No one knows that Ingrid Steele, the CEO who's currently talking about how her company bans office romances on the podium, has begged me to do it with her eight times in a row last night.

Her secretary leans in and murmurs into my ear, "I heard that our cold and aloof CEO has plans to reveal her husband's identity recently. Rumors say that she even plans on throwing him an extremely grand wedding just to make it up to him."

Warmth floods my heart at that moment. It's then I decide to make the great news of me winning a billion dollars in the lottery a wedding gift for Ingrid.

Our daughter, Gaby Newman, no longer has to hide anymore in life. The three of us can publicly spend time together as a family now!

The next day, I put on the suit that Ingrid has given me eight years ago. Then, I enter the wedding venue.

As soon as I open the door, I see Ingrid leading her first love, Hank Conley, up the stage. After they exchange rings with each other, they share a sweet kiss in front of everyone in a tight embrace.

In the end, Ingrid tosses her wedding bouquet at the guests. Coincidentally, it lands right in my hands.

Someone next to me gives me a light shove. "What are you waiting for? Give them your blessings already!"

I just clap for the newlyweds while walking toward them.

"Congratulations, you two! I hope that you can live happily ever after and that you'll have a bundle of joy soon! No, make it 108 babies, how about that?"

As soon as my words fall, I turn on my heel and stride away.

As expected, Ingrid doesn't chase after me. She doesn't even bother calling me nor explaining everything to me.

Ultimately, I still couldn't hold it back and stopped at the entrance of the wedding hall.

Inside, Ingrid Steele, my wife of eight years, was having a grand wedding with another man. Meanwhile, I, her legally wedded husband, could only slink away into the shadows after giving her my best wishes.

I waited at the entrance for a long time. However, Ingrid never chased after me as I expected. She didn't even call me or bother to explain herself.

I felt like an abandoned dog that was wandering aimlessly on the streets.

I didn't dare to go home. I didn't want to, either. I was afraid of seeing both her and her new "husband", Hank Conley, there together. I was even more afraid that she wouldn't even bother coming back at all.

It wasn't until late at night that Ingrid finally began blowing up my phone. I declined the call at least a dozen times before finally answering.

"What the hell are you playing at, Jordan Newman? It's the middle of the night. Why aren't you home yet? You'd better get home in ten minutes, or I'm going to kick your ass!"

She then hung up abruptly, and I stood there in silence for a long while.

She had just married someone else earlier today, and yet, now she was questioning me for not going home at night.

Really, Ingrid Steele? Where did she even get the nerve to say such things to me?

Just because I loved her didn't mean that she could walk all over me like this.

I kept telling myself that I was going to divorce her, but somehow, I still found my legs carrying me all the way back home.

When I saw Ingrid again, she was still grinning stupidly from post-wedding bliss. I had never seen that smile on her face before.

In fact, she only ever fought and argued with me, yelled at me, and got furious at me for nothing. Technically speaking, she was always the one taking out her frustrations on me in the past.

"It was just a fake wedding!" she yelled. "I was just fulfilling Hank's wishes! It's not like I'm going to divorce you anyway. Why are you making such a big deal out of it? Since when did you get so selfish and petty?"

She continued, still yelling, "Hank is nothing like you! He would never risk my mom's life to force me to marry him like you!"

I listened to her increasingly outrageous statements and gaped, unable to say a single word.

I was actually kind of looking forward to seeing her reaction if I told her that I'd just won the billion-dollar lottery. But now that things had come to this point, there was no way that I was going to tell her.

I would make her regret everything and pay the price instead.

Back in my sophomore year of college, before my family went bankrupt, I used to be a flashy rich kid. I'd fallen in love with Ingrid at first sight, spending lavishly on giving her surprises and also made a big show of pursuing her.

Yet, she rejected me every time, saying that she was only in love with Hank.

Hank was among the top students in college. He was gentle and refined, handsome and talented, and exactly her type. However, I knew that he secretly spent his time partying with other rich young women and heiresses, and that Ingrid was only one of his backup side pieces.

I'd even told Ingrid the truth about Hank before, but she didn't believe me and demanded that I apologize to him at once.

