"I'm a very busy man, you know! My time is meant for my work, not to be wasted on you! You're just pregnant, so what's with all the troublesome nonsense? If you can't walk, then you might as well get hospitalized!"

Back in the present, I picked up my phone and texted Elijah once again. "I only have one condition—I get custody over our child. Also, I'm entitled to my portion of the assets."

Elijah quickly texted back, "I have something really urgent to tend to today. Don't do anything crazy, okay? I'll go home tomorrow."

But I never got to see Elijah at all for the next three days, even after the doctor gave me the green light to get discharged from the hospital.

As I sat in the car and watched the buildings fleet across the window, I could feel distant memories surging back into my mind.

I had gotten to know Elijah when I was still studying at a university. That was when I fell in love with him, too.

In the first year of our marriage, Elijah started his own business for the first time. However, he ended up setting foot into an elaborate trap set up by his "best friend", causing him to shoulder a massive debt.

During that period, I had to work three odd jobs just to help Elijah clear the debt. At night, I still needed to deal with house chores and whip up dinner for him as well.

This lasted until Elijah had his first taste of success during his second attempt at establishing his business. I thought I could finally live a happy married life with him at that time.

But one year ago, everything changed on the day he cheated on me with Yvonne.

Elijah finally came back not long after I returned home. He glanced at the surgical results on the table before shaking me awake.

"You went ahead to get the surgery on your own? Why didn't you wait for me to return?"

I suffered from terrible insomnia during my three-day stay in the hospital. When I finally fell asleep after so long, I found myself being woken up by Elijah.

At the moment, I was both physically and mentally exhausted.

"Elijah, do you think I should let my condition worsen for three days so that I can wait for your return before undergoing the surgery?"

Elijah was momentarily stunned. His expression softened slightly as he replied, "Fine. I'll forgive you this time. Now, hurry up and iron my suit for me. I'm about to head out soon."

I was taken aback by his request.

It turned out that he chose to return just to attend a business gathering, not to keep me company during my post-surgical recovery.

My phone buzzed all of a sudden. It was an alarm that reminded me that it was time for me to feed my baby. I had to drag my severely weakened body out of bed in order to start making a bottle of baby formula.

Elijah kicked the chair next to him out of frustration. "Damn it! I shouldn't have married you from the start! I regret everything now!"

After that, he left the house and slammed the door behind him.

I ignored Elijah's outburst. Instead, I turned to reassure and comfort my baby, who was wailing at the top of his lungs because of the loud slam.

Half an hour later, the baby finally fell asleep once again. That was when I picked my phone up and shot someone a text.

"Please recommend a divorce lawyer."

"Are you nuts? Isn't it your birthday today? Why are you thinking of getting a divorce all of a sudden?" that person texted back immediately.

…

The next morning, Elijah came home abruptly. He gazed at me coldly while berating me in an accusatory tone, "Why didn't you remind me that it was your birthday yesterday?"

I remained silent.

"Fine. I specifically bought you a birthday gift."

Elijah then handed a gold necklace to me.

I glanced at it, noting how thin the actual necklace was. The weight was definitely a lot less than the weight of the jewelry that was included in the lavish monetary gifts he had showered Yvonne with some time ago.

One could easily tell if their partner loved them or not based on many things in life.

"Put this necklace on. I'll whip something up for you later. Let's celebrate your birthday together."

"No need for that," I responded coldly.

Showering me with gifts and gracing me with his presence after all this time would only make me resent him even more.

Elijah could tell that I was getting annoyed. This pissed him off.

"I've already taken the liberty to comfort you! What more do you want from me, huh? What's with your tantrum?"

I raised my head before replying calmly, "I'm not throwing a tantrum."

Elijah threw the necklace to the floor before stomping on it violently.

"I know what you're angry about! All I did was take a family photo with Yvonne! Her daughter's teacher had requested all the students to present their family photos in class! That's why I took the photo with them!"

After that, Elijah let out a sigh. "Besides, since you made Yvonne mad, what's wrong with me giving her a gift in return? Heck, I haven't even told you to apologize to her!"

It would be detrimental to my health if I were to get into any arguments during my postpartum recovery period.

I took a deep breath instead. "Yeah, you're right."

The moment my voice fell, a notification popped up on my phone. It was an email from my company.

It turned out that my boss had approved my resignation.

I booked a flight that would depart in five days. After that, I texted my lawyer. This time, I was bent on getting custody of my baby.

After doing all those things, I got up and made my way toward the bedroom. Right now, I wanted to have a good night's sleep.

Elijah hollered at me angrily while glaring at my receding silhouette. "I'm talking to you here! Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to bed." I turned to look at Elijah calmly.

