The day I almost died giving birth, my husband was already filing for divorce to marry my best friend, Seraphina Vance. As I teetered on the edge, my boss, Dominic Thorne, swooped in. He spent three hundred million to save my life and our son. The moment I woke from surgery, he proposed. For thirteen years, he treated me like a treasure, his devotion absolute. Everything shattered the day I went to pick up our son, Leo. I overheard their conversation. “Since Seraphina can’t have children,” Dominic said, “will you be her son forever, Leo? How does that sound?” Thirteen-year-old Leo thumped his chest. “Don’t worry, Dad! She’s the best-like a real mom, even better! We’re even meeting her at our secret spot today!” A decade of being spoiled rotten, all a beautiful lie. He had only ever needed me to give Seraphina the child she couldn’t have. Fine. If that’s how it is, then I don’t want either of them anymore. I stood frozen, watching the scene unfold. The stew I’d made for Leo crashed to the floor, splashing and scalding my leg. So, all these years of ‘love and devotion’ were just a calculated trap from the very beginning! I clapped my hand over my mouth, stifling a sob. Hot tears streamed down my face, burning a hundred, a thousand times worse than the scalding. “Mom! Dad and I are coming to see you soon! I brought your favorite blueberry cake!” Leo bounced around, phone pressed to his ear, calling her Mom again and again. Dominic, watching with a doting smile, eagerly snatched the phone. “Go on, Leo, let me talk to her for a moment.” He clutched the phone as if it were a lifeline. Watching them fight over it, I retreated home in shame, feeling like a complete outsider. But as I reached my front door, I saw our housekeeper leaving the villa across the street. Driven by a grim curiosity, I slipped inside. To my shock, every wall of the villa was covered with photos of Dominic, Seraphina, and Leo-a picture-perfect family. So, this was their “secret hideout.” In the hallway, there was a large group photo of Seraphina with the entire Thorne family. It was then I realized that not only Dominic, but the entire Thorne family adored her. Dominic had always said he was afraid I wouldn’t be comfortable at Thorne Manor, so he rarely took me there. Now, it seemed I simply wasn’t worthy. Dragging my numb body, I returned home to tend to my scalded leg. Dominic, who had just entered, stumbled over and knelt before me. “What happened, darling? How did you get burned?” Leo also knelt, gently blowing on my wound. I suppressed the bitterness. “An accident while cooking, it’s nothing.” But when I looked up again, their gazes were fixed on the window. Seraphina had just walked into the villa across the street. My family, painstakingly built over a decade, was just a facade, a stage for someone else’s happily ever after. No wonder Dominic had specifically taught Leo to be filial. He probably just wanted Leo to be filial to Seraphina, to give her a complete family. At that moment, the family doctor knocked and entered, handing Dominic a form. The two went upstairs conspiratorially, and I quietly followed. “Seraphina’s husband is critically ill. If you intervene, there might still be hope.” Dominic frowned. “How am I supposed to save him? Impossible.” A knowing smirk touched the doctor’s lips. “Exactly. If her husband dies, your path clears. No more juggling these two lives of yours.” Dominic, whose thoughts were caught red-handed, simply rolled his eyes at the doctor with a smirk, then added his chilling instruction. “Curing him is tough, but making things worse? That’s easy. You know what needs to be done.” I hid behind the wall, biting my lip hard. Dominic was willing to play God with someone’s life, all to fulfill a lifelong regret. I had underestimated Seraphina’s place in his heart. When Dominic reappeared, he was holding Leo’s hand. “I have to handle something at the office. Leo insisted on coming. You should rest, darling.” Not long after they left, an anonymous message popped up in the school’s parent group chat. “Attention: From now on, each family is limited to one parent in this chat.” Before I could even process it, I was removed. I knew exactly who would take my place as ‘Leo’s mom’ in there. With a bitter smile, I exited the chat and called home, informing them I would be back in a few days. From then on, I would no longer have a husband, nor a son.
