Chapter 1

During Thanksgiving break, the company team-building trip went to Walt Disney World in Orlando, and family members were allowed. So I brought my daughter to celebrate her birthday.

That night, before the candles were even lit, my husband of three secretly married years, Ethan Blake, tagged me in the work group chat:

【All employees who brought family members have paid the difference. You're the only one left. $3,999. Transfer within one hour.】

The group exploded instantly.

Linda from Finance: 【Diane, it's not easy being a single mom with a kid, but if you bring your child out to play, you still have to pay.】

Old Tom from Procurement: 【If it's hard financially, don't bring your kid to Disney. Everyone knows it's expensive here.】

I stared at the screen, my chest tight. I never imagined that even on my daughter's birthday, Ethan would distance himself from us in public like this.

I went to his room to find him. The door was ajar. Birthday music played inside.

His secretary Sophia Grant was holding her son Noah's hand, and the three of them stood around a Mickey cake making wishes and blowing out candles.

"Noah, thank Uncle Ethan quickly. He invited you to Disney and gave you such a big cake."

The little boy stood on his toes and kissed Ethan's cheek. "Thank you, Uncle Ethan! I wished for Uncle Ethan to be my daddy."

Sophia laughed and patted him. "What nonsense is the child saying?"

Ethan chuckled softly. "It's fine. Kids say whatever comes to mind. I've already paid the difference for Finance. No need to feel pressured."

Sophia suddenly kissed him on the cheek and said shyly, "Thank you for giving my ex-husband three million dollars to stop harassing us."

Ethan didn't dodge, and he didn't mention he had a family. He only said lightly, "If you have problems in the future, come to me."

I stood outside the door and suddenly felt how absurd and ridiculous it all was.

He threw three million dollars at someone else's ex-husband without blinking.

But in a work group chat with hundreds of people, he gave his own wife a one-hour deadline to pay a $3,999 family difference.

I trembled as I transferred the $3,999, with the note:

【Settled.】

Those three words were exactly like our marriage.

Three years of hidden marriage, avoiding suspicion everywhere, no financial entanglements to begin with.

Now, we owed each other nothing.

...

Back in the room, Lily was lying by the table guarding the cake.

The candles still stood in the frosting. Not one had been lit.

I took out my phone. The company's small group chat had already exploded.

【Oh my god, I just passed by the CEO's room. He's celebrating Sophia's kid's birthday, and Sophia even... even kissed his cheek!】

Someone immediately tagged Sophia: 【Sophia, good news is close, huh? Remember to send wedding candy when the time comes! Ethan hasn't had a single woman by his side all these years. Turns out it was all for you.】

I stared at the screen, heart pounding.

I waited for Ethan to come out and explain. Even one line like "Don't misunderstand."

He didn't.

He only replied lightly:

【Caring for subordinates is a superior's duty. It's not easy for Sophia to raise a child alone. It's only right to look after her more.】

One sentence turned all the ambiguity into a superior's care.

And made Sophia's specialness crystal clear.

Someone chimed in: 【It still depends on the person. Look, Diane also brought a kid, but Ethan doesn't give her that treatment. In the end, closeness differs.】

I stared at the screen, my chest blocked by something, sour and bitter.

Resentment surged up. But when I turned my head and saw Lily lying by the table.

Her eyes shining as she stared at the cake, I couldn't say anything harsh.

She was only three.

I couldn't bear to let her lose her father so young.

"Mommy?"

Lily tugged my sleeve.

"Daddy isn't coming, right?"

I crouched and hugged her.

"Lily, if all your future birthdays are just with Mommy, is that okay?"

She cried on my shoulder, her little body trembling, but still nodded hard. "Okay. I only need Mommy."

The candles weren't blown. The cake wasn't cut.

Mother and daughter sat on the carpet holding each other, like quietly saying goodbye to something.

I'd long grown used to Ethan avoiding suspicion.

Used to being all business at the company, used to leaving separately after work, used to telling people I was a single mom.

But I never imagined he'd avoid even his own biological daughter so completely.

Meanwhile, he gave patience and gentleness to someone else's child.

Leaving coldness and boundaries for us.

After coaxing Lily to sleep, my phone buzzed. It was the agent Mark.

【Ms. Diane, someone urgently wants your old house. The price is very fair. A thirty-year-old house getting this price isn't easy. Would you reconsider?】

I stared at the screen for half a minute, wiped my tears, and replied: 【Sell it.】