After the Sullivan Group went bankrupt, I abandoned everything and followed Jessica to Tylen City.

It took her five years, but she eventually inherited her father's legacy and climbed back into the top three on the Forbes rankings. Yet, she never once brought up any word about marriage.

That lasted until the night before the Day of the Dead.

I woke up in the middle of the night and saw her lighting candles while facing the direction of Cinea.

"Dad, Mom, forgive me. I couldn't visit you this year because of work, but please continue to protect Chris and bless us with happiness for the rest of our lives."

When I heard this, warmth filled my heart.

My health was on the frail end of the scale. In the past, she always returned on her own since she didn't want me to be exhausted over this.

This year, I decided to make the trip on her behalf after seeing the longing hidden in her eyes.

However, what I never expected was to see the name of her former fiancé beside her name on the gravestone. Moreover, his title was engraved as her husband.

As I looked further down, I saw another name beneath theirs. It was a name that belonged to their three-year-old son.

At that moment, I felt as if I'd been struck by lightning.

Only then did I realize that it wasn't Christopher she was referring to when she said, "Chris." Instead, it was Christian.

A Shocking Truth

As I stared blankly at the gravestone, the elderly cemetery caretaker approached and struck up a conversation with me.

"Sir, do you know Old Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan? I don't think I've ever seen you here before."

It was such a simple question, yet it made my heart throb in pain all the same.

After all, who am I when the place that should have belonged to Jessica's husband had already been engraved with Christian's name?

Although I was standing under the sunlight, I felt like some lowly rat that ought to hide in the shadows. How could I stand before these gravestones when I didn't have a respectable identity that I could claim aloud?

Still, I swallowed the bitterness clinging to my tongue as I replied lowly, "Just a distant relative."

The old man nodded in understanding and replied, "That makes sense. If you were a close family member, you should've been here three years ago when Ms. Sullivan dropped by with her family. You have no idea how grand it was.

"Ms. Sullivan personally reopened the family chapel, invited hundreds of people to conduct rituals, and even had her husband carry their son while paying their respects. Afterward, they hosted a banquet for three whole days, and she introduced her husband and child to everyone.

"Her husband was incredibly handsome. He looked like some movie star. I even have a photo of it with me. Here."

As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and showed me the picture.

I saw Christian wearing a white suit while holding an infant in his arms and smiling. Jessica was standing right beside him. She was leaning against him and looking at him with a bright smile on her face.

Even though it was only a photograph, the undisguised love in her eyes was so vivid and intense that it pierced straight through me.

I had never once seen her look at me that way.

Then, my gaze drifted to the date in the lower-right corner of the photo, and my breathing froze.

It was November 6th, which was three years ago.

Jessica's medical examination results had come back the day before that same date, stating that she was pregnant.

I was overjoyed when I learned the news before she did.

At the time, I wholeheartedly believed that Jessica would cry tears of happiness just like I had, eager to finish our wedding and give the child a complete family.

However, the smile on her face disappeared the moment I told her the news.

"Chris, I've told you countless times already. Neither marriage nor children are part of my plans for these next few years. This child came at the wrong time, so let's not keep it for now. We can wait until the right time, okay?"

At that moment, I couldn't help but feel that she was a completely different woman from the one I'd first met—a frightening woman who was wearing the face of the woman I loved.

In the past, I would always cave to her demands, no matter how unreasonable they were. I just couldn't bear to see her angry.

Everything Is a Lie

That was the first time I had blown up on her.

"No. I will never give up on this child, our child, no matter what you say. I don't care if you're going to leave me to raise the baby alone after you've given birth to him. I will never abandon him!"

Alas, Jessica insisted on going to the hospital for an abortion.

I cried and begged her not to, but I tumbled down the stairs during our argument. When I woke up, I was lying in a hospital bed with one leg broken.

The doctor told me that Jessica had already undergone the abortion procedure. She hadn't even stayed through the required observation period before leaving. It seemed that she'd gotten an urgent phone call and prioritized that over her health.

As expected, the only thing she left me was a message saying she had an important overseas business meeting and needed to travel abroad for a few days.

Back then, I genuinely believed that she had some urgent matter so important that she had no choice but to leave despite her condition. I even gave her an out for abandoning me when I was at my lowest.

Only now did I finally understand that she had gone back to her hometown with Christian and the child to pay respects to her ancestors, to tell everyone that he was her rightful husband.

The child in the photograph probably wasn't even hers. Yet, she had easily chosen to give up our baby while placing that child into the family tree.

The moment I pieced everything together, my heart felt as though it were being carved apart, and tears slid silently down my face.

I dazedly made my way back to Tylen City. Instead of going home, I went straight to the immigration office, intending to transfer my identity registration back to Cinea and withdraw the savings I had accumulated through years of work.

However, the clerk looked up at me suspiciously when I entered my information.

"Mr. Thomson, this Tylen ID card you have is fake. Your registered identity has always been tied to a Cinea ID. Also, you've only been staying here on a tourist visa all these years. As for this bank card, the account holder isn't you, but a man named Christian.

"In other words, you'll need his authorization if you want to withdraw any money."

In that split second, my mind went completely blank.

On my very first day in Tylen, Jessica had personally handed me this ID card. She told me she had arranged long-term residency for me so I wouldn't have to worry about visas anymore.

