On the day of my daughter’s one-month naming ceremony, a photo of my husband Adrian Wilkinson kissing his mistress’s ballet shoes went viral in trending searches and was even labeled the sweetest normal couple.

Within the banquet hall, everyone expected that I, who had loved Adrian so much, would again cry, call him repeatedly, and kneel as I begged him to return to name the child.

But I just calmly announced that the child would bear my surname, Pearson, and ended the banquet.

That night, when my mother-in-law confronted me, I directly said that I wanted a divorce.

“The child stays with me. She is still your granddaughter, but she is no longer related to Adrian.”

Liliana Wilkinson could not believe that I, who had grown up together with Adrian and had been willing to give up my job to be a proper wife for him, would suddenly choose to “leave the father and keep the child.”

She did not know that the night before, as our daughter had a fever and cried in distress, Adrian, as her father, had been in the study on the phone with his mistress in an intimate way.

I stood outside the study and kept hearing the steady panting from inside, while the woman’s voice over the phone sounded sweet.

“Adrian, does she sound nicer when she calls you, or do I sound nicer?”

I heard Adrian’s voice with desire and gave a soft laugh.

“Of course it’s you, baby. She’s like a strict teacher in bed, killing the mood. You suit me better.”

At that point, my heart was entirely gone.

Since Adrian did not love me anymore, there was no point in continuing this marriage.

I chose to take my daughter with me and divorce him.

1

On my daughter’s full-month banquet day, the present my husband Adrian gave her was him trending online with another woman.

In the trending image, the usually unrestrained leader of Wilkinson Group was kneeling on one knee, devotedly kissing ballet dancer Amira Walter’s ballet shoes.

Netizens flooded the comments, saying Adrian was deeply affectionate and calling them the sweetest normal couple.

They had no idea that this affectionate man had still taken me repeatedly in bed earlier that morning.

At the banquet, the guests looked at me with pity mixed with gossip.

“Ma’am, I will have someone take down the trending search immediately……”

The housekeeper worried I would become too angry and harm my body, which had only just recovered after childbirth.

My voice remained calm like water.

“No need.”

“He dared to secretly join a normal dating show, so he should have expected to trend.”

The servant paused. “What about the naming ceremony?”

I answered right away.

“There is no need to wait for Adrian to return. The child will carry my last name, named Isabel Pearson.”

The servant was startled, hands damp. “Ma’am, this…”

The people who hoped to see me break down and act wild were also stunned; they did not think that purposely showing this trending topic to me would lead to this kind of response.

The comments suddenly spread fast.

“Is Eloise out of her mind? Her husband is matching with someone on a dating show, she does not rush to beg him to return; instead, she wants to switch the child’s last name.”

“Isn’t she known as ‘the toughest wife in the capital circle’? Every time she finds cheating, she causes trouble, always eager to keep Adrian tied to her side.”

“Earlier, when President Wilkinson held a hidden talk with a secretary in the company, and it came out, she used abortion as a threat to make the other person quit, which made President Wilkinson very upset.”

“I think she became clever, wants to use this way to make Adrian give in, acting like she is not easy to get.”

The sound of people laughing mixed with the noise of glasses hitting each other, like many tiny pins stabbing my heart.

They all believed I was using a “step back to move forward” method, waiting to see how I would finish it.

I just stared blankly at my one-month-old baby in my arms.

Bright lights kept bursting one by one in the night sky over the estate.

The glow from the bursts shone into my fully empty eyes, bright, wide, but short.

In truth, I was not acting distant; I had only been a “housekeeper” for five years, and I felt worn out from handling everything.

I did not want to handle anything anymore.

Once the guests were gone, Liliana, after learning about it, was so angry her face flushed red. She dialed Adrian and yelled.

“Adrian, come back to the old house immediately! Don’t you know what day it is today? Shooting that kind of low-class dating show, embarrassing yourself!”

On the other end, Adrian’s voice came off relaxed.

“Mom, the contract’s already been signed. If I leave now, it counts as a breach and will affect Wilkinson Group’s stock price, which has just bounced back.”

He thought briefly, then said, “Eloise is with you, right? Help me soothe her, just tell her everything in the show’s just acting. Tell her not to cry for too long or harm her body. After I finish recording this episode, I’ll buy that seaside villa she’s been wanting for a long time and give it to her.”

“How did I raise such a bastard like you?!”

Liliana was so angry that she threw the phone straight onto the carpet.

