I gave up my identity as the heir to a multi-million dollar corporation, all to live a simple life with my wife. Then, my five-year-old son collapsed at kindergarten, his nose bleeding uncontrollably. At the hospital, he was diagnosed with “Advanced Hemolytic Syndrome.” My wife immediately demanded a divorce. She said she didn’t want our son to be a burden on me. My heart swelled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. I was so touched, I decided right then and there to reveal my true identity and face this challenge with her. To save our son, I agreed to return home and inherit the family business. I wanted to negotiate with my parents to get him the best possible treatment. My dad advised me, “You can keep your identity a secret for now. Tell her that even after the divorce, you’ll share the medical costs. Just see how your wife reacts.” I didn’t quite get it, but I did as he said. That night, my mother-in-law, Brenda, rushed to the hospital. She started yelling, calling me a monster, and insisted I walk away with absolutely nothing. I was just about to enter my son’s hospital room when I overheard my wife, Chloe, talking with her father, Frank. “Don’t bother saving this dead weight. We can keep it a secret from him, though, and make him pay all the medical bills.” Chloe chuckled, a chilling sound. “I never planned to save him. I just wanted to trick him into giving me everything in the divorce.” “I’ve been sick of living with that poor guy for ages. A son born from such inferior genes is just as useless!”
I stared at them, my wife and her father, in utter disbelief. Chloe used to just run a small nail salon out of a tiny storefront. If I hadn’t been secretly propping them up all these years, they’d never have lived such a comfortable life. I pushed the door open and quickly strode to Liam’s bedside, my voice thick with emotion. “Chloe, let’s take Liam to the best hospital in the city, the capital! I’d sell everything I own, go broke trying to save him! My company… I can sell it!” Chloe and Frank exchanged a quick glance, clearly not expecting me to burst in like that. They were about to speak. But then Brenda, as if on cue, stormed in. She pointed at Chloe and started tearing into her. “You fool! What more do you want? Are you seriously going to sacrifice your entire life for this sick child? This kid is a lost cause, do you hear me! Divorce Alex, right now!” What a perfectly coordinated act between mother and daughter. They played it so well. Chloe immediately lowered her head, wiping away fake tears. She looked like a poor victim, forced by her mother. Then, she turned to me. “Alex, let’s get a divorce. You walk away with nothing, that way… that way you can start a new life without any burdens.” I’d already seen through their whole charade, but I pretended to be heartbroken, unable to believe what I was hearing. I looked at her, my voice strained. “Chloe, you… you really think that too? Tell me, do you genuinely want to get our son treatment?” Frank immediately stepped forward, looking pained as he pointed at me. “Alex! How can you even think that about Chloe? How much has she sacrificed for you, for this family? She’s doing this for your own good, afraid you’ll lose everything, financially and emotionally! And you dare question her noble intentions?!” I scoffed inwardly. This was the true face of their family. I decided to give her one last chance. I looked at Chloe, speaking each word slowly and deliberately. “I’m not afraid of losing everything. Chloe, as long as you’re willing, we can work through this together, face it head-on. We can definitely cure Liam’s illness.” A flicker of panic crossed Chloe’s eyes, but she quickly hid it. She shook her head with a chilling finality. “No, I can’t do it. I can’t accept that outcome.” After saying that, she turned and collapsed onto the bed, staring at our unconscious son. Her tears instantly gushed, and her sobs turned into a heart-wrenching wail. “Alex, don’t push me… I don’t want to hold you back. Liam doesn’t want to be a burden on you. The only reason I want these assets is because… I just want to cling to that last shred of hope. What if, what if there’s a new treatment method in the future? I could still use that money to save my son’s life! This is all for Liam!” She delivered that speech with such passion and emotion, as if she were the long-suffering, sacrificing mother. It was laughable. Beyond ridiculous. My heart, at that very moment, withered and died. Every last shred of warmth, gone. I looked at her, my face devoid of emotion, my voice as cold as ice. “Chloe, I’m asking you one last time. Are you truly set on this divorce?” Seeing how calm I was, Chloe paused, then nodded firmly. “Fine, I agree to the divorce.” I stated flatly. “The house, the car, the savings. I want nothing. I can walk away with absolutely nothing.” The eyes of Chloe’s family instantly glinted with greedy satisfaction. Then, I changed my tone, adding coldly, “But, I will have sole custody of our son, Liam.”
