Chapter 3
I prepared to decline when my phone rang. The caller ID showed Margaret's name.
The second I answered, her shrill, unforgiving voice cut straight through the line. "Sophie, when will you end this childish nonsense? Did you have to air all our family's business in public at the hospital?"
I stayed silent, letting her rant unchecked. "Olivia is carrying my grandson. You couldn't give us a male heir yourself, only a worthless girl, and now you stand in the way of Andrew continuing our family line?"
A sudden chill shot from my fingertips straight to my heart.
Harsh white hospital light washed over my face, leaving me numb, hollow, and emotionless.
"What did you say?" I asked.
Margaret finally dropped all pretense of kindness, speaking with unbridled bluntness, "It's plain as day. Once Olivia gives birth, we can list the child under your legal name.
"You'll remain Andrew's wife, and he'll never treat you unfairly. You're no longer young. Turn a blind eye, endure it quietly, and this family can stay intact."
I remained quiet for a long stretch, long enough for her to assume the call had dropped.
When I finally spoke, "Mom, do you truly think I'm that disposable?"
Caught off guard by my sharp retort, Margaret flared into immediate irritation. "How dare you speak to me like this? I'm only looking out for your future.
"Every married woman endures hardships to keep a family together. You're part of the Carter family now. What do you hope to gain by stirring up trouble?"
I looked down at Lily, her body still warm from the fever as she slept in my arms, and gently stroked her back.
When I spoke again, my tone was as still as stagnant water, as if I had already grieved and buried every last ounce of feeling, "I won't endure it any longer."
"Sophie—" Margaret's voice was sharp and urgent.
I ended the call abruptly.
Having overheard every word of the argument, Ethan offered no empty comfort or pointless pity.
He simply asked in a quiet, steady tone, "Are you divorcing him?"
I lifted my head to meet his eyes, deep with restrained emotion.
"Yes," I said.
"Then don't look back," Ethan said.
That night, I carried Lily back to the home I'd lived in for seven years.
I set myself to one single task: packing my belongings.
Andrew stumbled home at three in the morning.
Pushing open the bedroom door, he found me crouching on the floor, folding Lily's small clothes into an open suitcase.
Nearly all my possessions had already been cleared from the wardrobe.
He paused in the doorway, his face clouded with anger and disbelief. "You're actually serious about divorcing me?"
I folded one last little jacket and placed it neatly into the suitcase, never lifting my gaze. "My lawyer will send the divorce agreement to you tomorrow."
A cold, mocking chuckle escaped him. "A lawyer? Where would you possibly get the money to hire legal representation?"
My fingers froze mid-movement.
His words were cruelly cutting, a bucket of ice water dumped over my head.
And he was right. For seven years of marriage, I'd walked away from my career to raise our daughter and care endlessly for his entire family.
Though I managed daily household finances, he held control of all bank accounts.
The car was registered solely in his name, the apartment deed belonged jointly to him and Margaret, and his company never listed me as a stakeholder or partner.
To outsiders, I lived a glamorous life as Mrs. Carter.
But when divorce loomed, I lacked even the funds to hire a lawyer to fight for my rights.
Andrew seemed to realize his words had been unnecessarily harsh, softening his tone slightly. "Sophie, I admit I was in the wrong this time.
"But Olivia's pregnancy is an unchangeable fact. What will splitting our family accomplish? Lily is still so young. Do you want to shatter her childhood over this?"
I finally lifted my eyes to meet his. "When you took your mistress for a prenatal checkup, did you ever spare a single thought for Lily's future?"
His brows furrowed with growing frustration. "I've told you it's not what you think. Olivia's health is fragile, her pregnancy unstable, and the company relies heavily on her for key projects.
"I only accompanied her for a routine medical exam."
"All the way into bed with her as well?" I retorted.
A heavy silence settled over the bedroom in an instant.
Andrew's expression darkened into a stormy scowl.
I stood to my feet, facing him across the scattered clothes strewn across the floor. "Andrew, I'm not here to argue in circles. I'll ask one straightforward question. Is the child in Olivia's womb yours?"
He stayed silent for ten long seconds.
Not a single denial crossed his lips.
At that moment, all anger faded away completely.
It was the numbness of being stabbed straight through the heart, too wounded to feel any pain at all.
"Very well." I nodded quietly. "There's nothing left to discuss."
I reached for the suitcase handle to leave, but Andrew's hand clamped down firmly on the luggage. "Sophie, don't push me into a corner."
A bitter laugh escaped me. "Am I the one doing the pushing?"
"Pursuing a divorce will benefit no one. I'll handle things with Olivia properly. Once the child is born, it won't threaten your position or Lily's place in this family. You'll still be my wife," he urged in a lowered voice.
I stared at him coldly. "So your solution is to have me raise your illegitimate child for you?"
Andrew's expression shifted instantly; he was caught off guard by my bluntness.
Just then, a soft clatter echoed from the bedroom doorway.
Margaret had appeared silently, without even bothering to slip on her slippers.
Having overheard every word, she abandoned all pretense of gentleness. "So what if you raise the child? As the legal wife, you couldn't even give me a grandson.
"Are you really going to block our family's legacy? If you have any sense, you'll take the baby in once it's born. No one outside the family will ever know the truth."
Staring at her, I suddenly saw my seven years of marriage as nothing more than a pathetic, laughable farce.
I'd simmered countless batches of herbal tonics for her over the years, washed her feet through bitter winter nights, accompanied her to regular blood pressure checkups through summer heat, and even volunteered to organize her niece's high school graduation reception.