The baby inside me shifted, very lightly.

I already knew my own answer.

After leaving the hospital, I headed to the office by myself.

I started going through the shares, sorting the projects, and splitting the groups and resources under my control.

Anything I could settle clearly, I handled right away; anything I couldn’t finish yet, I placed into lists, noted with risks, numbers, and plans for division, packed together, and sent to the lawyer that Grandma Ravenna contacted for me.

As for the Payne family assets, I could not take a single part of them.

But this company was something Zion, and I built it from nothing, and I had to take what belonged to me.

Not for my own sake, but for the child inside me.

Since I had already decided she would not be born into the Payne family, I needed to lay out every step for her myself.

Her name, assets, and future, I would arrange them one by one for her.

Even if she no longer stayed in the Payne family, she still had to grow up secure and free, never having to rely on anyone’s pity.

After I confirmed the last file, my trusted assistant lowered his voice and asked, “President Morrison, for the project ‘Knowing Me,’ do you want the payout or the project itself?”

I didn’t reply right away.

Instead, I logged into “Knowing Me” again.

When the familiar page showed up, my fingers stopped for a moment.

This ancient-style game, from the world-building to the character design to every story path, was almost completely built during the best years between Zion and me.

Many nights staying awake, many times tearing everything down to redo it, those busy, focused, working-together days had truly existed.

I thought I had already settled my feelings, but right then, I still felt a small bit of hesitation.

I naturally tapped into the couple space shared by Zion and me, only to be pushed out instantly.

The female owner in that space had already been switched, at some unknown time, to that player “Maeve Larson.”

Zion clearly saw that I logged in.

He didn’t give a single word of explanation.

The next moment, a pop-up asking for a two-million transfer showed up on my screen.

[One of the small online figures working under me is streaming “Knowing Me” and needs a nice background setup.]

[The couple area, let me borrow it for now.]

He really knew how to “borrow” things. He took over the secret place we spent more than half a year building in a single second.

I chose to log out right away.

Then I looked toward my assistant and said, “I want the ‘Knowing Me’ project itself.”

And I wanted full say over it. I didn’t want Zion and another woman ruining this game.

During the next two days, I fully moved my attention away from Zion.

But he showed up everywhere.

Inside the game, Zion and the streamer Maeve were always together.

Her room stayed open nearly all day, the headlines growing more suggestive each time, the viewer count rising fast.

I never clicked in, but people kept “accidentally” sending me screen captures.

The latest picture showed Zion setting off fireworks in Maeve’s stream.

He lit them for a whole hour and a half just to celebrate her getting first place in a PK match.

I curved my mouth slightly and blocked the person who sent it, lowering my head again to sort the plans for my mother’s death anniversary.

Everyone kept talking about how Maeve was the woman Zion kept beside him the longest.

I guess whether she might one day take my place.

But no one noticed that I no longer wished to fight anyone for this “Mrs. Payne” role.

On my mother’s death anniversary, I dressed in all black, a white flower fastened to my chest, standing in the middle of the living room.

The guests all wore serious looks, lowering their voices while speaking. After giving their sympathy, they nodded at me one after another.

Everything should have ended calmly and with respect.

Until just as I was telling the staff to guide the guests to their seats, a purposely softened but still pointed voice came from outside the doorway.

“Ya… why is everyone wearing black clothes?”

I lifted my head and saw Zion standing at the entrance.

Behind him stood a woman dressed in bright red with heavy makeup, curled hair hanging over her shoulders.

She carefully leaned half her body forward, her eyes moving across the room, finally stopping on the memorial photo of my mother in the center of the living room, as if she only just understood.

“Ah… today… Someone passed away?”

Then she seemed to realize she had spoken out of place, quickly pulling a red flower from her hair, holding it between her fingers as she walked toward my mother’s memorial stand.

“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t know… can I put this flower here?”

Seeing her reach toward my mother’s memorial, the blood in my body went cold. I almost acted on instinct and pushed her away.

