Against all my expectations, the panic in her eyes disappeared in a flash. She continued ushering everyone upstairs.

A message popped up on my phone.

[Go home. Whatever you have to say, say it when I get back there.]

A bitter ache spread through my heart as I teared up while staring at the text.

Even after I caught her red-handed, she still would not give me an explanation or a second glance.

Just then, my phone abruptly rang.

It was Earl Zoeller, Shiloh’s father.

I answered quickly.

“Hey, Easton.”

He had addressed me by the wrong name. Words stuck in my throat.

I did not respond and let him continue to speak on the other end of the line.

“It’s Conrad’s one-month celebration. It’s a shame my condition got worse. I can’t come over and see my precious grandson in person.

“I had the nanny transfer eight thousand dollars to you. That’s for the kid and for you. You’re our family’s hero. Don’t worry about my illness. Cillian is here to take care of me. That’s all I need.”

I clenched my phone so hard that my fingertips turned white. I felt as if I had been struck by a massive wave of absurdity.

Earl also knew about Easton and the child’s existence. He had cooperated with Shiloh to keep me in the dark.

He would always call me a good son-in-law. I had accepted his praise. I willingly became the Zoeller family’s free caretaker.

It was utterly ironic.

After I returned home in the city, the house felt warm and cozy.

There were a couple of photos of us on the walls and an extra pair of slippers by the door just for me. These little things had made me fool myself into thinking I was the luckiest guy in the world.

Meanwhile, Shiloh had spent money on Easton, given him her companionship, and even bore him a child.

To her, I was a total joke.

When Shiloh came home, she simply said, “Cillian, you’ve lost a lot of weight.”

To take care of Earl’s nighttime needs, I set five or six alarms every night. I never once got a full night of sleep.

Sometimes, to make his legs feel better, I had to massage him constantly. I could not even find time to eat.

Sometimes even I was shocked by how withered and gaunt I had become over the years from all the weight loss.

I gave a bitter, self-mocking smile.

“Stop pretending to care about me. Three years, huh? You hid this really well.

“Apparently, I have a one-month-old kid under my name, too.”

Shiloh was stunned for a moment, but she quickly composed herself.

“It was an accident. I don’t want Conrad to be an illegitimate child. I had to name you as the father.”

She paused for a moment.

“You’re an illegitimate child, too. Look at how your mom turned out. She’s a complete mess.”

Her words felt like a knife piercing through my heart.

Back then, my father had secretly gone behind my mother’s back to marry another woman. That made my mother carry the label of “the other woman” for all those years.

My mother, who had always been so proud and strong, became so devastated that her hair turned white overnight. She drove herself insane and had been living in a psychiatric hospital ever since.

Naturally, I became an illegitimate child whom everyone looked down on.

At that time, Shiloh was still a university lecturer. She valued her reputation above all else, yet she accepted me as I was under enormous pressure.

Yet she was the one who called me an “illegitimate child” at that moment.

“That was my parents’ mistake. What does that have to do with you?”

She noticed the hurt in my eyes and realized she had misspoken.

“My bad. That was harsh.”

She then shifted her tone. “But, Cillian, Easton is still just a kid. He’s been under a lot of pressure ever since he found out I was pregnant. So just stop giving him a hard time, alright?”

Just as I was about to speak, her phone rang.

Judging by how she could barely hide her smile, I knew right away it was Easton.

After a while, she cheerfully hung up the phone.

“It’s Easton’s graduation ceremony tomorrow. He specifically asked me to invite you. Do him a favor and show up.”

With that, she left without giving me a second glance.

I almost laughed through my tears as I watched her leave in a hurry.

I had painstakingly maintained this marriage for years, and it was far more pathetic than I had ever imagined.

After wiping away my tears, I dialed the number of the person I once hated the most.

“You once said you wanted to make things up to Mom and me. Well, here’s your chance.”

At the graduation ceremony, everyone focused on Shiloh and Easton.

“I heard Ms. Zoeller had Easton’s kid. But hey, they’re both single. They actually make a cute couple.”

“They’re probably getting married soon, right? Easton graduates today. The next time we see them, it’ll be to toast at their wedding!”

While I sat in a corner and listened, I realized that Shiloh had never mentioned her married status to anyone.

Was I so embarrassing to her that she could not even bring herself to say it?

Easton, wearing his graduation gown, did not hesitate to wrap his arm around Shiloh’s waist in front of the cameras.

He looked just like a husband in a long-term marriage.

Cheers erupted from the audience.

“Propose to her already!”

Easton soaked it all in. He stared at me in the audience with a smug smile.

Meanwhile, Shiloh seemed to have forgotten she was married. She looked at Easton with doting eyes, like a girl in the throes of first love.

I could no longer stand the absurd scene. I stood up, holding a wedding photo of Shiloh and me.

