I was in the middle of something when I happened to glance at my husband's phone and saw a text message pop up. [Dear Sunshine Academy Parents! Please remember to bring your little ones to the school's opening ceremony on time tomorrow morning. Don't be late!] I froze. My husband and I had been married for five years, and we didn't have any children. Why on earth was he receiving a message like this? I initially thought it was just a wrong number. But a second later, another notification popped up. [Leo's Dad, the children are going to absolutely love the million-dollar playground you donated!] [Also, the academy has prepared a grand thank-you presentation for you and Mrs. Sterling. Feel free to arrive a little early tomorrow! ~] Leo. Wasn't that the name of my husband's secretary's son? I took a deep breath and quietly put the phone back exactly where I found it. Then, I sent a quick text to my assistant: [Pick me up tomorrow morning. We're going to Sunshine Academy.] ... A few minutes later, Arthur Sterling walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. He picked up his phone, checked the screen, and a subtle, almost imperceptible smirk touched the corners of his mouth. Right after, his phone buzzed with an incoming call. Instead of answering, he started getting dressed and turned to me. "Honey, there's a minor emergency at the company I need to handle. Don't wait up for me tonight." I pretended I hadn't seen a thing. I nodded and walked him to the front door. But the moment he left, I pulled out my phone and opened the GPS tracking app for his car. That limited-edition Rolls-Royce was the five-year anniversary gift I had given him a week early. I didn't expect him to use it to drive straight to his mistress this fast. Half an hour later, I followed the GPS signal to the most exclusive, ultra-luxury gated community in the city. I watched as Arthur smoothly pulled the car into the driveway of a massive mansion. Almost immediately, his secretary, Mia, ran out the front door. She threw herself into Arthur's arms, whining playfully. "Arthur, I specifically dropped Leo off at my mom's house today. Why are you so late?" My breath hitched in my throat. It really was her. Suddenly, I heard the voices of a few neighbors taking an evening stroll nearby. "That young couple is so in love. They're so loud every night." "I know, right? Once I even saw them doing it in their private pool..." "Well, that mansion cost thirty million dollars. Rumor has it the guy paid cash and put the deed entirely in his wife's name. Don't be jealous of young love." I couldn't help but let out a bitter, hollow laugh. The truth was, six months ago, I had found a real estate brochure for this exact neighborhood in Arthur's briefcase. Back then, I was stupidly thrilled, thinking he was planning to surprise me with a new home for our anniversary. I never imagined he was actually buying it for Mia. Before I could fully process the sting, Arthur's doting voice drifted over. "Did I not feed you enough in my office this morning? You're that impatient?" Mia playfully slapped his chest. "I bet Mrs. Sterling keeps you on a tight leash, doesn't she?" Arthur scooped her up into his arms effortlessly. "What Mrs. Sterling? You are my Mrs. Sterling." "Besides, how could she ever compare to you?" What? Even though I had braced myself, hearing him say those words out loud still made my heart cramp with pain. When Arthur first met me, he was a broke kid with absolutely nothing to his name. My dad was fiercely against our relationship. To stay with Arthur, I eventually caved and agreed to my dad marrying his new girlfriend, Sarah. Only after I accepted Sarah as my stepmother did my dad finally stop opposing our marriage. Because of that compromise, I felt so guilty that I knelt in front of my biological mother's headstone for three days and three nights, begging for her forgiveness. And this... this betrayal and humiliation was what I got in return. I bit my lip, pulled out my phone, took several clear photos of the mansion, and sent them directly to my private investigator and my lawyer. If I had the power to turn Arthur Sterling into a rising star in the business world, I certainly had the power to strip him of absolutely everything. Once that was done, I dialed Arthur's number. It rang for a long time before he finally answered. His tone was laced with impatience. "Honey, didn't I tell you there was an emergency at the office? Why are you calling me?" "Oh, right, how could I forget you're at the office," I said softly. "I just wanted to let you know that my dad is on his way to your office right now. He said he wanted to drop by and see you since he was in the area." There was a dead silence on the other end, followed by the sound of frantic rustling. "Dad is coming?! Okay, I'll get ready." He hung up immediately. I let out a cold laugh. I looked up and watched him sprint out