Chapter 5

After signing, Phyllis was about to leave when a swarm of reporters who had somehow gotten the news rushed toward her. They shoved microphones in her face, relentlessly throwing sharp questions at her. "Ms. Cole, your husband is donating his skin to another woman. Aren't you upset or jealous? Or are you just keeping quiet because you don't want to lose money?" "Are you going to keep living like this? Between you and Patricia, who's the real wife and who's the mistress? And when there's a child, who will they call 'Mom'?" The lights were blinding. For a moment, Phyllis felt irritated, but she quickly pulled herself together and said calmly, "You should be asking Nathan and Patricia, not me." The moment she said that, a male reporter sneered. "If it weren't for Ms. Patricia getting pregnant and giving birth to a child, you'd have been kicked out by the Freys long ago. Don't act all high and mighty in front of the cameras. Behind the scenes, I bet you're begging and flattering Ms. Patricia for her favor." At that, Phyllis narrowed her eyes and gave a composed smile. She took two deliberate steps closer and elegantly took the microphone. "By your logic, I should be grateful to the mistress and maybe even fawn over her. But why? Am I automatically worthless just because I don't have a child? If I can't have children, does that mean I should accept my husband's betrayal?" She wasn't here to explain herself, much less step into the trap of proving her innocence. She wanted to throw the questions back at them to make them think. The male reporter stiffened, and after a pause, he muttered, "Women have always been expected to have children. A wife who can't have children should count herself lucky to even have a husband. You should be grateful we're giving you the chance to be on camera." He grew more self-righteous the longer he spoke, spewing insult after insult. Without a moment's hesitation, Phyllis picked up the microphone and hurled it at him. While he clutched his face and cried out, she pulled five dollars from her wallet. "Here's your medical fee. That should be enough to buy a tube of super glue to seal your mouth, so you can stop spouting nonsense all day." Facing the shocked stares around her, she casually smoothed back her loose hair and signaled to a nearby female reporter to start a livestream. When the livestream started, she smiled faintly. "I know the public is curious about my marriage and the issue of children, and I'm well aware of both the pity and ridicule aimed at me. "In society, people often say you need a child to carry on the family name or to take care of you when you grow old. But to me, marriage and children aren't everything. I've won numerous awards for my photography, and my career will define my legacy. Everything else is secondary. "So please, stop speculating about my marriage and focus more on my accomplishments, as well as the achievements of other women, instead of thinking whether or not they can have children." In the livestream, a ray of sunlight fell across her face, making her shine brightly. Amid countless admiring glances, she walked out of the hospital with poise. From that day on, she tore off the label of "Mrs. Frey" for good and became a figure of admiration for countless women. … Patricia had just come out of surgery, planning to use this moment to flaunt how much Nathan loved her. But when she turned on her phone, she was met with a flood of livestreams about "Phyllis' powerful speech". Her face twisted with rage, and the freshly grafted skin on her right cheek looked uneven. "I'm the one blessed with fertility. Ever since we were little, aside from grades, what did Phyllis have over me? They should be admiring me. Nathan and everything else should be mine!" A deranged smile spread across her face as she reached out and knocked the mirror off her bedside table. The glass shattered into pieces. Ignoring the sting in her palm, she picked the sharpest shard and sliced her cheek without hesitation. Blood streamed down her face as she slipped into the role of the victim, stumbling toward Nathan's ward. "Nat…" Patricia whimpered pitifully, collapsing by his bed and making sure the cut on her face was visible. Nathan's handsome features twisted in shock. "Patricia, what happened? Why is there so much blood?" She wiped at her tears while keeping her head down, too scared to say anything. After he pressed her repeatedly, she finally stammered, "It was Phyllis. She was jealous that you were willing to donate your skin to me, so she deliberately cut my face. "She even said in her livestream that I'm a mistress. All those netizens are cursing me now. Nat, what am I supposed to do? I'm so scared…"