“Leave! Who told you that you could come in!”

The woman stepped back in a rush, almost losing her balance, but Zion caught her with his hand.

I stared at Zion, my voice shaking from trying to hold myself together, “Zion, didn’t I tell you not to bring those cheap women from outside into this house, messing up the place!”

“And today is my mother’s death anniversary!”

All the guests went still, their eyes turning toward that woman.

Maeve clearly hadn’t expected me to actually push her. She stared at me for a few seconds, looking lost, then her eyes turned wet right away, tears dropping as if on command.

“I-I didn’t try to cause trouble, it’s my birthday today, so I wore red… just hoping for a bit of luck…”

“I really didn’t know today was your mother’s death anniversary, I just… I just came home with Brother Zion because he told me to…”

Her voice got weaker and weaker, and in the end, she leaned straight into Zion’s arms, acting like she’d been hurt badly.

Zion’s face had already darkened completely.

He lowered his head first, checking her carefully, then eased his voice. “Were you scared?”

Maeve shook her head, then nodded, tears falling even faster, but she still held onto him as she whispered, “I’m okay.”

Only then did Zion lift his head and stare at me, his eyes cold and empty.

“Natalie, I assumed you had finally matured and learned to think. I didn’t expect you to still act like this.”

“Your mom has been gone for so long. I only learned today that her death anniversary falls on the same date as Maeve’s birthday.”

“I brought her in because I thought adding a bit of cheer might make the day lighter for your mom’s death anniversary. It’s not like I did anything wrong. And even that bothers you?”

“So childish.”

I angrily laughed.

When my mom was still here, she treated Zion like her own child, yet he walked in with another woman dressed in a red dress, standing in front of my mom’s memorial, and he still dared to say I was narrow-minded.

I raised my head, looked at Zion, and my voice became steady.

“Zion, on my mom’s death anniversary, you brought your mistress home. Is that what you call being broad-hearted?”

My sudden reply made Zion’s face turn dark in an instant.

He stared at me for a few moments, then let out a cold, short laugh.

“Natalie, you’re unbelievable! You can’t recognize kindness when you see it!”

He reached over, pulled Maeve into his arms, and covered her as he turned to walk out, as if saying even one more word to me was pointless.

I drew in a deep breath.

Then I turned around, forced a proper smile onto my face, and offered apologies and farewells to every relative and friend.

After the last guest left, I slowly stepped toward my mom’s memorial tablet and let all my defenses fall.

“I’m sorry, Mom.”

“Today is your death anniversary, but I ended up upsetting you. Okay, let’s stop bringing up things that hurt… Mom, I set up a room for the baby. Will you come see it?”

I held the memorial tablet and slowly walked toward the small room.

But the moment the door opened, I froze on the spot.

The room was in chaos.

The baby clothes I had folded neatly were gone, and the little toys I had arranged on the shelf had vanished too.

My first thought was that a thief had broken in.

I quickly called security to ask what had happened.

The security guard’s voice sounded unsure.

“Ma’am… this… it wasn’t someone from outside.”

“It was Mr. Payne… he had people take everything away.”

I stood frozen, a loud ringing filling my ears.

After hanging up, I opened Maeve’s social media and scrolled through her posts one by one.

Soon, in a few photos that looked casual, I spotted something I knew too well.

The dog in Maeve’s house was wearing the tiny outfit I had bought for my baby.

The once soft fabric had been chewed out of shape, soaked with spit.

On the carpet, torn into pieces, were the toys I had gotten for my baby!

I clenched my teeth so hard that my chest was sore to the point I could hardly breathe.

If these were things I had bought at random, maybe it wouldn’t have hurt this much.

But they weren’t.

Those clothes were ones I received by asking favors, borrowed from the children of respected people in different fields, and they were hand-me-downs from their kids.

I fixed each piece bit by bit, washed, dried, pressed them, pouring into them my hopes and wishes for my baby’s days ahead.

