Ten years into my marriage, Marcus Hayes’s first love, Chloe White, suddenly returned from abroad. He brought her straight to our home. Marcus looked at me, his face etched with guilt. “Chloe left the country for me all those years ago. She went through so much.” “I have a responsibility to take care of her.” Even my stepson, whom I’d raised and painstakingly nurtured, now looked at me with open resentment. I calmly suggested a divorce. He sneered, reminding me, “Don’t forget our prenup. If you’re the one who files for divorce, you’ll walk away with absolutely nothing. Every cent of the assets in your name will be forfeited.” He was so certain I’d never give up the wealth and prestige I’d worked ten years for, that I’d never dare to leave. But what he didn’t know was that while he was spending all night with that woman, I was signing away every last penny, preparing to gracefully exit the Hayes family. I already had what I truly wanted. And him? I was done with him. When Marcus Hayes walked into the living room of our house with Chloe White, I was in my study, reviewing the foundation’s quarterly report. His face held a plea. “Vivian, Chloe was forced to leave the country because of me back then.” “She’s been alone all these years, suffering so much. I can’t just abandon her.” Chloe, by his side, wore a simple, elegant dress. She instinctively recoiled behind Marcus, making her appear even more delicate and helpless. “Marcus, don’t make things difficult for Vivian… I can stay at a hotel.” Marcus immediately shielded her, and his gaze towards me sharpened with annoyance. I closed the file in my hand, my eyes calmly sweeping over the two of them. This scene felt eerily familiar. Years ago, Marcus’s grandfather, old money through and through, fiercely disapproved of Chloe’s lack of social standing. Marcus had an explosive fight with his family over it. Ultimately, Chloe took a sizable settlement and quietly left for another country. At that time, my family, the Reeds, was facing a major financial crisis. We desperately needed the Hayes family’s connections and resources to overcome it. When the strategic marriage proposal was presented to me, I initially refused. Vivian Reed’s life had never required her to rely on anyone else. But seeing my parents’ hair graying with worry, I finally nodded. On our wedding day, Marcus Hayes’s face showed no joy. He looked at me coldly and said, “Vivian Reed, this is just a marriage of convenience. Don’t expect me to love you.” I replied calmly, “I understand. I will fulfill my duties as Mrs. Hayes. I also hope you remember our agreement, Marcus.” Ten years. We went from mutual annoyance to peacefully sharing a dinner table. He gradually recognized my capabilities, entrusting me with the full management of the foundation jointly established by Hayes and Reed Corporations. We were like a pair of perfectly synchronized business partners. Four years ago, Marcus even brought a child back to the house—a son he’d had from an affair years ago. When that timid child stood in the living room, looking at everyone with hostility, it was *I* who reached out to him first. His name was Leo Hayes. No one else in the Hayes family liked him. I was the one who patiently taught him manners, staying up all night when he was sick. When other kids at school mocked him for being an illegitimate child, I was the one who unhesitatingly stepped up to protect him, telling him, “You are Leo Hayes, the future of this family. No one can look down on you.” I never imagined this delicate balance would one day be shattered.
I watched Marcus shielding Chloe, and my heart sank, piece by agonizing piece. In the suffocating silence, a light, quick footsteps echoed from the entryway. “I’m home!” Leo Hayes had just returned from school, his eyes sparkling as he searched for me. However, when he saw the scene in the living room, his steps abruptly halted. The moment Chloe saw Leo, tears instantly welled up in her eyes. She covered her mouth, her voice trembling as she murmured, “Leo… Is that my Leo?” The next second, Leo lunged towards Chloe, burying his face in her embrace. “Mommy! Mommy, you came for me!” I stumbled backward, caught off guard, frozen in place. I whipped my head around to Marcus, my voice raw and husky. “Marcus Hayes, what is going on?” He first calmed the two, who were now crying in each other’s arms, then escorted them upstairs. As I watched the two figures, one large, one small, disappear up the stairs, my voice turned cold as ice. “Now, you can explain.” Marcus turned to me, his guilt deepening, but now mixed with a resigned, almost defiant honesty. “Leo is Chloe’s son.” “She was already pregnant with my child when she left back then.” “Later… she couldn’t raise him, so she contacted me and sent him back.” “And why didn’t you tell me?” I could barely control the volume of my voice. “I treated him with genuine sincerity, I raised him as my own son!” Marcus offered a bitter smile, about to speak, but I cut him off. “Leo knew everything, didn’t he?” Marcus was silent for a moment, his silence a confirmation. “Last year… Chloe occasionally FaceTimed him. A child’s longing for his mother is natural…” So that was it. No wonder, for a while last year, Leo kept hiding to make calls and started acting strange around me. This was why. Marcus took a step forward, trying to soothe me. “Chloe is only staying temporarily. Once I find a suitable place, I’ll send them away.” “You’re always so generous and understanding, don’t make things difficult for me, okay?” My chest ached, a deep, suffocating pain. Suddenly, I didn’t even have the energy to question him further. I simply pulled at the corner of my mouth, a smile utterly devoid of warmth. “Marcus Hayes, you both make me sick.” With that, I walked straight back to my room. The world fell silent, and only then did I feel a faint, heavy ache in my lower abdomen. I leaned against the door, taking a deep breath, trying to ignore the subtle yet undeniable pain. Over the next few days, Chloe and Leo stayed in the guest room on the second floor. Leo seemed like a completely different child. When he saw me, his eyes held a stubborn hostility, completely lacking the closeness and dependency he used to show.