Chloe’s smile froze. She immediately shot back, “No way! Liam is the apple of my eye! I can’t bear to let him go!” Can’t bear to let him go? You mean, you can’t bear to let go of your cash cow, right? I was tired of playing their games. I cut straight to the chase. “Stop the act. I heard everything you said that night by the patient room. I walk away with nothing, you get all the assets, and I get custody of our son. That sounds fair to me.” Chloe and her family’s faces instantly turned chalk-white, then twisted with furious indignation. They realized their original plan was blown, but they immediately seized on my new “weakness”—my love for my son. Frank cleared his throat, speaking in a sneering, condescending tone. “Since you heard everything, let’s lay all our cards on the table. You want custody? Fine, but you’ll have to compensate Chloe for all these years she spent with you, right? Hand over half a million dollars, and we’ll agree.” “Deal.” I agreed without hesitation. My quick acceptance immediately made the shrewd Chloe realize I had far more money than they’d imagined. Her eyes gleamed with even greater greed. She subtly signaled to her parents. Brenda caught on instantly and began to wail dramatically. “Oh, my heavens! My husband and I emptied our retirement savings to pay for our grandson’s medical bills! We even sold our house back home! Where are we supposed to live now? You can’t be so heartless!” Frank chimed in, “That’s right! You need to buy us, the old couple, a house, and give us another two hundred thousand for our retirement! Otherwise, you can forget about taking the child!” “Are you even human?!” I finally exploded, trembling with rage. “Liam is your own grandson! How can you use him like this?!” Frank shot a disgusted look at my son, whose nose was still plugged with tissues, lying in the hospital bed. He pointed at him and snarled, “Just like his father, useless!” Then, Brenda glared at me. “It must be your bad genes! Our Chloe is young, she can still have more kids! Get the divorce over with, don’t hold her back!” Before our son was diagnosed, Brenda used to come to our house every day, holding Liam for hours. Now, she looked at him like he was the plague. Seeing such a stark contrast, I sighed, feeling both helpless and utterly cold. I still held onto a sliver of hope for my wife. I looked at her, pleading, “Chloe, can we please let the doctor check on Liam first?” “No! What if you go back on your word?!” She said, then threw the divorce papers directly at my face. Hearing that, my heart sank completely. I couldn’t believe my wife was so materialistic. I didn’t want to believe she had absolutely no feelings for me. So, almost begging, I said, “I can’t get that much money right away. Can you just let Liam get treatment first?” Brenda’s face contorted into a hideous sneer. “We’ve looked it up online! This ‘Advanced Hemolytic Syndrome’ thing is incurable! It’ll even consume his heart in the later stages! All that talk about treatment rates is just doctors scamming you, believe me. You’ll just end up losing everything, financially and emotionally!!” Brenda, who I once thought was kind, now looked utterly repulsive. Liam, wiping away his nosebleed, started to cry. “Daddy, Mommy, please don’t argue! I don’t want treatment if it makes you mad!” My heart ached as I looked at him. “Don’t worry, son. Daddy will save you, no matter what.” “Tch… what a useless little brat.” Brenda came over, tugged Liam roughly to the side, looking disgusted. “Come here! Don’t get in your mom’s way!” Liam was yanked off the hospital bed. I picked up the divorce agreement, pleading, “Don’t touch him! I’ll agree to everything!”
Watching Chloe act so cold and heartless, I suddenly felt like the woman I’d been married to for ten years was a complete stranger. She used to be so different. Back when I was broke, I’d hand over my entire paycheck to her, thinking I’d ask her for money every time we ate out. But she never took a single cent. I’d just finished signing the papers when Frank grew impatient. “Why hasn’t the money arrived yet?!” “Just give me a little more time. It’ll be in your account today.” But Chloe pulled out a promissory note and made me sign it. As soon as I did, she kicked Liam towards me with a disgusted look. I clutched my son, my heart aching, and immediately called for a doctor. Chloe pulled Brenda’s arm. “Alright, alright, Mom. I’ll talk to him nicely.” When the doctor came in, Brenda reined herself in a lot, but her face still looked menacing. Chloe gently wrapped an arm around Liam, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. But Liam recoiled, pulling away. Seeing that, I let out a cold laugh. Even Dr. Evans added, “The patient’s condition is quite unstable right now. This condition is extremely rare, perhaps only one case in a million. Please try not to agitate him.” After a quick treatment, Liam’s nosebleed finally slowed. He spontaneously threw himself into my arms, listening quietly. Chloe’s forced smile faltered a bit. She gave a strained laugh. “Liam is my son too. Of course, I wouldn’t just stand by. If you need help, I’ll certainly come and look after him!” “It’s just… I can’t accept the thought of my own son passing away before me. If you can’t accept such a reality, I can understand. I’ll try my best to leave you with all the best resources, so you don’t have to face such a heavy blow alone.” Brenda chimed in, “See how considerate Chloe is of you? Why can’t you be the same? Are you even a man, being so petty?” I persisted, “Why can’t we face it together?” Chloe sighed dramatically. “Not everyone can afford to waste their life like that. Dr. Evans just said Liam’s condition is one in a million! What if our future children have the same condition? What if you have a child with someone else outside of our marriage?” I challenged her, feeling utterly powerless. “You don’t trust me?” I honestly couldn’t believe my wife would suspect me to such an extent. From the day we started dating to our ten years of marriage, I had never once given her cause for concern. I’d never been involved in anything even remotely ambiguous with another person. Yet now, she was even imagining me having children with someone else… It chilled me to the bone. I was about to argue further when, at that moment, Dr. Evans rushed over, looking frantic. He said he needed to speak with me privately about Liam’s condition. Seeing the doctor’s urgency, Chloe assumed our son was beyond saving. She quickly grabbed her parents and hurried out of the room. I followed Dr. Evans into his office, my heart pounding with dread. But the doctor immediately bowed deeply to me, apologizing. “Mr. Miller, I am so terribly sorry! Your son’s diagnosis was a mistake, a grave oversight on our hospital’s part.” Once I understood the situation, I returned to Liam’s room and let out a long, shaky breath, looking at my son on the bed. Dr. Evans respectfully handed me a medical report.
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