The toys came from old friends and family, each one was a heartfelt gift they handed me when they learned I was pregnant.

And now, Zion had personally taken them away.

To hand them to his mistress’s dog!

I lost all calm, held my belly, and rushed straight to the company.

The front-desk assistant stopped short when he saw me, then quickly stood up in alarm. “Ma’am, Mr. Payne can’t see anyone right now—”

I ignored him and walked right inside.

The assistant rushed after me, stepping in front of me, lowering his voice with clear intent to stop me.

“You really can’t go in right now.”

Before I said anything, sounds came from the slightly open office door at the end of the hall.

A woman’s forced, shaky breaths, mixed with a man’s low, suggestive chuckles, and the faint thuds of furniture being bumped, all reached my ears at once.

A wave of heat rushed to my head, then drained in an instant, leaving my arms and legs cold.

I didn’t look at the assistant again.

I lifted my hand and pushed the door open.

The door hit the wall hard.

The scene inside the office appeared right in front of me with nothing hidden.

The messy desk, documents scattered, the chair pushed aside, and Zion leaning against the desk with his clothes in disarray, while Maeve was half leaning into his hold, her skirt wrinkled, her face flushed.

The air carried a sickening smell.

Maeve jumped in surprise; the next moment, her eyes watered instantly, and she curled into Zion’s arms by instinct.

I stood in the doorway, my fingers pressing into the frame, a tight pain spreading across my belly.

“Zion.” My voice shook.

“Why did you hand the clothes I got ready for my baby… to this woman’s dog?”

The moment she heard that, Maeve’s tears dropped right away.

“Sis… Sis…” Her tone was soft and hurt. “I just… just saw those outfits on Brother Zion’s phone a few days back, and I thought they looked so cute… so I casually said… it’d be nice if my dog could try them on…”

“And Zion gave me those clothes and toys the next day. I honestly didn’t know they were for your baby. If I knew, how could I take them?”

A sharp pain throbbed at my temples. I had barely opened my mouth when Zion let out a short laugh.

He lowered his head to look at Maeve, his tone gentle and doting.

“Why bother saying so much to her?”

“How could she not take them?” His tone was careless. “Those worn-out old outfits, letting a dog use them fits just fine.”

A loud buzzing rushed through my head.

Worn?

Good for a dog?

My voice scraped out of my throat with effort. “Zion, those were the clothes I begged—”

“Enough.” Zion impatiently interrupted me.

“Can you stop making such a big deal?”

He lightly touched Maeve’s back, sounding completely dismissive.

“What you did at your mom’s death anniversary upset Maeve. I took a few outfits and toys to compensate her. What’s the issue?”

He looked straight at me, his expression cold. “And now you run to the company to yell?”

Compensate?

Using our baby’s clothes and toys to make it up to his mistress?

I stood where I was, the hurt in my chest making it hard to breathe.

I had always believed that when it came to the baby, at least Zion cared.

I believed he was ready to be a decent father.

But now I finally understood that it was nothing more than my own fantasy.

The baby wasn’t even here yet, and Zion could already, without a second thought, take everything meant for her and use it to flatter another woman.

I didn’t dare picture if the baby were truly born, would she really end up fighting a dog for clothes?

The small hope I still held that Zion might try to be a good father broke apart right then.

When I didn’t speak, Zion walked toward me instead.

He leaned down, his eyes dropping to my belly, his voice soft. “Baby, when the time comes, Daddy will buy you the nicest, the prettiest clothes, alright?”

“Those second-hand clothes from someone else, we don’t need them.”

Zion pinched my cheek again, smiling just as sweetly and charmingly as usual.

“Don’t make that sad look, little crybaby,” he said. “Relax, I’ll make it up to you.”

Staring at the face I knew so well yet felt so distant from, a wave of ridiculousness rushed through me.

There was a time when Zion and I spent night after night in this same office, staying up late, discussing proposals, chasing investors, planning the future.

