My wife, Lillian Harmon, skips our daughter's birthday party to celebrate her male assistant’s birthday instead.

We run into them at the restaurant.

My daughter, Rosetta Coleman, runs over and hugs her. She calls out, "Mom."

But Lillian pushes her away coldly and pretends not to know her.

She turns and wraps her arms around Marcus Fisher while explaining, "I have no idea where this brat came from. She's just randomly calling strangers her mom."

Rosetta is hurt and confused.

She is on the verge of tears as she asks, "Why did Mommy pretend not to know me?"

I hold her and say, "You got the wrong person. Your mom is in Marindale."

Right away, I file for divorce and take Rosetta to Marindale.

But Lillian loses her mind and chases after us to beg for our forgiveness.

I keep her out of our lives and find Rosetta a new mother.

My ex-wife, Lillian Harmon, managed to find out where my daughter, Rosetta Coleman, and I were living now, though I had no idea how she did it. She kept hanging around my doorstep, demanding that I let her in.

Having reached the end of my rope, I threw the door open and gave her a stern warning. "Ma'am, if you continue to trespass on private property, I'll call the cops!"

At those words, her expression hardened. Confusion and disbelief clouded her face. "Daniel, you weren't like this before… We've been married for a decade…"

I sneered, "Oh? In that case, just how was I before?"

Lillian parted her lips, but she couldn't come up with an answer.

I hadn't changed. My attitude toward her had.

We had been secretly married for ten years, and Rosie was nine now. Yet, Lillian never once treated us kindly, nor did she ever acknowledge us as her family.

It all started because she had gotten drunk, slept with me, and ended up pregnant with Rosie. Lillian believed I took advantage of her, resulting in her getting pregnant out of wedlock and being forced to marry me.

For Rosie's sake, I constantly tried to mend our relationship, fruitlessly putting in effort, only to be met with cold indifference. I had done that for a decade. Now that my heart had gone cold and I was no longer catering to her every whim, Lillian wasn't used to it.

"Where's Rosie? And why are there women's clothes on the couch?" Lillian craned her neck to peer into my house. Then, she tensed up.

Rosie was the nickname I had given our daughter. Lillian had never used it before. This was a first.

"Rosie is out playing with her mother. As for the clothes on the couch, they belong to my newlywed wife," I explained calmly.

Lillian took an abrupt step back. Her hand trembled as she reached out to steady herself against the doorframe.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and a flash of pure shock crossed her face. "How... How could you marry another woman? We... We aren't even divorced yet!"

I shook my head before correcting her. "I left the divorce agreement on your desk three months ago."

As Harmon Group's CEO, Lillian was a workaholic who practically lived in her office 24/7. There was no way she hadn't seen it. She most probably simply hadn't taken it seriously.

At the end of the day, she was so sure of herself and so certain that I would never leave her that she assumed I was just throwing a tantrum. But now that I was actually following through with it, she was losing her composure.

Clenching her fists, she looked me in the eye and said, "I don't agree to the divorce!"

I couldn't care less. "Since our marriage was never legally registered, I don't need your consent to dissolve it."

Back then, I practically begged Lillian to register our marriage, but she put it off with every excuse imaginable. When I suggested holding a wedding ceremony, she was equally unwilling. In the end, we simply had a meal with both our relatives and got married.

After that, she used her heavy workload as a pretext to stay at the office every day and night. In other words, she rarely came home. Yet here she was, telling me she didn't want a divorce. What kind of game was she playing now?

Noticing the heartbroken and regretful expression on her face, I felt nothing but a sense of irony.

Like a madwoman, she abruptly grasped my arm and tried to drag me out. "Haven't you always wanted to register our marriage? Let's go do it right now!"

I shook off her hand. "It's too late. I don't want to anymore. Your heart was never with us, so what difference does it make whether we're officially married or not? Besides, I already have a new wife, and she is far more devoted than you ever were."

Lillian looked devastated. She clutched the corner of my shirt, and her lips quivered as she pleaded with me. "Can you give me one more chance? I'll make it up to you and Rosie!"

I pushed her away. "It's over between us. Let go of me! I don't want my wife to see this."

As soon as my words fell, my wife, Vivienne Schwartz, came home, holding Rosie's hand. The two of them were inseparable. Anyone would think they were a biological mother and daughter.

The moment Lillian saw that, her usual cold demeanor cracked, replaced by jealousy and madness. She rushed over and raised her hand to slap Vivienne. "You shameless homewrecker, you stole my husband and daughter!"

I was just about to intervene when Rosie beat me to it. She stepped in front of Vivienne to shield her. "Don't you dare hit my mom, you bad woman!"

Lillian froze. It took her a while to process what was happening before she demanded, her lips trembling, "You're actually protecting her? Have you forgotten that I'm your real mother?"

Rosie shook her head and let her tears fall freely. "You're not my mom! If you are, why didn't you acknowledge me for nine years? You only have room in your heart for Marcus. You never cared about me or Daddy."

Guilt flashed across Lillian's face, and she stammered, "T-that's not true. Marcus is… just a work friend of mine."

Rosie covered her ears and sobbed, "I don't believe you! If he's just a friend, why do you kiss and hug him? You've never even hugged or kissed me! You're not my mom!"

Lillian was stumped. Her face flushed crimson before losing all its color.

For the past nine years, she had done plenty of shameful things right in front of me and Rosie. Every time I asked her to come home and spend some time with Rosie, she would always bring her "work friend", Marcus Fisher, along.

Even when Rosie missed her and I took her to the office to see her, we would invariably run into Marcus there as well.

