Chapter 1

1

After five years of loving Xavier Montgomery in silence, I was physically and mentally drained.

I turned around and married my childhood friend, Ethan Blackwell, who had always been by my side.

We became the perfect couple in everyone's eyes and had a beautiful son named Leo.

I thought he was the light that had protected me since we were kids.

But one day, I opened his old phone.

"If you come back, I'll divorce her immediately."

"The only one I've ever loved is you."

It turns out the salvation I believed in was a joke.

I was just a boring substitute to pass the time.

Even my own child was biased toward her.

I decided to cut all ties and leave.

But then, the father and son started to panic.

"Honey, please don't go."

"Mommy, please don't leave me."

……

【Sophia, you're the only one I love.】

After reading the chat logs, I felt like all the strength had been drained from my body. I collapsed onto the floor.

Every word in those messages was filled with deep affection and longing. Normally, I should have been happy to see my husband so romantic.

But the leading lady wasn't me. It was Sophia, my husband's foster sister.

A few days ago, I noticed Ethan was being very secretive with his phone.

I thought he was planning a surprise for our wedding anniversary.

To play along, I waited until he wasn't looking and tried various passwords.

My birthday, Leo's birthday, Ethan's birthday, even our anniversary.

I figured he was being mysterious because he didn't want me to find out early.

I didn't want to ruin his hard work, so I pretended not to know, waiting for my surprise with a heart full of hope.

I never expected that the surprise would be the truth that he didn't love me.

I thought back to our anniversary. A bitter smile crept onto my face.

That day, Sophia returned from abroad. Our romantic date for two turned into a dinner for three.

She only had a few sips of wine before she fainted from an apparent allergic reaction.

Ethan didn't even look at me. He dropped everything and rushed her to the hospital, leaving me alone on our anniversary.

When I got home, my trembling fingers typed in Sophia's birthday.

The phone unlocked instantly.

The dream of a happy marriage I had built for years shattered completely.

To outsiders, we were a model family. We were like a piece of fruit that looked perfect on the outside.

But on the inside, it was already rotten and stinking.

I sat there in the dark, watching the sun rise. When the alarm finally went off, I dragged my numb body to my son's room.

Leo was already awake, which was unusual for him.

The first thing he asked wasn't about breakfast.

"Mom, how is Aunt Sophia doing?"

My movements froze. Looking at his cute little face, my forced smile dimmed.

"She was taken to the hospital yesterday. It was just in time, so she should be fine."

I reached out to help him get dressed, but he jerked his head away, avoiding my touch.

"Didn't you know she's allergic to alcohol, Mom?"

"Why didn't you stop her?"

I stood there, stunned by my son's cold tone.

How was I supposed to know Sophia was allergic to alcohol? And how did he know?

"Aunt Sophia promised to take me to the theme park, and now I can't go because of you!"

Leo slapped my arm. My hand hung in mid-air, and my breathing grew heavy.

In my memory, Sophia had just returned on our anniversary. But my son already had plans with her.

That meant they had met before I even knew she was back. Maybe Ethan was the one who took him to see her.