She turned around, grabbed my hand tightly, and said with pain, “Eloise, you’ve suffered. Mom will stand up for you and make him kneel and come back to apologize……”

I held her fingertips instead and gently said, “Mom, don’t be angry, I want to tell you something.”

I talked in a calm tone.

“When my parents passed away in a car crash, and our family lost everything, it was you who supported me through hard times, and didn’t let the Pearson family get taken by others. I’ve always held this kindness in my heart.”

“You said you wanted Adrian to settle down, so when he chased after me, I guided him to learn how to handle the company.”

“Afterward, I chose to be with him, also because I wanted to be part of a family with you.”

“Over these years, even though he was unfaithful often, I didn’t decide to leave, aside from still having some feelings for him, it was also because I couldn’t bring myself to leave you.”

Liliana felt as if a knife were stabbing her heart, opened her lips, but couldn’t say anything.

“Mom, I first believed that as long as I held things tightly and watched closely, Adrian would come back to me like before and still care for me like that, but I was mistaken; his feelings have already changed.”

My voice was quiet.

“My life can’t just be about pretending for a man who doesn’t come home. Mom, I want a divorce.”

Liliana’s tears poured out, her voice trembling, “Then the child? She’s still very little……”

“The child will stay with me and take my surname, Pearson. She’ll still be your granddaughter, but she won’t be Adrian’s daughter anymore.”

I softly interrupted her, “Mom, please let me leave, okay?”

The room fell into deep silence. I thought she wouldn’t agree and had already prepared to convince her.

But Liliana saw the firmness in my eyes and finally nodded weakly. “Okay…… since you call me Mom, you’re also my daughter. Mom will help you deal with it.”

She said softly, a bit lost, “Back then, Adrian liked you so much. How did things end up like this?”

My nose stung, and I held back my tears.

Yes, Adrian used to like me very much.

Adrian, the top Playboy in the capital, suddenly woke up at eighteen and fell in love with me, his childhood sweetheart.

He bought a private island worth billions for my birthday.

Bought the right to name a star for thousands of years and used my name;

And because I didn’t like roses that fade, he spent a lot of money hiring top research teams around the world just to create a flower that wouldn’t wither.

Later, I simply said I didn’t like lazy rich heirs, he held back his slack ways, and used his own skill to take the CEO seat of the Wilkinson family, using trillion-level cross-border cooperation to stay firm at the top of the business world.

On the day I said yes to his proposal, one hundred private planes flew around the city to share the good news, and rose petals were spread for three days and three nights.

We were a couple of others admired in everyone’s view.

But no one thought that after only five years, I’d choose divorce because I was tired of dealing with Adrian’s cheating everywhere.

Late at night, I had just helped my daughter fall asleep, and Adrian sent a photo.

The scene showed a messy hotel bed, with many kinds of condom brands spread across it.

Right after that, he sent fifty-two thousand to me and added a message.

[Wife, at today’s full-month banquet, you did well, didn’t behave like a loud woman causing trouble, and didn’t phone me to push me, very good, finally got more understanding.]

[Come on, help me pick out of these condom brands, which one feels better to you?]

[These got used this morning, you didn’t forget how it felt, right?]

So the reason Adrian acted strangely this morning and dragged me to do it again and again was not that he suddenly changed his thoughts, but because he wanted me to try it first for his lover.

Adrian still seemed stuck in a defiant stage, on one side not wanting me to manage him or disturb him, yet each time he teased around on purpose to let me notice.

He treated my collapse and my crying as his rewards.

I feel worn out.

I did not want to comfort him anymore or go along with this kind of behavior.

Liliana said she would take care of the divorce. After seven days, I would bring the child and go away.

Early the following morning, I got a cold and had a fever, my head heavy and spinning.

“Why didn’t you tell me when you had a fever? No surprise you didn’t answer me last night.”

In my haze, I felt a hand holding the back of my neck, pulling me into his chest.

My forehead leaned against the man’s shoulder, and the warmth of his body made me blank for a short moment.

Why was Adrian always like this, so divided?

When we didn’t see each other, he acted very harshly and pushed me in every possible way, but when we did see each other, he became softer than anyone, like his eyes held only me.

It made me think that if I gave in, ready to be a proper Mrs. Wilkinson who didn’t manage him, we could keep a close love and marriage.

A lot of people around us had this type of marriage, and even friends told me to ignore it.

