The lawyer gave me a quick look when she heard those words. I let out a bitter laugh and was about to end the call.

“Wait, Naomi.”

The camera shook as she jogged a few steps, then pointed it at Lucas. He was talking to a doctor, jotting notes in a notebook as the doctor explained post-IVF procedure precautions.

“Hey, future dad, look here!”

Lucas heard her and turned to look. When he saw me on the other end of the video call, he did not seem annoyed at all. Instead, his face lit up with excitement.

“Honey, your man is a freaking legend! One shot, and boom—nailed it! The doc says the IVF worked, and pretty soon, I'll be a dad!"

“Too bad you’re not here. Otherwise, we’d be celebrating tonight for sure!"

“Oh, by the way, since our teacher is seriously ill, taking care of Rachel throughout her pregnancy and postpartum recovery will be your responsibility!”

Rachel clung to his arm, looking pleased. “Naomi, I’ll be counting on you!”

He expected me to care for his pregnant mistress and help her recover after giving birth?

I almost burst into laughter from utter disbelief.

Did Lucas truly believe I was some saint sent from heaven?

He had a baby with another woman through IVF. Now he expected me to play the unpaid nanny?!

My hands trembled as I ended the call. Then, I pressed the save recording button and forwarded the video to my lawyer.

“With this video and the evidence I provided earlier, is that enough?”

Lucas and I had been together for ten years, starting as high school sweethearts and eventually becoming husband and wife.

Before our wedding, I spent an entire month compiling our love story into a heartfelt, touching memoir.

However, reality hit me hard.

Looking back, all those seemingly sweet memories were full of cracks.

At some point, Lucas lost the patience and tenderness he once showed me.

The man who used to prioritize me began criticizing me for not being considerate or supportive enough.

Sometimes, he would explode over the smallest things, turning minor problems into big arguments.

Yet, after every fight, as long as he coaxed me a little, I would always choose to forgive him.

School pressure, then work stress after graduation, made life tough for us both.

Life was not easy for any adult. I felt it was my duty as his partner to be understanding and endure.

I loved him, so I kept compromising, until there was nothing left of me to give.

Two years ago, our high school homeroom teacher’s daughter returned from studying abroad.

Rachel and Lucas hit it off instantly. He even helped Rachel get a job at his company as his assistant.

Day in and day out, they arrived and left together, stealing glances at work and using overtime as an excuse to stay glued to each other after hours.

When my parents visited me in North City, they accidentally ran into Lucas and Rachel strolling down the street, chatting and laughing like an inseparable couple.

Later, when they casually brought it up in conversation, Lucas’s expression instantly turned cold. He lashed out, accusing them of not trusting him.

Still, the reality was, my parents just mentioned it casually. It was Lucas who felt guilty.

That night, he did not come home for dinner.

I texted him, but he did not reply. When I called, he ignored it. My parents felt guilty and tried to comfort me.

“Naomi, it’s not that we don’t trust Lucas… Well, we shouldn’t have said anything.”

The next morning, they left in a hurry, skipping breakfast.

That day, Lucas and I had our first explosive argument.

When we finally calmed down, he acted all hurt and confused, not understanding why I was upset.

However, he seemed to forget that ever since he met my parents, they had treated him like their own son.

No, it was worse than that. In fact, they were even more cautious around him than they would be with a real son.

After that, he always found excuses to avoid visiting my hometown.

Whenever my parents asked, I covered for him, making up reasons on his behalf. I even bought nutritional supplements for them, pretending they were from him, as though he still cared.

Looking back, I realize I was fooling myself.

I used to believe that love born in a school setting was the purest of all. Yet, I forgot that love was not family. It had an expiration date, and if it was not preserved properly, it would rot and decay.

The moment Lucas suggested having a test-tube baby with Rachel on our wedding night, I finally woke up.

My love had died long ago.

So had my marriage.

On our wedding night, Lucas took a phone call and left, leaving me alone.

I thought that he would at least show up the next day so we could return to my hometown together for my family gathering.

However, instead of the groom himself, all I got was a cold, emotionless message casually asking me to postpone the banquet.

