In our ten years of marriage, Dwayne Cavill changed mistresses every three months. But this time, he had stayed with my assistant, Eva Seyfried, for over five months.

Just when I had given up completely and was ready to file for divorce, our nine-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia.

The doctor said the best chance of saving him was with cord blood from a second child.

I calculated my ovulation, slipped into lingerie I hadn’t touched in years and waited in the hotel room we’d agreed on to have sex with Dwayne.

But it wasn’t Dwayne who showed up. It was Eva. And behind her, a swarm of reporters, cameras flashing, lenses of all sizes aimed straight at me.

“I told you, didn’t I? The elegant traditional painting master Kate Hemsworth is shacking up with some gym rat in a hotel. Look how cheap she looks in that outfit!”

Under the glare of a hundred lenses, I had no way to defend myself. I could only call Dwayne.

“Why would I go to a hotel to sleep with my wife? Kate, how dare you cheat on me? I will never touch you again. Not in this life.”

He didn’t believe our child was truly ill; all he cared about was destroying me and propping up Eva as some so-called genius painter.

But he forgot that if I hadn’t given birth to the family’s eldest grandson, he would’ve never secured the right to inherit the family fortune.

If our son died, he’d be kicked out without mercy, stripped of everything, left with nothing but the title of a loser.

——

“Who would’ve thought that the refined, intellectual traditional painting master had such a filthy side?”

“That contrast, that body, what man could resist?”

“Kate’s Royal Night Banquet just won an international award. This is hot search gold. Hurry up and write a killer headline.”

Even after I forced them out, their voices still bled through the door.

My hands were shaking when my phone lit up with a new message.

[I told you not to compete with Eva for the painting competition. You didn’t listen. This is your punishment.]

Dwayne’s message made my blood boil—I hurled my phone onto the bed without a second thought.

This was an international competition; if I didn’t win, the title wouldn’t go to Eva. She had already been eliminated early on.

But Dwayne still tried to tear me down, just to soothe Eva’s jealousy.

Tears ran down my face as I forced myself to breathe, to stay calm.

My son, Keanu, was still lying in the hospital. I didn’t have the right to break down.

“Since you’ve already taken revenge for her, when will you come to have sex?”

Dwayne called right away.

“Kate, you really are pathetic, aren’t you? After everything, you still want to sleep with me? Should I find you a few gym trainers instead?”

“I only want you. It has to be you.”

He laughed on the other end.

“Since you’re so hopelessly in love with me, I guess I can give you what you want.”

A wave of nausea rose in my chest.

We’d been married ten years. After I gave birth to Keanu and he was named heir of the Cavill Family, Dwayne stopped pretending.

It wasn’t just the occasional fling; he racked up over thirty mistresses.

He was like a stray in heat, chasing after any woman with a decent figure.

Not even my assistant was spared.

No matter how filthy he was, I had to choke back my disgust.

“Name your condition, I’ll agree to anything.”

He laughed, smug and satisfied.

“My demand is simple: come home and paint a portrait of me and Eva. Do that and I’ll help ‘relieve’ your needs.”

I dressed in silence, my hands cold and numb. Before leaving, I looked through old photos of Keanu, his first smile, his first steps, the way he used to cling to me.

Only then did I find the strength to return to the home I once shared with Dwayne.

Two years ago, I moved out. I couldn’t bear for Keanu to grow up watching his father bring strange women into our house.

Back then, I hated myself for not divorcing sooner, for staying in a marriage that was already over.

But now, I was just thankful I still held the title of Mrs. Cavill.

When I stepped into the villa, the housekeeper told me that Mr. Cavill and Miss Seyfried were in the study.

When I went up to the second floor, I saw Dwayne working on his computer while Eva sat in his lap, feeding him fruit.

Even though I had long stopped hoping for anything from Dwayne, a dull ache still pierced my chest.

From the day we got married, his study had always been off-limits to me.

“Teacher Hemsworth is here? Did you come to scold us again?”

Eva looked smug, like a wildcat flashing its claws.

“I’m here to paint for you two.”

Eva giggled, her voice coy as she curled into Dwayne’s arms.

“Dwayne, how did you talk her into this? Teacher Hemsworth’s paintings are priceless. Most people can’t even dream of owning one.”

Dwayne rubbed her head.

“Didn’t you say you wanted her work? Forget Kate’s trash artworks, if you asked for the stars, I’d still find a way to give them to you.”

He turned and glanced at me.

“Aren’t you going to get the paper ready?”

I turned and went downstairs, set up my brushes and prepared the paint.

Among all the wealthy wives in Roseville, none had fallen lower than me.

But the doctor’s words kept echoing in my mind.

“Keanu still has time. From a medical standpoint, the best solution would be for you and Mr. Cavill to have another child. Cord blood would have the lowest chance of rejection.”

I stood there, dazed, when Eva’s voice floated down from upstairs.

“Why is Teacher Hemsworth setting up the easel in the living room? Shouldn’t it be in the bedroom?”

I had known Eva and Dwayne were shameless, but I never imagined they’d ask me to paint them being intimate.

“Dwayne, do you have no shame?”

Furious, I threw down the brush.

Dwayne, half-dressed in his pajamas, kissed Eva’s cheek like I wasn’t even there. His hand slid under her nightdress without hesitation.

“Aren’t you an artist? Why are you so narrow-minded?”

“Teacher Hemsworth, don’t blame Dwayne, it was my idea. We wanted to capture the beauty of our love. You’re the most skilled master we could find.”

