One weekend, after Jack returned from a business trip, he and I visited his parents.

Jean smiled brightly when she saw his son at the door, but her smile faded when she noticed me by his side. "What are you doing here?"

The smile froze on my face. I gave Jack a sad look.

He immediately tried to mediate. "Mom, what are you talking about? We're back to visit because Shannon misses both of you!"

Turning on her heels with a scoff, Jean snarked, "You miss us? Why don't you give us a grandchild, then?"

Jack gave me an awkward glance. I shook my head, a way of telling him it was alright, before we stepped into the house.

Food was served. The entire family gathered at the table merrily, ready for dinner. Jack's dad, Bill Ingleton, chatted with Jean and Jack.

My in-laws asked about Jack, but I could tell it was just for show. They must have something important to discuss with him, but they would never bring it up in front of me.

I wondered what they would do if I weren't around. When that idea struck me, I switched on the recorder on my phone as I placed the phone screen-down on the table.

Suddenly, I exclaimed, "Oh! Dad, Mom, it occurred to me that we forgot to lock our car! Jack has left his bag in the car. I need to go check it out."

Jean was taken aback. She patted her chest. Then, she rolled her eyes at me and schooled me,

"You've never done anything right! Go now! Jack will be in trouble if he loses his bag."

I took the car keys and went downstairs for a bit. I waited around until I decided it was time to rejoin them.

When I returned to the dinner table, the conversation stopped abruptly. Jack and his parents stared at me in a way that made my hair stand.

Bill was the first to break the silence. With a smile, he gestured at me to join them. The conversation resumed after I took my seat.

Picking up my phone, I made a quick visit to the bathroom. Once I locked the door, I hit the play button and listened intently to the crisp recording.

In the recording, Jean eagerly cursed at me right after I closed the door. She spat, "How dare that infertile pig show up at our place?

"Jack, get a divorce right now and marry Rhea. Just look at Shannon! She's hopeless. If she can't give you a child, she shouldn't call herself your wife! Since Rhea is pregnant now, you should divorce Shannon and marry Rhea instead."

Apparently, my in-laws had learned about Rhea's affairs with Jack and her pregnancy.

I heard Jack say, "I can't just get a divorce. If she refuses to sign the papers, I will have to go to court for a few years. She founded the company, and I have no stock ownership at all. I need to plan carefully if I want a divorce."

Sighing, Jean chimed in, "That woman is such a nuisance. She's like a leech; you can't shake her off!"

After a brief silence, Jack piped up, "If she's dead, her stocks will belong to me."

"Is that true?" Jean asked with glee.

I trembled violently when I heard the suggestion. Was my husband thinking of killing me? I stood there, frozen.

At that moment, a chill swept through my entire body, leaving me trembling uncontrollably. I had never imagined that the man I shared a bed with, the husband I trusted, would be planning to kill me.

And all because I couldn't bear a child. Had he seriously resorted to getting rid of me just because he couldn't find a legitimate reason to make me walk away empty-handed from the divorce?

But wait, wasn't Jack the one who always insisted he didn't want children? Why now? Why was he suddenly willing to divorce me over his child with Rhea?

The recording continued to play. Jack's tone was calm and calculating. "If she left behind no will, I inherit two-thirds of her assets, and her parents get one-third.

He paused before adding, "Most of our assets are mixed with each others'. If we really had to divide them, I'm confident I could secure two-thirds of her wealth."

The realization hit me like a train. Jack had already planned for the divorce. He had been preparing for this day long before now.

My heart felt as if it had broken into pieces. I was devastated, and for a fleeting moment, the thought of storming out of the bathroom and taking a knife to these despicable people crossed my mind.

I had always treated Jack's parents with respect, even better than my own. I went above and beyond to care for them.

But now, I realized they had no regard for my life, no gratitude, no empathy—they wanted me dead.

Perhaps it was time to revise my plans. How could I leave these two scheming old monsters out of what was coming next?

I left the bathroom 10 minutes later and had dinner with the Ingletons without betraying anything.

After doing the dishes, I handed over my checkup report to my in-laws. I stammered bashfully, "Dad, Mom, I have something to discuss with you. I know it is your wish to have a grandchild, but I miscarried too many times before this. The doctor said I would struggle to get pregnant again…"

I teared up while speaking. Jack and his parents frowned at me as they waited for me to continue. I kept up with the act and innocently stated, "But the family lineage cannot stop here. I have an idea. Since modern technology is advanced, Jack and I could go abroad and get some IVF treatments. Dad, Mom, what do you think?"

It took Jean a while to wrap her head around my suggestion. She was the first to slam her fist on the table. "I object! How can you compare the babies from these treatments to babies who are conceived naturally?"

Then, she glared at me. "Jack married you to pass on our family bloodline. What's the point of your marriage if you refuse to bear children?"

I scoffed silently. What a shitty excuse! I knew they must be reluctant to spend any money on me now that Rhea was pregnant with Jack's child.

Despite being secretly disgruntled, I kept up the act. Tears streamed down my face. "Mom, what do we do, then? You shoved me and made me miscarry the last time. Are we really gonna watch as the Ingleton bloodline ends here?"

At the mention of the miscarriage, Jean immediately shut up. After all, her violence had directly caused my miscarriage and my infertility. Feeling bad, she stopped snapping at me.

They, I grabbed Jack's hand. "Darling, I can't hold your family back. I don't want to be the reason for your family's misfortune! Maybe… maybe we should just get a divorce!"

"D-Divorce?" Jack stammered, utterly blindsided by my sudden suggestion. He turned to his parents with a look of confusion.

Sensing the tension, Jack's father quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Divorce? No, no, it would be so scandalous for you if people heard about it."

