After a moment of silence, James spoke up. “You can’t even raise one child, much less two. Right now, I just want to make sure Max grows up well.”

I stared at him, my eyes stinging.

“I was joking.”

That was all I could manage to say before I ran to the toilet to throw up. When I reemerged, James was rushing out of the door with his phone in hand.

I tried to stop him, but he shoved me aside, roaring in rage, “A life is at stake here, and you’re still being jealous? Her stomach hurts because she drank too much beer to score a business deal! Unlike you, she can’t make a living just by staying home all day!”

I took a business card out of the drawer nearby. “It isn’t safe to drive while you’re drunk. This is a cab driver’s number. Call him to pick you up.”

James took the card, opening his mouth as though to say something. When no words came out, I turned around and gave him a bunch of painkillers from the first-aid kit.

“Your assistant is always having aches and pains. You should take her to the hospital.”

As I watched him dash away, I remembered the time when we first started the company.

I did not have a college degree, but I was a talented jewelry designer. Until now, my designs still sold the best out of all the company’s products.

When I fell pregnant, James and his mother convinced me to take a backseat at the company. When I applied for a part-time college course, James accused me of abandoning my family for my own ambition.

At the time, Max had just started speaking. The way he called me “Mama” melted my heart, so after some hesitation, I gave up the college offer.

I put my life on the line to give birth to that boy, so I loved him with everything I had.

Now, though, he was scratching my hands and screaming at me.

James never came home after going to care for Pearl that night. Max called him several times to no avail, then he placed the blame on me.

“I want Dad and Aunt Pear! I don’t want to stay with you, you meanie! Give me back my daddy!”

He punched me several times in the stomach. I gritted my teeth through the pain and took him to the company.

The new receptionist did not know me, but she knew Max.

I took Max upstairs. Once the office door opened, I saw Pearl sitting on James’s lap. She cried out when she saw us and buried her head in James’s shoulder, saying softly, “Why are you here, Wendy? It’s not what you think it is!”

James quickly put her down and shielded her behind her back. “Don’t misunderstand, Wendy.”

I completed his next sentences for him. “Let me guess. You’re going to say you spend every day together at work anyway. If you really wanted her, you wouldn’t have waited this long.”

James frowned. “There’s no need for sarcasm, Wendy. There’s nothing between us, and I have nothing on my conscience.”

I nodded. “Yeah, yeah. You’re perfectly innocent.”

I shoved Max toward them. “Max kept yelling for you, but you wouldn’t pick up his calls. Send him to your mom’s place later. I got something else to do.”

I walked out of the office briskly, and James did not give chase. When I reached the stairwell, I leaned against the wall and forced the tears back in.

“Hello, Dr. Richards? I want to schedule an abortion.”

Dr. Richards was the one who discovered I was pregnant. After the abortion, I rested at the hospital for three days.

When I reached home, James confronted me angrily. “Where did you go? You wouldn’t answer any calls or reply to my texts!

“You completely neglected our son! I’m lucky I had Pearl, or I’d never have been able to handle everything!

“You had better have a good explanation, or I won’t let this slide!”

I lay on the couch somewhat weakly. “Isn’t your mother free? I thought she loved kids.”

James snorted. “My mom’s getting old, so she can’t take care of Max for long. You’re his mother, how could you abandon him?”

I tugged at the corners of my lips. That old hag used to snatch Max from my arms, only to return him after completely corrupting his personality… and now she thought he was a burden? Ha.

I smirked, my chin on my hand. “What about Pearl, then? Don’t she and Max get along swimmingly? Otherwise, you could just hire a nanny.”

James was silent for a moment before returning to the initial topic. “You’ve been behaving strangely lately, Wendy. Where did you go?”

“To the hospital, for my joint pain. You remember how damp that old house was.”

When we first started our business, we lived in a basement for three years. It was cold in the winter and stuffy in the summer, and the walls leaked whenever it rained.

That was the time my health started deteriorating.

James huffed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I retorted calmly, “What good would it do if I did? Weren’t you busy?”

James did not want to dwell on that topic. He did not even spare me a word of concern.

Just then, Pearl walked out with Max in his arms. James told me, “I’ll be going abroad for business with Pearl for a few days. Remember to take care of Max.”

I just shrugged, while Pearl protested that she could have taken care of him. I just waved her off.

When I came downstairs the next morning, though, Max shoved me. I practically tumbled downstairs, and my body hurt all over.

Max’s voice from the top of the stairs was vicious. “It’s all your fault! If it weren’t for you, Dad and Aunt Pearl would’ve taken me to the amusement park!

“I’m never going to do this stupid homework!

“You should just die!”

I never expected my son to try and kill me someday! I grabbed my phone and dialed two numbers: the ambulance and the cops.

This time, James stayed for a long time after coming home. “I saw the CCTV footage. It was Max’s fault, but he’s just a kid. He doesn’t know that what he did was wrong. How could you make a police report?!”

I stared at him. “If I hadn’t, I’d be dead. He tried to kill his mother at six years old. You should take him to a psychiatrist.

“Also, this was your fault to begin with. You promised to take him to the amusement park, but then you broke your promise, and he blamed me for it.”

His excuses just got on my nerves, so I chased him out of my hospital room.

However, a man’s conscience never hurt for long. The next day, I saw him and Pearl on a concert kiss cam. My son sat between them, cheering for his father’s affair.

Everyone online praised their good looks and wished their relationship well. I shared the viral video on my Instagram feed with the caption, [How sweet, I ship.]

James immediately called to yell at me for being jealous again. “Wendy, when are you going to stop making such a fuss?”

I could hear his friends laughing on the side, and Pearl softly telling him to calm down. I smirked. “James, you kissed a girl in public and now you’re taking your anger out on your wife? When did you fall so low?”

The viral video gave our company some publicity. During the next celebration party, my friend sent me an address. I looked at it after my meeting with my lawyer and saw it was a hotel.

When I reached the private room, I heard James say, “There’s no need to explain. Just ignore them. There’s nothing between us, and this is good publicity for the company. I just feel bad for you, Pearl.”

“Please don’t say that, Mr. Felton. I’m fine.”

At that point, I sauntered into the room, giving the occupants a nasty shock.

“There’s one way to assuage your guilt toward her. We can get divorced right now, and she can take my place.”