"You don’t care about me anymore! After having the baby, you stopped caring about me. You just play games when you get home, and you don’t even get up. You’ve never once changed her diaper!"

Ginny's voice was shaking with anger.

"Do you even know how painful it is when your milk comes in? Look it up if you don't believe me! And Hannah's my best friend. She doesn't have enough milk, so I help her feed her baby. What's wrong with that?"

The room was buzzing with outrage, voices cutting in one after another.

"Easton, you're failing as a husband."

"Luckily, my man takes care of me. When I had our baby, he treated me with nothing but tenderness."

Annoyed by their meddling, I let out a cold smile. "You're nothing but outsiders. You don't know half of what's gone on, yet you think you can sit there and pass judgment on me?"

I turned to Ginny. "Come to the courthouse tomorrow. I'll be waiting."

I started for the door, but then Hannah suddenly grabbed my arm.

"You animal!" she yelled, "You want a divorce over something so small? Go to hell!"

Before I could react, she swung a punch at me. It landed squarely, and pain shot through my face. Blood rushed from my nose.

Her husband, Alex Stafford, stepped forward, ready to throw his own punch.

"Stop!" Ginny cried, rushing to pull them back.

She quickly wiped the blood from my face, her eyes filled with worry.

"Honey, please. Look at our daughter. She's only a few months old. How can you just abandon us now?"

In her arms, our baby giggled and reached toward me, her little smile impossibly sweet.

For a brief moment, my chest tightened.

But I forced myself to sigh, to stay calm. "Let's just get divorced."

"You must have someone else outside," Hannah snapped, still straining against Alex's grip. "Alex, don't hold me back. I'm going to kill him!"

Alex pulled her closer, holding her firmly. "Easton, listen. If you're really this upset about Ginny nursing my son, then fine. Hannah can bring him home, and we'll switch him to formula. We were already considering it, anyway. Why don't you and Ginny live your life in peace?"

The people around us nodded in agreement.

"Now that's how a man should handle things."

"If Hannah switches to formula, then Ginny can give her milk to you instead. Don't throw this marriage away."

"I heard Ginny helped you when your company was struggling, even bringing in clients. Where are you going to find another wife like her?"

Everyone tried to calm me down, pushing me toward reconciliation.

But I looked at Ginny, my face cold. "We really can't go on. Let's just end it."

The crowd erupted, shouting me down.

Some called me heartless, while others said I was throwing away a peaceful life.

Right there, Ginny, tears slipping down her face, looked fragile and pitiful.

"Honey, I promise I won't nurse her son anymore," she begged. "Please don't divorce me."

She stepped close, wrapping her soft arm around mine, her voice dropping to a whisper. "To make it up to you, I'll give you the extra milk, okay?"

Revulsion twisted in my gut.

I pushed her back and said in disgust, Can you stop pretending?"

Ginny fell hard to her knees, still clutching our daughter, desperate and pleading. "Easton, nursing Hannah's baby isn't some unforgivable sin. I'll stop, I promise. Please forgive me, just this once."

"No."

Her sobs broke into sharp cries, her words nearly lost in the sound. "You hate it when I say I'll change, but please, just forgive me this time!"

The onlookers shook with anger at my refusal.

"Ginny, don't waste yourself on him," someone shouted. "A man who is that petty and heartless isn't worth your love!"

At that moment, my father pushed his way through the crowd, his face grim.

"Easton, Ginny has done more for this family than anyone. When your company was on the brink of bankruptcy and your mother was in the hospital with her heart condition, it was Ginny who paid the bills. She's been nothing but good to us. If you dare divorce her, I'll disown you as my son!"

"Dad, don't get involved," I said, forcing a smile.

Then I turned back to Ginny. "I'll give you one chance. Tell me, why did you nurse Hannah's child?"

The moment I asked, a flash of panic crossed Ginny's eyes, quickly masked by her usual composure.

"I already told you," she said firmly. "I have too much milk. After feeding our daughter, I still have extra, so I helped Hannah by nursing her son. If you don't like it, I won't do it anymore."

My father shot me a look of disgust, his eyes burning with judgment. "Listen to her, Easton. Ginny is thoughtful and kind. Where are you going to find another wife like this?"

I shook my head, frustration bubbling up. "Dad, it doesn't matter. I'm getting a divorce."

"You fool!" My father's hand slapped across my cheek, sharp and unexpected.

Heat flared immediately, half my face swelling with pain.

The crowd erupted, voices piling on top of each other.

"Beat him down!" someone shouted.

"Yeah! That's what a beast like him deserves!" another hollered, and the rest clapped and cheered.

Just then, Ginny rushed to my side.

"Easton, are you hurt?" Her voice trembled as she pulled out a bottle of ointment and reached up, dabbing lightly at my cheek.

"What a good wife," someone muttered, "and he doesn't even appreciate her."

I slapped her hand away, my patience gone. "Quit pretending you care."

Her face crumpled, her voice breaking. "Honey, please. I don't want a divorce. Our daughter needs her father."

"Begging won't work," I said, my words cold and final as I turned toward the door.

Behind me, my father's voice bellowed, heavy and full of finality. "If you go through with this divorce, I'll pretend I don't have a son like you!"

A sharp pain pierced my chest. It twisted inside me, gnawing at my heart.

'I'm already an adult, for Christ's sake,' I thought bitterly, 'yet here I am making him worry. But this is my marriage, not his. I have to handle it myself.'