“Mr. Goodson, you’re awfully young to be a homewrecker. You got a married woman to have your baby. What exactly are you so proud of?”

The crowd erupted in shock.

Shiloh’s smile also froze on her face.

“Cillian! What are you doing?!”

The students near me saw the wedding photo and gasped.

“Wait, for real? Easton is the other guy?”

Easton’s face turned pale. He covered his face and ran off the stage.

Shiloh dropped the microphone and prepared to chase after him.

I grabbed her arm. “Shiloh, if you run after him, then we’re done for good—”

She struggled and shoved me away hard.

“Don’t you dare say it. How is he supposed to face anyone after this? Even his graduation is going to be ruined!”

For the first time, she addressed me with unbridled hostility. “Get off this campus. Now!”

She slammed into me without holding back and rushed out desperately.

I fell backward. My lower back directly hit the corner of a table in the aisle.

I instantly felt a tearing pain. Blood dripped down my pant leg onto the floor.

A wave of terror surged through my head. I passed out amid the screams.

When I opened my eyes again, my lower back had gone numb.

On the school’s official website, Shiloh personally came forward to “debunk the rumors.”

“The man at the graduation ceremony photoshopped the wedding photo and deliberately tried to frame Easton. I’m not married, and I will give Easton the complete family I promised him.”

The accompanying images included a photo of my mother in a psychiatric hospital and a detailed account of me being an “illegitimate child”.

Netizens completely turned against me. Anonymous insults flooded my phone nonstop.

I lay on the hospital bed and touched the five-inch wound on my lower back. I laughed exasperatedly, feeling hurt and pathetic.

I no longer cared.

Shiloh texted an apology and a promise, along with two plane tickets to leave.

The first thing I did after being discharged was go to the psychiatric hospital. I planned to take my mother away.

However, the moment I pushed open the ward door, I saw Easton sitting at my mother’s bedside while holding a child.

My blood instantly ran cold.

“Mrs. Jaques, this is Shiloh’s and my baby.

“I heard you were in the hospital, so I brought him all the way here to see you. This is your grandchild.”

My mother stared at the child blankly and yanked at her own hair desperately.

Easton ignored her condition completely. The more he spoke, the more excited he became.

“Mom!”

I rushed over to calm my mother down. I shouted at Easton, “My mom can’t handle any stress. Get out of here right now unless you want something bad to happen!”

Seeing me, Easton showed no fear at all. Instead, he grew even more smug.

“I’m just trying to be nice, Cillian. It’s not like you two have kids anyway. You can be Conrad’s godfather. We’re all going to be family sooner or later.

“Shiloh has already promised me that I’ll be part of the family.”

My mother grew more agitated when she heard this. My heart was racing with panic.

“Who wants your kid? Take him away now!”

At the next second, my mother broke free from my arms. She took a knife and held Easton hostage.

Her eyes were bloodshot with rage.

“I hate homewreckers the most!”

Shiloh burst in right at that moment and saw the scene.

“Dolores, this has nothing to do with Easton. Please don’t hurt him or the baby!”

However, my mother was already too worked up. She moved Easton toward the window, which was over ninety-eight feet above the ground below.

I inched closer. But she could no longer recognize anyone. She would not listen.

Easton turned pale with fear.

“Shiloh! Help me and the baby!”

Shiloh could no longer stay calm. She rushed over and pulled Easton and Conrad back.

She had not noticed that in the chaos, the knife had stabbed my mother in the heart.

The glaring red blood stained the hospital gown.

“Mom!” I screamed hysterically and was about to rush forward.

“Get out of my way. My mom is hurt!”

Shiloh turned her back to my mother and blocked me completely. She looked at me and blamed me, saying, “Easton is the one who got hurt!”

Easton only had a tiny cut on his neck. However, his cries drowned out my mother’s pained groans.

“This is all because of your crazy mother. You two teamed up to go after Easton and a baby. You’re both out of your minds!

“Cillian, I’m leaving all the family assets to Easton and Conrad. I’m not paying for your mother’s medical bills anymore. The two of you need to take a long, hard look at yourselves!”

After saying that, she held Conrad with one arm and helped Easton with the other as they left the ward.

My mother clutched her heart in pain. She struggled and fell from the building.

Her miserable screams grew louder and then faded into the distance.

“Mom...” I gripped the window frame and looked down in despair.

The loud crash rushed up to greet me. My heart shattered into pieces.

...

When I walked out of the crematorium, an extra-long Lincoln town car stopped in front of me.

When I saw the face I had been hating for a lifetime, I felt strangely calm instead.

“Make them lose everything and ruin their reputations. Could you do that?”

After receiving a confident reply, I got into the car with my mother’s ashes. There, I finally broke down and cried myself unconscious.