After washing dishes overseas for five years, I finally paid off all the debts my husband had left behind. I was ready to return home and give him the surprise of a lifetime. But when I arrived at our old apartment with our child, I found the door padlocked and a thick layer of dust on the windows. A neighbor passing by looked at me in astonishment. "Didn't you and Ethan break up? What are you doing back here?" I rushed straight to my husband's workplace, only to be stopped by the receptionist. "Looking for Mr. Sterling? The CEO isn't in today. He's hosting his baby's one-month celebration." My phone buzzed. A news notification popped up on my screen: "Sterling Group CEO Ethan Sterling Spends Millions on Extravagant One-Month Celebration for Heir! The Happy Couple is the Picture of Devotion!" At the exact same moment, a voice message from Ethan came through: "Hey honey, I managed to snag a few baby clothes online for cheap. Just a couple of bucks. Don't forget to pick up the package." In the background of his message, a woman's voice could be heard, teasing with a light laugh: "The bet is already over. How much longer are you going to keep using that fake marriage certificate to trick Stella? Playing poor all these years... aren't you tired?" It turned out I was the only one who was actually poor. It turned out that after all this time, I was the real mistress. ... Ethan's best friend rushed over, pulling me aside with a panicked look on his face. "How dare a mistress who can't even see the light of day show her face here? Aren't you afraid Ethan will find out and cut off your child support?" Seeing me stare silently at my phone, he seemed to realize something. He suddenly slapped a hand over his mouth, his tone laced with shock when he finally spoke again: "You don't... you really don't know anything, do you?" He didn't wait for me to answer. His panic intensified as he stammered, "Uh, look, I was just talking nonsense just now. I have things to do, I gotta go." Watching the man practically run away, my daughter tugged at my hand. She looked up at me, her little face full of confusion. "Mommy, what's a mistress who can't see the light of day?" I forced the corners of my mouth up into a bitter smile and said softly, "I suppose... that would be me." Perhaps because it was the first time I hadn't replied to Ethan's message immediately, my phone suddenly rang. It was him calling. The background noise on the line was deafening—the clinking of glasses and overlapping voices offering congratulations. "What's going on? Didn't you see my message?" I ignored his interrogation, instead asking softly: "Ethan, where are you right now?" "Where else would I be? I'm at work, obviously. Look, I can't talk right now. Remember to get the package." Click. He didn't even wait for me to say another word before hanging up. Looking at the disconnected call, I curled my lips, but the smile didn't reach my eyes. I never knew. I never knew Ethan could lie with such effortless calm. As if remembering something, I unlocked my phone and tapped an app hidden in a folder on the last page of my home screen. It was a location-sharing app. Seven years ago, before I left for the States, Ethan had handed me his phone, his eyes red. "I installed a tracking app on both our phones. This way, we'll always know where the other person is." "Take good care of yourself over there. Once you pay off the debt, we can finally live a good life together." But I had been working so hard to pay off his debts that I never once had the time to check the app. I opened it and located Ethan's current position. He was at the most luxurious country club in the city. When I arrived at the entrance with my daughter, Ethan was standing a short distance away. He was holding a baby in his arms, gently rocking and cooing at it, trying to make it laugh. Seeing this scene, I froze in place. Mia is five years old now. In my memory, Ethan has never held her. When Mia was just born, she ran a high fever and cried inconsolably. The doctor said a father's embrace could help soothe the baby. At the time, Mia had been crying for three days straight, refusing to sleep. Yet even then, Ethan just rolled over in bed, showing no reaction other than muttering, "I don't like kids." Looking at the man whose face was now overflowing with love, I finally understood. It wasn't that he didn't like kids. He just didn't like my kid. A harsh scolding nearby snapped me back to reality. I looked beside me—my daughter was gone. I instinctively looked up. At this very moment, my daughter was standing right in front of Ethan. She tilted her head up, calling him "Daddy" over and over, her small face filled with eager anticipation. "Daddy, look! I made this for you myself!" But the next second. Ethan looked down at the little girl with utter bewilderment. He raised his hand and swatted away