Laughter rippled through the crowd.

A man with a beer belly swirled the liquor in his glass and sneered, "Everyone knows how many years Lisa has been by Freddy's side. She's his true partner, his capable wife."

Another woman chimed in with a smirk, "Mr. Richmond and his wife are so devoted. I'd say this woman's just here because she smelled money and wants to blackmail him."

I turned to Freddy, my voice icy. "Freddy, tell them who I am!"

At last, he opened his mouth. With a helpless smile plastered across his face, he walked toward the guests.

"My apologies, everyone. She's just our housemaid. She reads too many domineering-CEO novels and sometimes gets carried away with her fantasies."

Then he glanced at me, his eyes sharp with warning. "Valerie, please take Elise home to rest. Don't cause a scene here."

His words shocked me to my core. My husband, who had shared my bed for twelve years had, in front of everyone, branded me with an identity more humiliating than betrayal itself.

With Freddy openly standing by her, Lisa grew bolder. Her voice rose, dripping with false sympathy.

"Valerie, I know it's not easy raising a daughter alone, but this isn't the way to swindle money. How about this—you go home first, and I'll have the butler add three extra months to your wages."

The guests burst into raucous laughter.

"So the maid was trying to climb her way up? Pathetic! People will do anything for money these days."

"That little girl looks pitiful enough, stuck with a mother like that."

"A wretch's child will never be innocent. She's just as good at acting pitiful."

Lisa's lips curved in triumph. She crouched down beside Eugene and cooed, "Eugene, see that? Study hard, or you'll end up like certain people here—pathetic clowns, good for nothing."

Eugene lifted his chin, his eyes sharp and cruel, far too harsh for a child his age.

"You filthy woman, how dare you argue with my mom?"

He shoved me hard. Off guard, I stumbled back two steps and nearly fell, dragging Elise down with me.

Arrogant as a spoiled heir, Eugene declared, "My dad already said it—the Richmond Group will be mine one day! Who do you think you are, you illegitimate brat? You're not even worthy of calling him Dad!

"From now on, you'll be just like your mom—a lowly maid and nothing more!"

The guests roared with laughter, their mockery sharp as blades. Someone even clapped and called out, "Bravo, Eugene! Such ambition—you'll be great one day!"

Just then, several hotel staff walked by carrying trays. Among them was the very manager who had served me last time.

Catching sight of me, he deliberately raised his voice for all to hear.

"Well, well, if it isn't the one who called herself Mrs. Richmond, who ordered a two-thousand-per-table birthday banquet last time, only to have her card decline for even fifty dollars!"

"I knew it," his colleague snorted. "Some people love pretending to be rich ladies. But in the end, they can't keep up the act and slink away in shame."

At that, Lisa laughed derisively. "You don't have even fifty dollars to your name? No wonder you came here to make a scene."

The beer-bellied man staggered forward, his narrowed eyes sliding over me and my daughter. His tone turned lewd. "Still, you have to admit, this maid has a bit of charm. And the little girl—she's a pretty one too."

He leered and lowered his voice, though loud enough for all to hear.

"Forget about Mr. Richmond—he'll never take you. Why not come with me instead? I'll give you three hundred a month, cover your food and lodging too. How about it? Then you won't have to worry about scraping together fifty dollars ever again. I'll take you and your kid in—pretty generous of me, don't you think?"

The other guests roared with even louder laughter.

Someone jeered, "Mr. Calter is so generous! But really, isn't three hundred too much for goods like this?"

Lisa leaned into Freddy's side, joining in the mockery with a tinkling laugh.

I raised my voice, trembling with fury. "Freddy, are you really going to let them humiliate me and Elise like this?"

He stood expressionless, as if I were nothing more than a stranger.

Only when the laughter finally died down did he speak, his tone flat and impatient.

"Valerie, stop disgracing yourself here. We're celebrating Eugene's birthday party today. Take your daughter and leave now, or I'll have security escort you out."

In my arms, Elise shook violently, her tiny fingers clutching the fabric of my dress. She buried her face against my chest, too frightened to look at the sea of cruel, mocking eyes.

"Mommy… is it true? Are they right?"

Her trembling question stabbed straight through my heart, leaving me gasping for air.

Twelve years of marriage—repaid with this public shattering of dignity.

"No, no, sweetheart… Elise, don't listen to them."

I covered her ears, my throat thick with bitterness. How could I explain all this to her?

I thought back to those early days, when Freddy first started his business. We squeezed into a shabby office barely ten square meters wide.

The company couldn't afford staff, so I wore every hat—administrator, cashier, account manager.

To help him win clients, I swallowed my pride and begged every relative and acquaintance I could find.

I still remembered the day he landed his very first big client. He had spun me around in giddy excitement, then used that first pot of gold to buy me an expensive dress.

I hadn't told him then that the deal only came through because that "big client" was an old friend of my uncle.

