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?"