My husband Derek’s online shopping orders suddenly included a baby stroller. But we don’t have any children. When I asked him why he bought a stroller, he said it was a gift for a coworker’s baby. I believed him. But the next day, I found that same stroller in an Instagram post from Lily Carter, a student I’d been sponsoring. “Our baby is already four months along. Your daddy has already prepared the stroller for you.” The photo showed a hand wearing a diamond ring resting on the stroller handle. That ring looked exactly like Derek’s custom-made wedding ring. I checked Derek’s bank statements and discovered he’d transferred three hundred thousand dollars to Lily not long ago. I didn’t cry or make a scene. I turned around and called my father: “Dad, Derek not only cheated on me, he even has a child. I’m going to leave him with nothing.” My father quickly responded: “That bastard! Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll contact a lawyer right away. He dares to treat you like this? We’ll make him pay!” I forced down my disgust and continued scrolling through Lily’s Instagram. One month ago: “We finalized our house today! The neighborhood is amazing! Thank you to my special someone for giving us this warm home.” The photo showed a property deed. This was the house Derek had bought with my money, claiming it was an investment. He’d turned around and given it to his mistress. The thought of him using my money to support his mistress and illegitimate child made me sick. Two months ago: “My love says he loves me and baby the most, and will give us the best life. Tonight’s steak was incredible!” The photo showed an upscale restaurant with premium steaks on the table—the kind I couldn’t even bring myself to order. I remembered that day. I’d suggested celebrating my promotion at that restaurant, but Derek had frowned and said it was too expensive. We’d ended up eating takeout at home instead. Four months ago: “I’m pregnant! Baby, your daddy is so happy he’s acting like a fool!” The photo showed her and Derek with their fingers interlaced over her belly. Each photo cut into my heart like a knife. Derek sat on the couch scrolling through his phone. I wondered if he was chatting with Lily right then. Looking at his hypocritical face, the love in my heart completely transformed into hatred. Derek, you think you can get away with this? I’m Victoria Hayes, and I don’t take this kind of treatment lying down. I walked into the study and opened my laptop. As the heir to SGA Group, I had plenty of ways to make him regret this. I first had someone investigate Lily. Lily was a student I’d sponsored through college. She’d even visited our home twice. I’d welcomed her warmly back then. And now both of them had betrayed me. On the surface, she and Derek barely knew each other. Who would have thought they’d been hiding a child behind my back! Our last contact was six months ago when she told me she’d graduated and landed a job at a good company. Through my investigation, I discovered she’d joined Derek’s company. What infuriated me was that neither Derek nor Lily had ever mentioned this to me. They must have started their affair even earlier to be hiding this guilty secret! These two! The next morning, Derek gently woke me as usual. “Victoria, breakfast is ready.” He kissed my forehead. “I have an important client meeting today. I might be home late.” I forced a smile. “Okay, your work comes first.” A flicker of something crossed his eyes—probably surprise that I was being so agreeable. “Victoria, I’ll probably be busy the next few days. Don’t read too much into it.”
