Chapter 4

Yvette froze.

It was obvious she had not expected those words to come out of my mouth.

A frown quickly formed on her face.

"Seriously? You're going to threaten me with divorce over something this trivial?"

James immediately joined in. "So get divorced! I want to stay with Mom!"

The moment Eric heard that, he shot Yvette a pitiful look. "I've really become a curse, haven't I? Everywhere I go, people blame me. Now, I'm even causing fights between husband and wife."

As expected, she fell for it instantly. "It's not your fault," she said, hurrying to comfort him. "I'll take you somewhere else to stay for now."

She shot me an irritated look. "I've never seen a husband as cruel as you before. You'd better reflect on yourself. Otherwise, I'm not coming back."

A mocking smile tugged at my lips.

The Scott family had never been rich, which was why Eric had gone to great lengths to steal Alicia Brooks away. He wanted access to the Brooks family's wealth and the comfortable life it could provide.

Now, he was trying the same tricks on Yvette.

However, I was different.

My mother was the heiress of the prestigious Johnson family in the capital city. There were so many businesses under my name that I could barely count them.

Back then, I had been able to walk away without hesitation and let Alicia and Eric be together.

Today, I could just as easily cut Yvette out of my life, especially after she stabbed me in the back.

…

Three days before my departure overseas, every trending headline seemed to be about Yvette showering Eric with expensive gifts. First came the limited-edition sneakers, then the luxury watches. As if that was not enough, she even bought him an outrageously flashy sports car.

Eric had joined the parents' group chat for James's elementary school and changed his nickname to ‘James's Dad’.

I stared at the notification on my screen.

[You have been removed from the group chat.]

The irony was almost laughable.

Two days before my flight, I was busy handing over responsibilities at the company when a message from Yvette appeared.

[Have you realized your mistake yet? As long as you stop targeting Eric, we can go back to being as loving as we used to be.]

I let out a bitter laugh and ignored it.

Three hours later, another message arrived.

[I'll bring James home tomorrow for his birthday.]

After all those years of raising him, I still could not completely harden my heart. In the end, I replied with a simple: [Okay.]

On my final day before leaving the country, I went home early. I baked a chocolate cake because James had always loved chocolate. I also bought him the newest Transformers toy and carefully decorated the living room, wanting to give him a birthday he would remember forever.

Once everything was ready, I sat down and waited for them to come home.

Hours passed.

When the clock on the wall finally struck twelve, there was still no sign of them. Unable to wait any longer, I picked up my phone and called Yvette.

The call connected, but the voice on the other end was Eric's.

"Oh, Draven," he said, his voice dripping with smug amusement. "Nobody told you? Yvette decided to throw James a birthday party."

Excited laughter came through the phone. Then, James's voice rang out clearly.

"My birthday wish is for Mom, Papa, and me to stay together happily as a family forever!"

My fingers turned white around the phone. Clinging to the last shred of my dignity, I hung up.

That night, photos of the happy family of three celebrating James's birthday climbed to the top of the trending charts once again.

In the pictures, Yvette and Eric were smiling brightly as James sat between them. The three of them looked warm, close, and complete.

I looked down at the cake in front of me. The frosting had already melted into a mess.

A wave of nausea twisted in my stomach.

I called a housekeeping service and had all of Yvette's and James's belongings packed up.

Along with them, I included the paternity test between James and me and the divorce papers.

The next morning, everything would be delivered to the Shaw family estate.

After today, Yvette would receive this ‘gift’.

The day I left the country, I arrived at the airport early.

Before boarding, James called me, but I did not answer. Instead, I threw away my SIM card and boarded the flight to Amarion.

For eight years, I had lived inside a web of lies and deception.

Now, at last, it was over.