Chapter 1

In the seventh year of her marriage, Amelia Stone finally learned the truth. This whole time, she had been nothing more than a stand-in for Jason Chapman's true love.

And Jason's true love was actually Maria Ludwig, the woman who had almost become his sister-in-law.

To make matters worse, Maria was even said to be pregnant with Jason's child now. But what Jason didn't know was that it was incredibly hard for him to have kids.

Amelia wasn't interested in staying with an unfaithful man, so she swiftly asked for a divorce.

However, Jason refused. Frowning, he confronted her darkly, "You're divorcing me just because I hugged Maria? You're making a big deal out of something so trivial? What do you think marriage is? Who do you take me for?

"Amelia, just because I love you, it doesn't mean you can take my love for granted and treat marriage like a game. Don't bring up divorce again. I won't agree to it."

Amelia simply scoffed. Did he just claim that he loved her? What a joke. Sure enough, the words of a man could never be trusted.

…

It all started a few days ago.

"Jason, Maria is coming back to the country. Why haven't you divorced Amelia yet? Don't tell me you've actually fallen for that stand-in?"

Jason's office door wasn't fully closed. When Amelia heard her own name, her hand froze on the door.

Divorce? Stand-in?

Before she could process the words, Jason's scoff came from inside the office. "That'll never happen. Maria has been the only one I've loved all along."

"I knew it."

The other voice belonged to Howie Johnson, Jason's buddy. "Amelia is just a fuck buddy to you anyway."

She, Jason's legally wedded wife, was just a fuck buddy, huh?

Just last night, Jason had kept her up in bed, repeatedly using her to fulfill his desires. He'd murmured her nickname, Mia, over and over again, whispering tender words of love and devotion into her ear.

Yet here he was, not only failing to deny those harsh words but even professing his love for another woman.

In fact, Amelia realized that the Mia he called out for and yearned to be with was his true love, Maria, not her. In his eyes, she was merely the fuck buddy he'd used for his own pleasure for the past seven years.

An overwhelming sense of absurdity crashed over her. Her anger made her entire chest twist painfully, like a mix of needles and knives stabbing right into her.

The pain made Amelia's face go pale.

Inside the office, Jason felt a flicker of discomfort when he heard the words "fuck buddy", but before he could say anything, Howie asked, "Then why haven't you divorced her?"

"Grandpa hasn't given me his shares yet," Jason replied.

"I thought he already did?" Howie asked curiously.

Amelia dug her fingernails into her palm, forcing herself to stay calm as she strained to listen to their conversation.

"He has given me a few percent here and there over the years. As for the rest, he says that he'll give it to me as my wedding gift once Amelia and I hold a proper wedding ceremony. It won't be long now. I only need three more months."

There was an unmistakable urgency in Jason's voice, as though he could finally see the end of a long wait. Mixed into it was his excitement and anticipation for the future.

Amelia's eyes slowly reddened. It felt like a hole had been carved into her heart. A frosty wind seemed to rush straight to her, turning her limbs cold and making her body tremble.

Before they started dating, Jason had pursued her most relentlessly. However, she'd heard about Maria, his childhood sweetheart.

Maria was a famous golden girl. She came from a prestigious family, was beautiful, and exceptionally talented. Someone like her was certainly the girl of every guy's dreams.

Amelia knew better than to date and marry a man who was pining over another woman.

So, after Jason confessed his love to her relentlessly, she asked him outright, "Jason, is Maria your first love, the one you can never forget?"

"Nope. We're just childhood friends. You're my first love," Jason declared.

To this day, Amelia remembered how decisively Jason had denied it. His gaze had seemed so earnest and firm. It held such passion and devotion when he looked at her, as if he truly loved her more than anything else in the world.

She believed him. She agreed to be with him.

Never would it have ever occurred to her that the man who seemed to indulge her every whim and appeared nothing but loyal to her this whole time had been fooling her all along.

He'd lied to her for seven whole years.

Amelia couldn't suppress the anger that welled up inside her. It rushed straight to her head. She wanted to march right into Jason's office and give him a big, fat slap across the face.

Just then, she heard Howie ask, "Doesn't your grandpa look down on Amelia? Why would he agree to let the two of you hold a wedding ceremony?"

"Maria recently won another award called the Technology Rising Star. Grandpa knows perfectly well that Maria will come back to the country sooner or later. He's probably worried that I still have feelings for Maria.

"Compared to Maria, he'd rather have Amelia as his granddaughter-in-law. Besides, Amelia and I have Ryan. That's why he wants me to hold a wedding with Amelia and put her in the public eye. That way, even if I still love Maria, once the wedding is held, it won't be so easy for me to be with Maria anymore," Jason explained.

