“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll step aside for Jeremy. He likes me, not a useless old woman like you,” Irene said while glaring at me.

I’d heard of Irene before. My husband, Jeremy Chastan, had sponsored her studies. She graduated half a year ago and got hired by Jeremy as his assistant.

There had been office rumors for a long time, but I trusted Jeremy’s character. I never expected Irene to confront me personally, demanding I give up and let her take my place.

She wasn’t even worthy to compete with me. She provoked me, but I ignored her and called Jeremy instead.

“Come home immediately.”

After hanging up, I looked at Irene. “Jeremy will be back soon. Let him choose. If he picks you, I’ll quit. How about that?”

“Heh...”

She sneered coldly, “I gave you a chance to leave with dignity, but you chose to humiliate yourself. Then wait until Jeremy comes back, but don’t cry then.”

I gave a faint smile and stayed silent.

Half an hour later, Jeremy came back.

——

Irene looked at Jeremy and said sweetly, “Jeremy, she said if you choose me, she’ll quit. Tell her who you choose.”

I looked at Jeremy with a faint smile. I trusted him and knew exactly what he would choose. I had every confidence in this matter.

The next second, Jeremy placed divorce papers in front of me. “Sign these.”

My smile stiffened. It was probably the most awkward one I’d ever given.

Moments earlier, I had been so confident that Jeremy would choose me without hesitation. I had arrogantly assumed Irene was just a little brat, not even worthy of competing with me.

The reality slapped me hard in the face. I felt like a clown, so ridiculous and pathetic. Staring at the divorce papers Jeremy placed in front of me, my chest felt heavy and I could barely breathe.

Eight years of dating, five years of marriage and thirteen years of love were gone instantly.

I didn’t argue or cause a scene. I quickly pulled myself and silently picked up the divorce papers.

Reading the divorce terms made my heart restless again.

“Divorce with nothing?”

I put down the papers and looked at Jeremy. “Do you think it’s fair to ask me to leave the house with nothing?”

My voice rose several octaves. “You betrayed our marriage and now want to take all the assets? Do you think I’m weak and easy to bully, Jeremy?”

Irene looked at me with a mocking smile. “What? All these years you’ve eaten his food, lived in his house, spent his money and now you want part of his assets? Don’t you have any shame?”

“Is it your turn to speak?” I glared at Irene.

“Jeremy, she’s being mean to me. Make her sign the divorce papers and get out.”

Jeremy gently touched her cheek, a gesture he often did to me. Now, it made me sick.

He finally focused on me after murmuring a few words to comfort her. “Irene may be blunt, but she’s telling the truth. I won’t ask you to repay what I’ve spent on you over the years. Just sign the divorce papers and we’ll be done.”

What a bullshit! I stared straight into Jeremy’s eyes, finding no trace of regret.

His coldness froze my heart. Forcing myself to stay calm, I said, “Think carefully and repeat what you just said.”

Jeremy repeated without hesitation, “We’re done. Sign it.”

I crumpled the divorce papers into a ball and threw them at his face. “We’ll get divorced, but you’re leaving with nothing. My lawyer will contact you shortly.”

I stood up and walked out, unwilling to glance at those two again.

I had given Jeremy a chance. Even if we split the assets equally, I was willing to let it go for the sake of our years together. But he had crossed the line.

He wanted the divorce, but also to keep every last bit of the assets.

“Jeremy, what are you doing?” I was about to leave when someone suddenly rushed in.

My mother-in-law came and grabbed my hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this for you.”

She pulled me back to my seat. I would definitely get a divorce, but I had to consider my mother-in-law’s feelings. Her health wasn’t good.

I sat down again as she poured me a cup of tea. “Dear, don’t worry, I won’t let Jeremy divorce you.”

She looked at Jeremy and Irene. “What did I tell you both?”

“Jeremy, have you forgotten who cared for me during my three years of illness? It was Lily who looked after me nonstop. Have you forgotten all that?”

“The doctors all said it was all thanks to Lily’s excellent care that I recovered from my illness.”

I hadn’t cried when Jeremy chose Irene, but tears uncontrollably fell when my mother-in-law said this.

“Mum, how do we register the child?” Jeremy looked at his mom.

The child?

I frowned.

Irene gently placed her hand on her belly, looking at me with a winning smile.

Having a child was always a painful issue for Jeremy and me. We’d seen many doctors and they all said Jeremy was infertile.

It seems Irene agreed to that. If that’s the case, she truly deserved to be chosen by Jeremy and I was the one who was unworthy.

As I remained silent, my mother-in-law took my hand again. “Lily, you’re the most sensible one.”

She wiped my tears away. “How about this? Sign the divorce papers. Don’t worry, you’ll always be my eldest daughter-in-law in my heart and you don’t have to leave this family.”

