Jade’s life turned upside down when Lucas’s first love showed up out of the blue. She packed up and flew to the States with their son in tow. Everyone said they didn’t give a damn about her. Everyone called her a useless trophy wife, running away with her tail between her legs. Until one day, when she finally stood tall and crushed them all under her heel… 0 Lucas’s first love was back in town. Back in high school, he met Ruby at a writing competition. People said she was pretty, smart, and lively, from a well-off family to boot. Young love blossomed quickly, and they even promised to go to the same college. But fate had other plans. Lucas got into Stanford, while Ruby… well, I’m not sure where she ended up. At first, I thought they broke up because of the long-distance thing. That is, until our mutual friend spilled the tea: “Jade, you won’t believe this. That girl threatened to kill herself if Lucas didn’t give up Stanford and stay with her in China!” Blackmail? Suicide threats? Giving up Stanford? I couldn’t help but chuckle. This plot seemed straight out of some cheesy online novel. Lucas and I grew up together. Our families had been business partners for three generations. When my dad’s mistress showed up and had the nerve to call my mom, she flew back to the States in a rage. That’s how I ended up at Stanford with Lucas. After years apart, he’d grown even more handsome. But maybe because we were too familiar, I never felt that spark with him. Instead, we had this unspoken understanding. Just like our parents’ relationship. I thought my mom would divorce my dad, but she didn’t. She told me, “Love and marriage are different beasts. They’ve been married for years, built trust, intertwined their companies, and established a stable social circle. It’s not something you can easily cut ties with. Besides, the fact that woman showed up herself proves how stupid and incapable she is. If your dad had any real intention of being with her, she wouldn’t have needed to do that.” “But Dad still cheated,” I said quietly, lowering my head. “You always told me, ‘Once a cheater, always a cheater.’” Mom smiled thinly. “Well, the day she claimed your dad was with her at a hot spring, he was actually with me in Hong Kong visiting your grandparents.” I was speechless. “Jade, whether you end up marrying a business partner or not, remember this: don’t let emotions cloud your judgment. Never act rashly.” “Then why did you rush off to America in such a huff?” I asked. Mom smiled again. “How else could I have convinced you to give up Barcelona and come to Stanford?” 0
I’d been played. I’d always dreamed of the romance of Barcelona, wanting to live on an estate surrounded by lavender fields. But as the sole heir to the family business, I wasn’t allowed to just laze around and enjoy life without putting in the effort. So when Ruby asked to meet, I agreed. She eagerly showed me her memories with Lucas, flaunting their matching tattoos. She was as proud as a peacock, and I could barely keep from laughing. “I’ve never seen a mistress so shameless and high-profile. Aren’t you embarrassed?” Lily, my best friend since childhood, had always been fiery and sharp-tongued. “Embarrassed?” Ruby raised an eyebrow. “We’re true love. What’s there to be embarrassed about? I’m here to make you face reality. Stop deceiving yourself and burying your head in the sand like an ostrich, pretending I don’t exist. Let me tell you, Lucas said I’m the one he loves most, cares about most, and can’t let go of. You’re just a stay-at-home wife with nothing in common with him. What’s the point of clinging to the title of Mrs. Mu? Just divorce him. I’ll make sure Lucas gives you a generous alimony. You’re still young…” SLAP! Lily’s face was red with anger as she struck Ruby. Ruby was stunned for a second, then covered her face and screamed, “How dare you hit me!” In the quiet private room, her shriek caused the well-trained waiters to peek through the curtains, asking if we needed any help. I was stunned too, not because Lily had hit her. But because Ruby was screaming like a shrew, even trying to pull Lily’s hair. And she actually said I was clinging to the title of Mrs. Mu? Me, a housewife? “Tell Lucas to come talk to me about divorce, and I’ll leave immediately,” I said, cutting off her tantrum. Ruby looked surprised. “Even now, you’re still holding on? I underestimated you!” Then she smiled again. “Fine, I’ll have Lucas come talk to you. When he does, don’t cry and beg not to divorce.” I nodded, then pulled Lily up to leave. “Hey, you haven’t paid the bill!” Ruby called out as we were leaving. I glanced at the untouched afternoon tea set priced at $399 on the table and smiled faintly. “The owner is a friend of mine. The waiter will put it on my tab. If you like it, feel free to take the leftovers home.” 0
