“Robert, since your whole family is so busy, just sign the divorce papers on the vanity. I’ll get out of your way.”

My words left everyone in the room speechless.

“Stop it, Grace! Yes, I missed picking you up from the hospital, but is that enough of a deal to threaten me with divorce? You want to make me grovel and apologize? Sarah already explained what happened yesterday! I’ve been really busy these past two days. There is a lot to handle at the company. You’re out of the hospital now, so just rest and stop causing me problems.”

Once he was done speaking, Rayan could no longer contain his excitement. He looked at Robert with eager anticipation.

“Dad, sign it! Say yes! I can’t stand this old hag anymore! Once you divorce her and marry Sarah, I can get the coolest gaming setup ever!”

Robert seemed not to pick up on Rayan’s hints. His own inner thoughts began to churn.

“She was the one who insisted on marrying me back then. There’s no way she can leave me. This divorce thing is just a tantrum. She’ll cool off after some sleep.”

It was Sarah on the phone who broke the silence first. The situation was ridiculous. Robert had been holding that phone so carefully ever since he came through the door.

“Grace, please don’t get the wrong idea. Robby and I really have nothing going on. Whatever you do, don’t let me come between you two.”

I ignored Sarah completely.

“Robert, I am not throwing a tantrum. I am simply letting you know.”

I was tired. I did not want to take care of any of these ungrateful people anymore.

Robert was already halfway out of the door. When he saw my indifferent expression, he turned back.

His tone softened considerably as he said, “Grace, it was just a hospital discharge. You made it home safe, didn’t you? Don’t blow a small thing out of proportion. Sarah even went out of her way to call and explain. Do not be so unreasonable. You used to be the most understanding and reasonable person. Why have you become so difficult after a simple surgery? Just stay home and cool off. Don’t do anything impulsive that you will regret later.”

I could not be bothered to respond. I pulled the blanket over my head and turned away. I did not sleep the entire night. Robert and the others did not come back home either. Since I had decided to leave, I planned to move my belongings to the new mansion my father had bought for me. It would also be a good place for me to rest and recover.

After I gained the ability to hear their true thoughts, I decided to accept my father’s offer to come home. This mansion was my father’s welcome gift for me. Back then, I had chosen to run off with Robert instead of living the life of a wealthy heiress. My parents were angry but could do nothing about it. In the end, they feared I would suffer hardships. So they gave me the house we currently live in as my wedding gift. But for the sake of Robert’s fragile pride, I never exposed his lie that the house was his.

Because of that, Margaret had given countless snide jabs at me both publicly and in private. Even Rayan had come to look down on me.

My father spent the last decade asking me countless times to come back home and take over the family business. I could not bear to leave Robert. I could not bear to leave Rayan even more. So I kept refusing. Since they had latched onto someone else of higher status, leaving them no longer mattered to me.

I stopped by the law firm under my father’s company. As I came out and got into a cab, I received a call from the moving company.

“Ms. Harper, can you come to the delivery address? I think you might have given us the wrong address!”

The mover sounded anxious. I could hear faint shouting and arguing in the background. I quickly told the cab driver to rush to the mansion.

The moment I arrived at my doorstep, I was shocked.

The courtyard of the mansion my father had just bought for me had been completely remodeled into a mess. Clothes were even hung out to dry on the balcony.

Sarah stood at the entrance in her pajamas. She had her hands on her hips and was blocking the movers from going inside.

“Ms. Harper, are you sure this is the right place?”

The mover looked embarrassed, as though he had never encountered a situation like this. I then recalled what Robert and Margaret had said about helping Sarah pick out furniture for her new place. I had assumed that she had bought a new house and needed to furnish it. I never imagined that her new house was actually the mansion my father had given me.

I also remembered a phone call in which my father mentioned sponsoring a female student.

I looked at Sarah and roughly understood what was going on.

So the female boss Robert had been bragging about was nothing more than a fraud who used my house and pretended to be me to flaunt some wealth!

Robert, Rayan, and Margaret had all been fooled by Sarah. They genuinely believed they had latched onto a wealthy woman.

I was about to expose Sarah’s identity, but she spoke first. “Ms. Harper, my father bought this house for me. What are you even doing here? This is a high-end neighborhood, you know. You wouldn’t be able to afford anything you’d break. I know you don’t really have any family left on your side. Unlike me, my parents would give me the moon if I asked.”

She lazily ran her fingers through her hair with a smug expression.

I could not be bothered to argue with her. I took out the property deed and said calmly, “This house belongs to me. Get out now.”

After I said that, Rayan popped out from behind Sarah. He was holding the latest gaming console in his hands.

“Mom, don’t take this the wrong way, but there’s a limit to showing off. If you could actually afford a place like this, don’t you think I would already have gotten a gaming console? Did the surgery’s anesthesia mess up your head?”

Then Margaret came out and chimed in, “Grace, enough already. Quit humiliating yourself here.”

Sarah, standing nearby, laughed at the scene.

“Your mansion? People will laugh themselves silly. Not that I want to sound like I’m looking down on you, but with your four-thousand-a-month salary, you couldn’t afford this even if you worked forever. Besides, you don’t even have that four-thousand-dollar job anymore!”

She then turned to look at the security guards who had rushed over.

“So this is how you handle security? Letting any random person just walk in? If something goes missing, can you even afford to replace it?”

The security guards quickly smiled and apologized. Then they turned to glare at me with a threatening look.