Howie's voice rose in shock. "You're really going to hold a wedding with Amelia? No wonder Maria is in such a rush to come back!"

"Of course not. Why would you even think that? That's impossible!" Jason's tone was flat-out disdainful. "Maria's the only one who can be my bride. Since the two of them are so alike, after a bit of makeup, and with the veil on, who's going to know which one of them is standing next to me?"

"As expected of you, Jason. You really are something." Howie laughed heartily, clapping his hands in approval.

Meanwhile, Amelia's heart couldn't get any colder. In fact, she could scarcely breathe.

This explained why Jason had insisted on handling all the wedding arrangements himself, despite how busy he was. He had even personally participated in designing the wedding gown and wedding rings, refusing to let her have any say in them.

He'd claimed he wanted to surprise her. Well, it was certainly a surprise, alright. The surprise was that the wedding wasn't even for her.

Thinking of how she had eagerly looked forward to the wedding ceremony this whole time, Amelia felt like the biggest joke in the world.

After snickering for a while, Howie suddenly remembered something and asked, "Then why is Maria coming back early? If she comes back now, your family will certainly make life hell for her."

Amelia didn't understand that. Why would Jason's family, the Chapmans, make Maria's life hell?

There seemed to be something else going on that she didn't know about.

But the next words out of Jason's mouth struck Amelia's heart like a sledgehammer, leaving her breathless from the pain. The agony made it impossible for her to even think straight.

"Maria's pregnant. I'm too worried about her to let her remain abroad alone with no one to take care of her."

Maria was pregnant?

Amelia caught the joyful lilt in Jason's voice. His tone and exuberant mood made it clear who the child's father was.

"Aren't you afraid Amelia will find out and make a scene, and then you won't be able to hold the wedding? If that happens, your grandpa won't give you the shares," Howie pointed out.

"She won't find out about it," Jason declared with absolute certainty. "We've been married for seven years now, and this whole time, she genuinely believes that I love her."

Outside the office, Amelia swayed on her feet. She looked as pale as a ghost, and the document she was holding was almost crumpled from how tightly she was clutching it.

Then she thought of something and snorted in silence, her smile bitter and mocking.

What Jason didn't know was that he suffered from severe asthenozoospermia. He was essentially incapable of having children.

After a year into their marriage, when she showed no signs of conceiving, the Chapmans started to get antsy. They urged her to get herself tested, fearing that she had some kind of condition that would prevent her from giving the family the heirs they needed.

On the surface, Amelia dutifully agreed to their demands, but she thought it was unfair, so she dragged Jason to the hospital for testing as well.

Since it was a private matter, she asked her best friend, Tiana Thompson, a doctor, to help with the tests. When the results came back, Tiana reached out to her first.

Men were proud creatures. Afraid Jason would be devastated if he found out the truth, Amelia decided to keep the results a secret from him.

At the time, Tiana had comforted her by saying that it wasn't entirely impossible for men with severe asthenozoospermia to have children. What Tiana hadn't said was that the odds were practically as low as winning the lottery.

After that, Amelia started learning how to make healthy, nutritious food that supported men's reproductive health. She sought out the best specialists in the world and found a traditional medicine practitioner who prescribed some herbal medication for Jason, and she drank it with him.

She also exercised with him, helped him maintain a regular sleep schedule, and made him eat well. Most importantly, she made him quit smoking, cut back on alcohol, and stop staying up late.

Fate seemed to have taken pity on her, for she did end up getting pregnant.

In the years that followed, work at the company got increasingly busy. Jason frequently traveled for work, worked overtime, and stayed up late. He drank copiously at business functions and was constantly exposed to secondhand smoke.

Every single one of those bad habits worsened the condition of his sperm.

Furthermore, Maria lived abroad, and Jason only managed to visit her a few times a year. It remained to be seen whether he was truly the father of the baby she was carrying.

The thought of how Jason's true love might've actually cheated on him gave Amelia a secret rush of satisfaction.

That served him right! It was payback for how he'd deceived her into being married to him for seven years now!

At the same time, Jason's voice came from inside the office, reminding Howie, "You'd better not let anything slip. Don't let Amelia find out about this. We've been married for seven years. When it boils down to it, I'm the one who has betrayed her. I don't want her to know the truth and get hurt, and I don't want her to hate Maria."

"Jason, if you ask me, you're just too kind. Why are you acting like you owe Amelia? She's just a country bumpkin with no family background and no connections. It would've been impossible for her to make it in the big city and make a name for herself. She should be counting her lucky stars that she managed to latch onto you. What's there for her to be upset about?"

Considering how nonchalant Howie's tone was, Amelia didn't even have to look at him to envision the haughty, contemptuous sneer on his face right now.

