Until I gave birth to our son, I had brought up buying a house again, but he still wouldn't budge.

So, like Wang Baochuan, I followed him, moving once again, from the southern part of the city to the city center, over and over.

With each move, I lost more than I kept.

In the end, all that remained was my willingness to give to them.

But I never expected that, in the end, they wouldn’t even want that.

I purposely bought a box of donuts, intending to give them to the nurses and doctors who had taken care of me all these years.

“Miss Emma, you’re so thoughtful,” the nurse said, taking the snack, her tone gentle. “Thank you.”

I forced a smile, one that lacked any warmth. “You’re welcome.”

Just as I was about to turn to find a seat in the waiting room, my steps suddenly faltered, and my breath was abruptly cut off.

There they were.

Chase, and Joyce.

They walked out of the gynecology clinic together, their movements natural, their intimacy undeniable. Chase’s hand rested gently on her small belly, with a tenderness and adoration I knew all too well. In that instant, my gaze seemed to be nailed in place, unable to look away.

Joyce was holding a pregnancy guidebook, its clean cover clearly displaying her name.

My mind went blank.

Countless thoughts exploded in my head, but I couldn’t find a single one that made sense.

“Is... is this their child?”

“How did it come to this?”

It was absurd and ironic.

Chase—he was the one who had personally introduced me to this gynecologist.

And now, here he was, openly bringing his mistress into the clinic, as if he was certain I would never run into them.

“So… even the doctor knows?”

As that thought crossed my mind, a sharp pain suddenly twisted in my chest, as if countless knives had simultaneously plunged into my heart, making it hard to breathe.

What about his family?

Had they known all along?

Joyce seemed to sense my gaze and finally looked at me.

But she didn’t even flinch. Instead, she curled her lips into a smile, one that was completely unguarded.

Chase suddenly stopped walking, glanced at me, and his tone became casual, though there was a subtle hint of wariness.

“What are you doing here at the hospital?”

I instinctively tightened my grip on my bag, my fingertips turning pale, but I still lifted my head and smiled at him, a smile so faint it barely held.

“Routine checkup.”

I said it casually, like it was the most ordinary thing in the world. After all, I was about to divorce him anyway.

“I’ve been feeling a little unwell, so the doctor asked me to come in.”

He furrowed his brow slightly, his gaze lingering on my face for a couple of seconds, as if searching for some sign of weakness.

But I lowered my eyelashes, avoiding his gaze, breathing lightly.

“No big deal, right?”

His question was dismissive, clearly no longer interested in probing further.

“Mm, it’s fine.”

I nodded, my voice steady. “I’ll leave once the checkup’s done.”

He simply muttered an “oh,” then turned to answer a call, his tone quickly shifting to a warm and patient one.

I stood there, watching his back, while my other hand, without my control, subconsciously fell onto my lower abdomen.

He followed my gaze, then seemed to finally realize who I was looking at, his tone so naturally casual, it felt almost like an explanation.

“She just came back to the country.”

“She doesn’t have any friends here, and her family isn’t around, so I’m the one accompanying her.”

He explained it with ease and thoughtfulness, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

I nodded, not exposing the truth, nor asking further.

It was clear now—he didn’t even think I deserved an explanation.

The next moment, a deliberately suppressed gasp came from beside me.

“Ah!”

The mistress slightly furrowed her brows, instinctively holding her waist, her expression fragile and innocent.

Almost simultaneously, he had already turned around.

His movements were swift, without the slightest hesitation. One arm steadied her shoulder, and his other hand gently rested on her hand, asking in a low voice, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

The two of them stood very close.

So close that anyone who looked at them would think they were a family.

I stood there, like an intruder, a stranger who had wandered in.

If he had paid a little more attention, even just glanced at the signs around, he would have realized that the place we met was the gynecology clinic.

But he didn’t.

His attention was entirely on her.

On her slightly pale face, on her soft voice as she responded, and on the way she leaned into him.

And I, I was nothing more than the ignored background.

I suddenly felt a bit ironic.

I was standing here, I had said nothing, and I was the one who was his wife.

But in this moment, there was no place for me in his world.

When I entered the door, the smell hit me immediately.

The lights were on in the living room.

I stood in the entrance, and at a glance, I saw Chase holding a bowl of soup, patiently feeding Emma spoon by spoon.

Felix sat beside them, behaving unusually well.

“Auntie, you’re so gentle. Can you be my mom?”

In that instant, it felt like I had been shoved into an ice cellar.

How could these words come from my own son?

Emma smiled gently and gracefully, reaching out to rub Felix's hair. “Of course, as long as your dad agrees.”

My heart jerked painfully.

I walked into the living room with a blank expression.

“It’s so late. Where have you been?”

Chase looked up, and seeing my pale face, he was clearly taken aback. His tone softened involuntarily. “What happened to your forehead?”

I didn’t answer.

I had just come from the hospital and stumbled at the door. What was the point of saying anything?

Emma immediately raised her voice in a playful tone, “You’re back, Joyce! Just in time, I brought you some gifts. Come look.”