"Ginny," I said, my voice hard, not turning back, "I'll have the divorce papers delivered to you."

I didn't look back as I walked out. My steps were quick, unyielding. Ginny's sobs echoed behind me, raw and heart-wrenching, each one twisting the knife deeper in my chest.

Back at the office, I gathered my files and immediately rang a lawyer mate to start the divorce proceedings.

Before I even had a chance to settle in, Ginny's messages started flooding my phone.

[Honey, what did I do wrong? Why are you divorcing me? Have you calmed down?]

[Our daughter and I need you. We're waiting for you at home.]

I checked into a hotel that night, hoping for some peace.

But Ginny's messages kept coming, each one more desperate than the last.

With a sneer, I blocked her and severed all communication channels.

...

The next morning, Ginny received the divorce papers I sent.

I didn't expect her to take it well. She tore the agreement to shreds.

Furious, Hannah took the matter online.

Within hours, my private life became public property. The backlash was immediate.

Netizens exploded in outrage, dragging me through the mud.

[Damn it, she's such a good wife. She didn't even take a dowry, helped him with his business, paid for his mother's surgery, and he still doesn't appreciate her?]

[His wife has plenty of milk, and he wants a divorce just because she didn't feed him?]

[He's definitely cheating. This is just an excuse to dump his wife!]

[I'm a mother of two. I know how painful engorgement is. My best friend couldn't nurse, so I fed her baby, too. My husband was supportive. This man? Trash.]

[Marrying a guy like him? What a disaster!]

Before I knew it, I was being torn apart online.

The attacks continued to escalate. My personal details were leaked. My parents' house was defaced with red paint, forcing them to escape to the countryside.

Even my company wasn't spared. People organized boycotts, demanding we go under.

My assistant hurried into my office, pale with worry. "Mr. Beckett, because of the divorce scandal, consumers are refusing to buy our products. The stock price is crashing. Clients are cancelling contracts, and our warehouses are backed up. The factory has had to halt production. If we don't act soon, I'm afraid the company—"

I dragged my hands through my hair in frustration. "I'll figure something out."

I immediately called Coraline Wayne, a lawyer I trusted, and asked her to meet me.

She arrived with a stack of documents. "Easton, the divorce lawsuit is scheduled for next Monday." She handed me the paperwork, then pulled out her phone and forwarded several videos to me.

Relief washed over me. "Thank you. Really, thank you."

She shook her head. "What are you thanking me for? If you hadn't jumped in that river to save me, I wouldn't even be here."

Coraline Wayne gave me a playful wink before she left.

I sat down with the documents and videos she handed me.

The more I watched, the darker my expression became. Just like I suspected, Ginny was exactly that kind of person.

Once the truth was out, it was going to shake everything.

In the days before the hearing, the attacks against me worsened.

My phone buzzed nonstop with hate messages.

My phone was flooded with messages, the company's stock price had collapsed, products were accumulating, and the bank had come asking for debts, even freezing my working capital.

The storm was approaching, and if I lost this lawsuit, my company would collapse.

And me? I'd be buried at the bottom of the social ladder, with no way out.

...

At last, the day of the hearing arrived. The courtroom was packed to capacity. The public gallery was so crowded that people were standing in the aisles. Media influencers sat with their phones raised, broadcasting the entire event live.

Online, thousands of strangers were already watching, waiting for me to fall apart.

The judge banged his gavel, calling the hearing to order.

After the opening statements from both lawyers, Ginny turned to the judge, her voice trembling just enough to sound pitiful.

"Your Honor, I am not the guilty party in this marriage. I just had a baby, and I don't want a divorce."

The judge nodded slowly and turned to me. "According to the law, without solid evidence, you cannot divorce."

Ginny glanced at me, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. It was like she thought she had already won.

"Honey," she whispered, her voice soft and coaxing, "stop this. Don't go through with the divorce. Look at how cute our daughter is. Can you really leave her without a father at such a young age?"

Our daughter slept peacefully in her arms, completely unaware that her father was about to walk out on her mother.

"No," I said firmly, my voice cutting through the air.

I kept my eyes locked on her as I continued speaking, "My wife committed adultery during our marriage. I'm asking for an immediate divorce, and I want her to leave with nothing."

Ginny's eyes went wide before the tears spilled over. "Adultery? Easton, when I'm at work, I'm in the office. When I clock out, I go straight home. The only time I go out is to shop with Hannah or a couple of friends. And you call that cheating? Do you even have a shred of humanity in you?"

The crowd exploded in outrage.

"She seems like such a good wife. How could she possibly cheat?"

"This bastard must have someone else on the side. He's just making up excuses to divorce her!"

The live stream viewers piled on, cursing me, calling me everything under the sun.

I had turned into the perfect villain in their eyes—a rat darting through the street as everyone called for my capture.

Even my own father sided with Ginny.

"Easton," he said, his voice sharp, "if you turn back now, I'll still recognize you as my son."

My mother's voice was softer, almost pleading. "Easton, why not just let it go?"

I clenched my fists, the anger searing through me.

"Dad, Mom, I've already been dragged through the dirt. I can't just let it go."

Facing the crowd, I raised my voice, making sure everyone could hear me. "Everyone, I have evidence. Once you see it, you'll understand why I want a divorce."

I turned to the judge and pulled out my tablet.

With a steady hand, I queued up the first video.