Hanging up the phone, I stood by the master bedroom window, watching the three laughing figures across the street. The pain was suffocating. To give birth to Leo, I went through hell and back, and now Dominic was just casually handing him over to someone else… It reminded me of years ago, when Leo had just learned to speak, he pointed at Seraphina’s photo and called her “Mom.” Dominic had dismissed it then, saying the child was too young to understand, but he’d grinned from ear to ear. At that memory, tears cascaded down my cheeks, blurring my vision. I couldn’t tell if it was rain or tears. After watching for what felt like an eternity, I pulled out my phone, my finger hovering over the flight booking screen. Just then, Dominic carried Leo into the bedroom. “Darling, why are you crying?” He seemed startled. “Oh, and about the school group, I’m in it now. I removed you just so you wouldn’t have to worry.” I just nodded and put Leo to bed. But as he slept, he began to mumble. “If Mom and Dad get divorced…I want to live with Dad. Then I can call Seraphina ‘Mom’.” Dad…you’ve asked me that so many times already..” My hand, smoothing his blanket, froze. My heart clenched into a tight, painful knot. I walked numbly back to the master bedroom and noticed several cancellation notifications on my phone. Dominic, taking off his watch, offered an explanation. “You’ve been putting too much pressure on Leo with his studies. It’s not good for him. A child should just be happy, don’t you think?” Was it his decision, or Seraphina’s? I didn’t say much, simply got into bed. But when I turned, I noticed a new bracelet on Dominic’s wrist. Seeing me look, he quickly, almost guiltily, pulled his sleeve down, trying to hide the bracelet, forcing a faint smile. “Go to sleep,darling.” I couldn’t sleep until midnight, when I heard Dominic stealthily get out of bed. I didn’t make a sound, letting him leave. Still hesitating about booking my flight, I casually scrolled through Seraphina’s Ins stories. “Craving a late-night snack at 2 AM? No problem, someone delivered it personally.” The photo showed a hand holding a takeout bag, its wrist bearing a familiar bracelet. For over a decade, Dominic had insisted on proper meals and frowned on late-night snacks. Now, it seemed, rules could be broken. The next second, I received a video from Seraphina. In it, she cried, looking distraught. “If my husband dies, I will be all alone. And you are already married.” Dominic quickly hugged her, his brow furrowed with concern. “Do not worry, Seraphina. You have me and Leo.” “But what if that day comes? Will you,” Seraphina’s eyes lit up as she blinked at him, “marry me?” Dominic’s hand, which had been comforting her, stilled. He bit his lip, unable to answer for a long time. Yet his eyes held a suppressed pain and tenderness. A bitter laugh escaped me. Without hesitation, I booked a flight home and contacted a lawyer to draft divorce papers.
The next morning, both Dominic and Leo were gone. I only found out it was the day of the Thorne family’s annual gathering by checking Seraphina’s Ins. As Dominic’s wife, to learn such news through someone else’s social media felt utterly ridiculous. But I was surprised when Dominic actually returned to pick me up. The moment I entered Thorne Manor, I heard whispers about me. “Aurora hasn’t been to Thorne Manor in years?” “It’s not that she wouldn’t come. It’s Emma, Dominic’s grandmother, who didn’t want her here. Look how lively and adorable Seraphina is, then look at Aurora. She’s seen as damaged goods, utterly discarded.” Those words pierced me like daggers, but Dominic, standing beside me, didn’t refute a single one. Hands in his pockets, he effortlessly made his way to his grandmother’s side. Seraphina was already there, leaning on Emma’s knee, charmingly. “Grandma, Seraphina is just like she was when she was little, always wanting to cling to you.” Dominic’s face was filled with affection as he spoke. At that moment, Seraphina’s gaze fell on me, and she bounced over to my side. “Aurora, I told Dominic to pick you up. You’re a Thorne daughter-in-law, you should come more often.” Yet, it was she who looked like the true Thorne daughter-in-law. I stood to the side like a servant, while Dominic and Seraphina flanked Emma, Leo standing behind Seraphina. During the family’s annual remembrance ceremony, I was relegated to the very back of the procession. Dominic, meanwhile, stayed glued to Seraphina’s side, even taking off his cashmere coat to offer it to her. The outdoor memorial was long. Emma said we could wander off on our own if we liked. Alone on the sprawling hillside, I had just closed my eyes to breathe in the wind when a voice spoke softly behind me. “Aurora. How does it feel to be the one nobody wants? Tell me, does it hurt?” “What does your family money matter? The Thornes never saw you as one of them.” “Emma never liked you. Dominic…well, he likes you even less.” I shut my eyes slowly, my voice tightly controlled. “Whether they like me is their concern. Not yours.” A cold laugh escaped Seraphina as she closed the distance between us. “Oh, but it is.” “Aurora, mark my words, whatever you have, I’ll take it all. Your son, your husband, even your place in the Thorne family. Then you’ll be nothing but trash, and no one will even spare a glance if you die!” I never imagined my former best friend had been eyeing me with such venom all this time. Back then, when I faced a double betrayal of friendship and love, I cried until I couldn’t see. But now, it seemed so worthless… I turned to her. “Are my things so desirable that you have to snatch everything? Don’t you see how pathetic that makes you?” My words found their mark. Seraphina’s face twisted with fury as she backed me toward the edge of the sheer slope. “And you think you can call me pathetic?” “our husband is mine. Your son calls me ‘Mom’. And that husband of yours? He never stopped loving me. He only married a castoff like you because I asked him to.” I stole a glance behind me. The drop was perilous. I tried to shove her away, but Seraphina only sneered, a challenge curling her lips. “Don’t believe me? Let’s put it to the test.” Then she lunged. She threw herself at me, dragging us both over the edge and down the hillside. “Dominic! Help! Aurora’s gone mad!”
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