At my son’s kindergarten graduation ceremony, Daniel Brooks showed up with Chloe Miller, both dressed to impress.

My son, Lucas Brooks, beamed with pride as he told his little classmates,

“This is my real mom. Isn’t she young and beautiful? I told you I wasn’t lying!”

“The old and ugly woman who used to pick me up from school was just our housemaid.”

Daniel even announced in public,

“Chloe is the woman who has always supported me in silence. She is also my one and only true love.”

“As for the rumors that Emma Carter is my wife and the mother of my son, let me make this clear—those are nothing but lies. I hope everyone will stop spreading false stories!”

At home, I watched the live stream calmly. I watched the man I once loved dearly embrace another woman so tenderly, and my son—my son whom I carried for nine months—boast proudly to others that Chloe was his real mother.

At that moment, my heart completely broke.

I made my choice: I would divorce Daniel, and I no longer wanted either him or Lucas.

The live broadcast of the graduation ceremony became wildly popular. Chloe, carefully dressed and radiant, instantly drew attention, and the internet was full of comments:

“Daniel and Chloe are truly a match made in heaven!”

“Only someone as gentle and elegant as Chloe deserves a man like Daniel.”

“Some people claimed Emma was Daniel’s wife, that he only succeeded because of her sacrifices—what nonsense!”

“Emma looks at least ten years older than Chloe. Standing next to Daniel, she looks completely out of place.”

“Daniel’s son Lucas is obviously Chloe’s child. Look at his nose and eyes—he looks just like her. How could that old woman Emma possibly give birth to such a handsome boy?”

“Emma was nothing more than a live-in nanny. Anyone who believed otherwise should shut up.”

Every comment was aimed at me, mocking and belittling me.

I knew very well that this online smear campaign was orchestrated, and the mastermind was none other than Chloe.

But at that point, I no longer cared.

Daniel and Lucas’s words and actions at the graduation ceremony had already drained me of all anger and all will to argue.

I once believed I was happy. But later I realized I was nothing more than a bird trapped in a cage.

Now, all I wanted was to leave Daniel and his son behind, to break free from the prison that had stolen six years of my freedom.

I closed the live stream, prepared a divorce agreement, and began packing my belongings.

After hours of packing, I realized with sorrow that, apart from a few keepsakes left by my parents, I owned almost nothing of my own.

Over the years, people said I was a devoted wife and mother—but in truth, I was just an unpaid maid for the Brooks family.

Most of my clothes were six years old. I had barely any jewelry. All my energy had gone into caring for Daniel and Lucas, leaving me little time or money to spend on myself.

Looking back on those years, I couldn’t help but feel foolish.

Just then, Daniel and Lucas returned home with Chloe.

They laughed together like a happy family of three.

In that moment, I realized I was nothing but an outsider in my own home.

Lucas shot me a look of pure disgust and snapped impatiently,

“Why isn’t dinner ready yet? Are you trying to starve me?”

Daniel Brooks frowned at me and snapped,

“Emma Carter, were you being lazy at home again today? It’s already this late—why haven’t you made dinner yet? You—”

Before he could finish, I cut him off coldly,

“Do you two really think I’m nothing more than your live-in maid?”

Daniel froze for a moment, clearly surprised. After all these years, I had never spoken to him in such a detached, icy tone.

Lucas, however, kept glaring at me angrily.

“Stop nagging and just cook already. You sit around all day doing nothing, spending my dad’s money, and now you don’t even want to make dinner? How is that right?”

His words stabbed straight into my heart like sharp knives.

All these years, I had given everything to care for Daniel and Lucas, always putting them first. And what did I get in return?

Coldness. Disgust. Contempt.

Daniel, especially, seemed to have completely forgotten what saved the Brooks Corporation back then.

If not for my parents’ help, the company would have gone bankrupt long ago.

When Daniel and I were preparing for our wedding, my parents died in a car accident. I was devastated. Meanwhile, Daniel used my parents’ inheritance to rapidly expand the Brooks Corporation.

Our wedding was postponed indefinitely. Even when I later gave birth to Lucas, Daniel never bothered to make it up to me. All we did was sign a simple marriage certificate at City Hall.

The truth is, without my family’s support, there would be no Brooks Corporation today.

In the early years, Daniel treated me decently. But everything changed three years ago, when Chloe Miller joined the company as his secretary.