He claimed his teacher was seriously ill, and he could not wait to go through the IVF with his junior, Rachel, all to fulfill his teacher’s dream of having three generations under one roof.

It was absurd!

He abandoned me, his wife, on our wedding night and completely disregarded the banquet we had planned six months in advance. Messed around with another woman, and even acting like it was perfectly normal to have a baby with her!

I held onto hope for my parents' sake. If he realized his mistake in time, if he backed out of the IVF plan and rushed back overnight, perhaps there was still a chance for us.

He did not.

He did not bother giving any replies. So, when I finally saw him in a video call, the words that came out of his mouth were so absurd, so beyond comprehension.

In that moment, something inside me shattered, my heart went completely cold.

After the three-day banquet was over, I returned to North City.

The moment I reached my doorstep, I heard the sound of laughter inside.

Inside, my former high school teacher was sitting in a wheelchair, beaming as Rachel and Lucas entertained her. If you captured this moment in a photo, it would look like the perfect, loving family portrait.

“Oh, you're back, Naomi?” Rachel said, trying to be friendly.

Rachel was the first to notice me. She practically bounced over, ready to greet me, but Lucas grabbed her wrist, holding her back.

He teased her with a mock scolding, “You're about to be a mom, but you're still as careless as a kid.”

“Oh, come on, I haven’t gotten used to it yet!”

She stuck out her tongue, a blush rising to her cheeks. “Stop treating me like a kid! Otherwise, Naomi will just laugh at me.”

I stood there, expressionless, watching them flirting with each other.

“Naomi, give me a chance to take care of you, to spoil you like a child for the rest of your life, okay?”

His old promises still echoed in my ears.

Now, the woman being pampered like a child was not me.

Rachel reached out, trying to link arms with me, but I sidestepped her touch.

She froze for a second, looking embarrassed, her eyes shimmering with hurt. Lucas immediately snapped when he saw this.

“Rachel treats you like an older sister, and this is how you act? Where’s your manners? Your basic decency?"

I stared at him in disbelief. “Funny. I don’t recall my mother ever giving birth to a second daughter.”

His brows furrowed even deeper. Before he could say something, our former teacher, still seated in her wheelchair, chuckled and cut in. “Naomi, isn’t it? My, my, you’ve grown into such a beautiful young woman. It's been years since you graduated high school, and this is the first time I've seen you since then.”

She took Rachel’s hand, then firmly grabbed mine as well. “Now that Rachel is carrying Lucas's baby, and I’m not getting any younger, it’ll be up to you to take care of both her and the child.”

The old teacher rambled on. Her tone was heavy with the weight of final words, as though she was giving her last wishes. Across from me, Rachel's and Lucas’s eyes welled up with tears.

Seeing that I remained indifferent, the teacher let out a deep sigh, putting on a self-blaming expression. “Naomi, you must resent me, don’t you?”

“It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t wished to hold my grandchild before I die, Lucas and Rachel wouldn’t have gone through with the IVF… I never should have said anything… I…”

She suddenly gasped for air, clutching her chest as she coughed violently. Lucas immediately rushed to her side, gently patting her back to help her breathe while shooting me a glare full of anger.

“She’s already this sick, and you're still being so petty? Do you even have a heart?!”

“Just say you’ll take care of Rachel and the baby! It’s the least you can do!”

“Also, the doctor said the teacher would recover better at home, so I’m planning to bring her here to live with us. Hiring a caregiver is expensive, and we can’t trust outsiders. So, just quit your job and focus on taking care of the teacher and Rachel during this time!”

I gazed at Lucas, the man I had loved for a decade, but he seemed like a stranger now.

It was as if his mind had been consumed by some kind of madness. His usual logic and reason were gone, leaving behind nothing but selfishness and blind arrogance.

“No.”

I muttered those words calmly. Arguing with someone like this was a waste of time.

“If someone’s quitting their job, it’s going to be you. I’m not giving up my career for anyone or anything.”

“And one more thing, this is my house. It’s my premarital asset. If you move anyone in without my permission, I can call the cops.”

Perhaps Lucas had not expected me to be so firm. His face darkened instantly.

“Naomi, do you really have to do this? We just got married, and you’re trying to destroy our marriage now?”