Eva said sweetly, eyes glinting with provocation.

The sight of the two of them drained the last bit of strength from my body.

“Dwayne, I’m begging you. Come with me to the hospital. Keanu is really sick. I need—”

“Is Teacher Hemsworth about to suggest we have a second child to save Keanu?”

Eva cut me off.

“Been reading too many Hollywood dramas, haven’t you? Was it Keanu’s nosebleed last time that gave you the idea?”

“Keanu’s nosebleed was just because he was being naughty and got disciplined by his loving father. I think Teacher Hemsworth should switch to writing novels instead of painting.”

I glared at Dwayne.

“Keanu had a nosebleed. Was it because you hit him?”

He raised a hand to his child. All for her. What kind of father does that make him?

“He dared to put a centipede in Eva’s water glass. That kind of behavior deserved more than a slap.”

My fists clenched, pain burning in my chest.

That day, Keanu had wanted to visit Dwayne at the company. He had just been diagnosed and insisted on telling his father in person, asking me to wait downstairs.

When he came down, his face was covered in blood, hiding the handprint on his cheek.

I panicked and rushed him to the hospital. He kept saying he didn’t see his dad and claimed he fell on his own.

I couldn’t bear to imagine how much pain, how much sorrow that little boy had buried in his heart.

“Dwayne, Keanu is really sick. Please, just come to the hospital with me.”

As I reached for his arm, he threw me to the ground without hesitation.

“Kate, when you begged me to marry you, you promised not to interfere in my private life. And now you’re clawing and grabbing like some street shrew.”

Dwayne and I had grown up as family acquaintances.

But later, the Hemsworth family fell into decline and my father became seriously ill, with little time left.

His final wish was to see me married with children.

So when Dwayne forced himself on me after drinking and I found out I was pregnant, I begged him to marry me.

For my father and my feelings.

This playboy agreed to marry me not just because Uncle Daniel liked me, but because I promised to give him enough freedom.

My arm slammed against the wall and the sharp pain made me gasp.

I gritted my teeth, enduring it and reached for my phone to show him Keanu’s condition in the hospital.

But before I could open the photo album, the hospital called.

“Mrs. Cavill, Keanu has developed an infection. Please come as soon as possible.”

My heart clenched. Keanu’s condition couldn’t handle even a minor infection.

“I’ll be there right away.”

I hung up without another word. I didn’t care about the two people in front of me anymore. I pushed the door open and rushed out.

Seeing my reaction, Dwayne’s expression changed. He knew I wouldn’t fake something like this.

“Kate, was that the hospital? Keanu’s illness, it wasn’t a lie?”

I stopped in my tracks, turned around and gave him one last chance.

“Dwayne, come to the hospital with me. I’m begging you. Keanu loves you so much, he even calls for Daddy in his sleep.”

For a moment, Dwayne actually frowned, as if something in him wavered.

But Eva slipped behind him, pressing herself against his back.

“Teacher Hemsworth just can’t stand to see us happy. She’s only trying to drag you out of my bed.”

Her hand slid down his waist.

“She’s not going to paint for us. Why don’t we just record a video? Let’s try that position you talked about last time.”

Lust clouded Dwayne’s face in an instant. He picked Eva up and carried her straight into the bedroom, slamming the door shut with a kick.

The moans and gasps that followed shattered the last sliver of hope I had for him.

At that moment, I made up my mind that Keanu had nothing more to do with Dwayne.

My child, I would save myself.

This infection hit Keanu hard. The inflammation wouldn’t go down and the doctor recommended a direct bone marrow transplant.

But there wasn’t a suitable match in the national bone marrow registry.

Watching Keanu grow paler and thinner by the day, I could only blame myself for not being a perfect match.

Standing on the edge between life and death, all my pride crumbled.

With swollen, red eyes, I went to the company to find Dwayne. He was just about to leave.

Ignoring the stares from employees around us, I dropped to my knees with a heavy thud.

“Dwayne, Keanu is really sick. Please come to the hospital for a bone marrow match. You’re his father, can you really bear to watch your son die?”

Dwayne froze, clearly caught off guard.

“Who allowed you to come here and embarrass yourself?”

He grabbed my arm and dragged me into the president’s office, whispers already spreading through the office.

Everything I’d been holding in finally broke loose. I sobbed so hard it felt like something inside me was tearing apart.

At last, Dwayne seemed to soften.

“I’ll go to the hospital with you. If Keanu is really sick, then as his father, of course, I’ll help him. But if you’re lying to me again, I won’t…”

Just as a glimmer of hope rose in my heart, Eva appeared.

“Teacher Hemsworth, how can you be so cruel? I already gave up on being Mrs. Cavill. I just want Dwayne to come with me to France for my 23rd birthday. Why won’t you let me have even that?”

Dwayne’s lips pressed into a thin line. He turned to me, eyes full of suspicion.

Tears quickly filled Eva’s eyes.

“Dwayne, I called Keanu’s teacher. She said he was attending class like normal.”

“You’re lying.”

I was so furious I nearly slapped her across the face.

But before I could react, she suddenly dropped to her knees.

“Please, Teacher Hemsworth. I’m not as smart as you, not as talented and I don’t have your family background. Dwayne’s love is all I have. Please don’t take that from me.”

As she spoke, she moved as if to slam her head on the floor.

Dwayne, heart aching, rushed forward and pulled her into his arms.

“I’ll go with you to France for your birthday. Don’t cry.”