I had never once doubted her.

As for the bank card, the finance department had given it to me as my payroll card during my second month at the music studio.

I had always lived frugally, wanting to save up some sense of security for myself. I thought I wouldn't be left with nothing and nowhere to go if Jessica decided to leave me one day.

Jessica knew better than anyone how much stability this job meant to me, so I didn't know why she would do this to me.

I nearly stumbled as I rushed out of the immigration office, flagging down a taxi straight to the music studio where I had worked for the past five years.

The studio owner was a local middle-aged man called Jason. He had always treated me politely enough.

When I burst into his office, he was organizing a file containing the studio's award-winning works over the years. He had never allowed me to look through them in the past, always saying that artists shouldn't be influenced by outside opinions.

This time, I threw my manners aside and snatched the file straight from his hands.

The moment I saw the name listed under the awards, my breathing stopped.

It was Christian's name.

Every single award-winning piece that I had created over the past five years had been credited to Christian.

At that moment, my legs gave out, and I nearly collapsed.

"Jason, why are my payroll card and competition entries registered under Christian's name? The copyrights to those songs, the honors from those awards… How did they all become Christian's? What exactly were all my years of hard work worth?"

When Jason heard me, he gave an awkward chuckle and deliberately avoided my gaze. "Mr. Thomson, this matter was handled according to Ms. Sullivan's instructions. She said it was for the convenience of management. Mr. Christian is her family, so registering everything under his identity would avoid a lot of trouble and save him the effort of personally creating anything himself."

Confrontation

"We're just a small music studio. There are many things we don't have the power to decide for ourselves. Please don't make things difficult for us."

As I listened to Jason's words, the very last trace of hope in my heart shattered completely.

Jessica had been using me from the very beginning.

She had turned everything that belonged to me into stepping stones for Christian, while I had been moved by her supposed devotion and making excuses for why she kept postponing marriage like a fool.

Now that I had connected all the dots, I practically rocketed out of the studio.

There was only one thought in my mind. I wanted answers from the woman herself.

…

By the time I arrived at the company, I ignored the secretary's alarmed attempts to stop me and charged straight toward the CEO's office.

"Mommy, I want ice cream!"

A child's voice made my footsteps come to an abrupt halt.

Inside the office, Jessica sat in the chair with a little boy cradled in her arms. Christian, who was dressed in a tailored designer suit, stood beside her with one arm affectionately around her shoulders.

Judging by the tilt of his head and the smile on his lips, he was speaking to her in a low, intimate voice.

Even though I had already learned of the child's existence, seeing him in person still struck me so hard that my chest tightened with unbearable pain.

Christian noticed me first.

His expression stiffened instantly. He hurriedly rose from the sofa, causing the child in his arms to wobble unsteadily.

Jessica sensed something was amiss, so she turned.

When she saw me, surprise flashed through her eyes before she instinctively stepped in front of Christian and the child protectively. "Why are you here?"

I tugged at the corner of my lips into a stiff smile, but there was no hiding the despondent look in my eyes. "You're right. I shouldn't have come and interrupted a wonderful family time. It really was unnecessary of me."

When Jessica heard my words, she frowned and snapped in irritation, "Christopher, what are you up to now? Do you have to ruin a perfectly good day?"

Christian quickly stepped forward and grabbed Jessica's arm. "Jessica, don't be angry at Mr. Thomson. He's just misunderstood things. I'll explain it to him."

"I wasn't talking to you." I shot Christian a cold glance.

The gentle look on Christian's face slipped. He even had the audacity to look at me as though I'd pointed a blade at his neck.

The little boy wriggled out of his arms and toddled toward me. Then, he raised his hands and shoved me hard. "Bad guy! Stop bullying my daddy!"

The child was too young to possess much strength.

The moment he pushed me, he lost his own balance and fell onto the floor with a thud. His nose immediately scrunched up as if he were about to cry.

Christian cried out in alarm and rushed over, scooping the child into his arms. When he looked up at me again, he was already on the verge of tears.

"Mr. Thomson, if you're angry, take it out on me. My child is still young. How could you bear to hurt him?"

Jessica strode forward and tightly shielded Christian and the child in her embrace. The look she gave me turned stone cold.

"Christopher, that's enough! How can you argue with a child?"

I stood there motionless, watching the fiercely protective way she guarded them. All I felt was absurdity and heartbreak.

Everyone had ditched Jessica at the curb when the Sullivan Group went bankrupt. Still, Christian, who was her fiancé at the time, had been the first to tear up the engagement, seize their assets, marry someone else, and flee overseas.

He had even joined forces with outsiders to crush the Sullivan Group completely, driving Jessica into despair.

It was I who stayed by her side.

I gave up my future, left my home, and followed her across the ocean to Tylen when she had nothing. I lived with her in a basement apartment, surviving on instant noodles soaked in cold water.

I handed over all my savings to her and stayed by her side as she slowly rebuilt everything from the ground up.

However, I now understood that all those years of companionship could never compare to her childhood sweetheart.

At that moment, every question I had wanted to ask suddenly felt ridiculous.

I slapped the payroll card down in front of Jessica. "Fine. Since you are so kind-hearted, I won't stop you from taking care of them."