But now, papers were scattered across the ground, flipped over in a mess, and even a few used condoms lay plainly on the carpet.

Everything here was dirty enough to make me sick.

That heavy sense of collapse hit me hard, and I couldn’t stop it. I covered my mouth violently.

The next moment, I spun around and ran out of the office, nearly tripping as I rushed into the restroom and threw up until I could barely stand.

When I came back, I never mentioned the clothes again.

Instead, I gently packed every single item set aside for the baby, the outfits, the toys, the little books, the mobile for the crib, and quietly had them moved to the house I bought abroad years ago.

Zion didn’t notice any of it. He assumed I had finally learned to be “understanding.”

So he started buying things to make up for me.

Pricey maternity outfits, limited-edition accessories, sets of designer clothes, pile after pile stacked inside the walk-in closet.

I didn’t even look at them.

He sent one round, and I had someone take one round away exactly as they came.

At the same time, Maeve started streaming more often.

Sometimes, during her broadcast, with just a small turn of her head, Zion’s figure would show up.

Sometimes he was passing her water, sometimes lowering his head to talk to her, sometimes only a fuzzy side view.

But even those so-called accidental moments together sent the comment area wild.

More people began pairing the two of them.

Some envied her, saying Maeve was lucky, that Zion was mature, wealthy, gentle, and even willing to publicly appear with her.

But not every comment was a blind cheer.

Clear voices showed up soon after.

[Isn’t this basically cheating?]

[Wow, cheat long enough and it becomes ‘real love’?]

[When Zion chased Mrs. Payne back then, wasn’t he giving her anything she asked for, practically offering his life?]

[Let’s be real. He’s just fooling around.]

When I saw these comments late at night, I suddenly thought of many years ago.

In university, I was the top student in our department.

Scholarships, contests, professor recommendations, everything came to me easily.

My whole life back then was made up of the library, the lab, and stacks of heavy textbooks.

But Zion was the opposite.

He skipped class, showed up late, had no interest in lessons, and was often called out by instructors, a walking warning sign in my academic world.

If it weren’t for Grandma Ravenna, I would never have crossed paths with him.

That year, with Ravenna’s financial help, I was able to finish school smoothly.

She treated me kindly, and she was very straightforward.

She said, “Zion has a wild streak. You steady him.”

I agreed.

So I began dragging Zion to class, pushing him to hand in assignments, pulling him to review, even sorting his notes for him.

I used every simple method I could think of to make him “act like a student.”

Later, he slowly changed.

He started arriving for class on time, started avoiding those messy circles, and started putting his energy into studying and real work.

And later, Zion fell for me, openly and loudly.

He ended all unclear relationships, wanted everyone to know he was chasing me, and even began seriously taking over work duties just to make me happy.

People in our circle all said I was the rope that held Zion down.

Back then, I believed it too.

I thought I was special.

I thought I was the one who pulled him out of trouble, the one who shaped who he became.

But now, thinking back, I suddenly saw it clearly.

I wasn’t a rope.

Maybe I had just shown up earlier than the others.

There were only three days left before the divorce.

And today was the livestream for the 5th anniversary of ‘Knowing Me.’

We had prepared for an entire year for this day.

I had always assumed that even if our marriage was full of cracks, at least in business, Zion would keep basic logic.

After all, ‘Knowing Me’ wasn’t only my effort.

It was something Zion and I built from zero, the core of the company, and the shared memories and feelings of countless players.

Because I was pregnant and tired, the one who was supposed to stand onstage today and face the audience was Zion.

During the practice two weeks earlier, everything went almost flawlessly.

I thought today would go the same way.

The host’s voice rose with energy as he introduced the main guest of the night.

The lights brightened, and the person who should have stepped forward was a newly popular actor we had paid a huge fee to bring in.

Instead, Zion showed up, holding Maeve’s hand, slowly lifting from the platform.