“I understand.” I nodded obediently, sneering inside. Busy accompanying Lily to prenatal checkups, right? After Derek left, I immediately drove to his company. As a business partner, I had legitimate reasons to be there. I went straight to Derek’s department. He was in the conference room. Through the glass window, I saw him focused in discussion with colleagues, the picture of a dedicated professional. Who would have guessed this seemingly upstanding man was doing such things behind the scenes? I turned around and saw Lily standing not far away holding coffee. She wore the company uniform with her hair in a ponytail, looking pure and innocent. I walked over, feigning surprise: “Lily? You work here?” Lily clearly hadn’t expected to run into me. Her expression changed and the coffee cup in her hand wobbled. “Y-yes, I just started recently.” “How wonderful.” I smiled and approached her. “You should have told me. We could look out for each other.” “I didn’t want to bother you…” Her voice grew quieter as she lowered her head. I could feel her nervousness. She didn’t dare meet my eyes, her fingers unconsciously twisting together. “How could it be a bother?” I deliberately patted her shoulder. “By the way, how have you been? I haven’t heard from you in ages.” “Pretty good, everything’s fine…” she answered vaguely. At that moment, Derek emerged from the conference room. Seeing us standing together, his face instantly froze. “What are you doing here?” He quickly walked over, subtly positioning himself between Lily and me. “I came to see your work environment.” I smiled and linked my arm through his. “And to see Lily. You didn’t even tell me she works here.” Derek forced a smile. “I only found out recently myself. Haven’t had a chance to tell you yet.” “I see.” I nodded, not exposing his lie. At lunch, I made a show of asking if work pressure had been too much lately and whether he felt unwell. As he ate the food I served him, he said emotionally, “You care about me the most, Victoria. I’m so lucky to have you.” Watching his fake performance, I nearly threw up. “By the way,” I said as if suddenly remembering, “my friend mentioned a nice property development. Should we look at houses too?” Derek’s chopsticks paused. “Look at houses? Our current place is fine, isn’t it?” “But that place is too small. If we have children later, there won’t be enough room.” I tested him. His expression clearly changed. “Children aren’t urgent. We’re under enough financial pressure as it is.” Ha. When buying a house for Lily, he didn’t mention financial pressure. “True, let’s wait then.” I agreed on the surface while seeing his ugly nature crystal clear. That afternoon, I used the restroom as an excuse to deliberately pass by Lily’s workstation. She was chatting with a colleague. I heard her say, “The doctor said the baby is very healthy. Already four months along.” “You’re so lucky. Your boyfriend treats you so well—bought you a house and takes such good care of you,” the colleague said enviously. “I know. He said once the baby is born, he’ll marry me.” Lily’s face glowed with happiness. Marriage? I laughed coldly. He was still married to me and already planning to marry someone else? Then Lily noticed me. Her face went white. “Victoria.” She stammered as she stood up. I walked over with a gentle smile. “I just found out you’re pregnant? Congratulations.” She instinctively protected her belly. “Thank you.” “But you haven’t mentioned your boyfriend. How does he treat you?” I continued. “Very well,” she said, not daring to meet my eyes. “That’s good. Young people should cherish what they have. Don’t let yourselves be deceived.” I looked at her meaningfully, then turned to leave.
Walking out of the office building, I took a deep breath. Lily, you think hiding in the shadows means I can’t touch you? I’ll show you what a wife is capable of! Derek came home very late that evening, reeking of women’s perfume. “Client entertainment. Had a few drinks.” He burped. “I’ll take a shower first.” While he showered, I went through his phone. Lily: “Darling, the checkup went great. The doctor said the baby is very healthy!” Derek’s reply: “That’s wonderful! My precious! I’ll take you shopping for baby supplies tomorrow.” “You’re so good to me, darling. I love you!” “I love you and our baby too. Once he’s born, we’ll be a real family.” Reading these messages made me nauseous. They had everything planned out, just waiting for me, the wife, to disappear. Dream on! I put the phone back where I found it and plastered an innocent smile on my face. When Derek came out of the shower, I went up to massage his shoulders. “You’ve been working so hard. There really have been a lot of client dinners lately.” He enjoyed my service, a flash of smugness in his eyes. “It’s all for our future.” “By the way,” I mentioned casually, “I ran into Lily at your office today. The student I used to sponsor, remember? She seems to be pregnant. So young and already having a baby.” Derek’s body visibly stiffened. “Is that so? I hadn’t noticed.” “She looked pretty far along. Probably four months or so.” I continued probing. “Young people these days don’t know how to protect themselves.” He fumbled for something to say. I sneered internally while maintaining a concerned expression. “I hope her boyfriend is responsible. Otherwise, it