Chase cleared his throat, his expression a bit awkward. “Joyce, Shiyu is pregnant and needs to rest. For now, she’ll stay here. You should be more mindful. She’s lactose intolerant, can’t eat cold food, needs to sleep until 10 AM for her beauty rest, and the fruits need to be juiced…”

Each word felt like a knife, stabbing deeper into my heart, one after another.

I couldn’t believe it and let out a cold laugh. “What, you want me to take care of her?”

“Be good, Joyce. Everything in the past is behind us, don’t dwell on it,” he paused for a moment, then spoke with casual certainty, “You’ve worked as a maid in the Chase family, so I trust you to handle these things.”

He didn’t finish the sentence.

Felix, standing beside us, innocently added, “Yeah, mom, I like Aunt Lu too.”

I lowered my head and saw on the side of the dining table a list of 267 “care instructions for the young lady.”

On the floor were a few luxury shopping bags haphazardly discarded. A Chanel handbag with worn-out corners, an Hermes keychain from a gift package, and Dior high heels that were clearly used.

The so-called “gifts” were nothing but a pile of discarded junk she had thrown away.

Suddenly, I remembered many years ago.

Chase’s good friend had once called me “the maid who serves,” and he immediately turned hostile, halting a billion-dollar project that night.

He said, “Joyce is my wife. Whoever dares to belittle her is slapping me, Chase, in the face.”

But now, he had slapped his own face.

He had made me serve the enemy as a personal maid.

It turned out that deep love and vows could be so easily shattered.

I would never believe again.

The wetness in my eyes was tightly suppressed.

In the final thirty days, I had to endure.

But I didn’t expect that the first night Emma stayed over, she would start causing trouble.

She rushed barefoot into the master bedroom while Chase had just finished his shower.

“Chase, I can’t sleep alone,” she said in a soft, delicate voice, immediately crawling into his bare arms. “The guest room mattress is too hard, I’m scared… Will you sleep with me?”

Chase furrowed his brow.

I knew, he felt pity.

So much so that he completely ignored me standing in the room.

He scooped Emma up onto his lap, holding her comfortingly, his gaze shifting to the left side of the double bed. “Joyce, Shiyu’s never had a hard life… How about you go sleep in another room for now?”

In that moment, I clearly saw the hint of provocation flash across Emma’s face.

I gave a sarcastic smile, grabbed the pillow, and got off the bed.

“Since Miss Lu likes it, I’ll let you have this bed.”

Not just this bed.

This master bedroom, this man.

I didn’t want any of it.

In the following days, with Chase accompanying her every night, Emma quickly regained her energy and even started inviting her friends over for afternoon tea.

“Shiyu, Chase must still have feelings for you,” someone laughed, “During that year you were unconscious, he flew to the UK all the time, even made a vow that if you woke up, he would divorce for you.”

I happened to hear this while passing by.

My heart felt as if it were being violently ripped open.

When Chase wasn’t around, Emma couldn’t even be bothered to pretend.

“Joyce, your coffee tastes like dishwater. It’s disgusting to look at.”

I reached out to take the coffee away, but my wrist was suddenly twisted.

“What’s your attitude? You make coffee for Shiyu like this, and you still dare to act like this?” one of her friends scolded harshly, “Do you want to kneel and apologize?”

The next second, my scalp burned with pain.

A whole cup of boiling coffee was poured over my head.

“Stop!”

Chase’s furious shout exploded at the door.

He rushed over and shielded me behind him.

“Who allowed you to bully her?”

Before he even finished speaking, Emma already had tears in her eyes, holding her stomach and trembling as she spoke. “Chase, it’s not like that… She put dairy in my coffee, my stomach hurts so much.”

Chase froze in his movements.

He looked at me, and his gaze instantly turned cold.

“Joyce, I told you she’s lactose intolerant, didn’t I?”

How ridiculous.

From protecting me to pushing me aside, all with a single lie.

“I didn’t.” My voice trembled. “She’s faking it.”

But my explanation was completely drowned out by her superb acting and the agreement of others.

Chase, furious, smashed the coffee cup on the table, then turned and picked Emma up in a horizontal carry. “Qin Chaolu, you stay at home and reflect on this!”

Emma wasn’t satisfied and cried out with tears streaming down her face. “I won’t go to the hospital… No one has ever treated me like this, I can’t take it…”

Chase finally coldly ordered the bodyguards, “Take my wife to the backyard and lock her up.”

At that moment, I felt a chill all over my body.

The two-square-meter enclosed darkroom was a punishment reserved for bodyguards who made principle mistakes.

Insects and ants would be released in batches.

I struggled desperately. “No… I don’t want to go!”

But the figure carrying Emma never looked back.

A full twenty-four hours.

I curled up in the corner of the darkroom, letting the insects and ants crawl over my skin. The fiery pain and itching made me nearly collapse.

I screamed until I lost my voice.

And outside the door, the bodyguards Chase had arranged remained unmoved.