After that, she became even more distant and ignored all of my attempts to win her over.

On our graduation day, however, Ingrid's mom was heavily injured in a horrible car crash.

Ingrid called every relative, pleading and begging tearfully with them to lend her enough cash for her mom's emergency surgery, but she couldn't manage to get a single penny.

Ingrid messaged me at last, feeling completely distraught as she begged me to lend her 800,000 dollars for the surgery.

I had been attending a banquet with my dad at that time and didn't see her message until very much later. However, as soon as I saw it, I immediately transferred the money to her.

Yet, her second message popped up almost at the same time. She sounded absolutely in despair.

"I'll do anything you want as long as you'll lend me the money!"

My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach. Damn it! She was going to think that I only lent her the money because of her second message!

Just as I suspected, she thought that I was trying to buy her with the 800,000 dollars.

There was a horrible thunderstorm in the morning the next day, with rain pelting down from the heavens. Yet, Ingrid suddenly appeared outside my home.

I rushed out at once and grabbed her moments before she lost consciousness and hit the pavement.

"Indy!"

I scooped her up and ran back into the house, but she just wouldn't wake up no matter what I did.

I called a private doctor to look at her. Apparently, she had collapsed from fever and exhaustion.

I cared for her tirelessly, and she later moved in with me. Out of consideration for her dignity, I said nothing about it and also made no demands nor laid a finger on her at all.

Two months later, she suddenly brought up marriage with me.

I felt my heart pounding wildly at that moment after having suppressed my feelings for so long. An overwhelming sense of happiness welled up inside me.

However, I later learned that day that Hank had gone abroad with a rich heiress, and that Ingrid had only told me that she wanted to marry me because she wanted Hank to change his mind and come back to her.

"Oh my god, I can't believe that Hank still refused to stay with me after I told him that I was about to marry someone else!

"I don't think I'm getting back together with him, Carol! I'm going to have to marry Jordan for real! What should I do!"

I accidentally overheard Ingrid's call to her best friend, Carol Lozanom for help, as I stood outside her bedroom room. I heard every word she said.

So, it turned out that she believed it was my fault that she couldn't have a future with Hank.

No matter how nicely I treated her in the eight years after that, or how devoted I was to her, all I received in return was her ever-growing resentment. Things didn't change even after we had our daughter, Gaby Newman.

Fortunately, with my help, she successfully rose to become a leader in her industry.

However, my family then ran into some financial problems and went bankrupt. It was completely dead, just like how my feelings for her were now.

I felt only a sense of endless bitterness and helplessness after staring at her for a long time.

Whatever.

"Let's get divorced, Ingrid. I'll take Gaby. You can have your freedom back."

Ingrid's face turned dark at once. She glared at me like I was a clown.

"Who do you think you are? Who gave you the courage to even bring up divorce with me? Don't you ever let me hear that damned word from your mouth again! And you'll never take our daughter with you! She belongs to me!"

She was the one who refused to reveal Gaby's identity and hid her. Even I had to tell her beforehand every time I wanted to visit my own daughter. And after doing all that, she still had the nerve to say that Gaby belonged to her!

"Now go and make dinner! Hank will be coming over in a while."

She ordered me around as usual. This was a habit she had developed after I used to listen to every word she said in the past. But now, I just felt annoyed.

"Go make it yourself!"

Ingrid immediately slapped me across the face. "What the fuck are you making a fuss about? I've already explained the wedding to you!"

I stared at the woman before me and left in disappointment. I was going to find Gaby myself. Ingrid was now married to someone else, and Gaby would be doomed if she were to continue staying with her.

I had a billion dollars in my possession now. I could give her a good life if she would just come with me.

I reached Gaby's home and saw her tiny body asleep in bed, looking very cute and adorable. Even if I couldn't bear to wake her up, I still had to. I had to take her away with me.

"Gaby, baby, wake up. Daddy's bringing you home."

Gaby woke up. However, she immediately began struggling when she realized that it was me.

She cowered in a corner and exclaimed, "I'm not coming with you! You're useless trash! Mommy said that she'd find a new daddy for me! You're poor and can't earn any money! I want a better daddy who can earn lots and lots of money!"