In the days that followed, Lucas never brought up divorce. Everything seemed normal, except he sometimes came home a bit later from work. When I asked, he just said an old classmate was looking for investment in a new startup project, and he was still considering it. I told him to send me the details. Sure enough, Ruby’s name was on the list of founders. Looking at the company’s messy accounts and pitiful revenue, I shook my head. With the economy in a slump and companies cutting costs left and right, she had the nerve to try and scam money with such a shoddy company. Dream on! “What do you think?” Lucas asked. I hadn’t told him about Ruby showing up yet. Lucas and I had been married for years and had a son. We were planning for a daughter when Ruby suddenly appeared. But as my mom said, Lucas and I were more of a business alliance. Our families were deeply intertwined, childhood sweethearts with a complex relationship. Pulling one thread could unravel the whole tapestry. So I didn’t believe he would cheat, let alone divorce me. “I think we need to be cautious. You know this area better, so why don’t you handle it?” I said, nodding slightly, feeling a bit relieved. I handed him a bowl of soup I’d made specially for his weak stomach. The next day, I arrived at the company with a prepared proposal. I rarely came to the office these days due to our baby plans, so many old employees were surprised to see me, looking eager for gossip. The new employees didn’t even recognize me. Just as I reached Lucas’s office door, I heard Ruby’s familiar voice: “Lucas, please help me. This is my dream!” Lucas didn’t respond. I knocked lightly and pushed the door open. Ruby was sitting next to him on the couch. When I entered, not only did she not stand up, but she even moved closer to him. I glanced at her dress, cut so low you could almost see her underwear, then calmly placed the documents on the desk. “Am I interrupting?” “Not at all, honey. This is Ruby, the one I mentioned,” Lucas jumped up from the couch like he’d been electrocuted, quickly moving to my side to introduce us. “Ruby, this is my wife, Jade.” I caught a flash of resentment in Ruby’s eyes as she looked at Lucas with an innocent expression. “Jade is so beautiful. I can’t believe you never mentioned her.” What a joke. Who was she to deserve a mention? Besides, mentioned or not, didn’t she show up anyway? Lucas looked uncomfortable. I couldn’t help but laugh, “There’s no reason to discuss family matters with outsiders all the time.” I handed Lucas the thermos I’d brought. “I heard you have a dinner meeting tonight, so I made this specially. I have afternoon tea with Mrs. Zhou and the others, so I’ll head out first.” Years of understanding meant Lucas knew what was inside without opening it. He nodded with a smile. “Thank you for your trouble.” But Ruby wouldn’t let it go. “I’m going to that dinner with Lucas tonight. Jade, what’s this good stuff? Can I have some too?” Lucas frowned, putting the thermos on his desk. “You can’t just drink someone else’s medicine!” “Is it some folk remedy for hangovers?” Ruby pouted strategically. “I used to think those TV shows where housewives always brewed weird concoctions were just making stuff up. I didn’t expect…” She covered her mouth and laughed. But neither Lucas nor I were laughing. On the contrary, the atmosphere in the office grew tense as Lucas’s face darkened. Lucas’s grandmother was a top doctor in China. This soup was her recipe for Lucas’s weak stomach. Clearly, Ruby didn’t know this. I sighed. From the start, I felt this woman was missing something upstairs. She didn’t seem like Lucas’s type at all. But if it were anyone else, Lucas would probably be furious by now. Yet his patience with Ruby exceeded that for others. He didn’t respond, just gave Ruby a complex look. “Jade knows a lot about the food industry. Ruby, if you’re serious about this, you should talk to Jade first.” Huh? I was taken aback. I could understand Lucas not wanting to directly refuse Ruby’s shabby company’s financing. But what was this about the food industry? Wasn’t Ruby’s company’s main product some kind of couples’ app according to the documents? Seeing