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For the past 3 years, I've lived my best life as the wife of Murphy Daniel. The cold, indecisive CEO who loved and cared for I and our little daughter Sophie. Not until last year, when I gave up my job to become a house wife in order to take good care of our daughter Sophie who suddenly had an issue with her kidney.
And today, Sophie was turning five. It was already 9pm but Daniel wasn't anywhere to be found for his daughter's birthday. He had promised he would take her to get her birthday cake.
“Daddy” Sophie called as her voice was too cold. As she had just woken up from sleep. She felt so much happier staying close to her dad than with me.
"Hey Sophie, your dad isn't at home." I said to her as I smiled gently holding her little hands.
She shoved them off as she pouted her mouth. “ I don't want you mom, I want my dad.”
My chest tightened as my hands trembled in anguish. Sophie had turned cold towards me even at her age. She never truly saw me as a good mom.
I exhaled deeply. “Sophie dear, why don't we go and get your birthday cake?” I said that as an excuse to stop her from throwing more words on me. I had already felt broken.
She jumped up in excitement. " Yaaaayyy!” and suddenly, her face went pale.
"Isn't Dad coming home for my birthday?” She asked as all I could see was innocence all over her face.
I ran a hand through my hair. "Dad has something to settle. He will come soon.”
She nodded gently. I held her hands softly as I wore her the burgundy dress I had gotten for her birthday. It looked really pretty on her as she bounced happily.
Murphy had never missed out on his daughter's birthday which made me scared. We both walked outside to the garage and I carried her into the front seat and fastened her seatbelt. I revved the engine as I drove off to the mall.
I brought out my phone and dialed Murphy's number. It rang twice and yet he failed to pick up. What kind of father doesn't show up on his daughter's birthday? My heart burnt with rage as my grip tightened around the phone.
I scrolled through my phone again and dialed his number again..
This time, he picked up almost immediately.
" Hello Murphy.” I said, my voice cracking.
It sounded so noisy that I could barely hear him.
" Yes honey. Is everything okay?” His voice came slowly and swiftly.
" Sophie has been waiting for you to show up. Or did you suddenly forget today was her birthday? When are you coming home?"
“Calm down honey. I'm having dinner with a client and I'll be back soon. I will get the cake for Sophie tomorrow and tell her I love her.”
Just as I was about venting my anger, I heard a lady's voice over Murphy's phone.
“Thank you Murphy for the necklace you got me. This is the best birthday yet."
My heart shattered into pieces as a part of me felt lost.
He had lied that he was having dinner with a client, when truly he was with another woman even on his daughter's birthday. Tears blurred my eyes as I quickly hung up on the call. My hands on the car steering became faint as I got buried in thoughts.
Does this marriage not mean anything to him? I did all he asked and even gave up my job to be the kind of wife he wanted. He had always been so indecisive but I still hoped he would change after he begged.
I immediately zoned out of my bereavement when a car honked loudly. " Ooh my goodness!" I screamed as the car crashed over a hill top. I managed to match the brake causing it to screech to a halt.
I flung out the seatbelt and hurried over to where Sophie laid. She was breathing heavily as blood flowed out unstoppably from her head.
“Sophie! Sophie!" I shook her, crying endlessly. I managed to carry her in my hands even as I felt pain too. I dialed Murphy's number again.
"Hello, Murphy. You need to come over now. Sophie is really in a bad state and I'll send the hospital's location to you.”
I hung up without even hearing from him. What else mattered? I couldn't bear to see my daughter hurt. She was the only reason I still remained in this marriage.
After we got to the hospital, the doctors rushed her into the room as they examined her. I stood outside staring as they took my daughter. I stretched my hand towards her like I had lost her.
I kept pacing around breathlessly and after some time, the doctor dashed out of the room.
“Doctor, how's my daughter?" I asked as my eyes blurted out.
He nodded his head slowly as he leaned on a table. " Her condition is not favorable. Even though she might be stabilized in a day, she needs to be taken proper care of. Else, her condition will become worse which might involve her life.
I froze instantly. I have done everything possible in the past few years to make sure Sophie’s kidney condition doesn't get worse.
“Ca..Can I at least see her now?" I asked as my voice cut in my throat.
The doctor smiled softly. " Of course you can.”
I slowly clicked the door open as I walked in and saw Sophie laying down on the hospital bed. I stepped closer and sat on the bed. I raised her head slightly as I brushed her hair with my hands.
" I'm really sorry Sophie, it was all my fault.” Tears came streaming from my eyes.
She gently turned towards me with a cold face. " I don't want you here, you're so petite mom. I want Dad.” She buried her face under the pillow as she kept muttering.
I held my chest with my hands like they were going to explode. I couldn't believe the reason I had endured this marriage had no respect too for me just like her father.
I stood beside her as I poured out my eyes. Just then, my phone chimed from my bag.
Murphy stared down at the digital tablet as if it were a physical weight crushing his chest. The silence in the boardroom was heavy, broken only by the rapid, shallow sound of his breathing.His lawyers leaned in, desperately skimming the legal terms on the screen."Mr. Daniel, this is an absolute liquidation," his lead attorney whispered frantically, his voice hushed but panicked. "They are stripping you of everything. No voting rights, no board seat, no intellectual property ownership. You won't even have access to the building."Murphy didn’t seem to hear him. His eyes remained locked on my face, searching desperately for any trace of the woman who used to wait up for him with a warm dinner and an anxious smile. But that woman was entirely gone. The face staring back at him was clinical, cold, and completely unbothered by his distress."Jane," Murphy said, his voice dropping into a raw, broken plea. He ignored his lawyers entirely. "Please. We can talk about this. Just you and me.
