While I was watching my own child, I came across an anonymous post online: [My son married way above his station. How can I get him to divorce her?]

The poster claimed to be a mother. She said she hated her oldest son, describing him as lazy and selfish, and totally undeserving of such a great in-law family. Her plan was to force him to get a divorce—and then send her well-behaved, obedient younger son in his place as the new son-in-law.

The comment section went crazy.

[I've seen parents play favorites, but this is just twisted.]

[Is the oldest adopted or something? Who schemes against their own flesh and blood like that?]

[Are you marrying off a son or pimping one out? Just swapping them in to serve a rich family?]

Then, in the middle of all the outrage, one comment surfaced: [Men hate being cheated on. Fake a few photos of your daughter-in-law with another guy and send them to him. Once he loses it, the marriage is as good as over.]

The original poster replied immediately: [Thanks, girl! I'll try it right away.]

The next second, my phone buzzed.

A message from my mom popped up on the screen: [Jason, take a look at this. Do you think Emily is cheating?]

I read the post again.

[My oldest son has been lazy and selfish since he was a kid. He got lucky on the SATs, made it into an Ivy League school, and ended up marrying into a wealthy family.]

[His wife just had a baby, and he does nothing at his in-laws' house—just coasts along as a stay-at-home husband.]

[My precious younger son, though—he's sensible and well-behaved. He just got back from a top university abroad, with perfect manners and upbringing. He's way more deserving of this rich in-law family.]

[I want my oldest son to divorce her and hand his place over to his younger brother. How should I do it?]

Every word felt like a needle stabbing into my eyes.

My hands started shaking. The IP address was local.

My wife had given birth just seven days ago—she was still in her postpartum recovery.

My younger brother, Kyle Miller, had just come back from the UK last month. He'd even asked me to help him find a job.

That tone. Those phrases. Even the way she said "girl."

It was exactly like my mother, Sharon Wilson.

"No… it can't be… no way…"

My lips went dry, but my heart was pounding like it might explode.

I opened the message my mom had sent.

It was a photo. Emily was in a man's arms, the two of them pressed close together.

I stared at it for three seconds and immediately knew it was AI-generated.

After all, no normal person has six fingers.

Below it was a voice message. "Jason, take a look!"

My mother's voice burst through the quiet of the late-night room.

"Do you think Emily is cheating on you? Don't be an idiot!"

Right after that, she forwarded an article: [Never Forgive a Cheating Woman: Once Unfaithful, Forever Unworthy.]

Every word pushed me to get a divorce as soon as possible.

I gripped my phone, a chill running through my entire body.

Ever since I was little, my mom had told me that our family wasn't well-off. As the older brother, I had to shoulder more responsibility. So after graduating high school, I never asked them for another cent.

I covered the household's daily expenses. When my father fell ill, I paid for the surgery. When the house back in our hometown needed renovation, I put in twenty thousand. When Kyle went abroad for school, with forty thousand a year in tuition, I supported him for three years.

All this time, I thought I had a happy family. Only now did I realize—it was nothing but a bloodsucking pit.

I gave them everything, and now, they wanted to tear my family apart.

My fingers felt ice-cold as I reopened the post.

The original poster had updated it just one minute ago.

[Thanks, girl, for the suggestion. I've already done it. Now I'm just waiting to see how my oldest son responds.]

The comments below were filled with people cursing her cruelty.

She didn't reply to a single one.

I stared at that update, and suddenly, I laughed.

'Fine. If you want to put on a show, I'll play along.'

My phone buzzed again. It was another long voice message from my mom.

"Jason, did you see it? I've been through this before. Once a woman cheats, you can't take her back. You need to start making moves now!"

Her voice was urgent and pressing.

I listened to my mother's voice messages and suddenly remembered a lot of things.

Back in high school, our family was broke. We couldn't even afford meat. To ease the burden, I only ate plain bread for lunch.

But my mother turned around and spent three thousand dollars enrolling Kyle in a basketball training camp. She said he had talent and couldn't be held back.

I got into an Ivy League, but my mother barely glanced at my acceptance letter and scoffed.

"Just lucky," she said. "But with your personality, you're never going to amount to anything anyway."

When Kyle took the SATs, he only got into a community college—but my mother praised him all day long.

She said he had been clever since childhood, that he would definitely achieve great things, and that the whole family would depend on him in the future.

Later, when Kyle insisted on studying abroad, my mother made me pay for it.

I couldn't stand her pitiful tone, so I agreed.

She threw him a huge going-away party.

All the relatives praised her for raising such a successful son who got to study overseas.

But no one mentioned that I was the one footing the bill.

When my wife was three months pregnant, my mother stayed at the Watson family home for a week. Those seven days felt like a living nightmare.

Whenever I poured my wife a glass of water, my mother would sneer at me.

"Look at him—no real skills at all. All he can do is fetch tea and water around the house."

Then she would turn around and praise Kyle right in front of my wife.

"Kyle is studying in the UK. He has such a bright future ahead. Any girl who marries him will be truly blessed."

I was psychologically manipulated by her my whole life, always thinking I just wasn't good enough.

Only now did I realize she had been stepping on me and boosting Kyle up, all to pave his way into Emily's family.

I took a deep breath and typed: [Mom, where did you get this photo from?]

The other side showed "typing…" for a full minute.

Finally, a reply came: [A friend took it. Don't ask so many questions.]

I pressed further: [Which friend? When was it taken? Where?]

This time she replied quickly: [Stop worrying about where the photo came from! The point is she cheated! Why are you so hung up on that.]

