On the fifth Christmas of my marriage to Frederick Duncan, I fell down a hillside while saving him and our son Chester Duncan, breaking my leg. I had to go abroad for surgery and rehabilitation. A year later, when I returned home, I saw Frederick in the courtyard of our villa with his arm around my stepsister Jessica Scott’s shoulder, smiling sweetly. And Chester, whom I had desperately saved, was running around excitedly shouting: “Aunt Jessica, I love you the most! I want you to be my mom, not Charlotte anymore.” My heart turned to ice, and I turned and left. Since that’s how it is, I’ll make it easy for them. I went straight back to my company, Scott Group. I called all the executives for a meeting and simultaneously called Frederick: “You’re fired. Find time to hand over your work.” Laughter came through the phone, piercing my ears. “Charlotte, where are you? What are you making a fuss about now? Didn’t I say I’d come see you next month? The company’s been really busy lately. Can’t you be more understanding?” Frederick’s voice was full of impatience, even annoyance, as he lied so easily. In fact, during this year I was abroad for treatment, our last meeting had been four months ago. I said: “I’m at the company.” Frederick fell silent, but the background noise continued to pierce my heart. Chester shouted: “Aunt Jessica, I love you so much!” Jessica responded: “I love you too, Chester is the sweetest and most adorable. But if your mom comes back in the future and won’t let you see me anymore, what will we do?” Chester’s innocent voice cut into my heart like a blade: “Then I’ll curse her every day so her leg never heals, and she can never come back.” In this suffocating silence, my heartbeat nearly stopped. A year ago, when our family of three went camping and suddenly encountered a mudslide, I didn’t hesitate for a moment while desperately trying to save Frederick and Chester. At that time, I truly wanted to trade my life for their safety. Fortunately, I survived. Unfortunately, my leg was broken. Frederick cried as he held me, saying over and over: “Charlotte, we’ll go abroad to find the best doctors. You’ll definitely be able to stand again. I’ll stay with you the whole time.” Chester also wiped my tears with his little hands: “Don’t be scared, Mommy. Thank you for saving me. Mommy, you’re amazing.” I used to be soft-hearted and never regretted giving everything for them. My treatment abroad was both painful and torturous. For the first month, Frederick and Chester stayed by my side constantly. Every day they held my hands to encourage me, thanked me for saving them, and told me how much they loved me. By the third month, they rarely came to stay with me anymore. Now, I hadn’t seen them for over four months. I wasn’t oblivious to what was happening. Now, my heart was completely dead. Frederick had fallen in love with my stepsister Jessica, and Chester was just as heartless and cold as him. In less than a year, Chester could abandon the mother who gave birth to and raised him, turn around and throw himself into another woman’s arms, easily calling another woman “mom.” When Frederick came to the company, I didn’t see him. I had already prepared his resignation paperwork and transferred his salary to his account, having my secretary Aria Allan pass along his belongings while having my lawyer handle the divorce proceedings. During these years of our marriage, Frederick was no longer the man who once had nothing. He had used my resources to start several small companies and now had enough confidence to leave me.
What’s more, Frederick believed he was now with another daughter of the Scott family. So even though he was the one in the wrong, he still arrogantly told my lawyer before leaving: “Go back and tell Charlotte to stop throwing tantrums. When the time comes, she better not come crying to me.” Hearing his words, I just smiled indifferently, then returned to the Scott estate to apologize to my father Alexander Scott and mother Matilda Scott. That Christmas, I had been so stubborn, insisting on marrying Frederick who had nothing, breaking Alexander and Matilda’s hearts. Jessica wasn’t actually a member of the Scott family. Alexander and Matilda had simply sponsored her upbringing, and she happened to share the Scott surname. No one had ever asked about this, so we never bothered to explain it deliberately. Therefore, Frederick had no idea about Jessica’s true identity. At this time, my good friend came to see me. After learning about Frederick and Jessica’s affair, she cursed angrily for a long time: “Those two are really something. You were only abroad for one Christmas, and Frederick got together with Jessica. Not only that, but Chester, whom you worked so hard to bring into this world, is now following his bastard father and calling another woman mother.” I sat on the sofa without saying a word. I quietly reflected on what had gone wrong that made my son Chester despise me so much. On the coffee table lay the private investigator’s findings, which I pieced together into a complete story. A month after I arrived abroad, Frederick began occasionally mentioning Jessica: “Jessica’s pretty great. Though we don’t usually spend much time together, after learning about your injury, she’s been visiting Chester frequently.” I would occasionally see photos on Jessica’s social media of her taking Chester to amusement parks. However, her captions were perfectly appropriate: [Charlotte is injured and can’t take care of Chester. I can only help them out more.] Yet this supposedly caring Jessica never once asked about how my recovery was progressing. Initially, Frederick’s attitude