Chapter 1

I secretly enrolled in a classified national program without informing my husband, Elijah, who happens to be our team's leader. Initially, he didn't think much of it. He merely assumed I had become more compliant. Even when he decided to give a promotion opportunity from the organization to his first love, I remained unfazed.

Then he proposed transferring the property meant for me to Paisley, his first love, and asked me to help raise her child. I agreed with a smile, my eyes briefly flickering to the notification of my successful application in my hand.

Elijah frowned slightly and warned, "Don't try any tricks. If you change your mind, I'll divorce you immediately!"

Feigning concern, I asked, "But if the house goes to her, where will I live?"

"The organization has assigned me another place, hasn’t it? Paisley and her kid have a tough life; show some compassion!"

Hearing his cold words, I couldn't help but feel a secret satisfaction. With his generous nature, he might be open to donating all his assets to the Heartland Welfare Foundation, right? After all, helping many children is more meaningful than just one.

After filling out the application, I returned to the townhouse complex. At the entrance, I saw Elijah walking with Paisley and her child, pushing a bicycle. The bike's basket was loaded with household supplies for them—a glass bowl, a kettle, and some pastries and snacks. To a passerby, they might seem like the perfect, happy family.

Upon seeing me, Paisley hesitated, displaying her classic delicate demeanor. "I'm sorry, Alora. I didn’t foresee things turning out this way. If this really bothers you, I'll persuade Elijah to discuss it with the authorities..."

Paisley, Elijah, and I grew up together in the same town. I was always the tomboy, never backing down even if my pride was on the line. But Paisley was different; she always wore pristine cotton dresses and had two neat braids, looking pitifully fragile.

As we grew up, Elijah joined the military, while Paisley and I attended the College of Geosciences. The year before graduation, an overseas study opportunity suddenly arose, putting me in competition with Paisley. The school initially chose me, but Paisley went to Elijah, tearfully pleading.

"You and Alora come from well-off families; you’ll have more opportunities to go abroad, but I won’t..."

"I know if I miss this chance, it'll be tough for me to succeed in life."

So, Elijah approached me, using a mix of persuasion and pressure, to relinquish the chance to Paisley. No one could have predicted that soon after, Paisley went abroad and married a man from overseas.

Left abruptly by Paisley, Elijah became despondent, and I stayed by his side as he gradually rebuilt himself. Eventually, with encouragement from both families, he ended up marrying me.

Five years later, when Paisley's husband cheated on her, she returned home humbly with her child, her visa expired. From then on, the tranquility in my life with Elijah was completely disrupted.

Chapter 2

Before I could say anything, Elijah Watkins furrowed his brow and said, "Don't be silly, it's nothing to stress over."

He reassured Paisley Campbell, "You've been involved in the oil exploration work as well, and these opportunities are well-deserved. Besides, now that you're divorced and have a child to care for, you need this promotion more than Alora does. How else are you and your daughter supposed to make ends meet?"

I'm working at the ground level in oil exploration, surviving on basic sandwiches, and whenever I get the chance, I head into the Alps. I endure the biting wind and scorching sun, my body covered in bruises, and during the toughest times, I almost slipped off a cliff in extreme weather. But it was those tough moments that led me to discover an oil field.

And Paisley? She was given this position by Elijah due to her foreign qualifications. Every time we went out for surveying, she would complain of headaches or colds, or she'd bemoan that no one was home to watch her child. Despite this, Elijah pulled strings so that Paisley's name appeared ahead of mine, taking credit for my discovery.

Thus, my hard-earned achievements became hers, and the promotion and recognition that I had struggled to attain went to her instead! When I confronted Elijah, he looked at me with irritation and said, "You just spend your days hiking in the mountains. How tough can it be?"

To make it easier for his first love to accept my 'gift', he glanced at me with an air of authority and added, "Alora is still young. She'll have plenty of chances for advancement in the future. Besides, I'm often busy with work, and she needs to focus more on the family. Whether she gets a promotion or not isn't a big deal to her."

Last night, Elijah had already snapped at me. He warned that if I dared to make a fuss about this and brought any trouble to Paisley, he'd divorce me. He was convinced I'd simply swallow this injustice, just like I did when I gave up the opportunity to study abroad for Paisley's sake.

But this time, I chose to let him go and focus on my own path.