On our fifth wedding anniversary, my wife, who had struggled with fertility for years, suddenly felt nauseous. The college student we had been sponsoring panicked and rushed her to the hospital. Half an hour later, she called me. "I'm pregnant."

I was thrilled, until her next words froze me in place.

"The father's the college student, the one we've been supporting. He got sick that night and I felt bad for him, so I stayed over. I didn't think anything would happen. We have to keep this quiet. He's graduating soon and joining our company. We can't let this mess things up for him.

"And you need to quit your job, so he can take your position. I'm going to need you home to take care of me."

The sheer audacity left me speechless, but I kept my voice level. "Okay."

She hung up, satisfied.

What she did not know was that years ago, someone had made me a promise. If I turned 30 years old and still did not have a child, she would give me one. Today was my 30th birthday.

Faced with my unusually calm reaction, Lisa Lynch called back five seconds after hanging up.

"Matthew, I know you're hurting right now. This whole thing is my fault, but you have to believe me. It was just an accident. I've only ever seen him as a little brother."

I pulled my lips into a mocking smile. "Right, a little brother. The kind you end up in bed with."

Lisa clearly froze for a moment before her tone softened. "I get that you're angry and lashing out, but Elijah's an orphan. Life hasn't been easy for him. I don't want this to ruin his entire future.

"Matthew, can you just be understanding about this? Quit your job and claim the baby as yours. Everyone wins that way."

No matter how she spun it, Lisa only cared about that college student.

I suppressed the urge to roar at her and forced the words out, "Lisa, let's get a divorce."

"What?!" Her expression must have changed completely because her voice shot up. "Matthew Baker, do you even hear yourself right now? You want to throw away our five years of marriage over something this small?

"What about all those vows you made at our wedding? About protecting me for the rest of our lives? Have you forgotten all of that? When did you become so selfish?"

She was the one who had forgotten her promises, yet somehow, I was the one being scolded. I did not answer and only let the silence stretch on to make my position clear.

Lisa seemed stunned that I would resist like this. She laughed bitterly. "Matthew, I'm asking you one last time. Are you sure you want a divorce?"

This time, I answered quickly, "Yes, Lisa. As you wish, I don't want you anymore."

"There's a limit to throwing tantrums. Don't come crying to me later!"

With that, she hung up without waiting for my response.

I put my phone back in my pocket, set down the vegetables I had just washed, removed my apron, and ignored the fish simmering in lemon sauce on the stove. Under the shocked stares of various relatives, I left the kitchen.

Lisa's father, Jackson Lynch, reacted fast and lunged forward to grab my arm. "Matthew, what are you doing? Just because that college student took Lisa to the hospital, you're so jealous that you won't even finish cooking or cleaning? Are you trying to ruin our anniversary dinner and make our relatives laugh at us?"

Lisa's mother, Katherine Pike, added her cold commentary, "I said it from the beginning. How could some poor boy from the mountains ever match our educated family? You pretended to be a devoted husband for a few years, and now, you're just walking away. What a schemer!"

Their daughter had betrayed our marriage, yet these two blamed me first.

I used all my strength to wrench free from Jackson's grip, struggling to keep my voice from shaking too badly. "Your daughter's the one who doesn't want to celebrate the occasion. As for why, you should ask her yourselves. It makes me sick."

Katherine only grew more aggressive after hearing my words. "Even so, you shouldn't just walk out. Are you expecting us to do all that kitchen work? Is this how your parents taught you to be a husband?"

Jackson chimed in, "Get back in there and finish your work!"

I laughed coldly. "Lisa and I are done. I don't need to do your housework anymore. If you two don't mind, please move aside."

They seemed unprepared for such a firm attitude. Both their faces turned ugly.

I ignored their hostile glares and left. Only after I actually left the house did I realize I had nowhere to go.

I had cut off contact with the outside world long ago. My entire world had been revolving around Lisa.

Just as I wondered where to go, a familiar figure came into view. It was my childhood friend, Sarah Montgomery.

She smiled at me, her voice gentle. "Happy birthday, Matthew. I'm here to keep my promise."

I looked at Sarah's expectant gaze and suddenly remembered the promise she had made to me. If I turned 30 and still did not have a child, she would give me one. Today was my 30th birthday.

Sarah naturally hooked her arm through mine, her face full of unconcealed joy. "Matthew, do you know how long I've waited for this day? You can't go back on your word now!"

This time, I did not push her away.

Lisa's betrayal had shattered all my persistence and dreams. It was time to return to my old life.

…

The next day, I sent my resignation to the company's HR department.

After graduation, I chose not to return home and inherit my parents' business. Instead, I stayed with Lisa as she built her startup, supporting her all the way until she became CEO of a publicly traded company.

What a waste it had all been.

Within minutes, someone from HR called to reject my resignation. I knew without asking that Lisa had told them to refuse it.

I no longer wanted to waste time with her. I drove straight to Lisa's villa in the suburbs.

Before I even reached the main bedroom, I saw through the half-open door Lisa's and Elijah Lambert's bodies tangled together. She had told me to resign and come home to care for her, but the next moment, she was making out with her young lover. How ironic.

When they parted just momentarily, Elijah caught sight of me in his peripheral vision.