toward Jessica wasn’t particularly close, but it wasn’t distant either. He simply maintained basic courtesy, genuinely grateful for her concern for Chester. Jessica, on the other hand, was very patient, caring for them every day. Until one day, after the three of them spent a day at an amusement park, Jessica, who had come to our house to put Chester to bed, didn’t leave that night. From that day forward, Frederick never visited me abroad again. He kept making excuses to brush me off: “Charlotte, the company’s projects are all moving forward right now, I really don’t have time. I’m thinking of you. I need to help you watch over the company so you don’t worry. I’m really exhausted. Can’t you feel sorry for me? Stop throwing tantrums all the time.” But what he didn’t know was that as soon as I could walk again, I had secretly returned once. I witnessed Frederick putting on a spectacular fireworks show for Jessica on the rooftop terrace that dazzled the entire city. The brilliant fireworks filled the sky, telling the story of their deep love. Even having crossed the lines of humanity and morality, he was still incredibly happy. Frederick’s smile was full of happiness and sweetness, more blinding than the fireworks themselves. I dragged my weak body onto the return flight, curled up in the spacious leather seat, enduring unbearable pain. I even thought about how much better it would have been if I had just died that day in the mudslide. That way, I wouldn’t have had to watch my lover and son both ruthlessly betray me. Jessica posted on social media and interacted with several lifestyle and relationship bloggers that both she and I followed, flaunting her victory to me. Looking at the photo of the three of them snuggled together in the ocean aquarium’s tunnel corridor, I realized they looked just like a happy family of three.
Something came back to me. On the night I had Frederick leave the company, Chester called me on video chat for the first time in ages. His sharp, childish voice pierced through my ears the moment I answered: “Charlotte, you’re just a cripple. My classmates saw you on the news and they’re all making fun of me. Why did you come back? I only want Jessica Scott to be my mom.” I was pouring water at the time. In that instant, I froze. Water overflowed from the glass, dripping onto the back of my hand. Startled, my hand jerked and the glass crashed to the floor. Water droplets splashed all over my injured leg, but I felt nothing. Staring at the child on screen who was still viciously cursing his mother, I stood there in shock. From the moment Chester was born, I’d been deeply involved in everything concerning him, even caring for him personally. He used to look at me with the wonder of someone seeing the whole world, sweetly calling me “Mommy.” But in that moment, the sacred word “Mommy” completely crumbled in my heart. I just couldn’t understand how, after just one Christmas, Chester had become like this—just like his selfish, cold father. Chester was the sole heir of the next generation in the Scott family, so I’d always placed high hopes on him. I feared that when we were all gone, with no one to support him, he’d be manipulated by others because he couldn’t control such a large enterprise. So I did my best to nurture him, holding him to strict standards, sending him to the best schools, having him learn as many skills as possible. Parents who love their children plan many things for them. But perhaps it was precisely because of this that my strictness left a deep impression on Chester’s young mind. To him, I was the bad guy, and living with me made him feel miserable. But Jessica was different. She indulged Chester’s behavior, constantly trying to please him, letting him enjoy life however he wanted. The playful photos Jessica posted on social media painted a picture of freedom and joy that no child could resist. I suddenly remembered that when I was abroad, I’d once called to ask Chester how his homework was going. He smugly told me: “You’re crippled now, so you can’t control me anymore.” I was furious and wanted to teach him a lesson about basic manners and decency. But Frederick said to me: “He’s still young, he can throw tantrums. Charlotte, don’t be unreasonable. We’re already stressed and tired enough at home.” After hearing his words, my tears kept falling onto the white hospital blanket. I’d never complained about the dozens of reconstructive surgeries, the tens of thousands of rehabilitation sessions, or the suffocating pain that reached deep into my bones. I just hoped I could get better quickly and return to the people I loved most. But now… I sighed and looked at the family photo in front of me again, my heart aching. After that, I threw all my energy into work. I reorganized all the company’s projects, completely eliminating everything related to Frederick. Several employees who’d been bought off by Frederick came to complain to me, saying I was too cold-hearted, cutting so many projects right after returning. Looking at the report that had just come from the finance department, I realized the loss statements Frederick had covered up showed he’d harbored ill intentions for a long time. I gave everyone two choices. The first was that as long as they properly handed over their current work, I’d arrange for them to join new project teams. The second was to take generous compensation and leave with Frederick, and I wouldn’t shortchange them a single penny.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MyFiction” app 🔍 search for “397971”, and watch the full series ✨! #MyFiction #B×G #Cheating #BabyChildren #Revenge #Independent
Leave a Reply