In the three years of our marriage, Caelan had made it to the headlines for his affairs ninety-nine times.

Even me giving birth to his son couldn’t make him settle down and return to the family.

On our son’s second birthday, he went as far as making love with his female secretary to the point of madness and had to be rushed to the hospital. It was instantly becoming a trending topic.

When faced with his mother’s fury, he shrugged it off and said, “I was just adding a bit of excitement to an otherwise dull life. What’s the big deal? Even my wife doesn’t mind, so why are you so angry?”

I looked at the smug expression on his face and suddenly felt completely uninterested. I turned to my mother-in-law and said, “You promised me that if I had the baby, you'd give me 150 thousand dollars and I could divorce at any time. Can you fulfill that promise now?”

——

When I suddenly mentioned the prenuptial agreement, a look of confusion flashed across my mother-in-law’s face.

“Jane, have you thought this through? If you really take the money and divorce, you’ll have no more relationship with Theo. Are you willing to give him up?”

I pressed my lips together, not replying to her immediately.

Instead, I turned to look at Caelan, who was lying in the hospital bed. He seemed to be chatting with someone, his fingers quickly moving on the phone and a slight smile curved on his lips. His brows were unintentionally softening with warmth.

We had been married for three years and his gentleness was something I had never truly experienced before.

I gathered my thoughts, withdrew my gaze and nodded firmly. “Mom, I’ve made up my mind. I only want the money.”

As for the child, since his birth, he had been taken to the Shaw Family’s old house, where they arranged for two excellent professional nannies to take care of him.

The time I spent with him was only the brief two hours on weekends, or the short moments during holidays.

As a result, the child, now two years old, wasn’t close to me at all.

Because I had no money and lacked an outstanding education, I had no grounds to argue when they said they would carefully nurture and educate him from a young age.

My mother-in-law saw that I had made my decision and sighed heavily, her eyes full of regret. “Jane, for the sake of the child, why can’t you just endure a little longer?”

For three years of marriage, Caelan’s scandalous news never stopped.

I cried like a madwoman, threw tantrums and even begged.

What I got in return was his indifference, contempt, disdain and even disgust.

Many times, I would ask myself in my heart, what was the meaning of my persistence?

And now, seeing him lying in the hospital bed, still flirting with his mistress, I realized that my persistence had been completely meaningless.

I didn’t say anything, just smiled and looked at her.

She was a woman too, how could she not know what I was thinking?

Though reluctant, she finally sighed and said, “Alright, since you’ve made up your mind, I won’t persuade you anymore. I will give you the compensation according to the agreement.”

I gave a faint smile and thanked her.

Soon, I received 150 million dollars from my mother-in-law. However, the divorce would still take a little more time.

I didn’t rush her. After she left, I began researching information about studying abroad.

Once I had submitted the application as required, a genuine smile finally appeared on my face.

At that moment, a dissatisfied voice came from behind.

"What are you smiling about? Is my hospitalization that amusing to you?"

My expression faltered slightly as I looked at the anger in Caelan’s eyes, then lowered my gaze.

It was only then that I realized, in my moment of panic, I had clicked on a news article that a friend had sent me.

This article just happened to be about his hospitalization.

When I saw the headline with the words Frenzied Collapse at the top, I felt a heavy jolt in my heart.

Just a slip of the hand, I accidentally clicked on it.

This was the truth, but he clearly didn’t believe me. His gaze was filled with disdain and contempt as he looked at me. “You and my mom chatted for so long outside. Don’t think I don’t know how you’d frame me in front of her. Jane, if you still want to keep the title of my wife, you better behave yourself!”

I had heard these words before, the first time I discovered him fooling around with someone.

It was when I had just finished my confinement and I followed my mother-in-law’s advice to bring him a nutritious meal after three days of overtime at work.

To my surprise, when I arrived at his office, I saw him intimately entangled with his half-dressed secretary.

When he saw me, the lust in his eyes didn’t fade at all. Instead, it was mixed with a hint of impatience. He angrily shouted, “Get out!”

I couldn't quite explain how I felt at that time, but I clearly remember that tears blurred my vision. For the first time, I experienced the feeling of being under the spotlight, with everyone's gaze on me, pointing, judging and questioning.

I tried to maintain some dignity and didn’t cause a scene, running back home as if escaping.

I sat in the living room, waiting for an explanation from him.

However, I sat there for what felt like forever, so long that the sky outside started to brighten. Only then did he return.

Caelan walked in with the lingering scent of an unfamiliar woman’s perfume on him, his face full of satisfaction, with no attempt to hide his joy.

It seemed as though he had forgotten everything and he asked in a cheerful mood, “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

I couldn’t bear it any longer. I stared directly at him and started questioning him.

Caelan’s expression suddenly changed and he sneered with disdain, “Jane, how can you be so naive? We’re all adults. Don’t you know when to turn a blind eye? And if you still want to keep the title of Mrs. Shaw, you’d better behave yourself! I don’t like troublesome women.”

When he said this, he didn’t spare a single thought for the time when I was pregnant and he used to massage my cramped legs while making a firm promise to me. “Honey, from now on, my world will only have you. If there’s anything I’m not doing well, just tell me, I’ll change. I’ll try my best to be a good husband and a good father.”

