On my son Lucas Williams’ seventh birthday, my husband, Asher Williams, stood us up again because of his adopted sister, Sofia Robinson. I tried to hold him back. “Just wait a bit. Lucas has been looking forward to your birthday present for a long time. You’ve never accompanied Lucas on his birthday. Please stay here this time.” Upon hearing this, Asher immediately turned stern. “Lillian Scott, can’t you stop being so unreasonable? “It’s not easy for Sofia to raise a child on her own. If I don’t go and take care of her, who will? What’s more, what does it matter if we celebrate the birthday or not? Just tell him to go to bed early.” He left me and Lucas behind once again for Sofia, and this time, my heart went completely cold. Once again, right in front of me and Lucas Williams, Asher Williams picked up his coat and walked out the door without looking back. I had lost count of how many times he had deserted our family for Sofia Robinson. “Don’t worry. I’ll come back as soon as I deal with things on Sofia’s end. I’ll try my best to be back in time to cut the cake with Lucas,” he said. I knew that once he left, he might be gone all night and might not even come back for several days. Lucas tugged at the hem of his coat and asked softly, “Daddy, will you come back later?” Without turning his head, Asher replied, “Of course. Even if I can’t make it back today, I’ll take you to the amusement park.” But for Lucas’ birthdays in the past six years, he had been absent every single time. I had married Asher right after graduating from college. Back then, he was gentle and charming, and he took meticulous care of me. Although our marriage was a business arrangement, we had dated for two years before our marriage. After getting married, we had a plain but happy life for a while, and I found out I was pregnant the following year. I could still remember how excited Asher was when he first learned he was going to be a father. His eyes were red with joy as he held me and promised to treat me well for the rest of his life. But ever since Sofia came back, Asher had changed. He became busier and busier, came home later and later, and showed less and less concern for me. Even on the day I gave birth, he left me because of a phone call from Sofia and didn’t show up again until Lucas and I were discharged from the hospital. In the eight years of our marriage, I had to juggle work, take care of the child, and manage everything at home. But Asher never seemed to notice how hard I was working and was completely devoted to his adopted sister. Now, the house was quiet again, and he missed even our child’s once-a-year birthday. Looking at Lucas, who was disappointed and trying hard to hold back his tears, I picked up my phone and dialed Asher’s number, my hands shaking. It was my last attempt to save this marriage. “Asher, can you come back now? Today is Lucas’ seventh birthday. He has been looking forward to your birthday present for a long time. “You’ve never celebrated Lucas’ birthday with him. Please come back and spend some time with him this time,” I pleaded. On the other end of the phone, Asher’s impatient voice sounded. Through the receiver, I could also hear the laughter of Sofia and her son, Carter Robinson. Asher shouted, “Lillian, I’ve told you many times. It’s not easy for Sofia to raise a child on her own. Lucas is young and doesn’t understand me. Don’t you understand me either? “What does it matter if we celebrate this stupid birthday or not? Just tell him to go to bed early and don’t call me again.” With that, Asher hung up the phone directly. My heart sank to the bottom. It wasn’t the first time that Asher had abandoned me and Lucas for Sofia. I had already gotten used to Asher’s absence from our home. I pulled myself together, coaxed Lucas to cut the cake, and accidentally saw Sofia’s Instagram. In the photo, Sofia was holding Carter, and Asher was standing behind them. The three of them were smiling happily. In Carter’s hand was the limited-edition model that Lucas had been longing for and that Asher had promised to give him a long time ago. Just yesterday, Lucas had secretly told me that Asher had promised him a surprise for his birthday. But now, that surprise was on someone else’s Instagram. When Lucas saw this Instagram post, the tears that he had just held back started flowing. He cried, “Mommy, does Daddy not like me? Why is he always not at home? Why did he give my birthday present to someone else?” Looking at Lucas’ red eyes from crying, I said in a hoarse voice, “Lucas, let’s forget about Daddy, okay?” Lucas nodded and threw himself into my arms. “Daddy always breaks his promises and makes Mommy unhappy. I don’t want such a daddy.” I hugged him and told the nanny, Emma Thomas, to help us pack our things. It was time for me and Asher to end this.
