On New Year's Day, I received a document titled: Year-End Performance Review Regarding Me and Your Husband. Item 1: Annual KPI: Sleep with your husband 150 times. Status: Exceeded target. Item 2: Convince your husband to buy me a villa and a luxury car. Status: Completed. Item 3: Get your son to call me "Mom" ten times a day. Status: Exceeded target. Item 4: Bravely stand before you and fight for my happiness. Status: Achieved today. "Mrs. Sterling, I serve your husband in bed and take care of your son. Are you going to give me a year-end bonus? or are you going to step down gracefully?" She attached a photo labeled "Family Portrait." In the picture, Lucas Sterling is holding her waist, and my seven-year-old son stands happily in front of them. This woman is my son's piano teacher. Lucas came home and saw this unique year-end summary on my iPad. He looked nervous but quickly pivoted to defense: "Don't go after her. I fell for her first. She didn't do anything wrong." "You can punish me however you want. I can give you any compensation." My blood ran cold. I stared into his eyes and said: "I just want you to go back to how you were." Back to the broke, unloved boy with nothing to his name. He misunderstood completely. He let out a sigh of relief. "Even with her, I won't neglect you, Evelyn." ... He paused, then added: "Since you know about Chloe and me, let's have her spend the holidays with us this year." He said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I froze, unable to believe this was the man I had loved for fifteen years. How could he be this entitled? In his eyes, my silence was interpreted as gentle compliance. Lucas raised his hand, trying to ruffle my hair affectionately like he used to. I stepped back in disgust, my eyes stinging. I swallowed the bitterness and said: "Do whatever you want. I have experiments to run over the holidays." From this moment on, neither father nor son would appear in my life ever again. Outwardly, I was calm and rational. Inside, my heart had shattered beyond repair. I turned and walked upstairs. Behind me, I heard Lucas muttering sourly: "You always put your experiments first. I'm always ranked behind your lab work." Suddenly, he raised his voice, adopting a joking tone directed at my back: "Honey, were you secretly hoping I'd cheat so you'd have more time for work?" I stopped and looked back at him. He was smiling. When I didn't respond, he added: "I thought you'd make a huge scene. I didn't expect you to still be thinking about your experiments at a time like this." I asked him, "If I asked you to cut ties with her completely, could you do it?" His smile vanished, replaced by seriousness: "Do you want the truth or the lie?" "The truth." He answered without hesitation: "I can't. Just like you can never give up your experiments." He paused, a look of regret crossing his face: "If you hadn't poured all your energy and time into the lab and ignored my needs... Chloe wouldn't exist between us." Ha. So his cheating is my fault? I spend my days in the lab developing new products for his pharmaceutical company, making him a leader in the industry, and that's my sin? Since he has forgotten where he came from... I will personally send him back there. I immediately texted my lawyer: "Draft the divorce papers." "Also, regarding all my patents and research findings—Sterling Pharmaceuticals is prohibited from using them effective immediately." Living too comfortably really does make a man lose himself. His phone rang. Although he lowered his voice, I could hear it was Chloe Summers. He was coaxing her: "It's fine. She didn't make a scene. Her mind is on her experiments; she doesn't care about me." "Don't send things like that again. No more pranks." "Yes, you can come over for the holidays. I'll satisfy you... from the living room to the bedroom." Chapter 2 Every word was a dagger to the heart. Yet, as much as it hurt, I didn't cry. Only my trembling hands, my suffocating throat, and my churning stomach told me I was enduring inhumane psychological torture. My lawyer replied: "I need seven business days. Please give me a little time." Seven days. Usually, when I'm immersed in the lab, seven days feels like a blink of an eye. Now, it felt like years. I looked at my hands, bleached pale from chemicals, and my eyes, highly myopic from straining over microscopes. And the tinnitus caused by lab equipment noise. All this desperate sacrifice