But after the child was born, he didn’t even go take a look.

During my postpartum confinement, he didn’t come home even once.

He forgot the words he once said. The only one who remembered was me.

Snapping back to reality, I stopped dwelling on the past and said calmly, “I don’t need to spread anything about you. Anyone with a phone already knows.”

Upon hearing this, Caelan’s face darkened instantly. He shot me a glare, then went back into the hospital room to grab his phone and call the company’s PR team, demanding them to immediately remove all online discussions about him.

I followed quietly behind him, listening in on his call.

Once he hung up, I was going to tell him that starting this afternoon, I wouldn't be coming to see him anymore.

Unexpectedly, before I could say anything, Bella came running over in her hospital gown.

Her eyes were brimming with tears and her delicate little face was filled with sorrow and helplessness.

Caelan's heart twisted the moment he saw her. His fingers gently brushed the tears from the corner of her eye and he said tenderly, “What’s wrong, baby? Why are you crying all of a sudden?”

“My family saw what happened between us and my mom is insisting I bring you home…” Bella nestled into his arms, quietly sobbing.

Her voice was soft and sweet, like a kitten, tugging at the heartstrings.

No wonder other women never lasted more than three days by his side, while she had stayed with Caelan for two whole years.

Seeing her cry, the pain in Caelan's eyes overflowed. He gently kissed her tear-streaked face with tenderness. “Don’t cry, don’t cry. I’ll go home with you to see your parents right away.”

“But… Mrs. Shaw wouldn’t approve, would she?”

Bella cautiously shifted her gaze toward me.

But I saw right through the look in her eyes, concealed beneath was smugness and provocation.

Caelan shot me a cold glance and said indifferently, “Ignore her. She’ll never have a say in my affairs.”

If this had been in the past, I would’ve lost my temper, argued with him, reminded him of the child at home and told him not to be so disgraceful.

But now, I merely smiled faintly and asked him, “You’re right. It’s your first time visiting the girl’s family, do you know what to bring? Do you need me to help you prepare anything?”

My response clearly caught him off guard. Caelan’s face darkened visibly and he gritted his teeth as he spat, “Jane, how shameless can you be? You really had the nerve to ask that?”

Any other wife, faced with something like this, would’ve caused a huge scene.

Only I remained calm from beginning to end.

“Caelan, I actually think Jane makes a good point. It’s your first time visiting my family. I don’t want them to make things difficult for you,”

Bella pouted and whined playfully. Caelan couldn’t resist and he helplessly pinched her cheek, then turned to me with a cold face and said, “Fine. Since you’re so eager, I’ll leave it to you.”

I chuckled softly and nodded.

After all, with their happy union approaching, it would make it easier for me to get a divorce.

The only problem was I had never prepared gifts of this sort before.

Once I started looking into it, I realized how much of a headache it actually was.

As I stared at the suggestions online, my gaze became unfocused for a moment.

I couldn’t help but think back to three years ago.

Back then, my mother, as my only family, had just been diagnosed with severe kidney failure. I had no money, so I worked every odd job I could find to pay for her treatment.

One time, I was working at a hotel and happened to encounter Caelan, who had clearly been drugged.

I originally wanted to call an ambulance and get him to the hospital. But instead, he pulled me into the room.

I struggled and fought back with everything I had, but I still couldn’t escape.

I had thought about calling the police, reporting him. But before I could report him to the police, his mother showed up.

She said that if I agreed to marry Caelan, she would cover all of my mother’s medical expenses, including future treatments.

And if I gave birth to a child, she’d give me 150 thousand dollars with no upper limit.

At first, I thought it was an absurd and ridiculous offer. But not long after, I found out I was pregnant.

In the end, I couldn’t resist the overwhelming temptation. I agreed and signed the prenuptial agreement.

However, Caelan was completely against it. He shouted and raged, saying he’d rather pay me off and have me disappear.

My mother-in-law was furious and kept pressuring him until he finally agreed to marry me.

So when we got married, there was no ceremony, no warmth at all. And even when my mother relapsed and eventually passed away, he never once went to see her.

Thinking about the past made my mind drift, my expression momentarily distant.

But the sound at the door quickly pulled me back.

By the time I came to, Caelan was already standing in front of me, his face dark and stormy.

He clearly wasn’t in a good mood, his whole body radiated a cold, oppressive anger. Especially when he saw the search bar on the computer screen.

I thought he was upset because the gifts I’d chosen looked cheap and might embarrass him. So I softly said, “If you think these things are too low-class, I can choose something else…”

Before I could finish my sentence, I was suddenly yanked to my feet.

His grip tightened painfully around my slender wrist and I couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath from the pain.

“Jane, what the hell are you thinking?” he snapped. “Bella is already at my parents house bonding with Theo and you’re here worrying about other things? Do you even realize that Theo is already calling her ‘Mom’?”

Hearing that, I felt no ripple in my heart.

After our divorce, it was no surprise that he would marry Bella. She had every reason to bond with Theo early on and there was nothing wrong with that.