In the eight years of our marriage, I had been taking good care of the family wholeheartedly. At home, I prepared three meals a day for Asher, who was very picky about food, and helped him match the clothes for various occasions. At work, I was personally in charge of the cooperation projects with the Williams Group and tried my best to maintain the relationship between our two families. After Lucas was born, I learned carefully how to take care of a kid and spared time from my busy work to accompany him. But Asher was always absent when I and the child needed him. He always said that I should be understanding of Sofia, the single mother, but he never realized that over the years, I was more like a single mother than Sofia. After all, having a husband like him was no different from having none at all. In recent years, even Lucas didn’t ask me as often as before why his daddy wasn’t coming home. I knew that the decision to get a divorce this time was triggered by Sofia’s Instagram post, but what disappointed me most was Asher’s actions. I carried Lucas and the packed luggage, took a look back at the house where I had lived for eight years, and then resolutely turned around and closed the door. This time, we wouldn’t be waiting foolishly for Asher to come back anymore. The next day, I learned from Emma that Asher didn’t come back all night. So, I asked my assistant, Freya Taylor, to send the drafted divorce agreement to the Williams Group and have Asher sign it. I moved back to the villa where I had lived before marriage with Lucas. Without having to cook for Asher, I didn’t need to get up early. I just waited for the family chef to prepare breakfast. After having breakfast and sending Lucas to school, I went straight to my company. My company had recently won an important project, which was a great opportunity for me to shift my attention. Just as I was looking through the project materials and listening to the report from the project manager, Adam Bell, Asher stormed into my office with a gloomy face. He looked annoyed and was holding the divorce agreement that I had sent him in his hand. Asher shouted, “Lillian, just because I didn’t accompany Lucas on his birthday, you want to divorce me? “You’re using divorce to threaten me just because you can’t stand Sofia, right? I don’t understand. You’re also a woman. Why do you have to make things difficult for a single mother like her?” Adam left tactfully. I gave Asher a cold glance. I questioned, “Are you saying that me asking my husband to come back and accompany our child on his birthday is making things difficult for Sofia? “Over the past few years, everyone in our circle knows that you and Sofia seem more like a real couple than I am with you. Whether it’s for business or personal reasons, you’ve been embarrassing me and the Scott family. Why should I waste any more time on you?” Asher was taken aback for a moment. I didn’t know which words hit the mark, but a flash of guilt crossed his face. He said in a rare soft tone, “Lillian, what do you mean by a real couple? Sofia is just my sister. You’re always having wild thoughts. “Sofia called me last night because her son had a fever. As an uncle, I had to go and check on him. “It’s already so hard for her to raise a child as a single mother. If I don’t take care of her, what can she do?” Asher looked exhausted, and there was some stubble on his chin. He looked like he had taken care of his sick nephew all night. If I hadn’t seen Sofia’s Instagram post last night, I might have believed his lies. I sneered, “Asher, do you want me to make it even clearer? “Sofia is twenty-eight, not eight. If she’s sick, she can call a doctor. If her son has a fever, she can take him to the hospital. “Even if she needs help from family members, why does she always come to you instead of your parents?” After hearing this, Asher didn’t get angry. Instead, he smiled, “Come on! I know you’re angry because I didn’t accompany you and Lucas on his birthday last night. I promise I won’t do it again in the future. “Our wedding anniversary is next month. After I’m done with this busy period, I’ll make it up to you and Lucas.” I tapped the table impatiently and interrupted Asher, “You don’t need to talk so much. Just sign the papers, and then no one will care who you take care of in the future.” Then, I called Adam, who was waiting outside, back in. “Your idea is good. Just go with this direction and prepare a plan.” Being ignored by me, Asher was furious and tore up the divorce agreement. “Lillian, I won’t agree to the divorce. Take a few days to calm down. I’ll pick you and Lucas up when you’ve cooled off.” After saying that, he turned around and left. Looking at the shredded paper on the floor, I rubbed my forehead and called Freya, ordering, “Hire a few more private detectives and keep a close eye on Sofia and Asher.”
