In the third year of my marriage to Dominic Chase, I discovered a physical defect. I’d lost my ability to conceive and could never get pregnant. I was devastated, but Dominic suggested adopting a child from an orphanage. Together, we found a sweet little girl. On the day we were supposed to officially adopt her, I noticed a birthmark on the girl’s hand while signing the paperwork. I immediately said I didn’t want her, but Dominic insisted on adopting her. So I asked him for a divorce. Everyone stared at me in shock. Dominic asked, “Just because she has a birthmark on her hand? You want to divorce me over that?” I replied seriously, “Yes.” Dominic thought I was being unreasonable. “But the birthmark is only the size of a pea! We can have it surgically removed. Is this really worth making such a big deal over?” I laughed coldly. “After we divorce, you can raise whoever you want. Raise as many as you like—I don’t care.” Dominic’s face filled with disbelief. “Miranda Caldwell! What’s gotten into you? You want to divorce me over a child? What did she do to upset you? There’s no need to take it this far.” I stared at him, my voice devoid of emotion. “Her or me. Choose.” Dominic looked at me like I was a stranger, his eyes full of shock. “She’s just a child. Such a small child, abandoned by everyone. Don’t you have a heart? Besides, she didn’t choose to have that birthmark. Why does it matter so much to you?” I cut him off. “Fine. Divorce.” Dominic’s face turned pale. I said nothing more. The atmosphere turned glacial. The orphanage staff exchanged uncomfortable glances until the director broke the awkward silence. “Mrs. Chase, Rosie has always been the sweetest child at our facility. She never cries or makes a fuss, and she often helps the other children.” “Many people have wanted to adopt her before, but Rosie refused to leave. Today, when she finally met your family, she really took to you.” My father-in-law, Bob Chase tried to smooth things over. “Miranda, dear, I think this child is lovely. Medical technology is so advanced now—if you don’t like the birthmark, we can easily have a doctor remove it.” I remained silent, insisting on the divorce. Dominic approached me, carefully taking my hand. “Can we talk about this at home?” His voice was filled with hurt and pleading. I yanked my hand away, showing him no mercy. “No need. When we get home, I’ll have my lawyer draft the divorce papers. Make sure you come sign them.” Seeing my resolve, my mother-in-law, Nancy Smith’s face filled with alarm. “What are you saying? You’ve been married into our family for three years with nothing to show for it. Now that we know the problem is with you, you’re throwing a fit about adopting a child.” She pointed her finger at my nose. “I never imagined you were this petty. Are you trying to end the Chase family line?” Nancy brought up past grievances one by one. “Whenever you wanted late-night snacks, no matter how late it was, my son would get up and make them for you. He never complained once.” “You only like cake from that one shop downtown, so my son would stand in line for an hour every day to buy it for you.” “Do you have a conscience? Our family has treated you well. All I want is a grandchild. What good are you if you can’t have children?” Nancy clutched her chest and cursed at me, calling me an ungrateful wretch with every sentence. I grabbed my bag to leave. The little girl approached me, looking pitiful. “Mommy.” I pushed her away in disgust. Chloe Chase caught the girl. “Miranda, she’s just a child. If you don’t like the birthmark on her hand, fine—but did you have to push her down?” “Why are you taking your anger out on a child? All she wants is a family. What’s wrong with calling you mommy?” I glanced at her coldly. “You can let her call you mommy.” Chloe immediately panicked, flustered and stammering. “Miranda, don’t talk nonsense. This is the child you and Dominic were going to adopt.” “You know it’s supposed to be Dominic’s and mine. Why are you butting in?” Chloe had no response to that. She bit her lip tightly. “Enough!” Dominic’s body trembled. “Honey, can we please talk about this in private? Just sign the papers. I’ve already called everyone here. Please, just give me this one courtesy.” “You can yell at me all you want when we get home.” I refused outright. “No need. Just sign the divorce papers when you get home.” I turned to leave. Behind me, there was a thud. Dominic had dropped to his knees in front of everyone.