As the company found its footing, I carried Elise. Freddy told me to stay home and rest.

"From now on, I'll take care of you. You've suffered so much for me. It's time you enjoyed life," he had said.

But now…

I looked down at the faded dress I'd worn for three years.

While Freddy stood there in a crisp tailored suit, and Lisa glowed in luxury brands from head to toe. Together, they looked like a perfect match, basking in the guests' flattery.

And I—dismissed as nothing more than a maid. Not a soul doubted it.

"Valerie," Lisa said sweetly, her tone dripping with mock compassion, "I know life must be hard for you. But your daughter is old enough to understand now. Even if you don't care about your own dignity, you shouldn't drag her down with you."

From Lisa's delicate designer purse, she drew out a neat bundle of bills, her expression smug as she held it out to me.

"I don't have much cash on me. I don't know what your troubles are, but here—take these two hundred dollars. Buy a bus ticket back to your village. Maybe even see a psychiatrist while you're at it."

As she leaned closer, her voice dropped to a whisper only I could hear. "Valerie, so what if you met Freddy before me? The one unloved is always the third wheel."

Then, with a dramatic little cry of "Oops!" she let go of the bundle.

The bills slapped across my face before scattering across the floor in a humiliating spray.

Lisa smiled without a hint of regret, her gaze condescending. "Sorry… slipped right out of my hand."

The beer-bellied vice president bellowed with laughter. "Now that's the true Mrs. Richmond! Magnanimous, full of class!"

Freddy cast me a cold, dismissive glance. "Pick it up, and leave."

My rage burned so hot it twisted into a laugh.

"Two hundred? You think that's enough to buy me off? Freddy, tell me, when your company was nothing but a struggling startup, how do you think you won those projects?"

"All these years, every cent you spent on Lisa and your bastard son came from our marital assets. As long as I want to, I can take it all back!" I yelled.

Lisa let out a derisive laugh, her voice dripping with scorn. "What a convincing story. Valerie, with an imagination like that, why don't you recommend me a few of those CEO romance novels you love so much?

"Honestly, it's already 21st century now, and you're still preaching this first-wife nonsense?"

But my words had struck a nerve. Freddy's face turned ashen, and just as he opened his mouth to scold me—

Smack!

The sharp crack of my palm across his cheek cut him off.

"Freddy, if you dare slander me again, if you dare pin another false charge on me, I'll drag you to court this very instant!"

For a moment he was stunned, dazed by the blow. Then rage blazed in his eyes. He lunged at me, his hand clamping around my throat, knuckles whitening from the force.

"You think I won't hit a woman? Don't mistake my tolerance for weakness!"

Hidden from the guests' view, he tightened his grip, cutting off my breath. The air drained from my lungs, the world dimming at the edges of my vision. I clawed helplessly at his wrist, terror flooding through me.

Just as I thought I might truly die in his hands, Lisa stepped forward with a feigned gasp of concern.

"Freddy, don't waste your anger on someone like her. What if you hurt yourself?"

Only then did he release me. I collapsed to the ground, gulping for air, tears streaming uncontrollably down my cheeks.

In that single instant of murderous cruelty in his eyes, I realized he had truly wanted to kill me.

Lisa, ever the doting partner, reached up and caressed the red mark on his face. Then, before everyone's eyes, she rose on tiptoe and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"There, it's fine now. Today is Eugene's birthday. Don't let her ruin our good mood."

His expression softened slightly. He slid his arm around her waist as though she belonged there.

At that moment, the lights in the banquet hall dimmed. The projector flickered to life, casting images across the screen.

It was a slideshow—Eugene's life, from birth to the present. His first cries, his first birthday, his first day of school… every milestone lovingly recorded, his parents always by his side.

But in my daughter Elise's life, her father had always been absent.

Her birthday was the same as Eugene's. And from the year he turned three—the year he was born—Freddy had never once been there to celebrate with her again.

Eugene pulled a face at Elise, his tone mocking and taunting. "Still claiming he's your dad? Then show us your photos."

My daughter's little face fell. In a small, trembling voice, she whispered, "Mommy… am I really a bastard?"

I shook my head firmly, but just then the screen shifted to family portraits.

When I recognized the backgrounds, my breath caught.

One photo showed a ship's deck and the endless sea, their faces pressed close, intimate as lovers. I remembered that cruise—I had booked it myself, to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary. So Freddy had booked a ticket for Lisa too.

Another photo froze my blood. Taken at the Port City amusement park, it showed Freddy and Lisa locked in a tight embrace. The date scrawled in the corner was the exact same day Freddy had supposedly accompanied me and our daughter there.

In that moment, the truth hit me with brutal clarity.

So that was why he always had those "last-minute, unavoidable meetings."

The marriage I had treasured, the love I had believed in so fiercely… was riddled with cracks I had failed to see.