my confused expression and silence, Ruby, clearly missing a few brain cells, started talking flippantly. “Lucas, you don’t really think Jade knows about the food industry just because she spends her days having tea and meals with friends, do you? There’s quite a difference. Besides, I want to open a cat café. The main customers are white-collar workers and students…” She looked at me challengingly as she spoke. “We can discuss business matters ourselves. I won’t keep Jade from her shopping and afternoon tea!” I was speechless. Was Ruby putting on an act? Even if she’d done the bare minimum of research, she couldn’t be this stupid! Me, the Young Miss of the Jones family, with a PhD in Economics from Stanford Business School, only good for shopping and drinking tea? Did she know how much it cost for me to give one lecture? Looking at her smug expression, even showing disdain and contempt towards me, I was sure she didn’t know. Even if she knew I graduated from Stanford, she’d probably stubbornly believe my degree was fake or bought. Lucas was clearly struggling to keep his composure. I could see he was holding back. But I didn’t understand why he was holding back. Was it because she was his first love, and he couldn’t bear to hurt her? “I have something to attend to later. Ruby, just do as I said. For the project follow-up, you can discuss with Jade,” he said, picking up his constantly ringing phone and quickly walking out. As the office door closed, only Ruby and I were left in the room. With Lucas gone, she didn’t need to keep up the act. She looked at me coldly. “You’re really patient, aren’t you? Running to the company, bringing soup, showing concern… all to win him back. But you saw it too. We’re business partners who can support each other, progressing side by side. And you? You can make soup? Any housekeeper can do that. Other than that, what can you do besides shopping, drinking tea, and spending money?” “I can discuss your project with you!” I pointed at the documents on the desk, adding with a smile, “That’s what Lucas said.” “Hah!” She sneered, her eyes full of contempt. “You don’t really believe that, do you? Lucas was just being polite, saving face for you. He’s afraid you’ll accuse us of transferring your marital assets this way. You think he respects you? He’s worried you’ll make a scene at the company and cause trouble for him!” I looked at her like she was an idiot. Putting aside whatever Lucas had done to give her such confidence. Even if it were true, how could she so casually discuss transferring assets with me? Was something missing in her brain? My silence made Ruby even more smug. She continued, “Lucas’s kindness to me isn’t just this. You heard it too, he’s taking me to that important dinner tonight. And he said before me, he never took any other woman. Do you know what that means? It means I’m the most important, the only woman in his heart. You’ve been married to him for so long, and he’s never taken you. How pitiful…” She stared at me intently. “You must feel wronged, right? Go ahead and cry if you want. It’s okay. Actually, failing in love or marriage isn’t a big deal. You’re not bad-looking, and even if your family background isn’t great, Lucas will give you enough money to live comfortably. You should let go when it’s time. Otherwise, if things get too ugly, be careful you might not even get alimony!” I finally couldn’t hold back anymore. I burst out laughing. Not just at her bizarre logic. But because she never understood that I didn’t care about intangible things like love. What I cared about were tangible things that kept the power in my hands. Like career, money, power, and marriage. Like the fact that Lucas and I had a child. And like the fact that I held the power of life and death over her project. I told her coldly not to daydream. We wouldn’t invest in either her bug-ridden app or her cat café. But Ruby was full of confidence. “Jade, use your brain. The fact that I can be here, that Lucas dared to mention this to you, proves he values it. He will definitely agree.” I watched her sway out of the room, then opened the office window. The heavy perfume scent was blown away by the wind, along with my unwavering certainty. That night, I didn’t sleep, waiting for Lucas to come home instead. At four in the morning, a drunk Lucas stumbled through the door. Our live-in housekeeper, Mrs. Wang, grumbled as she helped him to the bedroom. The room was instantly filled with the strong smell of alcohol and