“Please sign it, okay?” Dominic wrapped his arms around my legs, preventing me from leaving. Nancy looked like she was about to faint from anger, repeatedly telling him to get up. In all our arguments before, no matter how fierce, he’d never knelt down. They say a man’s knees hold gold. Yet here was Dominic, kneeling for a child who had no blood relation to me. Dominic, do you really care about her that much? I turned my head to look at the girl hiding in Chloe’s arms. Very pretty. Very well-behaved. Very much like her. I laughed at myself and bent down to pry his hands off one finger at a time. “Stop making a scene!” Dominic’s eyes reddened with frustration, tears falling. I looked up and surveyed my surroundings. The obedient child, the angry mother-in-law, the silent crowd. My kneeling husband. Somehow I’d become the villain in this story. All because of a pea-sized birthmark, making demands and threatening divorce over three years of marriage. “I’ll say it again. Divorce.” With that, I left without hesitation. I went home alone and contacted a lawyer to draft the divorce papers. I waited until late at night before the whole family finally came home. They were laughing and chatting, everyone carrying bags full of gifts. Rosie was surrounded in the middle, the center of attention as they entered. As soon as Dominic came in, he saw me sitting in the living room. His smile immediately vanished. “Honey, the director said she could stay at our house for a few days.” “I know you don’t like her. Don’t worry—I’ll send her back in a few days.” Dominic looked at me carefully. I avoided his gaze. “No need. Let her stay.” “Really? Honey, have you changed your mind?” I slammed the divorce papers heavily on the table. “Sign them.” Dominic shook his head, begging desperately. “Honey, I’m sorry. If you don’t want to adopt her, we won’t. Please don’t divorce me, okay?” “I can’t live without you. Why, honey? Why do you insist on divorcing me?” Nancy pulled Dominic away. “Are you seeing someone else? Are you using this to end our family line?” “Since you married into our family, have I ever mistreated you? When you couldn’t get pregnant before, I never said a word, afraid of upsetting you.” “I’m old now. I just want a grandchild around me, someone to call me grandma. Is that wrong?” Nancy grew more agitated, crying as she accused me. Chloe walked up to me holding Rosie, then suddenly dropped to her knees. “Miranda, I know marrying into our family was beneath you. You were born with a silver spoon, a real princess, and we’re just an ordinary family.” “You’ve never experienced life on the streets, but I have. I know what it’s like to have no home. It’s so painful—I even thought about dying.” “I can’t bear to see her go through what I did. Miranda, I know you look down on unwanted children like us. I know you’ve told Dominic many times that you don’t like me. If you take her in, I’ll leave this house immediately.” Chloe’s words were so pitiful they tugged at everyone’s heartstrings. I slapped her hard across the face and said sternly: “Don’t you have any idea why I won’t take this child?” Dominic suddenly stood up and backhanded me with a heavy slap. I fell straight off the sofa and hit my forehead on the corner of the table. Everything spun. Warm liquid ran down from my eye. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t… I didn’t mean to.” Dominic stared at his hand in disbelief, frantically moving to cover my wound. I shoved his hand away, grabbed my bag, and headed for the door. Bob called after me with a threat: “You dare leave? If you walk out that door, don’t ever come back to this house!” “If we divorce, you won’t get a penny!”
I dragged my exhausted body back to my parents’ house. My mom hugged me with concern. “Sweetheart, what happened to your face?” “Where’s Dominic? Didn’t he come back with you?” I buried myself in my mother’s embrace, tears soaking my face. “Did you and Dominic have a fight? What happened?” My mother’s gentle comfort opened the floodgates of all my grievances. “Mom, that child…” After I told my parents everything, they were stunned. “I never imagined Dominic was that kind of person. How could he have the nerve to do such things!” “Divorce him. We don’t want a penny of their money. We don’t need it.” My father grew angrier as he spoke, even wanting to rush to the Chase house and confront them, but I stopped him. The next day at the office, I went to get the divorce papers. When I reached the top floor and pushed open Dominic’s office door, I saw him and Chloe together, amusing Rosie. When they saw me, Dominic immediately stood up. He looked at the wound on my face with concern. “Honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yesterday.” “You know Chloe is the most cherished person in our family. I can’t stand to see her suffer even a little.” Dominic grabbed my hand and pressed it to his own face. “I lost my head yesterday. Hit me, okay? As long as it makes you feel better, you can hit me or yell at me all you want.” I pulled away, saying coldly, “I’m here for the divorce papers.” “What’s wrong with you, honey? Tell me, please.” These past two days had drained all my energy. “I just want to divorce you. I’m tired. I don’t love you anymore.” Dominic refused to listen, just kept shaking his head. “That’s impossible. Honey, what did I do wrong? I’ll change.” “You’re lying. How could you not love me anymore? If you don’t like her, we won’t adopt her. If we can’t have children, that’s fine. I only need you.” Dominic held me tightly, as if trying to merge me into his body. “Dominic! Can’t you understand plain English? I have one requirement—divorce!” I said each word deliberately: “Do you want me to spell out all the dirty things you’ve done?” “Honey, what did I do wrong? Tell me and I’ll change.” Dominic appeared calm on the surface, but I caught the flash of panic on his face. Chloe interrupted him. “Dominic, just let her go. This ungrateful woman doesn’t remember any of the good things you’ve done. Her conscience has been eaten by dogs.” “With so many women out there, you must have been blind to pick her.” Dominic slapped her. Chloe covered her face in disbelief. “Apologize to Miranda.” Chloe stubbornly turned her head away, tears welling in her eyes. “If you won’t sign, then I’ll see you in court.” With that parting shot, I walked out of the office. As I rode the elevator down, many people whispered behind my back, glancing at their phones. I grabbed one of their phones. “What are you gossiping about me?” The company group chat had 99+ messages pinging. “I heard that child is the CEO’s daughter. He said so himself.” “Mrs. Chase is really being unreasonable. Who would even notice such a tiny birthmark?” “That child looks so cute and well-behaved. I’d want to adopt her. How could anyone not like her?” “It’s her own fault for not being able to have children. Now she’s taking it out on the kid. Poor CEO, stuck with such a shrew at home.” Chloe suddenly sent a message: “Anyone else gossiping gets fired.” The group chat immediately went silent. I laughed coldly. Chloe really had some nerve. Riding on Dominic’s coattails all the way to Executive Secretary.