Asher’s concern for Sofia had long gone beyond what a brother should feel for his sister, and the way he doted on Sofia’s son was just plain creepy. If he didn’t like Sofia, why would he care more about Sofia and another man’s son than his son? I’d had my suspicions before. But with Lucas being so young, I didn’t dare to take that risk. I was afraid that because of my decision, Lucas would face a broken family before getting much fatherly love. But seeing Lucas disappointed time and time again when Asher stood him up, I knew I’d been dead wrong. Letting Lucas keep hoping for something from such an absent father was the real harm to him. With that thought, I clicked on the video the private detective had just sent. It had been taken in my company’s underground parking lot. Asher was leaning against his car, lighting a cigarette. Then, his phone rang. As soon as I heard that ringtone, I knew it was Sofia. He’d set a special ringtone for her so that he would never miss her calls. Asher said, “Sofia, don’t worry. Lillian won’t stay mad at me for long. Don’t feel bad. “Lucas is fine, too. I’ll buy him a gift later to make it up to him. Okay, I’m coming back right away.” At this moment, the pain of my nails digging into my palms couldn’t stop my anger. Who did Asher think he was? Did he believe he could make this divorce thing disappear by buying us some random gifts after ignoring me and Lucas for a few days? I told the private detective to speed up the investigation on Sofia, especially to dig into her life before she came back to the country. After sorting that out, I called my parents, Finley Scott and Matilda Scott, and told them I wanted a divorce from Asher. Matilda sighed, “Lillian, you finally see things clearly. What’s the Williams family’s stance on the divorce?” “Asher won’t agree. I’ve already sent people to look into him and Sofia.” I replied, “I’m planning to send Lucas to stay with you guys for a while. I might not be able to take care of him recently.” Matilda agreed right away, “Since you’ve made up your mind, go for it. No matter what you decide, we’ve got your back.” Hanging up, I felt a bit better. I knew that no matter what choice I made, Finley and Matilda would always support me. After sending Lucas away, I threw myself into sorting out the divorce settlement and the new project. One day, right after work, I got a call from Asher’s mother, Arabella Williams. She asked, “Lillian, why’d you move all your stuff out? I came to see Lucas, but he’s not here. Are you throwing a tantrum? “Did you and Asher fight? Can’t you two talk things out like adults? Why do you always have to threaten separation?” I didn’t feel like explaining but just said flatly, “Asher and I are getting a divorce. And whether I’m just throwing a tantrum or not, you, the Williams family, know well.” Free Point Arabella’s voice immediately turned shrill. “Divorce? How could you even think of it? Do you know how much the Williams family would lose if you go through with this?” Realizing her words were too harsh, she softened her tone. “What I mean is, our two families have been working together for years. A sudden divorce would tank our business. “I know Asher is busy at work and can not take care of you. But he’s just trying to give you and Lucas a better life. As his wife, you know how hard he is, right? “Have you ever thought about Lucas? He’s just a kid. What’ll happen to him if you two split?”
Arabella pretended to be reasonable, but every word was an accusation to me. I knew that in her eyes, I wasn’t even as good as her adopted daughter, Sofia. But over the years, the Williams Group had been going downhill. Without the support of the Scott family, it would’ve gone bankrupt ages ago. Asher’s parents knew perfectly well that Asher and Sofia were in the wrong, but they thought they had me cornered because of Lucas. As long as they had him, they thought they could keep milking the Scott family for benefits and taking advantage of us. So, even when I said I wanted a divorce, Arabella was so sure that just mentioning Lucas would make me back down. Arabella kept saying on the phone, “Alright, Lillian, I know you’re mad. I’ll scold Asher and make him take you and Lucas on a vacation.” Then, Asher’s father, Alfred Williams, took the phone and said in a solemn tone, “Lillian, you’re sensible, and the Williams family owes a lot to you. “But you should cut Asher some slack. You know he only likes you. He just looks after Sofia a bit more, but she’s his sister. “For my sake, drop this talk of divorce. You and Asher are married. What grudges can’t be settled overnight?” I knew their real goal was to protect the Williams family’s interests, which was why they were hitting me with such words. I said coldly, “I’ve made up my mind about the divorce. The Scott family and the Williams family won’t have any ties from now on. “Thanks to your son’s actions, Lucas and I are already used to life in a single-parent family. He might as well have been dead these past few years.” As soon as I finished speaking, both of them on the other end were stunned, not expecting me to be so firm and decisive. They’d always thought I’d keep swallowing my anger for Lucas’ sake and let them push me around. But this time, I’d prove them wrong. “Lillian, what do you mean? Asher treats you so well. How could you curse him? “He just looks after his sister a bit more. How dare you want a divorce? You’re being incredibly selfish!” shouted Arabella. She didn’t even bother to hide her true feelings anymore and lashed out at me. It was ridiculous how, even though Sofia and Asher had gone too far, I was always the one getting blamed in the end. It wasn’t the first time in the past few years that Asher and his parents had sided with Sofia and accused me, the only outsider, of being too petty to accept Sofia. Sofia had shown up when I was thirty-two weeks pregnant with Lucas. That was the first I’d heard of Asher having an adopted sister who’d married and moved abroad.
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