the pungent perfume from the office earlier. It was Dior J’adore, a fragrance I never used. “Jade, I’ll go make Lucas some hangover soup,” Mrs. Wang said, noticing my displeased expression and quickly leaving after setting Lucas down. “Honey,” Lucas slurred. “Mm. Sit up, I need to talk to you,” I said, pushing away his arms as he tried to hug me. “That Ruby came to see me before. She said you two were in love and told me to divorce you.” Lucas’s arm noticeably stiffened. He mumbled incoherently, face down on the bed, repeating over and over, “Jade, honey, I love you.” Then, loud snores filled the room, and my heart sank a little. I knew he was faking it, and I also knew you could never wake someone pretending to be asleep. But he couldn’t keep sleeping forever. I planned to have a good talk with Lucas when he woke up. But I ended up sleeping until late morning, and Lucas had already left for a business trip. Worse still, Mrs. Wang came to tell me that our son, Ethan, seemed to have a fever. 0
I quickly called the driver to take Mrs. Wang and me to the hospital. Thankfully, it wasn’t flu season, and the private hospital wasn’t busy. The admission process was quick too. I stayed by Ethan’s side until he fell asleep, then left him with Mrs. Wang and went to the small living room in the suite to eat something. By now, Lily was furious, slamming the table in righteous anger. “Jade, I’m telling you, Lucas must be involved with that woman. Call him right now. Forget about business. At a time like this, make him come back. I want to see what’s more important to him – money or you and the child?” “There’s no comparison,” I shook my head. Unlike her lack of composure, I was heartbroken but trying to stay rational. “There’s no rush for these couple of days. He can’t keep avoiding it forever.” “You… but Ethan is sick!” Lily exclaimed. “Ethan’s illness is for doctors to treat. Lucas isn’t a doctor,” I replied. “You!” Lily was fuming. “You’re just too good to Lucas. You’ve spoiled him!” “Is that so?” I smiled. I wasn’t doing this for him. I was doing it for our child and myself. I didn’t want to tear everything apart without solid evidence, only to end up labeled as a shrew and become a laughingstock for Ruby and other ill-intentioned people. It would leave me in a passive and awkward position. “It’s not good? He might have gone on this business trip with that woman!” Lily glared at me, frustrated. “That’s not necessarily true,” I said, finishing the last bite of cake and pointing out the window. “Look, she’s here.” “What?” Lily, still angry, yanked open the hospital room door. Seeing Ruby walking over, she immediately started cursing, “You’re like a dog, aren’t you? Sniffing out meat and following it here!” It’s no wonder she said that. Ruby’s intel was remarkably quick. Even my parents, who were playing tourist at a nearby attraction, hadn’t arrived yet, but she was already here. “I heard Ethan was sick, and Lucas wasn’t around, so I came to check on him. I even brought a gift!” Ruby said, unfazed by Lily’s outburst. She placed a gift box containing a drone on the table, then looked at me. “Jade, did you not sleep well last night? You’ve got dark circles under your eyes.” She smiled. “Is it because Lucas told you he agreed to invest in my cat café?” “What?” I had been indifferent until now. But this statement truly surprised me. However, I maintained my composure. “Is that so? He didn’t tell me. But any decision he makes still needs my approval as a company shareholder.” I pushed the gift on the table back to her. “Take it back. My son doesn’t need anything from you.” “Oh?” Ruby feigned shock, smiling at me. “But I saw he quite liked everything. Those blue and white shoes last month, that pair of overalls, and the Lego set Lucas brought home a few days ago… you don’t know? I helped Lucas pick all of those.” With that one sentence, she completely shattered my psychological defenses! Instantly, I felt my blood boiling. If it was just about the investment earlier, I could still stay calm. But now, I absolutely couldn’t tolerate this! All thoughts of good manners went out the window. This was my son, who I carried for ten months and gave birth to with great difficulty. Who was she to interfere? How dare she try to get involved! I was shaking with anger, grabbed the box on the table, and hurled it at Ruby!
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “294819”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #浪漫Romance #魔幻Magic
Leave a Reply