A few days later, a pile of things appeared at my doorstep. Thrown in a messy heap. All my belongings from the Chase house. I saw my favorite teddy bear lying in the dirt. I stared at it for a long time before picking it up. This was the token of love between Dominic and me. The night we made it official, I suddenly wanted a stuffed bear. It was too late—most shops were closed. Dominic ran six miles before finding a store that sold them. It was such a cheap bear. I’d seen plenty of more exquisite, cuter stuffed animals. But I’d fallen for this one specifically, making it my favorite thing. I took a photo and sent it to Dominic. “You’re quite the actor when it comes to playing devoted.” He didn’t reply for half the day. “Honey, it wasn’t me. I would never do something like this!” I didn’t want to hear his excuses anymore. I blocked him directly. That evening, torrential rain poured down outside, raindrops hammering against the windows. Accompanied by the doorbell. I opened the door. Dominic stood there, soaked through. Water dripped from his clothes. His hair covered his eyes, his lips pressed in a tight line. “Come inside first.” No matter how I pulled, he wouldn’t budge. “No. Honey, I won’t come in unless you forgive me.” “Then stand outside.” I shut the door directly. Soon after, I saw Dominic leave on the security camera. I laughed coldly. What a fool, still believing in him. The rain lasted all night. When I opened the door the next morning, Dominic was standing there again. Still wearing yesterday’s clothes, still soaked through. “Honey, can you forgive me now? I stayed outside all night.” Dominic’s voice was full of grievance. “What are you pretending for?” Just as I was about to continue, Chloe appeared. She rushed over in a panic, helping Dominic up. “Are you insane? You made Dominic stand in the rain all night. Have you lost your mind?” “You have physical problems yourself, so you take it out on everyone else. Aren’t you disgusting?” Dominic pretended to look hurt, seemingly holding Chloe back but not saying a word in my defense. They made me laugh with anger. I didn’t want to waste any more words on them. Chloe held up her phone to my face. “Look at the disgusting things you’ve done. Dominic puts up with you, but other people won’t tolerate your princess attitude.” The phone showed a video. The subject was Rosie. Rosie was being interviewed by reporters, telling them how I’d rejected her because of the birthmark on her hand. She cried as she spoke, looking utterly pitiful. The orphanage director was there too, revealing my cold attitude that day. The entire internet was attacking me. “Oh my god, Rosie is so adorable. How could she say such things? Making such a small child go through this—how traumatic.” “She’s so young but already so mature. She finally had a chance to escape that life, only to encounter this.” “I really feel for her. If you didn’t point out that birthmark, I wouldn’t even notice it. This woman is deliberately causing trouble.” Everyone was cursing me. They even exposed my identity. Every day people threw eggs at my family’s company entrance. The company stock plummeted. I was under siege from all sides. Seeing my parents come home looking worried, I wanted nothing more than to tell the public the truth immediately. I reassured them: “Don’t worry. At the press conference, I’ll make them pay.” On the day of the press conference, many reporters camped outside waiting for me. As soon as I appeared, cameras and microphones were shoved in my face, flashbulbs constantly going off. I ignored them and walked expressionlessly to the stage. Soon after, Dominic’s family appeared too. My former in-laws looked at me with disgust, not even sparing me a glance. Behind them was Chloe, holding Rosie in her arms. Perfect. Everyone was here. As soon as I sat down, reporters swarmed forward: “Ms. Caldwell, what’s your take on the orphanage incident?” “Ms. Caldwell, did you really refuse to adopt Rosie because of the birthmark on her hand?” … I took the microphone and spoke slowly: “I did indeed refuse to adopt Rosie because of the birthmark on her hand.” The room instantly erupted. I continued: “I have two things to show everyone.”
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