The glass walls of the executive boardroom at Carter Memorial looked out over the sprawling Austin skyline. The morning sun was bright, blindingly hot, and completely different from the gray, damp Seattle mornings I had left behind six years ago.I stood by the window, my hands resting in the pockets of my long white lab coat. My surgical scrubs underneath were crisp and blue. On my chest, the silver badge read: Dr. Jane Kennedy, Chief of Neurosurgery.The door behind me clicked open. I didn't turn around. The steady, heavy footsteps walking across the polished concrete floor belonged to Mason."The private jet from Seattle just landed," Mason said, his deep voice cutting through the quiet room. "They are heading up from the garage right now."I watched my own reflection in the tinted glass. My hair was pulled back neatly, my makeup minimal, my posture perfectly straight. I looked like a woman who commanded an operating room, a woman who held life and death in her hands every single d
The flight to Austin was quiet. Looking out the window at the endless blanket of white clouds, it felt like flying away from a past life. The city of Seattle, the massive brick mansion, and the agonizing memories of Sophie’s funeral were all shrinking into the distance.Beside me, Mason was working silently on his laptop, his fingers moving across the keyboard.When the wheels of the plane touched the tarmac in Texas, the dry, blistering heat hit my face the moment we stepped off the private jet. It was a complete contrast to the cold rain I had left behind."Welcome to your new beginning, Dr. Kennedy," Mason said softly, stepping up beside me as a private car pulled onto the tarmac to collect our bags.Hearing that title—Dr. Kennedy—sent a strange, electric shiver down my spine. It felt foreign, yet it belonged to me far more than the name *Mrs. Daniel* ever had.The transition wasn't easy. The first few months in Texas were a grueling test of endurance. Mason kept his word and place
Mason walked back into the room, holding a glass of water. He noticed exactly where my gaze was locked. He stopped, his expression turning serious, but he didn’t try to hide the folder."You recognize the name," Mason said quietly. He set the glass down right next to the paperwork.I looked up at him, my voice barely a whisper. "Why do you have Murphy’s financial files, Mason? What is this?"Mason sat on the armchair across from me, leaning forward. "Because a man like Murphy doesn't deserve the empire he stole from you, Jane. I know about the missing shares he secretly moved years ago. I've been tracking his movements for a very long time. You built that company with him, and he used it to destroy your life."My heart gave a sudden thud. My mind flashed back to the day I found that hidden file on the living room floor, the day I realized Murphy had given away our hard-earned shares to his secretary. I had kept that file hidden under my clothes, a secret piece of evidence I never conf
The moment I walked out of the house, shutting the door behind me, the tears I had been holding back came flowing heavily. Within a single day, my entire life had completely shattered. The grief of losing a daughter and the pain of a broken marriage hung heavily in the air.I managed to carry my heavy legs and my bag to the parking lot; the cool air brushing my body. My hands shook, I gently clicked the door open burying myself into the seat.Where would I go from here? My thoughts kept drifting apart. An idea popped in.Find a plain, boring hotel where Murphy’s assistants wouldn't think to look, somewhere to sleep without being tracked. I turned the key, and the engine came to life. The clock on the dashboard glowed a harsh 11:42 PM. I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. The tears on my cheek had already gone dry. I waited for a loud, painful sob to tear out of my throat. But nothing happened. All I felt was a vast, terrifying emptiness. As I passed through
Murphy stared at the papers as if they were a venomous snake coiled on the cushions. The grief that had softened his face moments ago instantly calcified into a look of pure disbelief."Divorce?" he whispered, the word tasting like poison on his tongue. He looked up at me, his bloodshot eyes narrowing as the shock began to warp into familiar, ugly contempt. "Our daughter was put into the ground three hours ago, Jane. And you were here? Plotting this? Calling lawyers?"I didn't flinch. I stood like a statue, the heavy mahogany desk pen resting between us like a loaded weapon. "Sign it, Murphy.""You are sick," he spat, taking a step back, a harsh, humorless laugh escaping his throat. The grieving father vanished, replaced entirely by the arrogant businessman who hated to lose. "You think you can just walk away? After everything I've given you? You didn't even have the decency to say goodbye to Sophie! You abandoned her at the hospital, and now you want a payday?"He stepped up to the t
I left the hospital with Sophie right after she became stable. My heart had leaped into my chest because I feared something would have happened to her.My hands were placed on the steering as I tried to concentrate on the road. Sophie laid on the back sit, her drugs clutched to her chest.When we a
Three days passed after the accident, yet Murphy barely stayed in the hospital long enough to feel like a husband, or even a father. He always had somewhere else to be. Either meetings, business dinners or trips. And every single time he left, Nessa somehow ended up staying behind beside Sophie.At
The next morning, I woke up with a stiff neck inside the uncomfortable hospital chair. Soft rays of sunlight slipped through the curtains while the steady beeping of machines echoed quietly through Sophie's ward. My chest tightened painfully as I slowly lifted my head.Murphy was asleep on the couc
I didn't go home that night. Even after leaving Sophie's ward, my legs refused to carry me out of the hospital. I sat alone in the hallway with my back against the cold wall while nurses walked past me with hurried footsteps.The hospital smelled strongly of antiseptic and medicine. Ironically, it