would be too pitiful.” “He probably will be.” Derek was already sweating. The next day, I had my private investigator continue tracking their movements. Sure enough, Derek took Lily to an upscale baby boutique where they intimately selected baby items. In the photos, Derek had one arm around Lily’s waist and his other hand on her belly, his gaze tender in a way that reminded me of how he’d looked at me when we first married. Even worse, they went to a jewelry store and picked out a two-hundred-thousand-dollar diamond ring for Lily. I saved all these photos as evidence for the divorce. That afternoon, using shopping as an excuse, I went to the mall where Lily frequently appeared. I soon spotted her at a café chatting with a friend. I sat in a corner not far away and listened to their conversation. “Lily, are you sure about this? He’s a married man,” her friend said worriedly. “What does it matter? He doesn’t love his wife. He only stays married because her family has money,” Lily said dismissively. “He said once I have his son, he’ll find an excuse to divorce her.” “But what if he’s lying to you?” “He won’t. Look how good he is to me.” Lily showed off her hand. “This ring cost two hundred thousand. He bought me a house too. If he weren’t serious, would he spend this much money?” Her friend still seemed concerned. “But if his wife finds out…” “So what if she does?” Lily smugly touched her belly. “I have his son. That’s my trump card. Men all want their own bloodline. He won’t abandon us.” “Besides, that woman—three years of marriage and still no kids. I got pregnant right away with a boy. Who do you think he’ll choose?” Hearing this, I nearly lost control on the spot. Twenty-eight years old made me an old woman in her eyes? I forced down my rage and kept listening. “He promised me that once the baby is born, he’ll make our relationship public and let me be his wife.” Lily looked dreamy. “Then I won’t have to answer to anyone anymore.” “Does this Victoria know yet?” “Probably not. Derek puts on such a good act at home, never slipping up. She still thinks I’m just the student she sponsors. How would she guess I’m pregnant with her husband’s child?” Lily laughed smugly. “Even if she knew, so what? I have a son and she doesn’t. I’m the winner.” Enough! I couldn’t stand to listen anymore. I got up and left the café. Outside, I called my father. “Dad, we can make our move.”
“Are you certain about this? Once we start, there’s no turning back,” my father said seriously. “I’m certain.” I said through gritted teeth. “They’ve gone too far. I need to show them the consequences of betraying me!” “Alright, you have my support. We’ll begin tomorrow.” After hanging up, I watched the setting sun, the fire of revenge burning fiercely in my heart. The third day was a weekend. Derek said he was meeting a client, but he was really going to accompany Lily. I pretended to believe his lie and saw him off as he drove away. Then, in my capacity as CEO of SGA Group, I called an emergency board meeting. “Everyone, I have an announcement to make.” I stood at the conference table, my voice calm and forceful. “Effective immediately, all collaborative projects between SGA Group and Horizon Tech are terminated.” The board members exchanged glances. Horizon Tech was Derek’s company. “Victoria, why? Horizon Tech has been an important partner,” a board member asked, confused. “Because their CEO, Derek Hayes, has engaged in seriously inappropriate personal conduct that violates business ethics,” I said coldly. “It conflicts with our company’s values.” “But terminating the partnership so abruptly will incur penalty fees.” “I’ll cover the penalties,” I said without hesitation. “This is a matter of principle. No compromise.” After the meeting, I immediately contacted Derek’s company’s other major clients. Leveraging SGA Group’s influence and my personal connections, I quickly made them concerned about Derek’s company too. By afternoon, Derek’s phone was flooded with calls from clients. I leisurely sipped tea at home, listening to him anxiously take calls on the balcony. “Sally, why suddenly terminate the partnership? We’ve been working together so well…” “David, is there some misunderstanding? We can negotiate the price…” “John, please reconsider. Our company can’t survive without this project…” Watching him in a panic brought me satisfaction. Derek came home that evening looking dejected and worried. “I ran into some work problems today.” He tried to appear strong in front of me. “What happened?” I asked with concern, sneering internally. “Several major clients suddenly want to terminate partnerships. I don’t know why.” He rubbed his temples in distress. “Could competitors be sabotaging you behind the scenes?” I pretended to analyze. “Possibly…” His eyes flashed with suspicion. “Several companies have been trying to steal our business lately.” I secretly gloated. He still didn’t know the real enemy was right beside him. “Don’t overthink it. We’ll deal with problems as they come.” I gently comforted him. “Worst case, my family can help out.” Derek looked at me gratefully. “I’m so lucky to have you. Without you, I wouldn’t know what to do.” Hypocrite! If I was so great, why did you betray me? But soon he wouldn’t be saying that anymore.
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