of the mansion, his shirt half-unbuttoned and his tie askew. Mia stood at the doorway, her eyes red, looking incredibly reluctant to let him go. I smirked. Why would my dad randomly drop by his office at this hour? I was just messing with him. But so what? I just couldn't stand seeing them happy. After Arthur drove off, I walked up and knocked on Mia's door. Thinking Arthur had come back, she threw the door open and lunged forward playfully. "Arthur! I knew you couldn't bear to leave me!" But the moment she saw it was me, she froze solid. She stumbled backward in a panic. "Mrs. Sterling... no, please don't misunderstand!" "What I just said was... no, it's not what you think..." I looked at her, my face twisting with instinctive disgust. "All the ambition of a thief, but none of the guts?" "Secretary Mia, if you're this pathetic, what am I supposed to do with you?" She wavered for a second, then finally straightened her posture and stared at me. She let out a laugh. "Mrs. Sterling, if you already know everything, why are you here asking questions?" "Don't you think you look completely pathetic right now?" I raised an eyebrow. I didn't expect her to have the nerve to talk back to me. "Pathetic? What's pathetic about me?" Mia lifted her chin. There wasn't a shred of guilt in her eyes; instead, they were filled with contempt. "You know Arthur doesn't love you, yet you refuse to let go." "Do you really think you can buy a man's heart with money?" She seemed to gain confidence as she spoke, her voice rising. "Arthur has been sick of you for a long time! Otherwise, why do you think he hasn't let you get pregnant in five years?!" "Heh, you don't even know, do you? To make sure you never had a baby, he's been secretly slipping birth control into your drinks every single day!" "If I were you, I would have packed up and left a long time ago!" I listened quietly, not interrupting her. Actually, I found it a little amusing. I crossed my arms, looking past her to take in the sprawling mansion, and then raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face. "So what if you gave him a child?" "As long as he hasn't divorced me, you and your son are nothing but a dirty mistress and an illegitimate bastard who can never see the light of day!" "And this house behind you? It was bought with my money!" "If anyone is packing up and leaving, it's going to be you!" "You!" Her head snapped to the side from the force of the slap. She looked at me in absolute shock. "You! You dared to hit me?!" I smiled, pulled the massive diamond wedding ring off my ring finger, and tossed it into the drainage gutter by the driveway. "Congratulations. You just picked up a piece of trash I don't want anymore." Her face turned pale, but she stiffened her neck and spat back, "What are you so smug about?!" "Arthur is the famous CEO of Sterling Enterprises now! He doesn't need you anymore!" "Believe it or not, all it takes is one word from me, and he'll divorce you!" I laughed out loud. "Is that right? Then let's see exactly what he chooses tomorrow morning." Without giving her a chance to retort, I turned and walked away. Arthur didn't come home the entire night, but he didn't try to contact me, either. It seemed Mia was a coward after all. She didn't even have the guts to tell him I had confronted her. I slept incredibly well. Bright and early the next morning, I got into my assistant's car. "Let's go. Sunshine Academy." I was genuinely curious to see what Arthur looked like playing the role of a loving father. By the time we arrived, the street in front of the kindergarten was already lined with luxury cars. A few minutes later, Arthur's car pulled up. Right on cue, Mia stepped out of the backseat, holding her son, Leo. "Mr. Sterling! Mrs. Sterling!" The kindergarten principal rushed forward to greet them with a beaming smile. "You're here! Please, come right in. The thank-you presentation is about to begin." A crowd instantly formed around them. "So he's the CEO who donated the new playground!" "Mr. Sterling really spares no expense for his child!" "I know, right? I heard he built his company from scratch and is worth over a hundred million in just a few years. Incredible!" Hearing the praise, Arthur looked incredibly smug. He took Leo from Mia's arms and said with a doting smile, "If it weren't for my wife building this empire by my side, I wouldn't be where I am today." "As long as my wife and Leo are happy, no expense is too great." I found it utterly hilarious. Mia built an empire by his side? Did he forget that if my dad hadn't invested fifty million dollars, he'd still be a low-level sales rep at a nobody firm? If I hadn't leveraged my family's network and resources, he never would have landed any of those massive contracts. Just as they were about to walk through the academy gates, I let out a cold laugh and stepped out of my car. I pulled off my sunglasses, staring directly