Chapter 1

1

After completing my mission to redeem the tragic second male lead, I found out I was pregnant.

He swore he would treat me right for the rest of our days and begged me to stay in his world.

So, I gave up my chance to return home. I helped my husband build an empire as the CEO of a publicly traded corporation, gave our child the finest life, and quietly sacrificed everything for this family.

Eight years later, the female lead returned to the States.

My husband started staying out all night, lingering by her side.

Even my son looked at me with open disgust.

"Chloe is a million times better than a frumpy hag like you! I want Chloe to be my real mom!"

When I scolded him, my husband shoved me aside. "Can you stop acting like a spoiled brat? Where the hell would you even go without this family?"

Is that so?

Little did he know, the choice to go home had been in my hands all along.

......

Hearing Declan ask where I could possibly go without this family left me numb. Then, an endless wave of despair swallowed me whole.

Handing someone the weapon to hurt you really cuts the deepest.

"Declan, what makes you so sure I can't go back?"

I gathered the last ounce of my strength to challenge him, searching his face for any flicker of doubt.

To my dismay, he didn't hesitate for a second, his eyes brimming with mockery.

"Jocelyn, know when to stop. Stop threatening to leave every single day. Who are you trying to scare? You're the one who told me you couldn't go back. If you actually could, you wouldn't be standing here wasting your breath on me."

His voice was dripping with absolute certainty. He truly believed I was trapped.

"Mom, you live on Dad's money and use Dad's stuff, yet you keep whining about leaving. Everyone's sick of you!"

Seeing his father so angry, my young son kicked my shin with all his might. His kick didn't hurt physically, but my heart plummeted into ice.

I was the one who raised him from infancy. I gave up my career and stayed in this world solely for him.

Whenever he fell sick, I was the one panicking, taking him to the ER alone and holding his hand through every needle prick.

Declan had never lifted a finger as a father, yet years of devoted love couldn't hold a candle to a dad Liam barely saw a few times a month.

In Liam's eyes, his father was an omnipotent hero because he paid the bills.

When Liam threw a tantrum, his dad could magically produce expensive toys and take him on luxury vacations. Unlike me, who followed him around all day, picking up his mess and nagging.

Liam couldn't see my sacrifices. He assumed I lived a life of leisure, completely oblivious to the fact that his heroic father wouldn't have made a dime without my guidance.

"Liam, is that really what you think of me?"

My gaze hardened. Liam scurried behind Declan, sticking his tongue out to make a mocking face.

"Mom, my teacher says people only like gentle women. You're like an angry beast, snapping at everything. No wonder Dad hates coming home and goes to Chloe instead. She's prettier and way sweeter than you."

Chloe. The name that had haunted my nightmares for years sounded shockingly cruel coming from my own son's lips.

Declan paused for a split second, then scooped Liam into his arms, exchanging a knowing glance with him.

"You need to reflect on your own behavior. If even your own flesh and blood can't stand you, I honestly don't see the point of your existence here."

Because his precious Chloe had been brought up, he feared I would lose my mind and demand answers. So he rushed out the door with our son.

I felt a jagged hole tear open in my chest, bleeding endlessly.

Liam was young, his moral compass barely formed, but he already knew who he loved and hated.

It was glaringly obvious that he hated me. No matter how hard I tried to cook him nutritious meals, he still preferred fast food and greasy burgers.

I could treat him like royalty ten thousand times, but the moment I disciplined him once, he would resent me forever.

I really was a failure of a mother.