Elara's tears fell onto Bambi's small hand, and she panicked. "Don't cry, Mommy! I'll go talk to Beau and tell him to stop clinging to Aunt Niamh."

Bambi and Beau were twins. Elara hemorrhaged badly when she gave birth to them. She had called Harvey from the delivery room, but it was Niamh who answered.

"Harvey's buying popcorn right now. He's watching fireworks with me at a theme park. You just focus on giving birth, okay?"

Then, the sound of fireworks exploding echoed in Elara's ears. From that moment on, her heart had been shattered beyond repair.

Elara took Bambi's hand and pushed open the door to the private room, and the room fell silent.

"Why are you here, Mrs. Fisher?"

This was supposed to be her son and daughter's birthday party, yet Elara's arrival seemed to take everyone by surprise. It was as if she didn't belong there at all.

Meanwhile, Niamh held Beau in her arms, silently asserting her dominance.

Elara placed the cake box on the table, and her face was still damp with raindrops she hadn't wiped away.

Beau tilted his head up. Niamh's makeup was flawless, and her soft, dark hair framed her face delicately. He then glanced back at Elara and pouted with dissatisfaction.

Elara opened the cake box. The cake she had made herself was decorated with hand-drawn cartoon images of Beau and Bambi. It was something she had worked on all afternoon.

Her hands trembled as she cut the cake in two, and she pushed one half of the cake toward Beau.

"Beau, I'm granting your birthday wish. Starting today, I'm no longer your mother."

"What are you on about now?" Harvey reprimanded her sharply.

Elara looked at him, and her gaze was devoid of any lingering attachment. "We're getting a divorce. Bambi will stay with me, and Beau will stay with you."

"Mommy, aren't you being dramatic?" Beau's precociousness shone through as he looked at Elara with the same cold indifference as Harvey.

"Mommy, can you stop being so difficult? I don't like celebrating my birthday with you because you're always controlling what I eat."

Beau glanced at the cartoon-decorated cake and frowned. It was just too ugly!

"And I'm tired of eating the cakes you make! Today, I want to eat the cake Niamh bought for me!"

Bambi protested, "Beau! You can't just eat any cakes! You'll have an allergic reaction!"

"There's barely any milk in this cake!" Niamh's tone carried a hint of reproach.

"Beau's a boy. Stop raising him so delicately! He's allergic to milk because you've been too cautious, Elara. You never let him have dairy!"

Niamh then leaned down and asked the child in her arms, "Beau, will you trust me on this? You need to eat more cakes with dairy to build immunity. That way, you won't be allergic to milk anymore!"

Beau nodded firmly. "I trust you, Niamh. Mommy's a bumpkin; she doesn't know anything!"

Elara's broken smile froze on her face, and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. She had been married to Harvey for seven years, yet she failed to obtain his heart.

She had raised Beau for five years, only for the flesh of her own body to turn into a blade that pierced her heart.

"If you don't like the cake I made, then throw it away." Her voice was faint. It was as though her throat had been slit by a blade, leaving a bitter taste of iron.

"Beau, I've done my best to give you whatever you've wanted. If you want a new mom, I'll step aside and make room for Niamh."

She looked at her son, and added, "This is the last time Mommy will wish you a happy birthday."

Then, she said gently while taking Bambi's hand, "Let's go."

Elara didn't need her son or her husband anymore.

"Elara, are you really taking a child's words this seriously?" Harvey's voice stopped her in her tracks, and his cold and proud face was now masked with frost.

"Yes, I am. Meet me at Maywood Courthouse tomorrow at 3:00 pm. Don't be late," Elara said as she looked at Harvey, the man she had loved for seven years. Yet her eyes now held only resolve.

When she turned, she saw a tall and striking man standing in the doorway.

The light illuminated his chiseled features as he observed the scene with an air of amusement. It was as if he were watching a play.

Elara recognized him—Theodore Snapp, the heir of the most prominent family in the city. Harvey pretended to be cordial with him, but they were rivals behind the scenes.

It was surprising that Harvey had managed to invite someone as influential as Theodore to Beau and Bambi's birthday party.

Niamh quickly set Beau back in his child's seat and waved excitedly. "Hey! Theodore! You came as soon as I called!"

"I didn't come for you," Theodore said without even sparing Niamh a glance.

His gaze swept the room, but Elara was already gone. A smirk tugged at Theodore's lips, and a charming dimple appeared near the corner of his mouth.

He turned to Harvey. "Since Elara's divorcing you, does that mean I'll have to start addressing her differently?"

"She won't divorce me," Harvey replied with unwavering certainty.