He pulled a napkin from the box and handed it to me. "How about this? Why don't you two keep trying for a couple more years? If it still doesn't work, I'll help you adopt a child from a good family. What do you think?"

Killing me must have been too risky, and Bill immediately offered a sneaky solution when I brought up the issue of their bloodline.

His words made me snicker in silence. That "good family" was undoubtedly Rhea, and the "adopted child" would no doubt be their illegitimate child.

I wiped my tears, pretending to consider his suggestion, and then replied, "Dad, I know your idea comes from a good place, but adopting a child isn't without risks.

"If the child grows up and finds out they are adopted, they might want to find their birth parents. What would we do then? Stop them? But if we let them go, doesn't that mean we would've raised someone else's child for nothing for over a decade?"

I spoke with such determination that Bill couldn't refute me. Everyone fell into an awkward silence.

At this moment, Jean's eyes glimmered with an idea. She blurted out, "How about getting a surrogate?"

Even though I had seen this coming, hearing it straight out of her mouth still made me feel disgusted at the Ingletons' shamelessness.

I feigned shock, widening my eyes. Before I could say anything, Jack had lost his temper.

"Mom! What are you saying?" he grumbled, his tone laced with reproach. He glanced at me, as if worried I would feel offended.

However, he failed to fool me with that poor acting—I caught a fleeting hint of excitement in his eyes.

Jack wrapped his arms around me, his expression full of what appeared to be tenderness. "Shannon is the only woman for me!"

Jean glared at him and barked, "Let her speak!"

Jack immediately fell silent.

All three of them turned to me, waiting for my response.

I was eager to nod in agreement, but I made a show of hesitating. Eventually, after a lot of persuasion and coaxing from Jack's parents, I "reluctantly" agreed to the surrogate plan.

Seeing me give in, they were visibly pleased. They grinned smugly as if they had succeeded in fooling me.

Jack comforted me tenderly, and the atmosphere around the table shifted to one of harmony and joy.

The three of them believed they were setting a trap for me, but little did they know, they had already walked straight into mine.

On the way home after bidding farewell to his parents, Jack seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood. He couldn't stop showering me with compliments, rambling about how lucky he was to have me.

He even joked that he must have saved the world in his past life to have been blessed with me in this one.

I simply smiled at him, my eyes gleaming with a mix of approval and satisfaction.

Out of the blue, he changed the subject. "Darling, since we're both so happy today, how about we go shopping for a bag for you? Or maybe something else? Whatever you want, I'll get it for you."

I agreed cheerfully. What I thought would be a quick shopping trip took an unexpected turn when we bumped into Rhea at the mall.

The moment Jack spotted her, a flicker of unease crossed his face. Meanwhile, Rhea quickly left her group of girlfriends and approached us with a friendly smile.

Her gaze occasionally lingered on Jack's face. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Ingleton. What a coincidence to see you here!"

I held onto Jack's arm and returned her smile politely. "Ms. Carhill, are you here shopping as well? Care to join us?"

Jack shot me a look of bewilderment. I chided him, "What's with that look? You have no clue what women like. The bags you've bought me before are hideous—I don't like any of them. Don't you think it's such a waste of money?"

Rhea's expression shifted subtly. A trace of jealousy flashed across her face.

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "Ms. Carhill is younger and probably more familiar with current trends. I'd love for her to help me pick out a few bags and outfits. You don't mind having Rhea around, do you, Jack? Surely, you're not that unreasonable."

Even as I said those words, I felt nauseated by my own theatrics. But when I caught the awkward looks on Jack and Rhea's faces, I knew it was all worth it.

Jack grunted in response, looking reluctant. I knew he was worried that I'd discover their affair.

Turning to Rhea, I asked her again, "Ms. Carhill, would you like to shop with us? I'd appreciate your help in picking out some bags and clothes, but don't feel obliged if you're busy."

Rhea hesitated for a moment before glancing at Jack with a smile. She agreed to come with me.

Throughout the shopping trip, I played dumb, pretending not to notice the silent exchanges and subtle looks between the two of them.

Rhea recommended a mix of outfits to me—most of it was either unflatteringly ugly or overly revealing.

I rejected the ugly pieces outright but bought the sexy outfits on purpose. Before we left, I turned to Jack with a coy smile and said just loudly enough, "I'll try these on at home for you."

After a few of these exchanges, their expressions darkened.

Later, I asked Rhea to pick something for herself—a bag and an outfit. Leaning in, I whispered to her, "It's not like it's your money. Go ahead and splurge. It's on your boss."

Rhea hesitated but ultimately couldn't resist the temptation. The items she picked, though few, ended up being more expensive than everything she had selected for me combined.

I said nothing throughout the checkout process. After all, Jack was the one footing the bill. I wanted him to see Rhea's greed firsthand.

Once the mission was complete, I pretended to look exhausted. "Darling, I'm tired. Can we go home now?"

Jack nodded with a quiet grunt, then turned to Rhea. "Ms. Carhill, you should head home early too."

Even as he spoke, they exchanged subtle signals that they thought only they could understand. I played my part, pretending not to notice a thing.

When we got home, I flopped onto the sofa and looked at Jack. "Darling, I think Ms. Carhill is a great candidate. Let's put her on our list," I said.

It took him a while to get what I meant by the "list".

I thought he'd be thrilled. Picking Rhea as the surrogate would give him a lot of room to work with. But to my surprise, his reaction was firm and resolute.

"She's not suitable," he said decisively.

I sat up, puzzled. "Why not? She's pretty and has a similar build to mine. If I remember correctly, she graduated from a prestigious university. Her genes should be excellent. What's wrong with her?"

Before I could finish speaking, Jack suddenly dropped to his knees before me.