Chapter 1

When my mother-in-law was admitted to the hospital with advanced cancer, I went to pay for her emergency surgery. That was when I discovered our entire life savings had been wiped out.

My wife had handed every last cent to her club-boy lover to pay off his gambling debts.

I completely lost my temper.

“Your mother is lying in a hospital bed, and you gave our money to a worthless gigolo,” I shouted, my hands shaking. “Have you lost your damn mind, Fiona?”

Fiona Shaw sat on the sofa, calmly folding a baby onesie. Her face was completely devoid of emotion.

“What did I do wrong?” she replied coldly. “I am just securing a father with an actual future for my unborn child. As for your mom, you can just work harder to pay her medical bills. Noah is different. If he does not clear his debts today, his life is ruined.”

She glared at me, her lip curling into a sneer. “If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being a sterile loser.”

The room fell dead silent. The mutual friends who had come over to mediate looked at me with deep pity.

Years of humiliating whispers and mockery surged in my chest.

In that single moment, I knew our marriage was over.

What Fiona did not know was that she was the one diagnosed with infertility years ago.

And the woman dying in the hospital bed was not my mother. It was hers.

1、

The suffocating silence dragged on until our friends quietly stood up and left one by one.

My supposed inability to have children was never an open secret, but people still used it to demean me. They whispered behind my back, calling me half a man.

For the sake of our family and to protect Fiona, I had swallowed every bitter pill without complaint.

Hearing those exact words weaponized against me from her own mouth shattered whatever was left inside me.

I realized none of my sacrifices had ever mattered to her.

Breaking the long silence, Fiona stood up and grabbed her designer bag.

“If you want a divorce, go ahead. I will not stop you,” she said indifferently. “Just do not expect a single penny back. Noah needs that money to survive.”

She turned on her heel, heading straight for the front door.

I took a sharp breath and stepped forward to block her path.

“Your mother is in the ICU right now waiting for that money to clear her surgery,” I said, looking into her eyes. “It is a matter of life and death. Call him and get the money back right now.”

Fiona rolled her eyes, her impatience boiling over.

“Are you deaf? I am not letting the future father of my child go to prison.”

She shoved past me. “Your mom has had health issues for years. Waiting another six months or a year will not kill her.”

I grabbed her wrist, my voice rising with urgency. “You are the one who is barren, Fiona! Even if you sleep with a hundred men, you will never get pregnant!”

I tightened my grip. “Get our money back right now! It is your own mother who has cancer! Yours!”

Fiona froze by the door. She turned around and let out a harsh, mocking laugh.

“Colin Mercer, is this the most pathetic excuse you could come up with?”

Her eyes dripped with disgust. “Do you really think making up a lie like that will magically bring your manhood back? Dropping this low just to claw back some money makes you look utterly pathetic.”

She wrenched her arm free and slammed the front door shut behind her.

I stood alone in the quiet apartment, looking at the white wooden crib resting on the balcony. A wave of bitter irony washed over me.

We had bought that crib during our first year of marriage.

Both of us had wanted a big family, so we started trying immediately after our wedding.

One year passed, then two, but nothing happened.

Eventually, we went to a fertility specialist in the city.

The test results were definitive: Fiona was completely infertile.

Knowing that both of us were only children, and knowing how ruthless societal pressure could be on a woman, I begged the doctor to alter the file. I put all the blame on myself.

That night, Fiona had cooked a rare homemade dinner and held my face in her hands.

“It is okay, honey,” she had whispered softly. “Even without children, we will be happy forever.”

Seeing the pure love in her eyes, I swore to take that secret to my grave.

As the years slipped by without a pregnancy, rumors began spreading among our relatives and neighbors.

Whispers turned into cruel gossip.

Once, while we were walking through our suburban neighborhood, a neighbor loudly mocked me for failing to carry on my family line.

Fiona, who had never raised her voice at anyone, charged forward with clenched fists to defend my dignity.

......

I never imagined that the fierce woman who once defended me would now spit the words “sterile loser” right into my face.

I shook my head, swallowed the bitter lump in my throat, and called my attorney to prepare the divorce petition.

Before I could finish the call, my phone buzzed with an incoming call from the hospital.

The moment I answered, my mother-in-law’s shrill voice blasted through the speaker.

“Why on earth haven't you paid the bill yet?”

“Are you trying to kill me on purpose? The chief surgeon is already scrubbing in!”

She sneered without pausing for breath. “Fiona marrying you was the biggest mistake of her life. You barren freeloader!”

“I know what you are doing. You want Fiona to lose her mother so you can control her for the rest of her miserable life!”

Her voice turned into an outright screech. “I am giving you two hours to wire the deposit, or I will force Fiona to divorce you this instant!”

A sharp throb pulsed in my temples. Ever since the fake medical report years ago, my mother-in-law had grown increasingly vicious, belittling me every chance she got.

Now, she was completely unhinged.

I exhaled slowly, my voice completely flat.

“Fiona and I are getting a divorce. If you want surgery money, call your daughter.”