felt like a joke. I remembered ten years ago when the company was founded. He had no money to buy patents and no way to produce drugs. He was so anxious his hair started turning gray. As a pharmaceutical research grad, I buried myself in the lab so he would have products to sell. Years of grueling research gave him the empire he has today. He used to say I was the vital artery of his life. Hilarious. Since he doesn't cherish the sweet fruit of our labor, I'll just have to sever that artery. I went to the lab in the middle of the night and dismissed the entire team. Looking at the empty lab, I felt a mix of emotions. Ping. The notification sound cut through the silence. It was a provocative message from Chloe. The photo showed her bare shoulders in bed next to Lucas, who was asleep. "Mrs. Sterling, I took care of your husband for you again." "Lucas said you support us being together. So, big sister, how about that year-end bonus?" "After all, serving a man is physical labor. Lucas acted like he'd never seen a woman before." "You have no idea how hard he goes on me." "Sister, I worked so hard. Send me a little bonus, won't you?" Blood rushed to my head. I used a burner phone to record a video of the messages as evidence and sent it to my lawyer. My silence was interpreted by Chloe as weakness. Then, my son, Leo, was suddenly hospitalized with a fever. When I rushed to the hospital, Chloe was opening a bowl of steaming porridge. She said to Leo, "Good boy, listen to me. Even if you have no appetite, you have to eat a little to get better." Lucas stood aside, hands in his pockets, shifting his adoring gaze from Chloe to Leo. "See? Look how much your mom loves you." It felt like a knife twisting in my gut. We weren't even divorced yet, and he was telling our son to call another woman "Mom." "Yeah, Mom loves me the best!" Leo’s voice, full of happiness, delivered the fatal blow. My blood froze. Hearing my son call Chloe "Mom" made my breath catch in my throat. Chloe saw me. Her eyes flashed with defiance before she switched to a gentle, natural tone: "Evelyn, you're here. You feed him." Leo didn't give me a second glance. He whined to Chloe: "I want you to feed me, Mom. I like it when you do it." He glanced at me, his tone filled with disdain: "She only knows how to do experiments. She doesn't know how to take care of people." "Dad and I like it better when you take care of us." My expression turned cold. I stared at Leo. "What did you call her?" Chloe pretended to be understanding, trying to trigger me: "Evelyn, don't hold it against Leo. He's only six." "It's just a title. He's just babbling. Don't take it to heart." Chapter 3 Lucas stepped between Leo and me to mediate. "The boy isn't feeling well today. Don't make him more miserable." He reached out to touch my back, guiding me toward the door. "Alright, go back to your lab. Chloe is here to take care of him. You don't need to worry." A wave of nausea hit me. I shoved Lucas's arm away. "Don't touch me!" He froze, surprised that I lost my temper. I was always the emotionally stable one. I rarely got angry. Leo was scared by my outburst and started wailing. Chloe fake-comforted me: "Evelyn, you scared Leo. If you're mad, take it out on me." "The child is innocent. Don't hurt him, okay?" I held onto one obsession. I stared at the crying Leo and asked him: "Who do you call Mom?" I had bargained with myself a thousand times. If he said he wouldn't call Chloe "Mom," I would forgive him. I would take him with me when I divorced. But what I heard was Leo crying and accusing me: "You are Mom, and Auntie Chloe is Mom too." "I like her. She treats me well. She takes care of me and teaches me piano." "Unlike you. You only care about your experiments. This Mom is just better than you!" I felt like I'd been struck by lightning. Tears rolled down my face uncontrollably. Lucas dragged me out into the hallway and yelled: "Why are you taking it out on the kid?!" "What does a child know?" "We don't need you here. Go back to your lab!" With that, he turned and went back into the ward, locking the door from the inside to stop me from making a scene. That night, my mother-in-law came to lecture me. "Evelyn, you are a good woman and a good daughter-in-law. I've always approved of you." She held my hand, patting it gently, her tone softening. "But men... which one doesn't have a wandering eye?" "Chloe can help you take care of him, and she can take