Chapter 4

The moment the words left my mouth, Jacob’s face turned pale.

He staggered back two steps, disbelief written all over him.

"What did you say? The baby is gone? That’s impossible. Didn’t the doctor say the surgery schedule was tight and we had to wait?"

Desperate to comfort himself, Jacob clung to a sliver of hope.

"You’re lying to me, aren’t you? Evelyn, you’re just mad at me for leaving, right? I can explain everything. Asher is just a child, and he was really sick.

"When I took him to the hospital, the doctor said if we had waited any longer, his fever could have caused brain damage.

"I saw that his mother was struggling to take care of him alone, so I stayed to help."

As he spoke, Jacob reached out to hold me, but I pushed him away.

I had lost my child, while my husband had been by another woman’s side, taking care of her son.

How could I ever accept that?

Moreover, that woman and child were his mistress and illegitimate son.

I hadn’t confronted him before because I had already given up.

I just wanted to get away from him.

But hearing his words now, I realized I still wasn’t willing to let this go so easily.

"You''re right. It must be hard for a woman to raise a child alone," I said coldly.

"So, I’m giving you back to her. That way, she won’t have to struggle anymore.

"From now on, she won’t have to take her child to the hospital alone. She won’t have to care for him alone, either."

A flicker of surprise crossed Jacob’s eyes.

He didn’t understand why I was suddenly saying this.

He quickly composed himself and tried to coax me.

"Evelyn, are you jealous because I went to see Asher?

"I’m sorry. I know you’re upset. I just thought that since we were going to bring him home eventually, spending time with him now would help him bond with us.

"You’re just feeling uncomfortable now but, trust me, once he’s with us, you’ll probably end up loving Asher even more than me."

Jacob even chuckled, as if he truly believed in the scene he was imagining.

I only felt disgusted.

I knew exactly why Jacob refused to divorce me.

Back when Jacob started his business, half of the company’s shares were under my name.

If we got divorced, I could take all that money with me.

He couldn’t bear to lose those shares.

And I knew exactly why he wanted to bring Asher into our home.

Deep down, he always favored sons over daughters.

There was no way he would let his own child be raised elsewhere.

But life rarely went as planned, and I would never be the kind of woman who shared her husband.

I hadn’t spent my time in the hospital in vain.

I investigated everything about Asher’s mother and her relationship with Jacob.

Back when I was pregnant, Jacob had gone out for a business dinner, and that night, he had a one-night stand with that woman.

It led to a pregnancy, and from there, their relationship turned into something more.

"Jacob Barrett, do you need a paternity test with Asher?"

The smile on Jacob’s face froze.

For the first time, he looked genuinely panicked and reached out to grab me.

"It’s not what you think. Evelyn, let me explain… It was just an accident…"

But when his eyes met mine, the words he planned to say suddenly got stuck in his throat.

We knew each other for too long.

We understood each other too well.

Maybe, at the very beginning, Jacob truly hadn’t meant to cheat.

But the fact that he had hidden it from me all this time said everything about his true intentions.

If he had come clean from the start, I would have forgiven him with the excuse that it wasn’t intentional.

But now, standing in front of me like this, there was nothing he could say that would justify his betrayal.

I put on a smile and said calmly, "Let’s end this, Jacob Barrett. We’ll get a divorce, and you can finally bring your lover home."

With that, I zipped up my suitcase and walked away just as decisively as he had abandoned me before.

I admit that I was not a forgiving person.

And after causing me to lose two children, Jacob would never get my forgiveness.

During the divorce, I took 80% of the company’s shares and most of the savings.

I even took the house.

Of course, Jacob didn’t want to let go of it all.

He had poured years of effort into the company.

It was his greatest pride.

But that was his own fault for cheating and not covering his tracks.

With undeniable proof of his affair in my hands, he had no choice but to accept my terms.

Once the shares were transferred to me, I wasted no time selling them off.

Those shares meant everything to Jacob.

But to me, they were nothing but a painful reminder.

I had lost my first child because of this company.

I had no intention of running it.

What I didn’t expect was for Jacob to bring Sophia with him when I was finalizing the sale.

Just as I sat down with Jacob’s biggest rival, I saw them walk in.

Sophia had completely changed from the last time I saw her.

She clung to Jacob’s arm, looking triumphant.

Jacob, on the other hand, only looked at me with deep sorrow in his eyes.

"Evelyn, do you really have to do this to me?

"You know how much effort I’ve put into this company. If you sell the shares to someone else, all my years of hard work will be for nothing.

“Can you really bring yourself to do that? We built this company together. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?"

I would have been fine if Jacob hadn’t brought that up.

But now that he did, I only felt regret.

I should have left him with nothing.

I shouldn’t have settled for just 80%.

If I took everything, he wouldn’t have the audacity to stand in front of me now, acting like the victim.

Sophia chimed in with a self-righteous tone.

"Evelyn, I know I’ve affected your marriage, but this company is Jacob’s life’s work. Ever since the divorce, he hasn’t been able to eat or sleep.

“The moment he heard you were selling the shares, he rushed over to find you. Don’t you feel the slightest bit sorry for him?"

Sorry?

The only thing I felt sorry for was myself for ever being blind enough to marry a man like him.

I used to think that Jacob only stayed with Sophia and their child out of responsibility.

But now, I saw the truth—these two were nothing more than a pair of shameless cheaters who had found each other.

The realization made me sick to my stomach. I nearly gagged.