at Arthur, and spoke loudly enough for the crowd to hear: "A man who married into his wife's money actually has the nerve to keep a mistress and a bastard child on the side. You've got some real guts." The moment Arthur saw me, his entire body went rigid. Mia, however, was quick on the draw. She immediately linked her arm tightly through Arthur's. I walked up to them with a mocking smile. "CEO Sterling really goes above and beyond to take care of his employees, doesn't he?" "Taking care of your secretary to the point of getting her pregnant, and then dropping a million dollars on a playground to keep her happy. What a generous boss." The crowd exploded into gasps and whispers. The way they looked at Mia changed instantly—from envy and admiration to blatant disgust and contempt. "What? That woman is his secretary?!" "So she's a homewrecker! Does that mean Leo is an illegitimate kid?" Mia's face drained of color, and tears began to stream down her cheeks. "I'm not a mistress! Arthur and I have been together for six years! Leo is five years old!" She looked up at Arthur with a pitiful, tear-stained face. "Arthur, tell them. Isn't that true?" Arthur finally snapped out of his shock and glared at me fiercely. "Chloe, why are you here?" "What exactly are you trying to pull?!" He wrapped his arm tightly around Mia, then turned to the crowd with an apologetic look. "Everyone, I am so sorry you had to witness this." "This woman is our family's maid. She's suffered from severe delusions for years. She genuinely believes she is my wife." "I kept her employed out of pity because she's taken care of our household for so long." "I never imagined she would follow us here today and cause a scene." What? I couldn't believe my ears. He actually called me his maid? The parents in the crowd immediately rallied behind them, pointing at me and whispering loudly. "So she's just a crazy maid." "The help these days is out of control. Delusional enough to think she's the lady of the house." "Look at her clothes. How could a maid afford that? She definitely stole them from Mrs. Sterling's closet!" "Shameless trash! How dare she slander the real Mrs. Sterling by calling her a mistress!" Right then, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Mia: [See that? Arthur chose me!] [Why didn't he come home last night? Hmm, so hard to guess. ?] [I was going to let you off the hook and not tell Arthur you hit me, but you just had to come here and humiliate yourself.] Immediately after, a video file popped up in the chat. In the video, Arthur and Mia were in his office... in extremely compromising, explicit positions. No wonder Arthur didn't come home last night or call to interrogate me. What I didn't understand was where Arthur found the audacity to treat me like this. I looked up, staring dead into his eyes, and asked coldly, "Arthur, aren't you afraid my dad will find out about this?" Hearing that, Arthur's brow furrowed. Then, he actually leaned in close to my ear and sneered in a low voice, "Your dad? Your stepmother is about to pop, and rumor has it she's having a boy." "Do you really think you're still getting a piece of the Davis family fortune?" So that was it... But what he didn't know was that long before I agreed to let my dad marry Sarah, they had already signed a bulletproof prenuptial agreement. The contract explicitly stated that everything belonging to the Davis family would go to me. To put my mind at ease, Sarah had even convinced my dad to transfer all his voting shares in the company to me on the spot. Thinking of that, I couldn't help but laugh out loud. I quickly forwarded the explicit video and chat logs directly to my dad. Seeing me stay silent, Arthur's face darkened. "Are you going to get lost or not?" "If you ever dare to pull a stunt like this in front of my wife and son again, don't blame me for what happens next!" Hearing his threat, the crowd felt fully validated. The principal immediately rushed forward, eager to please. "Mr. Sterling, please don't worry! I'll have security throw this crazy woman out right now!" The other parents chimed in in agreement. "Hurry up and leave! Stop embarrassing yourself!" "Seriously! If you're that desperate for a man, go stand on a street corner! Coming to a kindergarten to try and steal a child's father—you have no shame!" Within seconds, several security guards carrying batons marched up to me. I instinctively took two steps back. "Don't you dare touch me!" Suddenly, someone in the crowd reached out and tried to yank my handbag off my shoulder. "Isn't this the new limited-edition bag that's been sold out for months?!" "You psycho! Give that back to Mrs. Sterling right now!" "Stealing clothes is one thing, but trying to steal a husband?! Who do you think you are?!" "I say we strip her right here! Let the kids learn exactly what happens to thieves!"
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