A few days later, the Hayes family hosted a corporate gala. As Mrs. Hayes, I had no choice but to force a smile and socialize. Marcus stayed by my side, playing the part of an affectionate husband, but his gaze constantly drifted to a corner of the room. Chloe sat there, Leo nestled close to her, forming a bond that no outsider could penetrate. Midway through the evening, feeling a bit tired, I headed to the terrace for some fresh air. Just as I reached the edge of the pool, Leo, who I hadn’t noticed following me, appeared behind me. I turned around. His face held a hatred and coldness utterly unsuited for his age. “Vivian Reed.” He called me by my first name for the first time, his voice sharp and cruel. “My mom is back. This family doesn’t need you anymore. Why aren’t you leaving?” I looked at his face, contorted by fury, and felt only weariness mixed with a chilling disappointment. “Leo, do you know what you’re saying?” “Of course, I do!” He suddenly became agitated, taking a step forward and pushing me hard! “You took my dad! And now you’re trying to bully my mom! I hate you! Get out of my house!” I was caught off guard, my high heel twisted, and I tumbled backward! *Splash!* The icy pool water instantly enveloped me. A sharp, agonizing pain shot through my lower abdomen. I could feel a warm, uncontrolled gush of fluid beneath me. Gasps and commotion erupted around us. Marcus quickly heard the noise and jumped into the pool, pulling me out. I was soaked, shivering violently. My hands instinctively clutched my lower abdomen, the pain so intense I could barely speak. “Vivian! Are you okay?” Marcus’s voice was urgent, laced with a hint of panic. He wrapped his jacket around me. I gripped his arm, my voice broken. “Marcus… the baby…” I was pregnant. I had only found out yesterday, and I planned to tell him once the pregnancy was stable. Just then, Chloe rushed over. Marcus’s gaze was drawn to her. She grabbed the equally stunned Leo, weeping dramatically, her voice even louder than my faint moans. “Marcus, Leo didn’t mean it…” “It’s my fault, all my fault for coming back and upsetting Vivian. The child just acted on impulse…” She hugged Leo tightly, as if I were some terrifying monster. “Leo is so scared, he’s so small, he was just so upset…” Marcus looked at the sobbing Chloe and Leo, then at my pale face. The brief flicker of panic and shock in his eyes was replaced by irritation and disappointment. He cut me off before I could finish speaking, his voice cold and stern, laced with责备. “Vivian, Leo is still young. He didn’t do it on purpose.” “Can’t you… just be a little more understanding?”