“I promise your standard of living won’t change. Once Irene has the baby, you can help her. You know my health is not strong enough to raise a child and I don’t trust anyone else to do it.”

“The doctors all say you’re the best at caring for others. I’m sure you can take good care of the child.”

I pulled my hand away from my mother-in-law. Thinking about how I’d just cried over her supposed kindness made me feel sick.

What a perfect act! We were divorcing but staying in the same house, which meant that they wanted me to be their free nanny.

I stood up and looked at Jeremy. “I’ll give you three days to revise the divorce agreement. If you insist on leaving me with nothing, I’ll seek justice in my own way.”

“Lily, I am speaking up for you. How can you be so ungrateful?”

My mother-in-law’s expression turned cold. “Without Jeremy, how would you survive?Will you still have the living conditions you have now?”

“Given Jeremy’s current status, having multiple wives is perfectly reasonable.”

“Besides, Irene’s pregnancy is a blessing. She doesn’t mind you staying in the house. Why are you making such a fuss?”

I’m making a fuss? We’d gone off track, so I turned and walked out.

“Stop right there,” Irene said.

“Do you know what it means to cut off the source of trouble?”

She looked at me smugly. “Jeremy has already transferred all his assets into my name. As the company’s legal representative, he just applied for a hundred-million-dollars loan from the bank. If you insist on splitting the assets equally, all you’ll get is the debt.”

“Are you sure you want to split it equally?”

Jeremy pulled out another divorce agreement. “For the sake of our marriage, I didn’t intend to include this debt in your share. But if you insist on splitting everything equally, you can sign this agreement.”

What a masterstroke. I stared at Jeremy. “Do what you want. I’m giving you three days to get the assets back within that time. Believe me,if you don’t do as I say, three days from now will be the start of your despair.”

“You’re just a housewife. Have you been reading too many fantasy novels? What are you pretending to be?” Irene shouted, glaring at my back.

Housewife? I turned to look at Jeremy.

“I’ve been taking care of your mother for three years and now I’m staying home all the time. Have you forgotten who I am?”

“What is her status?” Irene hugged Jeremy’s arm.

“Jeremy, I hear housewives love to fantasize. Tell me, what title has she given herself?”

He looked at Irene lovingly. “Just what you said, housewife.”

I shot Jeremy a piercing look before turning away.

Tomorrow was the company’s quarterly board meeting. I would make sure Jeremy remembered exactly what my status was.

Early the next morning, I arrived at the company conference room ahead of time.

By 9:30 AM, the directors one after another. After three years of absence, the way they looked at me changed.

It seemed they had forgotten who brought business to the company and kept it on the right track.

Soon, Jeremy arrived. He and Irene came together. When he saw me, his expression shifted for a moment before he quickly hid it.

Irene gave me a cold glance as she stood beside me. “Move aside.”

The seating in the conference room was strictly organized. No one else could sit in my seat.

I glanced at Irene. “What position do you hold? What qualifies you to attend this meeting? Get out.”

“You can’t beat me in love, so you come to the company to cause trouble?”

Irene rested her hands on the back of the chair. “Everyone, why don’t you help me explain what my position is and if I’m qualified to be in this meeting.”

Jeremy looked at me mockingly, as if waiting for me to embarrass myself.

“Ms. Marvelli, Ms. Louvain is the company’s vice chairman. I think she has the right to attend the meeting.”

Irene looked down at me. “Now you know my position. But how did you end up here? What gives you the right to sit in this chair and attend the board?”

I stared at Jeremy. “Since you explained why Irene is here, why don’t you explain why I’m here?”

Jeremy didn’t explain. “This is the company, not your home. It’s not the place for you to act like a spoiled child. Get out of here.”

“Three years passed and have you all forgotten who I am?”

I looked at the other board members. The room fell silent. Jeremy fixed his gaze on me.

“If you don’t leave now, I’ll call security.”

“What? Irene can attend board meetings as Vice Chair, but I can’t?”

“Oh, you’re talking about that.”

Irene smiled. “Mr. Chastan must have forgotten to inform you. Two years ago, due to your consistent absence from board meetings, the board voted to remove your Vice Chair position.”

She leaned closer and whispered in my ear, “Yesterday, you were just trying to claim your Vice Chair status, weren’t you? Too bad, you’re not even a vice chairwoman anymore. Even if you were, it was just a position Jeremy gave you. Do you really think you’re someone important?”

“Now, get out of here.”

I glared at Jeremy. “I was fired? Fired without my knowledge?”

“Security,” Jeremy ignored me completely and called security right in.

He pointed at me. “Get her out.”

As the guards approached, I stood up. “I can walk on my own.”

At the door, I turned to look at Jeremy. “How the company grew, how we secured one order after another, it seems you’ve truly forgotten.”