I was shocked. How could Ingrid have said such things to Gaby!

I had worked so hard for Ingrid and this family for so many years, and yet, this was how she talked about me with Gaby?

"Gaby, come with me first, okay? Daddy will explain later."

I tried to hug her, but she desperately pulled away, refusing to let me hold her. She kept repeating, "I don't want a useless daddy! I want a daddy who can earn lots of money! I want a better daddy who will always take me out and live a good life with Mommy!

"I don't want you! You're a bad daddy! You're useless!"

My heart ached like it was being torn apart. Ingrid had really gone too far this time!

I tried to forcefully take Gaby with me, but she struggled so violently that I didn't dare to grab her anymore in case I hurt her.

"I don't want a useless daddy like you! You killed my little brother! It's all your fault I don't have a little brother!"

I froze.

What did she mean I killed her younger brother?

What kind of nonsense had Ingrid been feeding her? How could she twist the truth and ruin my relationship with Gaby like that!

Why did she even tell Gaby that she had had a miscarriage? What was the point of telling our daughter such news?

Ingrid had gotten pregnant three months ago. In fact, we were only expecting because she got drunk one night and thought I was Hank for the entire night we made love.

Still, I eagerly awaited the baby's arrival, but she suddenly miscarried last month.

She said that it happened during a company team-building activity when she accidentally slipped and fell while hiking, leading to the miscarriage.

When I tried to offer her words of comfort and concern, she brushed me off in annoyance instead.

"If the baby's gone, then it's gone. We can always have another one. Stop bothering me, for goodness sake!"

She spoke so casually as though the miscarriage was just as big of a deal as the weather.

I didn't know what else to say and just shut up. I even purposely told Ingrid beforehand not to bring this up with Gaby because she was still too young to understand life and death. We shouldn't be talking about these things to her.

And yet, Ingrid had done the exact opposite. She'd even exaggerated the story to get on my nerves.

"Gaby, there are some things that you don't understand yet. Daddy will explain everything to you when you're older. Just come with Daddy now—"

Before I could finish, Ingrid suddenly barged in from behind me.

"Jordan Newman! Who gave you permission to see Gaby on your own without consulting me? Who said that you could!"

Ingrid's words were simply ridiculous. Why did I still need to ask for permission to see my own daughter?

If I had never come to see Gaby today, I would probably never have ever known how much she'd been slandering me in front of Gaby this whole time!

My anger was about to burst, but I didn't want to scare Gaby.

"Put Gaby to bed. I'll be waiting for you outside. We need to talk."

I then smiled at Gaby and bid goodbye to her, even though her tiny face was filled with nothing but disgust and hatred.

I stood outside the room. When Ingrid came out after tucking Gaby back to bed, I confronted her at once.

"What right did you have to tell Gaby all those lies? How could you slander me and accuse me of such things to drive a wedge between us!"

Ingrid didn't look like she cared. She just glared at me frustratedly and said, "I gave birth to her. I can say whatever the hell I want to her. You can't do anything about it!"

"She's our daughter! How could I not do anything about it! This is a matter between adults. We can settle scores ourselves. What's the point of bringing a child into this?"

It didn't matter how much I tried to argue with Ingrid. She still remained indifferent throughout.

This was how she always was. She clearly didn't care about Gaby, yet she still refused to hand over Gaby's custody to me and tried to control her instead!

"Don't you ever dare come back to visit her on your own again. Otherwise, you'll never see her again for the rest of your life!

"And it's Mom's birthday this weekend. You'd better show up!"

With that, she shoved me into a cab and left.

The cab driver asked me where I was going, and I just mentioned a random hotel's name.

On the way, I suddenly received a call from the hospital.

"Hello? Is this Ms. Ingrid Steele's husband? Her miscarriage test report just came in. Please come to the hospital to pick them up."

I was puzzled as to why she went to get the test. Didn't she already know why she miscarried in the first place?

So, I asked the cab driver to turn around and head toward the hospital instead. In the meantime, I also called to inquire about divorce arrangements.