“How did you get in here? You’ve got three minutes to leave, or I’m calling the police.”

The moving truck had blocked the entrance. Slowly, a crowd of onlookers gathered nearby.

“What’s going on here? I thought this mansion was a gift from Mr. Hartley to Ms. Hartley. Where did this other owner suddenly come from?”

“Is she a mad woman? Look at her outfit; it’s so plain. She doesn’t look like someone connected to the Hartley family.”

“Maybe she’s an illegitimate daughter.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Mr. Hartley dotes on his wife like crazy. There’s no way he has an illegitimate daughter.”

Everyone was chattering away. Sarah listened to the constant stream of compliments. She looked extremely proud.

Robert suddenly pushed his way through the crowd.

He was usually a clean freak dressed in a crisp suit. Today, he wore old work clothes and had cleaning supplies in hand. It seemed like he was there to help Sarah with the deep cleaning of her new home.

My heart sank.

During all the time we spent together, he had never lifted a finger for the housework. Not even during my postpartum confinement. He did not even know how to use a mop at home.

“Sarah, it’s dusty over here. You should go inside. Your allergies will act up. You shouldn’t be breathing in this stuff!”

“Exactly! Sarah, leave this to my dad and my grandma. You should go back inside and get your beauty sleep. Don’t waste your energy on someone who doesn’t matter.”

Hearing this, Margaret immediately rolled up her sleeves and prepared to get to work. Robert and Rayan chattered on. Neither of them acknowledged me. I had cared for them at home for so many years. They had never once offered to help. When my own allergies started acting up, I asked Margaret to sweep under the bed for me, but Robert directly scolded me for acting like a spoiled princess. He told me that I did not have the fortune of the wealthy but acted like one.

“Put on an extra mask if your allergies bother you that much. Plenty of people have allergies. They don’t all quit doing housework and stop functioning.”

Back then, I actually felt guilty. I even felt sorry that I had not adjusted to his way of living sooner.

I had only realized that they did know how uncomfortable allergies could be. It was just that my discomfort was never important to him. The way the whole family eagerly fawned over Sarah greatly pleased her. The harsh look on her face disappeared. She scrunched up her face and acted as though she were the one being wronged.

“Robby, it’s not that I don’t want to go inside, but since Ms. Harper showed up, the least I can do is be hospitable.”

At that moment, Robert finally followed Sarah’s gaze and spotted me.

“Tsk. Having second thoughts? If you regret what you did, then take the stuff and start cleaning. You’re an adult. Learn to read the room.”

The security guard noticed that Robert seemed to know me. He quickly came forward to curry favor. He was clearly worried about being held responsible.

“Mr. Price, I take it this is the cleaner you brought in for Ms. Hartley’s place?”

Robert looked at me with disdain and did not deny it. His reaction gave Sarah a great boost of confidence.

“That’s right! She’s the cleaner we hired. One hundred dollars an hour. If any of you need her services, feel free to reach out. I quoted the right price, didn’t I, Robby?”

Robert shot me a look. He silently endorsed Sarah’s words.

He kicked both the bucket and the mop to my feet. “Hurry up and get to work.”

By then, the onlookers had seen enough.

“Ms. Hartley is so lucky. A father who adores her and a boyfriend who loves her. She’s living the dream.”

“Exactly. Someone like her deserves nothing but the best.”

I stared at Robert blankly. It was as if I was trying to see right through him.

And at that moment, I heard his inner thoughts.

“It’s just cleaning. She won’t mind. If she really wanted a divorce, she would have left by now. The fact that she followed me here proves she can’t live without me.”

I could also hear Rayan’s and Margaret’s inner thoughts.

“This is so embarrassing. I’d rather die than admit she’s my mother.”

“Divorce? What a joke. If she’s so capable, why is she following us here? I knew a housewife couldn’t stir up any real trouble.”

I tried my best to suppress the anger rising in my heart. My gaze was fixed on Robert. Seeing me stand there in a daze, he seemed to grow annoyed.

“Grace! Did you hear me? Why is it so difficult for you to do one simple thing?”

I saw how self-righteous he looked and finally lost my composure. I grabbed a nearby broom and swung it hard at Robert.

I hit him while cursing him out.

“She’s just the mistress who stole my husband. How dare she order me around?!”

Sarah saw Robert getting hit and immediately stepped in front to shield him. She raised her hand and slapped me across the face. Then she looked me up and down with a sneer.

“Take a good look at yourself in the mirror. Calling you a cleaner would be generous. If I really wanted your man, you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

I held my stinging left cheek as hatred surged through me.

Rayan’s and Margaret’s inner thoughts echoed in my ears again.

“Serves her right. Mom has been asking for this. How dare she talk about divorce? Someone needed to knock some sense into her.”

“She wants a divorce but can’t go through with it. Pathetic. Now she blames someone else for taking her husband. Worthless.”

Afraid that I might fight back and hurt Sarah, Robert, along with Rayan and Margaret, pinned me down. They let Sarah kick and punch me.

Tears streamed down my face. I screamed like I was losing my mind.

In the middle of this despairing moment, a familiar figure appeared at the entrance.

“Dad!”

“Dad!”

To my surprise, Sarah had also called out “Dad.”

She rushed over first to play the victim. “Daddy, this woman hit me! And she claims this house is hers. You have to stand up for me!”

My father saw me behind her. I had been beaten beyond recognition.

He slapped Sarah to the ground. Then he pulled me into his arms with a pained expression and roared, “This is my daughter!”