The couple acted as if no one else was around, casually touching each other in ways that were far too intimate. They didn't even hold back in front of Rosie.

Every time that happened, I would cover Rosie's eyes with my hand. Eventually, I stopped taking Rosie to see her, and I stopped asking her to come home.

However, Rosie was still just a child, after all, and she craved her mother's love. Every holiday or whenever there was an important school event, she asked to see Lillian.

Time and again, I pleaded with Lillian to keep her distance from Marcus for Rosie's sake. It was the least she could do if she restrained herself while she was around Rosie.

Lillian agreed every time. Yet, the moment Marcus got close to her, she would go back on her word. To please him, she never even allowed Rosie to call her "Mommy".

It was no wonder that Rosie had been left with such deep psychological scars from the way Lillian and Marcus had behaved.

I pulled Rosie into my arms, unwilling to let her recall those ugly, heartbreaking memories. Then, I looked up at Lillian coldly. "That's enough, Lillian! If you distress Rosie any further, I'll make your affair with Marcus public!"

My daughter was where I drew the line. If Lillian upset her again, I would show her no mercy, regardless of our past.

Lillian's eyes misted over as she looked at Rosie with a devastated expression on her face. "I'm sorry, Rosie. I didn't do enough in the past, and I know I hurt you. I'll change. Please forgive me and return to my side with Daddy, okay?"

Rosie turned her head away, refusing to look at her. "I already have a mom. I don't need you anymore!"

Lillian immediately broke down and took all her anger out on Vivienne. "This is all your fault, you shameless homewrecker! You must've driven a wedge between us. That must be the reason Rosie grew distant from me!"

Rolling up my sleeves, I wanted to stand up for Vivienne, but she stopped me and looked at Lillian with a mocking smile.

"Don't you get it, Lillian? All you've ever given Rosie is pain! Even if I had never entered the picture, she would have still been utterly disappointed in you and refused to acknowledge you as her mother!"

Lillian was about to retort when her phone suddenly rang in her bag. She pulled it out, took one look at the screen, and instantly panicked.

The second I took in her reaction, I knew who was on the line. "You still have the nerve to hang around? Aren't you afraid your little secret will leak?" I jeered.

Anyone with half a brain could guess that the call had to be from Marcus, who was checking in on her. To hook up with younger men, Lillian had spent all these years painting herself as a rich, single woman.

Marcus had no idea she was married, let alone that she had a nine-year-old daughter. If her secret was exposed, that difficult little lover of hers would probably throw another fit.

I thought she would be in a rush to leave so she could go back and coax him. However, for once, she declined Marcus' call and gazed at me affectionately.

"We're husband and wife, Daniel. Marcus and I are just fooling around. It doesn't mean anything. I'll never give up on you and Rosie. One day, I'll make you both change your minds!"

The moment her heartfelt speech left her lips, she turned around and returned Marcus' call. "Marcus? I'm heading back to the hotel right now. I'll bring you something yummy!"

As I watched her scurry off, I just found it ironic. This was the woman I had loved for ten years. One moment, she was sweet-talking me and Rosie, and the next, she was running off to a hotel with her side piece. I took her words as nothing more than a joke.

Fortunately, I had already moved on. I no longer held any hope for her.

…

I never imagined Lillian would cling to me and Rosie like a piece of gum.

One day, when I went to pick up Rosie from school, I found her sobbing hysterically at the school gates. A woman wearing a face mask was dragging her away, attempting to force her into a car.

Rosie clearly didn't want to leave with her. So, she struggled with all her might.

I rushed over and slapped the woman across the face. "Who are you? Why are you trying to kidnap my daughter?"

Rosie pulled off her mask, revealing a familiar face. It was Lillian.

"Daniel, it's me! I just want to spend more time with our daughter! Why'd you hit me? You never had the heart to lay a hand on me before!" she demanded.

The second she loosened her grip, Rosie threw herself into my arms and burst into tears. "I don't want to leave with her! Don't leave me, Daddy!"

I stroked Rosie's head, gently consoling her. "It's okay, Rosie. I'll always stay by your side. I'll never abandon you."

Rosie had grown up without her mother's love. It made her particularly sensitive and insecure.

Despite my repeated assurances that I would never abandon her, every time she was triggered, she would doubt whether I would truly stay by her side. Consequently, I had found a therapist for her.

Through the combined efforts of Vivienne, the therapist, and me, Rosie's emotions had gradually stabilized. She had become cheerful, optimistic, and all smiles. She no longer cried easily.

Lillian had only seen her twice, yet she had already caused Rosie's emotions to fluctuate wildly. The problem clearly lay with Lillian.

With that thought in mind, I shot daggers at Lillian. "What exactly did you tell Rosie?"

Caressing her swollen cheek, she sniffled. "Nothing much. I simply told her that you and your new wife will have a bunch of kids. And when that happens, you won't want her anymore, so I'm kindly taking her in. I'm not wrong, am I? Since you have a new family now, Rosie should come with me!"

I put Rosie in the car and closed the door so she wouldn't hear our argument. Then, I rolled up my sleeves and stared coldly at Lillian, wishing my gaze alone could kill her.

"Do you really love Rosie? Or are you fighting for custody solely to spite me?"

Lillian was probably frightened, because she took two steps back and explained meekly, "I love you more than I love Rosie. I thought that since you love her so much, if I could just win her back, you would change your mind and give us another chance too."

After hearing about her little plan, I made a call to a friend in the media. "Mr. Long? I have some compromising footage of the CEO of Harmon Group committing adultery."