care of Leo." "Actually, if you open your mind, you'll see this is a good thing." "You don't have to serve your husband or look after your son. You just need to focus on your research. Isn't that wonderful?" My heart was colder than ice. I showed no emotion as I pulled my hand away. "Fine. I won't interfere with them." My mother-in-law’s eyes lit up with joy, thinking she had successfully brainwashed me. She laughed and patted my back. "I knew it. You are absolutely a reasonable, good woman." She was delighted and immediately ordered the maid to clean out the guest bedroom next to mine for Chloe. She didn't even try to hide it when she called Chloe: "Chloe, move in tonight. The room is ready." "The holidays are coming up. The sooner you move in, the livelier it will be. With you here, I'll finally have someone to go shopping with." Chapter 4 When Lucas brought Chloe home, I was just heading out. Seeing my grim expression, Chloe feigned embarrassment and pity. "Evelyn, you look unhappy. Maybe I shouldn't live here." I said coldly, "This is the Sterling house. Live here as long as you want. I won't interfere." I quickened my pace. Lucas chased after me and grabbed my wrist. "Do you really have no objection? If you mind, I can live elsewhere with Chloe." I pulled my hand back. My heart was dead ashes, yet my voice remained calm. "I just have some work to handle. Regarding you and Chloe, I really have no opinion." He sighed in relief, his tone softening. "Okay. You go get busy. Call me when you're done, and I'll pick you up." He really thought he was a master of balancing act. After leaving the house, I never went back. On December 20th, Lucas’s company held its annual holiday gala. He invited everyone. Except me. It just so happened that I was running errands and passed the venue. I saw Lucas holding Chloe’s hand, and Chloe holding my son’s hand, walking onto the stage to give a speech. In everyone's eyes, they were a happy family of three. Lucas held the microphone, his tone joyful and sincere: "This year, the company and I personally have gained so much." "Here, I want to thank my wife. She has given me so much support and warmth." My eyes felt like they were being pricked with needles. Even though my heart was dead, seeing this made it ache all over again. She is his wife? She gave him support? These words were like heavy slaps to my face, one after another. The microphone was handed to Leo. He smiled innocently and happily at Chloe: "The person I want to thank most is also my Mom." "Thank you, Mom, for giving me so much love. I love you, Mom." He hugged Chloe. The applause below was thunderous. The whispers about the "happy family" boiled like water. Only Chloe, up on stage, saw me. When I turned to leave the banquet hall, she ran out alone to confront me. "Evelyn Vance, you really can endure, can't you?" "Even this, and you didn't crash the party?" "I know you don't dare to tear off the mask because you're afraid of leaving the Sterling family and losing this luxurious life." "Do you think just by enduring, you can keep the position of Mrs. Sterling?" I sneered and said to her: "Just wait and see." She looked triumphant, mocking me. "Wait and see? Bring it on!" "Your son, your husband, they've announced my identity to the world!" "I'd like to see what you have to fight me with!" I ignored her and walked faster. Soon she would know that what she was fighting for was nothing but a pile of mud. On Christmas Eve, the Sterling house was decorated vividly. Every year, I personally cooked the holiday dinner. Lucas finally remembered to call me, but no one answered after several attempts. He felt inexplicably anxious. Chloe, ever the understanding one, said: "Honey, it's my first Christmas at home. Let me show off my cooking skills." "Evelyn is probably busy in the lab again. Once I'm done cooking, you can call her to come back and eat." Lucas looked normal on the surface, but panic was rising in his chest. By the time Chloe finished a table full of food, Lucas still hadn't gotten through to my phone. The butler brought him a courier envelope. "From the Madam." Lucas opened the file. The words DIVORCE AGREEMENT struck him like lightning. At that moment, his assistant called, voice trembling with panic: "Mr. Sterling, it's bad. The Madam has revoked the rights to all her patents. Without these patents, the company can't operate."
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