Chapter 2

I understood Benson, but I still told him, "If there comes a day when you want children, just tell me directly. We can talk it through." Benson agreed. Seven years ago, Benson's father suddenly stopped being angry, and his mother no longer pressured us. They even said they wanted to retire in another city that was full of food and entertainment. Benson would occasionally visit them to check on how they were doing. I thought they had finally come around. Then… I saw a family photo on the social media account registered under my mother-in-law's name. In it, Benson was with another woman and a child. They formed a happy family of three. That was when I realized his trips back and forth between the two cities over the past seven years had all been for another family. Every "happy moment" my mother-in-law had captured pierced into my chest like a dagger, each one making it harder for me to breathe. Going back to the present, I opened my mouth, only to realize that my voice had already turned hoarse and broken. "What about me? Benson, you're treating me like this, and that's not considered heartless or cruel?" A flicker of guilt passed over his face, and even his voice softened. "I'm sorry, Yvonne. I just didn't want you to suffer the pain of childbirth. If you're willing, I can bring them both here… We can all live together." I gave a bitter smile. "So, what you're saying is, my husband cheated on me, and not only do I have to forgive him, but I also have to accept his mistress's children? And now, I should live under the same roof with her and see her every day?" Benson fell silent. He didn't try to explain anymore. When he left, he even thoughtfully asked all the relatives in the house to leave with him. "Yvonne, I know it's hard for you to accept things right now. That's fine. Take your time. But I still stand by what I said. I won't abandon Yara or the children." I sat alone through the night. At dawn, I called my company's lawyer. "Do you know how to draft a divorce agreement? Help me write one. I want a divorce." Just as Benson had said, he didn't come back for an entire week. He stayed with his other family. When the paparazzo I had hired at a steep price sent me a pile of photos and videos, my hands trembled so badly I could barely bring myself to look through them. Ever since everything blew up, Benson's mother didn't bother hiding anymore. She stopped pretending to be the nice mother-in-law. She seemed desperate, posting 800 videos a day and recording every warm little moment of Benson, the other woman, and their child. I saw videos of Benson taking care of the child, Benson teaching the child how to write, and Benson accompanying that pregnant woman on walks… Even the captions were sickeningly sweet. "Daddy's taking the little one on a fun day out again!", "Our darling just started first grade and insists Daddy teaches him to write!", "My son and daughter-in-law". The content wasn't all that different from what the paparazzo had sent me. They were just ordinary, heartwarming family moments, but each photo stung my eyes. After thinking for a long time, I finally left a comment under one of the videos. "If she's your daughter-in-law, then who's listed as your son's legal spouse?" Almost the moment I posted it, the comment was deleted. Immediately after, my mother-in-law sent me a 60-second voice message. "What nonsense are you writing under my videos? What do you want people to think of my precious grandson? He's still a child, and you're already trying to smear him as an illegitimate kid? How can you be so vicious? "I'm telling you, we still haven't settled the scores! Not only did you refuse to have kids with my son, but you even pushed him into getting a vasectomy…" Then came several more voice messages, each one 60 seconds long. Even though my heart had already shattered over the past few days, and even though I had cried all my tears dry, hearing my mother-in-law speak with such smug contempt still made tears roll down my face all over again.