the red braided bracelet Mia was holding out to him. "Is this some kind of new scam?" "I only have one child. I don't know you." Chapter 2 After saying that, Ethan impatiently swatted away Mia's hand as she tried to reach out again. He tightened his grip on the baby he was holding and turned to leave. I stepped forward quickly. I grabbed Mia and pulled her into a tight hug, then took another step to block Ethan's path. "Ethan, what is the meaning of this?" Perhaps he didn't expect to see me here today, or maybe he didn't expect that I had returned to the country without telling him. For a moment, he froze, staring at me with eyes full of utter disbelief. After a long pause, he hugged the baby in his arms tighter and spoke softly, though his tone betrayed a rare hint of guilt: "Why... why are you back?" As he spoke, he seemed to realize something. He suddenly looked down at Mia, who was wiping away tears next to me. "Is she... Mia?" Hearing this, I twitched the corners of my mouth. The light in my eyes dimmed, and a bitter smile failed to reach my eyes. Mia is already five years old. Yet to this day, he couldn't even recognize his own biological daughter. "Ethan, aren't you going to explain?" "You..." But before I could even finish my sentence, a fleet of luxury cars pulled up to the entrance of the country club, and a group of people stepped out. When I saw the woman leading the group, I froze, my eyes filling with pain. "Sister, long time no see." It was Chloe Hayes. My half-sister. Back then, it was her and her mother who destroyed my once-happy family, drove my mother to her death, and had me committed to a psychiatric hospital. Meeting Chloe's provocative gaze, scenes from the past flashed before my eyes, and my body began to tremble uncontrollably. "Why are you standing out here? It's freezing." Chloe smoothly looped her arm through Ethan's, her tone intimate. Without even giving me a chance to speak, Chloe took the lead, speaking loudly enough for everyone present to hear: "Sister, Ethan told me everything." "You insisted on being with him, even willingly accepting the role of the other woman. But Ethan and I have a baby now. Please stop harassing him." "Ethan and I are married. Are you really going to be like your mother and become a stumbling block in someone else's path to happiness?" Instantly, the surrounding crowd turned their eyes on me, whispering amongst themselves, their words filled with insults and slurs directed at me. I clenched my fists tightly, turned my head to look at the man standing beside Chloe, and asked softly: "Ethan, is this true?" But before Ethan could even open his mouth, my daughter suddenly broke free from my grasp. She snatched the marriage certificate from my pocket. Mia ran up, grabbed Ethan's hand, and choked out: "Daddy, didn't you and Mommy already get married? Why do you have a baby with someone else? Is Mia making you angry?" "Daddy, look, this is your and Mommy's marriage certificate. Mommy keeps it in her pocket every single day." Chloe stepped forward, ignoring my daughter's struggles, and snatched the marriage certificate away to examine it. The next second, she held it up, waving it at me, her tone dripping with mockery: "Sister, you really have no shame, do you?" "This marriage certificate is obviously a fake. How much longer are you going to lie to yourself? Look, it doesn't even have an official seal." With that, Chloe pulled a marriage certificate from her own designer bag and handed it to me with a smile: "Here, let me show you what a real marriage certificate looks like." "Oh, by the way, when Ethan and I went to City Hall to get our license, I even recorded a video to document it. Please, enjoy." She handed her phone to me. It was playing a video of the two of them getting their license. In the video, Ethan was smiling, looking blissfully happy. The sight stung my eyes so badly I almost cried. Chapter 3 "Don't pay any attention to her. Let's go inside." Ethan finally spoke. But when he said it, he didn't even spare me a single glance. Seeing Ethan turning to leave, Mia rushed forward and threw her arms around him: "Daddy, please don't ignore Mia..." The next second, the man frowned impatiently, forcefully shoving Mia away. His tone was ice-cold: "I am not your father." With that, Ethan stepped toward the entrance of the country club, never looking back. I don't remember how I left the club. All I remember is rushing forward to hug my daughter tightly, while Chloe stood before me, looking down at me and saying: "You will be beneath my heel for the rest of your life." I had just managed to coax Mia to sleep when I received a text from Ethan. "Things were chaotic today. Don't overthink it." Looking at the message, an indescribable bitterness surged from the depths of my heart, rising all the way up to my throat. Ethan always seemed to operate