She was getting anxious.

I let out a cold laugh and switched to voice input, sending a message directly, "Mom… my heart really hurts. What should I do…"

My voice trembled, like I was on the verge of tears.

Three seconds later, a voice message came back. She was crying dramatically, her performance flawless. "My poor son! I told you long ago that Emily couldn't be trusted! Rich women are all like this!"

I played along. "So what should I do? Divorce her?"

Her reply was instant. "Yes! Divorce her right now! While the baby's still young—you've still got time!"

I kept pushing. "But I can't bring myself to let go of Emily…"

Her tone turned impatient. "What is there to miss? There are plenty of women in this world!

"Look at Mrs. Johnson next door—she's not bad. Sure, she's over fifty and has been divorced three times, but she knows how to take care of a man. I just don't know if she'd be willing to have you… I'll ask her for you tomorrow."

I held my phone and almost laughed out loud from sheer disbelief.

Mrs. Johnson next door.

I knew exactly who she was. A drunk who kept multiple boyfriends on the side. Her first three husbands had all run away in fear.

In my mother's eyes, I wasn't even worthy of someone like that.

She kept going, "Don't worry. I'll have Kyle come stay with you for a few days. You two brothers can talk things out and keep each other company."

After thinking it over, I replied with a single word, "Okay."

She immediately sent a string of smiling emojis.

"Deal! I'll send him over tomorrow!"

I closed the chat and reopened the post. Sure enough, it had been updated again.

[Thanks, girl! My oldest son bought it. He's heartbroken and crying his eyes out.]

[I've sent my younger son over to keep him company—and to help take care of the daughter-in-law.]

[My sweet boy is gentle and handsome. He'll definitely win her over in no time. Once it's done, I'll come back and give you all an update!]

People were still cursing her out in the comments.

I turned off my phone and lay back down on the bed.

Staring at the ceiling, I suddenly smiled.

My wife was never an ordinary woman.

…

Emily Watson got off work and came straight home. She walked in, set down her bag, and washed her hands first. Then she came over and took the baby from my arms.

"Thanks for doing all this, honey. If I didn't have business I couldn't step away from, I should've been the one doing all this."

I shook my head. "You just gave birth—that's the hardest part. Besides, plenty of people would love to stay home and be a pampered husband."

She let out a soft laugh and stood on tiptoe, pressing a kiss to my cheek.

At twenty-four, Emily took over her family's business and tripled its market value in three years. She was ruthless in business and uncompromising at the negotiating table. Even her own father once said she had a mind as deep as the ocean.

Someone like her—I didn't believe she'd fall for a cheap act like Kyle's.

The next afternoon, Kyle arrived. He was wearing a tailored suit and carrying a bag of bruised apples.

The overpowering scent of cologne hit the room the moment he stepped inside.

As soon as he walked in, he exclaimed, "Jason, man, you look terrible!"

He raised a hand like he was going to touch my face, but his eyes were already drifting toward Emily.

"Even if you're staying home with the baby, you still need to take care of yourself. Look at me—I work out an hour every day. My muscle definition is perfect."

He said this while standing proudly in the middle of the living room, chest slightly puffed out. His arms were as thin as twigs—no sign of any real training.

I looked at him and suddenly felt amused. That over-the-top act… how had I never seen through it before?

Emily was on the couch reviewing reports, not even looking up.

Seeing that no one was responding to him, Kyle froze for a second, then turned toward the crib.

"Oh, the baby is so cute! Come here, let Uncle hold him!"

He reached out right away.

But Emily stood up first and took the baby.

"You didn't sanitize. You're not clean."

Without another word, she carried the baby into the bedroom.

The door clicked shut.

Kyle's hand froze in midair, his face darkening.

I almost laughed out loud.

'That's my wife. Well played.'

Kyle wandered around the living room, loudly criticizing the decor as he went.

When I still didn't play along, he finally sat down at the edge of the couch.

"Hey, Jason, where's that new Rolex of yours? The one you wore last time looked amazing. Let me borrow it for a few days. And Mom said your father-in-law gave you a gold watch? Let me see it—I might buy one too."

His eyes kept scanning the room.

I used to spoil him without hesitation. Whatever he wanted, I gave him.

Now I realized—I'd been nothing but a fool.

I smiled faintly.

"I sent the watch in for maintenance."

"The gold one? Oh, that's locked in the safe. Your sister-in-law has the key."

His expression visibly darkened.

Just as he was about to say something, the bedroom door opened.

Emily came out holding the baby, heading to change the diaper.

Kyle instantly switched his expression.

"Oh, hey, Emily! You shouldn't be doing this yourself!"

He rushed over, trying to grab the baby.

"Jason, come on, you should be helping out!"

Emily sidestepped him.

"My baby. Not your business," She said it flatly and skillfully spread out the diaper.

Kyle's hand froze in midair.

At that moment, his phone rang. He glanced at it, and a strange flush immediately spread across his face.

"Jason, something came up with a friend. I gotta go."

Emily had just finished changing the diaper.

She set the baby down, grabbed a wipe, and cleaned her hands.

"I'll see you out."

Kyle's eyes lit up instantly.

"Thanks, Emily!"

He reached out, trying to take her arm. But Emily had already turned and walked ahead. He missed completely.

After the door closed behind them, I sat on the couch, staring at their departing figures, a chill creeping through my entire body.

That earlier satisfaction vanished without a trace.

Half an hour later, Emily finally came back.

I sat on the couch with my arms crossed, staring directly at her.

"Who told you to see him out?"

Emily froze at the doorway.