"Do you think she could've gotten into a company like Chapman Group if it hadn't been for you? Or become the head of the research department? Do you think she'd be able to drive a fancy car, stay in a lavish villa, wear nothing but luxury brands, and have a team of household staff waiting on her? Besides, you've treated her well enough all these years," Howie continued.

"You do everything she tells you to, even though she's the biggest nag in the world. She forbade you from drinking and smoking, and she even set a curfew for you! How dare a country bumpkin like her act like such a spoiled princess, huh?

"She even forced you to take all those herbal medications with her. Do you see any other CEO living like you? If she were wise enough to know her place, she'd be thankful for her good fortune!"

Amelia scoffed. So she was a nag, huh?

Smoking, drinking, and staying up late were all bad habits that damaged sperm health.

Jason already had severe asthenozoospermia. If she hadn't kept an eye on him, with how pitifully few viable sperm he had, he might have progressed from low sperm motility to azoospermia long ago and become completely infertile.

But from now on, Amelia certainly wasn't going to give a damn about him anymore. He could drink, smoke, and stay up late as much as he wanted. He could kill off all his sperm for all she cared.

In the end, Ryan Chapman, her son, would be the sole heir to the Chapman family's fortune.

Amelia took several deep breaths, forcing down the nausea churning inside her. She quietly turned around with the document still in her hand. No one knew she'd come over to Jason's office.

She returned to her office and made up her mind to get a divorce. And since she was getting one, she had to fight to secure the most benefits for herself. She was going to make sure she got her fair share of the properties, the cars, and the company shares.

Having wasted seven years of her youth, along with countless sacrifices, she couldn't walk away empty-handed. She was also going to fight for custody of Ryan.

Jason's older brother, Justin Chapman, was in a coma. He had no children, and Jason was practically infertile, so it would be nigh impossible for the Chapmans to produce another heir.

Therefore, if Amelia wanted custody, she had to continue keeping Jason's severe infertility a secret from the Chapmans. After the divorce, once she gained custody of Ryan, she'd change his last name.

Only then would she give Jason the report that proved he had severe asthenozoospermia. It would be her parting gift to him.

Amelia didn't know if he'd be happy to receive it, but she knew she'd be thrilled to give it to him.

Nevertheless, for wealthy, elite families, getting a divorce was no easy task. There were far too many factors involved, such as the assets under both parties' names, shares in the company, custody of the children who were the family's heirs, and more.

Amelia knew she had to prepare fully for the divorce first. With that in mind, she contacted Simon Gardner, Tiana's maternal uncle, who was like an uncle to her as well.

He was a renowned attorney and the youngest partner at one of the country's most prestigious law firms.

Simon readily agreed to help. He told her to endure the situation for a little longer and not tip the Chapmans off about her plans.

He needed time to arrange an investigation into the assets under Jason's name. At the same time, he would arrange for someone over in Messadonia to unearth evidence of Jason's infidelity.

Amelia suddenly regretted not bringing her phone with her just now. If she had, she could've recorded Jason and Howie's conversation as evidence.

After their call, Simon sent her the phone number for a man named Gary Weisz. Amelia had asked him to recommend a private investigator.

She wanted a divorce, but she also wanted the truth. She wasn't going to let herself be a fool who was kept in the dark anymore.

Amelia made the call. "Is this Mr. Weisz speaking? Hi, Simon Gardner recommended you to me. Yes, that's right… I need it expedited. Money won't be an issue…"

A little while later, her assistant came in to inform her that the tickets for her business trip had already been purchased. She nodded in acknowledgment.

She'd already decided to get a divorce, yet she still had to put in the work to line Jason's coffers for him. Just the thought of that pissed her off.

To hell with Chapman Group and being the head of the research department. Amelia was going to resign!

Being a decisive woman, she swiftly wrote her resignation letter, printed it out, and stuffed it into a folder along with a resignation acknowledgment form. Then she went back to Jason's office.

As a high-ranking executive, she needed Jason's signature on a resignation acknowledgment form before she resigned. If she walked away without following proper procedure, she would be blacklisted in the industry, which would hurt her chances of future employment.

Howie was just about to leave. When he saw Amelia, the corners of his eyes crinkled as he grinned and called out, "Hey, Amelia. I'm putting together a guys' night tonight. Can you give Jason a few hours of independence?"

The contemptuous words Howie had said earlier automatically echoed through Amelia's mind. He'd labeled her a fuck buddy and a country bumpkin, yet here he was, calling out her name in such a friendly manner.

Jason's friends were as phony and as brilliant at acting as he was—but if they could put on an act, so could she.

She sneered inwardly, warning Jason and Howie to watch out. She was about to put them in their place.