But I couldn’t ever accept that, so I decided to leave.

A soft sound came from the crib.

Adrian stood up and lifted the baby, his tone very soft.

“Daddy’s here. Did baby get upset because daddy didn’t come home yesterday?”

He gently pressed his forehead to the baby’s small face, slowly moving and rocking around the room.

Watching this, my heart felt a little warm, and my face eased for a second.

At least Adrian still treated the baby well.

Noticing my face relax, Adrian caught my finger and lightly moved it.

“Sorry, wife, it’s my mistake for not coming back yesterday. I didn’t even know you were ill.”

“I’ll bring you to the hospital for a full checkup, alright?”

My mind felt heavy, and I didn’t refuse to go to the hospital.

Along the way, I stayed very quiet.

Before, in times like this, when we were alone, I would keep complaining.

Complaining about Adrian coming back late, complaining about small things in daily life, and complaining about things he didn’t do well.

But now I didn’t want to keep pushing myself forward to act like a housekeeper.

Adrian drove the car, glancing at me a few times through the rearview mirror.

He seemed a little not used to it.

He clicked his tongue.

“Wife, did you check the message I sent last night?”

I shut my eyes to rest. “Hmm.”

“Is it because you have a fever and feel unwell? If it was before, you’d have kept calling my phone last night.”

Adrian’s tone sounded relaxed with a bit of testing.

“Before, when I was only a bit close to my secretary, your calls kept coming one after another, making me answer, so what, your attitude changed?”

“Isn’t this what you always wanted?”

I spoke with a mocking tone.

“A good wife who doesn’t cause problems, doesn’t stay loud, and doesn’t try to run your life.”

Adrian paused for a short time, not expecting I’d reply that way.

After a few moments, he gave a quick smile, leaned closer, and brushed my hair, like he was petting a calm animal.

“Okay, wife, you finally got it. I told you before, those girls outside are only for fun.”

“But you aren’t the same to me.”

His voice sounded quite serious.

“You’re my wife, you’re my home, home is where you are, I’ll come back to you in the end.”

“Only for fun.”

Those few words dropped softly.

But like small grains, they quietly slid into my throat, making even my breathing feel hard.

I thought back to that day five years earlier when Adrian told me his feelings.

He went down on one knee, his voice so serious it almost felt heavy, saying we’d stay together and grow old side by side, one life, one person.

Maybe promises only matter at the moment they’re said.

In just five years, everything had already changed so much that it couldn’t be recognized anymore.

Right then, Adrian’s phone rang.

He looked at the screen, his eyes lowered a bit, but he still picked up the call.

On the other side came a woman’s voice, sounding like she was crying.

“Brother, my ankle got hurt, it hurts a lot… can you come…”

Adrian cut her off with impatience.

“Didn’t I already tell you? Don’t call me when nothing’s wrong, I need to stay with my wife.”

“If your ankle is hurt, go to the hospital. Why call me? If it happens again, don’t reach out to me!”

He ended the call right away.

When he turned to me, there was still a slight look of wanting praise.

Like he was saying, look, he didn’t treat those women outside as kindly as he treated me.

I let out a slow breath, pressing my teeth into the soft part inside my lip.

Adrian, even you didn’t notice that before; you never gave those women your personal number.

At the hospital, he stayed busy helping me sign up.

But after I completed the checkup, he was gone.

A text showed up on my phone.

[Something came up, so you handle the IV yourself first.]

[In three days, it’s your birthday, I’ll surely come back to stay with you, the baby’s full month banquet I’ll arrange together.]

I read those lines, and I didn’t feel shocked at all.

I set up the IV by myself, then noticed Amira’s post on Instagram.

The image showed her view, with her foot resting on Adrian’s shoulder, and the man looked gentle and helpless, like he was watching a playful cat.

Her text said, [Whenever it is, if I need him, he always comes to me right away.]

Warm tears dropped quietly; the ache in my hand made me react, and I slowly came back to awareness.

Then I realized the IV was done, and blood was flowing back.

The nurse quickly came over to remove the needle and said with an apologetic tone, “Sorry, miss, does it hurt very much?”

I answered in a low voice, “……After the pain passes, it will be okay.”

After I left the hospital, I went straight to the main office of the Pearson family business, now handled by the Wilkinson family.

Since my parents died, the Pearson family had kept its business barely going.

The size wasn’t like before, but a few key parts were still kept.

