After Husband Chose His Mistress Over Our Son,I Wed a Billionaire, He Regrets

　　“Mr. Stephens, I'll agree to remarry into the Mason family of Harbor City and become a luck-bringing bride for that comatose man. But only if you agree to three conditions first.”

　　The man on the other end of the line let out a sigh, his voice laced with reluctance. ：“Cindy Stephens, I'm your father. That secret marriage of yours to the Vance family meant nothing to them from start to finish. Sending you to the Masons is for your own good……”

　　“Enough. Spare me the self-pity.” I cut him off, my patience gone. “Are you going to agree or not?”

　　Mr. Stephens's tone turned heavier. “Fine. Tell me.”

　　I gripped the phone, spacing out each word. ：“First, get me the divorce papers from Stanley Vance. And don't tell me you can't. You managed to throw my mother out of her own family with nothing but the clothes on her back, and she was an heiress. You have your ways.”

　　“Second, get Sammy's ashes back for me. But Stanley can never know it was me who asked.”

　　“Third, I want a disownment letter from you. Once I go to the Masons, we never speak again as long as we live.”

　　I paused, then added, ：“The Masons handed you a thirty-billion-dollar project. I'm sure you can manage it.”

　　The line went silent for a long moment before Mr. Stephens finally gave in. ：“Fine. Everything you asked for, I'll grant it. As long as you marry in quietly and behave.”

　　“My birthday is in five days. Come home and have one last meal with me.”

　　The call ended, and I let out a long breath.

　　This absurd six years was finally coming to an end.

　　A week ago, I'd still been taking my son Sammy to register for kindergarten. That day his whole face had lit up as he told me, ：“Mommy, once Sammy graduates from kindergarten, Sammy can protect you!”

　　But that very day, a kidnapping took his life forever.

　　The moment I learned Sammy had been taken, I ran eight red lights to get to the scene. I was still one step too late.

　　By the time I arrived, I watched with my own eyes as a kidnapper put a bullet through Sammy's head. The shock seized my heart, my vision went black, and I collapsed.

　　When I came to, I didn't eat or drink for three days. Then one afternoon, dozing, I overheard two nurses talking as they passed.

　　“That young couple in the VIP private room upstairs is so devoted. The guy hasn't left his girlfriend's side for a second. I wish I had a boyfriend like that……”

　　“You don't get it. He's worried she'll be left with trauma. She was one of the hostages in that kidnapping four days ago, you know. The only one who died was the little boy. Such a shame……”

　　“Hey, you two, don't go spreading this around. I just overheard something on the inside. They say the kidnapper was an enemy of the Vances, and he made Mr. Vance choose between the two. And Mr. Vance chose that young woman……”

　　Their voices faded down the hall. My eyes snapped open, fixed on the ceiling, refusing to look away.

　　If everything they'd said was true, then my Sammy……

　　I'm not the kind of person who sits and waits to die. The instant that rumor reached me, I went straight to someone I trusted to dig into it.

　　In just three hours, I knew exactly how it had all happened.

　　That day the kidnapper had taken two people. One was Sammy. The other was a young woman, barely past twenty, they said.

　　When the kidnapper forced Stanley Vance to choose, he picked that woman without a second's hesitation. His own flesh-and-blood son, he didn't so much as glance at.

　　Crushed with grief and fury, I took the file from the investigation and went to confront Stanley.

　　But at the stairwell of the emergency exit, I heard his voice.

　　“Sam is only twenty. Her life is full of possibilities. As for Sammy, whether he's even mine is hard to say.”

　　The words sent the blood rushing backward through my veins.

　　Sammy was born at eight months, premature, because Stanley's family had taken their anger out on me. That was what triggered the early labor.

　　No matter how anyone twisted it, Sammy was Stanley's own son.

　　But now……

　　Another voice spoke up, one that clearly disagreed. It was Stanley's brother, Stuart Wiley.

　　“But you clearly had a chance that day to save both of them. Sammy looks a fair bit like you. How could you have the heart to abandon him? And then claim he isn't even your son? If Cindy ever heard you say that, it would destroy her.”

　　Stanley leaned back against the wall, balanced on one leg, and answered with careless ease. ：“Sam told me. No pregnant woman gives birth at just eight months. I believe her.”

　　“Besides, even if Sammy really was my child, his death drumming up publicity for the Vance Group is more luck than he earned in eight lifetimes.”

　　“His death was worth it.”

　　I stood at the corner of the entrance, clamping a hand hard over my mouth so not a single sob or word of grief could escape me.

　　My heart felt like a sharp dagger had been dragged across it, slicing it open, blood pouring out.

　　And every word Stanley spoke was another fine, barbed thorn, driving deep into my heart until I couldn't breathe.

　　I don't know how I left. By the time I came back to myself, I'd received a message from Mr. Stephens.

　　【The Mason family of Harbor City is interested in marrying you. Think it over.】

　　After three days of thinking, I agreed.