His eyebrow lifted slightly, and he deliberately sucked hard on Lisa's lips before asking in a coquettish tone, "Lisa, you clearly love me, so why won't you agree to Matthew's request for a divorce?"

Lisa's breathing had not yet steadied, but her voice dripped with disgust. "He's just throwing a tantrum. If he actually leaves me, pigs would fly. Besides, he was the one who shamelessly chased after me for ages back then. If you hadn't been too young at the time, how could I have possibly agreed to be with him?"

My heart began pounding uncontrollably, my chest tightening.

Years ago, I fell for Lisa at first sight during a graduate networking event where she gave a speech on stage. I pursued her relentlessly after that.

For a full six months, I carefully studied her every preference and found new ways to surprise her each day.

The entire time, Lisa never even gave me a good look, but I thought that I would one day win her heart. Eventually, Lisa agreed to be my girlfriend.

I thought I had finally moved her heart, but it turned out she had only said yes because the person she really wanted was not legally old enough yet.

No wonder after we got married, she kept pushing me to sponsor college students. It was all just a ploy for her to keep a boy toy on the side.

Elijah shot me an imperceptible look of contempt before continuing to hold Lisa's waist, asking gently, "There's something I've been curious about. You two have been married for five years. How come you never got pregnant? Is Matthew not capable?"

Lisa let out a scornful laugh. "After I got together with him, I never stopped taking birth control pills. Where would he get a kid from? Some poor boy from the mountains doesn't deserve to have children of his own."

Then, she caressed Elijah's face. "I'll only have a child for you. No one else."

My body began trembling uncontrollably.

In our five years of marriage, I had wanted nothing more than to have a child with her. I thought she had trouble conceiving because of health issues, so I even prepared myself for a lifetime without children.

Yet all along, she had been taking birth control pills behind my back.

I turned to leave but froze when I spotted something on the floor. It was an emerald bracelet that had shattered into several pieces.

It was the Baker family's heirloom.

"Lisa!" I roared in fury, my eyes burning red.

Lisa jumped at my voice. After a brief moment to recover, she snapped at me irritably, "Matthew, what are you freaking out about now? This isn't the place for any Tom, Dick, or Harry to throw a tantrum.

"Didn't you say you wanted a divorce? So why are you here bothering me? Couldn't hold out already? Pathetic!"

I ignored her mockery and pointed at the shattered pieces on the floor with a trembling hand. "What happened? How did this end up broken like this?"

Before Lisa could answer, Elijah explained pitifully from the side, "Matthew, it's my fault. I accidentally knocked it over when I was looking for Lisa. If you need to blame someone, blame me. Don't blame Lisa anymore."

He spoke in a whiny voice, but his eyes were dry without a single tear. It was nauseating.

Lisa quickly cut him off, "How could this be your fault? If you ask me, the bracelet is of cheap quality. It broke after dropping once. Who knows what factory made such a defective product?"

Then, she looked at me with disdain. "Getting this worked up over some worthless trinket. Are you even a man?"

"This is my family's heirloom. On our wedding day, my mother put it on you herself. How can you talk about it like that?"

Lisa had no idea that this bracelet had been passed down through generations of my family. It was something no amount of money could buy.

"Enough." Lisa looked at me with disgust. "Just name your price. I'll compensate you, okay? I'm so sick of watching you nitpick over every little thing. It's revolting."

At that moment, I suddenly felt completely drained. The truly revolting ones were the two people standing in front of me.

The Lisa before me was nothing like the person I had first fallen in love with. I lost all feelings for her.

Since the bracelet was already broken, there was no point keeping it. As for this shameless woman in front of me? I did not want her either.

I took one last look at Lisa and rejected her coldly. "Lisa, I've already submitted my resignation. Whether you agree or not, it'll take effect in 30 days. Also, I've contacted a lawyer to draft divorce papers. They'll be delivered tomorrow. Remember to sign them."

Without waiting for Lisa's reaction, I turned and strode away without looking back.

When I returned to the Baker residence, Mom did not blame me after hearing about the bracelet. Instead, she let out a long breath of relief and said, "If breaking a bracelet is what it took to see Lisa's true colors, then so be it.

"We were too low-key from the start. That gave them the opportunity to walk all over you. Now that you've seen them for who they really are, don't be polite to them anymore."

Dad also offered comfort from the side, saying, "Don't dwell on it. Sarah's been waiting in your room all day. Go see her."

The moment I pushed open the door, Sarah rushed over and pulled me into a tight embrace. "If you hadn't come back soon, I was going to storm Lisa's place and drag you out myself!"

I could not help but smile. After all these years, she was still so direct and passionate.

Sarah led me to the desk and carefully opened a cake box. "This is the first time I've made a birthday cake for anyone. You'd better not complain about it."

The cake was beautiful and in my favorite shade of blue. It turned out Sarah had been waiting all this time to make up for my missed birthday. Warmth flooded through my chest.

After we finished the cake, Sarah looked at me intently. "So? Did she agree to the divorce?"

I shook my head. Based on what happened today, Lisa would never sign the papers so easily.

Sarah just smiled mysteriously, her tone light and playful. "In that case, we'll just have to pull a little switcheroo. All we need is a signature, right?"