I stayed in the meeting room, laying out every document one by one.

All the help the Wilkinson family gave over the years, I listed each part clearly, getting ready to give everything back.

And the assets of the Pearson family, I would take them back fully.

Not just for me, but also for my child.

Even if leaving the Wilkinson family, she still must grow up well and properly.

After the secretary completed signing the final document, she asked quietly, “President Pearson, either the film and television department or the advertising department must give up to settle this, which one do you plan to keep?”

I didn’t reply right away, but chose to go see the recording studio first.

That place was the main center of the film and television department, and it was also the place I knew best.

My dream before was to become a host.

But after I married into the Wilkinson family, their rule said Mrs. Wilkinson couldn’t appear in public.

It was Adrian who told me I could create a recording studio that belonged to me, make podcasts, and show my ability without showing my face.

So during those years, I quietly made podcasts, slowly bringing the film and television department and my show to the front of the industry.

Each wall there, every light, had been arranged by Adrian and me together.

It was also the place where we spent time together and stayed for a long period.

He was my first viewer, first listener, and also my first supporter.

“President Pearson, wait a second.”

While I was thinking about the past, someone suddenly stopped me.

The recording studio felt cold. Adrian stood in the middle, his face serious and striking.

And across from him, Amira moved in a soft dance.

He looked at her, like he was looking at his goddess.

After I found out I had arrived, Adrian had someone send me a message, saying he wanted to use the recording studio for a while.

“President Wilkinson said don’t get upset, he said he’s shooting a show and needs this place.”

The warmth in my chest from earlier thoughts quickly turned cold.

Adrian really knew how to pick, taking the recording studio we worked hardest on as a place for his lover.

I pulled back my eyes and faced the secretary.

“Keep the film and television department.”

If the film and television department stayed with Adrian, sooner or later it would turn into a step for Amira in his hands!

I wouldn’t let him ruin this place for another woman.

Over the next two days, I almost didn’t pay any attention to Adrian anymore.

The baby couldn’t be left alone, so I looked after her while dealing with papers.

But Adrian was still all over the place.

The trending searches were full of him and Amira.

The heat of the dating show kept going up.

The newest part was the last part where they shared feelings on the show.

Adrian reserved a whole sea area, fireworks went up from the water, one after another, lasting three full hours.

They kissed under the fireworks, and people online said it looked like the main couple in a story.

People outside were guessing if Amira would be the next Mrs. Wilkinson; people around were guessing how many days I’d last before I lost control.

But no one knew the spot of Mrs. Wilkinson. I didn’t want it anymore for a long time.

On my birthday, I dressed myself up with care.

At today’s banquet, besides marking my birthday, I also wanted to reach new partners and work with the Pearson family, so I didn’t focus on enjoyment.

During the first part of the banquet, Adrian didn’t show up, and I wasn’t surprised at all.

In the middle, I passed the baby to the nanny and turned to walk to the restroom.

But when I returned, I saw that Amira and Adrian had come to the banquet.

And in Amira’s arms was my baby!

She bent her head and played with the baby, her long nails pressing the baby’s face again and again.

She held the baby not firmly, like she was playing with a fun toy.

My head rang.

Without thinking, I ran over.

“Move back, who let you touch her!”

I pulled the baby back in one move.

The baby got hurt by Amira’s nails and started crying right away.

On her arm, there was a light blood line left by the nails!

I held back my anger and let the nanny take the baby to calm her.

After the baby went away, my chest moved up and down fast, staring at Adrian, my voice almost yelling,

“Adrian, didn’t I tell you, those dirty things outside, don’t bring them in front of the baby!”

Amira was pulled by me and lost her balance, then fell straight to the floor.

“Sister-in-law, I only felt the baby was lovely and wanted to carry her, why shove me?”

“Today is your birthday, I came just to celebrate with you…”

Adrian’s face turned dark. He quickly walked over and helped her stand. “Does it hurt?”

After making sure she was alright, he lifted his head and looked at me.

Adrian’s eyes looked very heavy and scary.

“Eloise, Amira only wanted to get near the baby. Did you have to hurt her?”

When he said that, he didn’t even glance at the baby.

He only moved to protect Amira.

“I thought these past two days you really started to act better, didn’t expect you’re still like this.”

“Today is your birthday. Amira prepared a dance for you, wanting to make you happy.”

“But in the end, you won’t even let her stay here.”

“When did you turn so selfish?”