At his words, the guests’ eyes filled with surprise, and then thinly veiled mockery. They watched me, the usually poised and elegant Mrs. Hayes, sitting there by the pool, utterly disheveled. “A little more… understanding?” I gritted out the words through clenched teeth. The agonizing cramps in my lower abdomen made cold sweat stream down my face. The warm, trickling sensation below grew more distinct. “Mr. Hayes, perhaps you should take Mrs. Hayes to the hospital first?” Finally, a bystander, unable to watch any longer, whispered a suggestion. Chloe, however, sobbed even harder, clutching Marcus’s arm tightly, terrified he would leave her side. “Marcus, Leo really didn’t mean it…” “Vivian, I apologize on Leo’s behalf. Please don’t blame him…” Leo, hidden in her embrace, showed no fear in his eyes, only a triumphant stubbornness and hatred. Marcus’s brows were deeply furrowed, clearly annoyed by the chaos. He looked at the pale Chloe and the frightened Leo. Then he looked at me, curled up in pain, unable to speak. The brief flicker of panic at my potential injury was completely replaced by pity for the mother and son. He sighed, his voice carrying an undeniable finality. “Enough! It was just a small accident. Vivian isn’t that delicate.” “Mr. Jenkins, help Mrs. Hayes upstairs to change into some dry clothes. She’ll be fine after resting.” His callousness and stupidity utterly crushed me. I didn’t even have the strength to argue. I let the butler and maids, who had rushed over, clumsily help me up. I was escorted back to the master bedroom, but the bleeding beneath me showed no signs of stopping, staining the sheets crimson. The pain intensified with each passing moment, and I couldn’t help but cry out. The maids were terrified. This time, they didn’t dare to delay and immediately called an ambulance. I was rushed to the hospital. The constant wetness below me told me I was losing something precious. When I woke again, the doctor stood by my bed, his voice filled with regret. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Hayes, we couldn’t save the baby.” “You’re still young. Please accept our condolences.” Outside, the sky had shifted from dark to light, and then back to dark. The phone on my nightstand was eerily silent. No calls from Marcus, not a single word. Later, from Mr. Jenkins’s hesitant report, I learned that Marcus had calmed the frightened Chloe and the momentarily clumsy Leo. He hadn’t even followed me to the hospital to check on my condition. In his eyes, perhaps it truly was just an accident caused by my lack of generosity. After recuperating for a week in the hospital, I discharged myself. Instead of returning to the Hayes estate, I had my driver take me directly to the company.
When I returned to the office, a subtle silence hung in the air. Employees quickly lowered their heads, pretending to be busy. I pushed open the door to Marcus’s office. He was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, talking on the phone. His tone was one I’d never heard from him – gentle and patient. “Make sure you spend time with him… Don’t overthink things, it’ll be okay…” He didn’t even notice my arrival immediately. It wasn’t until I walked to his large desk and tapped my finger on the surface, creating a sharp sound, that he turned around. Seeing me, a flicker of surprise, then a brief, almost imperceptible shame crossed his eyes. But it was quickly replaced by his usual calm, tinged with a slight distance. He hung up the phone before looking at me again. “You’re discharged? Why didn’t you rest a few more days?” His voice was a perfunctory greeting as he walked around his desk and sat down. “Everything’s normal here at the company, no need to rush back.” I didn’t sit. I slammed the divorce papers onto his desk. My voice was utterly flat, as if stating an unrelated fact. “Marcus Hayes, we’re getting a divorce.” The air thickened for a few seconds. He looked up, as if he’d heard the most absurd joke. “Divorce?” “Vivian, do you know what you’re saying?” My gaze didn’t waver. “I’m very clear.” Marcus leaned back in his chair, his posture relaxed and confident. “What kind of tantrum are you throwing now? Is this about the gala?” “Leo didn’t mean it, he’s just a child.” “Chloe has already apologized on his behalf. What more do you want?” He tapped the divorce papers with his finger, his eyes cold and contemptuous. “Don’t forget the prenup we signed.” “It’s in black and white, crystal clear. If you, Vivian Reed, initiate the divorce, it’s a breach of contract, and you must walk away with nothing.” “You won’t take a single penny of anything related to the Hayes family, including all the assets you’ve acquired over these years in your name.” He leaned forward, lowering his voice, full of threat and absolute certainty. “Are you willing to lose it all?” “Are you willing to give up everything you’ve fought for these ten years? Without the Hayes family, what is Vivian Reed?” I looked at the absolute conviction on his face, the way he thought he controlled everything, and suddenly, I gave a faint, soft laugh. My laughter seemed to anger him. Marcus picked up the divorce papers from the desk, tore them into shreds without even looking, and flung them at me. The white pieces of paper scattered at my feet. “I’m busy. I don’t have time for your self-pitying drama.” “Just say what you want directly, but divorce? Absolutely not!” With that, he didn’t spare me another glance. He grabbed his jacket and phone, striding out of the office. I slowly knelt down, picking up the torn pieces of paper.
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