I knew from the start that Williams did not love me.

Everyone knew that I had a crush on him the entire four years I was at university.

Unfortunately, he had already met the woman of his dreams, so he did not care about me.

Right before graduation, Leia accepted her family’s arrangements for her to study abroad.

The day she left, Williams approached me while he reeked of alcohol.

He hugged me and called me Leia with glazed eyes.

He had mistaken me for someone else. Yet, I liked him so much that I allowed myself to indulge in a moment of passion.

However, it was a mistake. When I woke up the next day, he threw my clothes on the floor and told me to leave with a gloomy face.

I thought that it would just be a short fling, but I unexpectedly got pregnant.

Williams held a wedding ceremony and had me give birth to the child; he then named him James.

He probably did not love me at all. That would explain why he turned a blind eye to Leia’s provocation toward me. After she returned to the country, he even allowed her to enter our home and take James with her.

Even when I desperately demanded an explanation from Williams, James would take his side.

He would say, “Mom, you’re not as pretty or as gentle as Miss Leia. Why don’t you just leave?

“Then, Dad can be with her, and Miss Leia can be my mother.”

My eyes felt heavy, and I started to lose consciousness.

I slumped onto the floor, as I was too weak to stand.

Just then, a small head peeked through the suffocating smoke.

“Madam, do you need any help?” someone asked timidly.

I forced my eyes open and saw a young boy who was about the same age as my son.

He was covered in ash and dirt, but his eyes shone brightly through the smoke.

He was so small in size, yet he managed to muster the strength to help me up. Then, together, we slowly made our way outside.

The path to the outside was incredibly challenging, and I felt like giving up several times.

Even so, the boy held on to me and refused to let go.

As soon as we escaped the fire, he was so exhausted that he kneeled on the ground. Despite that, he quickly helped me call for a doctor.

I hugged him and cried uncontrollably.

While we were on our way to the hospital, I learned that he had no parents, and his grandfather had died in the fire.

Overwhelmed with grief, he buried his head in his hands while we were in the ambulance.

He tried to hold back his tears because he was afraid that he might disturb those around him.

I felt an inexplicable amount of sympathy for him. I held his hand as I asked if he would let me adopt him.

His eyes lit up with joy, but he shook his head. He said that he did not want to be a burden to me.

I smiled wryly and told him that I was a big mess myself. So, I was not worried about him being a burden.

I promised him that we would begin the adoption process as soon as I was discharged from the hospital.

I was hospitalized for three days, and I lost my baby, as I had inhaled too much smoke.

During this time, neither Williams nor James called or visited me.

They were just in another room nearby, but they were busy taking care of Leia.

The only one by my side was the little boy who had saved me.

He told me that his name was Lucas Peterson and that his father had named him. If I was willing to adopt him, he would allow me to change his name.

I patted his head and shook my head in disagreement. “I’m willing to adopt you, but you don’t need to change your name. You can do anything you want without making any compromises, okay?”

Lucas’s eyes lit up with joy, and he nuzzled against my arm affectionately. He also thanked me in a sweet voice.

It had been a long time since I last heard those words.

Williams and James found me annoying, and they never thanked me for anything.

I was touched, so I hugged him. I was smiling for the first time in a while.

It was then that I bumped into Williams and James in the hallway.

I had just completed the surgical procedure for my miscarriage. So, Lucas was carefully helping me back to my ward.

As we turned the corner, we ran into Williams and James who were supporting Leia.

They were chatting and laughing away; this trio looked more like a family.

I thought that I would feel incredibly hurt, but to my surprise, I only felt a faint ripple of emotion.

As such, I quietly walked past them.

However, Williams could not hold back and called out to me.

I turned and saw a hint of worry in his eyes.

“Christelle, are you hurt?” he asked.

I wanted to laugh.

Of course not, but I did have an asthma attack and nearly suffocated in the smoke.

There were a few stitches on my head, and it was still wrapped in bandages. Yet, he chose to be oblivious to it all.

On top of that, I had a miscarriage. Perhaps the baby was fortunate in a sense; the baby did not have to live with such a cold-blooded father and brother.

Seeing that I was silent, he stared at my flat abdomen.

Then, he sneered mockingly. “Christelle, I really thought that you were pregnant. It looks like Leia was right. You were just being selfish and trying to trick me into saving you first.”

Next to him, Leia stared at me with resentment.

At this point, I felt that no further explanation was needed.

So, I nodded faintly.

“Think whatever you want. You must be disappointed to see me alive, right?

“But it’s fine…”

I looked up and met his calm gaze.

“Williams, let’s get a divorce.

“I’ll set you free so that you can pursue your true love.”

I turned and shifted my gaze to Lucas.

“I’ll stop being your mother as well, just as you wish.”

I smiled as I saw their shocked faces.

How wonderful. We were all finally free.

I turned and started to leave, but Williams grabbed my wrist.

His voice trembled slightly as he spoke. “Christelle, what do you mean? You want to divorce me just because I saved Leia first?

“You aren’t hurt, and you even lied about being pregnant. I haven’t even begun to blame you, yet you want a divorce? Is that really necessary?”

I could not be bothered to argue with him; I just silently pulled away.

However, he held on even tighter, and my wrist started to turn red.

Lucas had been standing beside me, and his eyes started to well up.

He furiously pried Williams’s hand open and shielded me behind him. “Don’t you dare touch my mother! She just had surgery, and she’s still very weak. You’re hurting her!” he shouted.

I held back my laughter. He was glaring at the man before him like a little tiger cub. He was determined to protect me.

Unfortunately, Lucas was too small. When James ran over and struck him, he easily got pinned beneath him.

Then, James started punching him.

“You liar! She’s my mother, not yours!”

Lucas could not fight back, and he covered his head as he dodged the punches. However, he still refused to give in.

“She’s not anymore. She said you didn’t want her. Besides, you left her behind in the fire and hoped for her to die!

“She told me that I saved her, and from now on, she’ll be my mother!”

James was stunned, and he began to tear up.

He looked down and saw a customized silver necklace on Lucas’s neck. Right then, he went back to being angry.

He pulled the necklace apart and gripped it tightly in his hand.

His face had turned red with rage.

“This belongs to my mother. Who do you think you are to wear it?!”

James raised his head and looked at me with pleading eyes.

“Mom, didn’t you say this was a gift for me? Why is he wearing it?!”

I smiled and reached out to him to help him up.

However, I did not hug him. Instead, I gently moved him aside.

After that, I helped Lucas up and brushed off the dirt on his clothes.

I pulled him into my arms and snatched the necklace from James.

“You had the same necklace. You’re the one who threw it into the bin because you thought it was ugly,” I reminded him flatly.

I had spent half a month crafting two identical necklaces for his birthday last year. and My hand bled from all the continuous hammering.

I even gave him the prettier one and wore the other around my neck.

Despite that, he threw it away without even bothering to look at it.

He held on to the latest Lego set that Leia had given him and said with disdain, “Mom, don’t give me such worthless things anymore.”

I stared at the discarded necklace in grief. But all I could do was smile awkwardly and nod in agreement.

After all that, he still wanted to snatch my necklace from Lucas?

Seeing my refusal to help him, he started crying.

“Mom, I want this one. Can’t you give it to me—”

“If you like it so much, just ask your father to get you one.” I calmly interrupted him.

Following that, I held Lucas’s hand and prepared to leave.

As I turned, my eyes met Williams’s piercing gaze.

“Christelle, the boy mentioned that you had surgery.

“What surgery was it?”