Chapter 1

Clara Mercer's school held a parent-child event, and she chose Zoe Halewood, her tutor, without hesitation, to go with her.

I stood among the crowd, watching a happy family of three quietly.

After Clara saw me, she shot a glance my way, then purposefully turned to Zoe.

She said, "Zoe, I wish you were my mom. I really like you."

When Silas Halewood heard that, he wrapped his arm around Zoe, whose cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, and spoke sweetly, his voice full of affection.

He said gently, "Just like Clara, I also like you."

That night, I signed the confidential research deal.

Silas and Clara were heartless. I really didn't want them.

After hearing their words, I couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.

To them, I was probably just an irrelevant person.

If not for me, Silas could marry the woman he really wanted.

And Clara could get the mom she actually wished for.

I turned away from the crowd and went back home.

Looking at the photo of Silas and me on the cabinet, tears welled up.

In fact, I had a happy time with Silas.

After I got pregnant, he'd come home right on time every day to accompany me, placing his hand on my belly and whispering to our unborn kid.

When my legs got swollen, he'd stay up all night massaging them for me. While everyone paid attention to her when Clara was born, he made sure to check on me first.

I still remember how she would cry all night when she was a baby. The nanny I'd hired had to cancel at the last minute because of an emergency.

I had to get up every night to take care of her.

But whenever I got woken up, Silas would groggily get up and hold me down gently.

He'd say, "Honey, you get some sleep. I'll take care of her."

Silas was always a neat freak, but he never batted an eye at changing Clara's diapers.

He took good care of me during my postpartum recovery, making sure I was comfortable.

Even though Silas had to go to work during the day, he'd pry his eyes open in the middle of the night, never complaining as he soothed Clara to sleep.

It lasted for two weeks, until the nanny finally arrived and things began to improve.

Later on, during Clara's childhood, Silas was never absent.

He'd take us on vacation.

Looking back, those days felt like a sweet dream, until Zoe showed up and ruined everything.

Zoe was the private tutor Clara had personally chosen.

Since she came into our lives, I didn't know when, but all the focus of Silas's had shifted to her.

He started taking care of Zoe instead of me.

Many times, when I came home from working overtime, I saw the three of them sitting together for dinner.

They were intimate, like they were a real family.

Seeing me, Zoe would give me an embarrassed smile.

She'd say, "It's too late, and I worried that Silas and Clara would be hungry, so I just made something myself."

But clearly, there was a nanny at home. Did they really need her to do it?

I usually focused on making sure the meals were nutritious, which meant they didn't always taste amazing.

So Clara started enjoying Zoe's greasy, salty comfort food instead.

After that, whenever I came back, Clara would always say, "Zoe's cooking is way better than yours, Mom. Yours is really terrible!"

Seeing Clara wrinkled her nose in disgust, I'd just tell myself that she was still a kid. She didn't know any better.

So later, I'd take Clara out, letting her eat whatever she wanted.

But even if I tried my best to please her, it was in vain. She always preferred Zoe over me, no matter what I did.

Zoe could play the piano and was very beautiful and elegant.

She'd go to the amusement park with Silas and Clara. Honestly, they looked like the real family of three.

Her job was as a tutor, but she'd let Clara leave her homework unfinished and go out to have fun.

She'd also let Clara eat all kinds of snacks and junk food, not even caring when Clara ended up with cavities in her teeth.

I always held back and patiently talked to Silas again and again.

But he always brushed me off, as if it was no big deal.

He'd say, "Zoe is a professional. Trust her, okay?

"Why are you so strict? Honestly, you just don't like Zoe, right?"

Silas and Zoe were spending more and more time together. And Clara liked Zoe more and more.

I knew that Clara didn't like me as her mom.

I had been working hard for my dream, and I had persisted.

But gradually, Silas and Clara started acting like my career was worthless.

Silas even scoffed, "You barely earn much money with it. Why waste your time?"

But back then, even when Silas had nothing, he still stood by me and supported me.

Why had he changed so much? Like a different person.

I really didn't understand.

But I could guess the reason.

It was because my job was very demanding.

I was always scrambling to find time for Clara.

With barely any time left for myself, I couldn't help but put myself last.