Chapter 1

My 50-year-old husband suddenly confessed to me that he had fallen in love with the female student I had been supporting.

"Let's get a divorce. You can have half of the assets," he said.

I was about to refuse when I suddenly received a message from the future: [Agree to him, or you'll regret it for the rest of your life.]

I was stunned for a moment, then said to my husband, "Alright. I agree. The kids can stay with you, too.

"But I don't want half the assets only. I want 100 million dollars."

*****

"Let's get a divorce. You can have half of the assets," Edward Grant said while sitting on the sofa in the living room, looking pretty calm.

Sitting next to him was Sophie Lane, the girl I'd been financially supporting for eight years. She kept her head down, nervously twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers, looking utterly pitiful and innocent.

I looked up in disbelief.

"Edward, what did you say?" I asked.

"I said divorce," he replied, looking up at me, not a trace of guilt in his eyes. "I can't lie to myself. Sophie is a good woman, and we're together now."

Sophie finally raised her head, her eyes red.

"Lily, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have done this, but I couldn't help myself. Ed has been so good to me," she said.

My head buzzed as I looked at the girl I'd been helping since she was a freshman in high school.

She grew up in a rural village. Her dad was paralyzed, her mom remarried, and every month I sent her money for tuition, clothes, and living expenses.

The day she got into college, she called me, crying so hard that she could barely speak. She swore she'd repay me for everything I'd done.

But now, she was sitting on my sofa, saying she couldn't control herself around my husband.

"How long have you two been together?" I asked.

Edward frowned.

He said, "Does it matter? No one can control their feelings. She's young and full of life. Being with her makes me feel like I'm living again.

"And you? Look at you now. You have wrinkles everywhere, always fussing over the stove. I can't even talk to you without you zoning out."

Afraid I'd freak out and refuse the divorce, he quickly added, "It's been over a year."

I repeated inwardly, 'A year?' My mind started spinning, scenes from the past flashing by.

Last year on my birthday, Edward said he had to go on a business trip. Coincidentally, Sophie posted on her Instagram with a location tag that matched where he was supposed to be.

At the time, I didn't think much of it and assumed she was there with her classmates.

For the past two months, Edward had been working overtime a lot, and there was always a strange perfume scent on his shirts. I thought he'd switched to a new cologne.

But now, that scent on Sophie was exactly the same.

Looking back, I realized all the clues had been right in front of me.

I had never wanted to put the pieces together.

"Do the kids know?" I asked.

Edward was quiet for a moment, which was pretty rare.

"Yeah, they do," he finally answered.

I laughed.

The girl I helped raise ended up with my husband, and everyone was in on it. None of them thought I deserved to know.

While lost in thought, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

Michael Grant and Emily Grant, my son and daughter, came down, one after the other. Both were 25 years old. Michael was Edward's right-hand man at the company, and Emily was in grad school. I'd raised them both.

Emily was even holding Sophie's bag.

"Mom, please agree to Dad's terms," Michael said.

He walked over and stood right next to Sophie.

He continued, "Sophie is a way better fit for Dad than you are. All you ever do is nag us about when we get home or whether we've eaten. Sophie never nags us.

"She's always so gentle. It's so much easier to be around her. Mom, you're getting older. Why not let it go?"

Emily echoed, "Exactly, Mom, Dad and Sophie truly love each other. Don't make things hard for them.

"Sophie goes shopping and sees movies with us. You're always on our case about studying or getting married. Let it go, Mom. It's better for all of us."

I looked at Michael and Emily, the two kids I gave birth to and raised myself.

Now, they were standing right next to Sophie, the girl I'd supported for years, taking her side.

And me? After more than 20 years as their mom, I was suddenly the one they were pushing out.

I lowered my eyes, my heart sinking in disappointment.

Edward stood up, looking down at me like he was already the winner.

He stated, "You heard them, right? The kids are all backing me.

"Lily, sign the papers and don't make things harder for everyone."

I slowly raised my head and stared at him.

"So, are you giving me half the assets?" I asked.

"Yeah, the savings plus a few houses, all together it's worth about 70 million dollars. You'll get 35 million dollars. That's more than enough for the rest of your life," he said.

I was about to say, "I don't need it," when my phone suddenly buzzed.

It was a text from an unlisted number, with no location info. [Agree to him, or you'll regret it for the rest of your life.]