Chapter 1
Twelve years into our child-free marriage, I discovered my husband, Barry Harman, had a secret family hidden away.
That day, I found a photo on his phone of a little boy who looked just like him.
I asked him, "Barry, whose kid is this?"
Barry's face went pale, and after a long pause, he finally managed to say, "I can explain."
I said, "Explain what? That you had a son behind my back?"
He kept his head down, unable to meet my eyes.
He said, "I'm sorry."
I laughed.
"Can those two words give me back these twelve years?" I said.
******
Later, I found out everything about that woman.
Her name was Blair Miller, twenty-five years old, and she used to be an intern at our company.
I saw her once from a distance. She was pushing a stroller around the mall, picking out luxury brand children's clothes.
The calm look on her face made it clear she felt she had nothing to worry about.
My friend, Ashlyn Carson, asked me, "What does she want?"
I replied, "She doesn't even need to take my place."
She asked, "Why?"
"Because I don't have any kids. Even an illegitimate child has the right to inherit. All she has to do is wait, and everything Barry and I have built over twelve years will eventually go to her son," I said.
Ashlyn frowned. "So, what's your plan now?"
I thought for a long time.
I tossed and turned through countless nights, staring at the ceiling and thinking.
If I got a divorce, I could take more than half of everything.
But what about the rest? It would be enough for Blair and her son to live comfortably for generations.
Why should they get away with it so easily?
I told myself, "No way. I can't let them get away with this so easily."
If that were the case, then I would make the company go bankrupt.
I was alone. I could survive on very little.
I wanted to see if Blair would still be willing to have his children when there was no money left.
By the time I found out about Barry's affair, things were rotten to the core.
His secret son was two and a half, about to start kindergarten.
Blair was already expecting their second kid.
The reason I found out so late was that there wasn't a single decent person in the Harman family.
His mom, his sister, and his childhood buddy Dale Moody. They all covered for him, keeping me in the dark.
Someone sent me that photo anonymously.
In the photo, Barry was supporting Blair as they walked into the OB-GYN.
His hand rested at her waist, like he had done it a thousand times before.
The moment I saw the photo, I froze.
I stared at the screen for two whole minutes, unable to utter a single word.
I wanted to smash something, scream, or storm up to him and hurl the phone right in his face.
But I didn't.
After twelve years of fighting my way up in the business world, I was no longer that impulsive young girl.
I would never act rashly until I knew the full story.
I spent a hefty sum to dig up everything Barry had been doing over the past few years.
It only took two days for the whole truth to come out.
Three years ago, Barry had started an affair with Blair and set her up outside his marriage.
Two and a half years ago, Blair had given birth to his son.
And now, Blair was expecting twins.
I held the investigation report, and my hands shook so badly I could barely hold the paper.
Including the ones in her belly, there were three children.
And I, his legal wife, had been kept in the dark for three years.
Then it hit me.
For the past two years, Barry's mom had stopped nagging me about having kids.
She used to bring it up every holiday, but then she suddenly stopped.
I thought she had finally come around.
It turned out she hadn't changed her mind. She already had a grandson.
The whole Harman family had been making a fool of me for three years.
After I found out about Barry's affair, I didn't confront him right away.
What was the point of arguing? The facts couldn't be changed.
The only thing I needed to think about now was how to maximize my own interests in the divorce.
I found a quiet spot and sat there all afternoon.
I started going over the past twelve years, piece by piece.
Barry was the one who suggested we go child-free.
He had said, "We just started the business, and we still have the mortgage to pay off. Let's hold off on having kids for now."
I had thought it made sense and agreed.
Who would have thought that he would be the one to go back on his word in the end?
But he never said a word to me about it.
He found a girl in her early twenties to have his children instead.
During the early years of our business, we went through every hardship.
We rented a hundred-square-foot office, ate cheap boxed lunches, and pulled all-nighters revising our plans.
Once, when a project was about to collapse, I kept him company, drinking through the night.
He said, "With you by my side, I'm not afraid of anything."
Now the company had an annual revenue of over one hundred million dollars.
The first thing he did was find a young woman to have his children.
I once asked him, "Now that things are better, do you still want to be child-free?"
His eyes flickered, and he said, "I think having a kid wouldn't be so bad."
That was the moment I should've known.
But I was too slow to catch on.