The moment I entered the bedroom, I could hear loud crashes coming from the living room.

The divorce preparations were carried out just as planned.

Three days later, I was about to pack my luggage when I received a phone call from Elijah. "I'm in the outdoor bar at Bellmond Beach. Get your ass here. Now."

It was extremely windy at Bellmond Beach. Since I was still recuperating, I couldn't possibly visit that place.

I wanted to turn Elijah down, but he began spamming my phone with calls after that.

By the time I reached the outdoor bar at Bellmond Beach while clad in thick clothes, I saw Yvonne and Elijah sitting very closely with each other.

Their friends eyed me up and down before scoffing. "Yvonne didn't lie to us at all! Turns out Elijah's mistress really is a fatass!"

Yvonne took a sip of red wine while gazing at me. "Sorry about that. I lost the last round of truth or dare, so I was given two options—either I have to kiss the lead singer of the bar's live band, or I have to summon Elijah's mistress here.

"Elijah forbade me from kissing other men, so he said I should summon you here instead. You can leave now."

Yvonne might sound apologetic, but if one were to pay attention to her tone and wording, they'd know that she actually sounded quite smug.

I frowned at Elijah. He looked down awkwardly, choosing not to say anything to me.

So, it turned out that Elijah's friends thought of me as the shameless mistress all this time.

Furious, I was about to speak up when I saw Yvonne tilting her head haughtily in order to show off her solid gold necklace.

I approached her instantly and grabbed the necklace. Then, I tore it off her neck.

"What the hell, you stupid fatso?" The annoyed Yvonne tried to snatch the necklace back from me.

I stuffed the necklace into my handbag, my expression already stormy.

"Elijah used the money from our joint marital assets to buy this necklace for you. I can always retrieve this necklace whenever I want to."

I had asked my lawyer about the lavish monetary gifts before. He told me that I could still get everything refunded back to the joint account.

Yvonne's expression became icy at that moment. She retorted darkly, "How dare you steal my personal belongings under broad daylight! I'll have you know that I can get you arrested for that!"

"Do you want me to call the cops, then?" I wasn't scared in the slightest.

Elijah could tell that I was being serious, so he snatched my phone out of my hand with a frown.

"That's enough! Stop kicking up a ruckus. You should go home first."

The sight of his worried expression made my heart sink.

At the same time, Elijah's friends sensed that something was wrong. They began murmuring about who the actual mistress was—me or Yvonne.

Yvonne's nose tingled immediately as she turned to stare at Elijah like a kicked puppy. "You were the one who said that the third party is the one who's unloved and unwanted in the relationship! Hurry up and tell everyone that Jeanette is the actual mistress!"

Elijah wiped Yvonne's tears away for her, clearly heartbroken. Then, he turned around to scold me.

"That's enough! Jeanette Braxton, you always kick up a huge ruckus whenever you appear in public!"

He took Yvonne's hand before looking at the onlookers. "Stop it with the guesses, you guys. Yvonne's my actual wife. I love her very much."

Everyone cheered loudly at the confession. "Elijah, you should kiss Yvonne!"

Elijah didn't hesitate to cup Yvonne's face before pressing a loving kiss onto her lips.

Embarrassment fleeted across Yvonne's face at that moment. Then, she turned to shoot me a taunting smile.

"You see now? So what if your name is on the marriage certificate? I'll snatch everything from you—be it Elijah's body, assets, and love!"

I couldn't hold myself back anymore, so I responded by slapping Yvonne in the face.

Yvonne cradled her face while looking at Elijah pitifully. "Honey, she slapped me!"

Elijah's expression darkened instantly. He didn't hesitate to kick me in the stomach brutally.

The stitched wound that was left behind by the C-section tore open instantly. At the same time, I collapsed to the floor heavily.

Elijah bent over to grip my chin firmly, his voice coming out dark and cold. "Get up and apologize to Yvonne!"

I bit my bottom lip tightly with bloodshot eyes. "She doesn't deserve my apology!"

Elijah kicked me in the gut once again. As he did so, he berated, "You really want to make things difficult for yourself, huh? It's bad enough that you don't want to leave when you're ordered to, but to think that you're bold enough to stir up trouble here! I'm definitely teaching you a lesson today!"

With every blow that I received to my stomach, I could feel the horizontal wound on my stomach tearing open completely. Crimson blood slowly stained my clothes.

I was in so much pain that I curled into a small ball. My complexion was extremely pale, and I kept spasming from the pain.

I managed to muster the final bit of strength in me just to raise my head. "Elijah Montgomery… Let's get a divorce!"

Shock flashed across Elijah's eyes at that moment. He parted his thin lips, looking like he was about to say something.

But I didn't hear what he said, for I had already passed out at that time.