like this. A harsh slap to the face, followed by a half-hearted pat on the back. My phone chimed again. It was a message from Chloe: "Since you're back in the country, come to the office tomorrow. It's time to finally settle who inherits the company." Looking at my sleeping daughter, I dialed my best friend's number. "Well, look who finally remembered I exist!" "Are you free tomorrow? Can you watch my daughter for the day?" "Daughter? Since when do you have a daughter? Whose is it?" I froze for a moment. "Ethan's." The sound of my friend's utter shock erupted from the phone: "Ethan Sterling? Didn't you guys break up seven years ago? How do you have a kid?" "And if I remember correctly, Ethan has been married for a while now." She paused, as if suddenly realizing something: "Girl... don't tell me you loved Ethan so much you willingly became his mistress..." Hearing this, I forced a smile, but my eyes were filled with nothing but desolation. "It turns out I was the only one kept in the dark." After hanging up, I stared at the endless stream of notifications popping up on my phone, lost in thought. They were all from Ethan. He sent an address. "I'm busy lately. You and Mia can stay at this apartment for now." "Starting tomorrow, bring me three meals a day at the office. I'm still used to your cooking." "Oh, and the day after tomorrow is Chloe's birthday. As her older sister, make sure you get her a gift." The moment I saw those messages. I felt a surge of inexplicable rage rise within me, rushing straight to my head. Even now. Ethan offered no explanation whatsoever. Instead, he just continued to issue orders and commands like always. He even forgot that today was Mia's birthday. With trembling fingers, I slowly typed on the screen: "Ethan, do you even remember what day today is?" The other side went dead quiet. I was probably just too exhausted; in my daze, I actually fell asleep. When I groggily woke up early the next morning, my daughter Mia was sitting on the bed, holding my phone, grinning at me excitedly: "Mommy, Daddy sent you money!" I instinctively grabbed the phone to look. Sometime in the early hours of the morning, Ethan had replied to my message: "What day is it?" "Are you out of money again? If you need cash, there's no need to make up excuses. Just accept the transfer." Right now, the transfer had already been accepted by my daughter. It was two dollars and fifty cents. Not even enough to buy a cup of coffee. Chapter 4 When I pushed open the conference room doors with my documents in hand, everyone had already arrived. At this moment, Chloe was sitting in the CEO's chair. Seeing me, Chloe smiled: "Since everyone is here, let's begin." "Does everyone remember? Ten years ago, when my father passed away, his will explicitly stated that only the person who successfully develops the High-Sensitivity AI Robot would inherit the company." "Today, I have successfully developed that robot." "I couldn't have done it without the help of my husband. I'd like to invite my husband, Ethan Sterling, to present the details of this robot to you all." With that, Ethan walked in, wearing a sharp white suit. He opened the PowerPoint presentation and flawlessly explained the robot to the board. But the densely packed slides were entirely my hard work, accumulated drop by drop over the years. I couldn't hold back any longer. I stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and with bloodshot eyes, roared at him: "Ethan, what the hell are you doing?!" But the next second, he forcefully shook off my hand. He turned, faced the room, and spoke in a cool, measured tone: "Everyone, I need to confess something to you all today." "A year ago, Chloe and I successfully developed the High-Sensitivity Robot. Stella somehow found out about it and wanted me to steal the core technology and give it to her." "But I know this is Chloe's life's work. I also know that only her dedication and capability make her worthy of the CEO position at Hayes Corporation." Instantly, my ears were filled with insults and accusations directed at me. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, there was nothing but validation and praise for Chloe. From amidst the crowd, I looked up at Ethan. Our eyes met for just a second before he hurriedly looked down and averted his gaze. For years, I had immersed myself in researching the High-Sensitivity Robot. I never hid anything about it from Ethan. He knew better than anyone what successfully developing it meant to me, and he knew exactly how much I had suffered and sacrificed for it over the years. I never expected that my trust would ultimately be so casually trampled by him, and even used as a weapon by him and another woman to smear my name. I opened my mouth, about to speak, but the next second, my phone in my pocket suddenly rang. It was my best friend. She said Mia was missing. I