Since then, Daniel grew more distant and dismissive of me. Even Lucas, my own son, began treating me with disdain.

In their eyes, Chloe seemed to be the ideal wife and mother.

Like father, like son—both fickle, quick to forget the past.

Their scolding and rejection of me were obvious to Chloe. She looked at me with a flash of triumph and mockery in her eyes, though her words sounded sweet and false.

“Emma, you must not be feeling well today, that’s why you didn’t have time to make dinner. Don’t blame her, Daniel, Lucas. She didn’t do it on purpose.”

Then she turned to me with fake sympathy,

“Emma, Daniel and Lucas had a long day, they’re just a little short-tempered. Don’t take it personally, okay? You watched the graduation ceremony stream today, didn’t you? Are you upset about the things Daniel and Lucas said there? Emma, I was only acting with them on stage…”

Before Chloe could finish, Lucas pouted and muttered,

“I wasn’t acting. I really want Aunt Chloe to be my mom! She’s young and pretty, always well-dressed, way better than you. Everyone envies me for having such a beautiful mom.”

He shot me another look of disgust and added,

“Last time you came to pick me up from school wearing an apron, the other kids laughed at me for weeks. I don’t want an old and ugly woman like you as my mom!”

The moment his words fell, Chloe quickly covered his mouth, smiling at me sweetly.

“Emma, kids don’t know any better. Please don’t get upset with him over something so small.”

The way Chloe Miller acted, it was as if she thought I might harm my own son. She clung to him protectively, pretending so well that anyone who didn’t know better would think she was Lucas’s real mother.

Daniel Brooks frowned at me in displeasure.

“You’re not a child anymore. Throwing a tantrum over something so small and refusing to make dinner—what’s the point?”

“This time, at Lucas’s kindergarten graduation ceremony, it wasn’t that we didn’t want to bring you. The truth is, with the way you look now, you’re just not fit to appear at such an event.”

“Look at yourself. You’re barely in your twenties, yet your skin is rough, and you look old and ugly—like some woman selling vegetables on the street. If you had gone, our son would’ve been even more embarrassed in front of his classmates.”

“As for the things Lucas and I said at the ceremony, don’t take them seriously. Don’t be petty and lose your temper over it.”

“Now hurry up and cook. Lucas and I are hungry. And make more dishes tonight—especially sweet and sour ribs. Lucas and Chloe both love them.”

Hearing Daniel’s words filled me with bitterness.

Even though I had already lost all hope in him and his son, I still couldn’t stop the surge of anger and sorrow that rose within me.

This—this was the man I once loved so deeply.

How blind had I been to fall for him back then?

I took a deep breath, pulled out the divorce papers I had prepared, and threw them at Daniel. Holding back the storm of emotions in my chest, I said coldly,

“Sign it.”

For a split second, Daniel’s pupils narrowed. Then his face darkened, and he snapped,

“Emma Carter, what nonsense is this? Just because we didn’t bring you to our son’s graduation, you want a divorce? Are you out of your mind?”

I answered calmly,

“If you sign this agreement, we can separate peacefully, saving face for both of us. If you refuse, I’ll file for divorce in court. By then, everyone will know I am your legal wife, and that I am Lucas’s biological mother. The lies you and your son spread at the ceremony will be exposed, your reputations destroyed, and the Brooks Corporation will suffer the fallout as well.”

“Daniel, I’m not joking. The choice is yours.”

Daniel’s face turned dark blue with fury.

Lucas’s eyes lit up as he eagerly said to him,

“Dad, sign it! Once she’s gone, Aunt Chloe can move in, and she’ll be my mom from now on—”

Before he could finish, Daniel shot him a fierce glare.

“Shut up! Go to your room!”

Lucas froze. Never in his life had his father scolded him so harshly. His eyes welled with tears, his face full of wounded grievance.

Chloe, playing the part of a gentle comforter, softly patted Lucas while turning to me with a pitiful expression.

“Emma, don’t use this kind of threat against Daniel. I know you’ve always disliked me, and not telling you in advance about Lucas’s graduation must have made you hate me even more.”

“But don’t worry. I’ll resign right away. I’ll never appear in front of Daniel and Lucas again, so you won’t have to be upset.”

“You and Daniel should live peacefully together, especially for Lucas. He’s still so young… if you two divorce, it’ll hurt him deeply…”