couldn't care less about the meeting. I jumped up and sprinted toward the door. Ethan stepped forward and grabbed me from behind: "Stella, you owe Chloe an apology." "Ethan, your child is missing!" I roared at the man in front of me, my eyes red. The next second, panic flashed across his face: "Lily? What happened to Lily?" Chloe stood up, took his hand, and gently reassured him: "Lily is fine. The nanny just told me she's sleeping at home." Instantly, Ethan let out a sigh of relief, his entire demeanor relaxing. Looking at the drastic change in the man before me, I clenched my fists, turned, and ran outside, leaving only one sentence behind: "Ethan, you don't deserve to be a father!" As soon as I exited the building, I spotted Mia across the street. She was a complete mess, covered in dark bruises. I ran over and pulled her into a tight embrace. Through her sobs, she told me what had happened: "Mommy, Auntie took me to the amusement park. I saw the baby Daddy was holding yesterday, and I just wanted to go over and look. But while Auntie was buying me ice cream, they took me away and beat me up..." "They said I shouldn't have been born. They said... I deserve to die." I was just about to comfort her when a massive force yanked me up and violently pulled Mia and me apart. When I regained my senses, Mia and I were being held back by bodyguards. Ethan stood in front of me, raised his hand, and delivered a heavy slap to my daughter's face. "Why did I ever let a disaster like you live? And now you're trying to hurt my son? If I had known, I should have strangled you the moment you were born!" I struggled violently, desperately trying to break free from the bodyguards' grip. When I finally broke free, a large delivery truck came speeding out of nowhere, heading straight for Ethan. And my daughter ran directly toward him. I don't know how a five-year-old child had that much strength, but she shoved Ethan completely out of the way. "Mia!" In an instant, Mia was lying in a pool of blood. I sprinted toward her and scooped her into my arms, tears streaming down my face. Mia smiled at Ethan, who was standing frozen nearby, and whispered softly: "Daddy, if you didn't love me, why did you have me?" Ethan stumbled forward. With red eyes, he reached out, wanting to touch Mia's face, but I viciously slapped his hand away. Holding my daughter tightly, tears pouring down my face, I screamed at him: "Don't touch her!" "Ethan, it's been five years! Mia hasn't seen you once since the day she was born!" "Yesterday was her fifth birthday. Even though it was her birthday, she prepared a gift just to meet you!" Under his stunned gaze, I took a deep breath, tilted my head back, closed my eyes, and said softly: "Ethan, from this moment on, you are dead to us. I hope we never see you again in this life." Chapter 5 As soon as the words left my mouth, a torrential downpour began. Standing in the pouring rain, Ethan suddenly felt a profound sense of panic. The day he found out he and Stella were having a baby, it had been a stormy night exactly like this one. But back then, Stella was far away in the States, and his company was going through a massive upheaval. He just felt like everything was falling apart. He started finding fault with everything, getting sick constantly. He even entertained the thought of breaking up with Stella. And that was when Chloe Hayes appeared before him. That day, he had just gotten into a huge fight with Stella because she hadn't replied to his message immediately. Right after he hung up the phone, Chloe showed up. After that night with Chloe, he began to despise his previously dull and flavorless life, even wishing that Stella's child would simply never be born. But the child was innocent. What had she done wrong? These thoughts suddenly began flashing repeatedly in Ethan's mind, and a flood of memories rushed back. Mia crying incessantly, reaching her little arms out, wanting him to hold her. And what did he do? He just turned his back, annoyed. When he video-called Stella, Mia would always lean in, calling him "Daddy" over and over. And what did he do? He didn't even acknowledge her. Mia stumbling toward him, offering the red braided bracelet she had made herself. And what did he do? He casually swatted it away without a second thought. Thinking of this, Ethan stepped forward. Looking at me holding our daughter tightly, he spoke, his voice choking with tears: "Let me... let me hold Mia. I... I am her father." I ignored him. I just stumbled to my feet, holding my daughter, turned around, and walked away, murmuring softly: "Mia, Mommy is taking you home." Chloe, standing nearby, stepped forward, gently took Ethan's hand, and said softly: "Let's go. Let's go home." For the first time, Ethan shook off Chloe's hand and followed silently behind me.
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