CHAPTER 1: Daughter Gone, Husband's Betrayal

Eleanor pushed open the door of the villa in the evening.

The house was lively, filled with cheerful voices and laughter.

Her husband, who had been uncontactable all day, and her stepsister, Claudia, were in the living room playing with their son. They didn't notice her arrival at all.

It was as if they were the real family.

Eleanor tightly gripped her daughter's death certificate, the blood in her veins seemingly frozen.

An immense grief enveloped her, nearly pushing her to a breakdown.

Yesterday, her daughter was in a car accident and needed a rare 'Panda blood' transfusion urgently. The hospital blood bank was empty, and only Sebastian could save their daughter, yet he wouldn't answer his phone.

Before Ivy died, she tearfully said she wanted to see her father.

Even when Sebastian’s call finally connected, it was heartlessly hung up the next second.

Their daughter ultimately passed away with regret.

Sebastian's cold indifference was a brutal stab in Eleanor’s already wounded heart.

The moment the hospital pronounced her daughter dead, Claudia posted a photo on Facebook of the three of them watching a meteor shower.

Eleanor tried Sebastian’s phone again; it was turned off.

Now, Eleanor was utterly alone, while the three of them were enjoying themselves.

She watched her son cling to Claudia’s arm, whining sweetly, "Claudia, guess what I wished for yesterday?"

"What was it?"

"I wished for Claudia to be my mom."

Claudia covered her mouth and chuckled softly, glancing sideways to secretly gauge Sebastian’s reaction.

Sebastian was looking down, scrolling on his phone. He looked up at Claudia upon hearing this, his eyes filled with a tenderness Eleanor had never seen directed at her.

Claudia pursed her lips, secretly delighted.

She deliberately raised her voice, "Why does Teddy want me to be his mom?"

Theodore showed his two sharp canine teeth, "Because Teddy likes Claudia, and Daddy likes Claudia too!"

This statement hit Eleanor like a lightning bolt. She stared incredulously at Theodore, the son she had risked her life for, enduring a day and a night of labor and severe hemorrhaging.

Yet now he was asking his father to marry another woman.

Eleanor’s voice trembled as she spoke, "Teddy, I am your mother. Haven't I been good to you?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Theodore looked up at Eleanor standing by the door.

He snorted coldly and said nothing.

A wave of utter defeat washed over Eleanor. She had never imagined that she would fail so miserably as a mother.

She wanted to say more, but before she could, Sebastian stood up impatiently.

"He's just a child talking nonsense. Why are you arguing with a kid?"

Eleanor finally fixed her gaze on Sebastian, recalling the countless frantic calls she had made for help last night. She forced herself to remain calm.

"I called you yesterday. Why didn't you answer?"

Sebastian swiped a few times on his phone, then frowned, asking, "What call? Can you stop being so unreasonable?"

On his phone, there were indeed no missed calls from Eleanor.

Claudia avoided her gaze and quickly jumped in, "Sis, you might have misunderstood. We went to see the meteor shower last night. The signal might have been bad up the mountain, so your calls couldn't get through."

"Shut up! This isn't your place to talk," Eleanor yelled.

She was utterly fed up with Claudia’s hypocrisy!

Claudia froze, completely stunned. She hadn't expected the usually timid Eleanor to suddenly be so forceful.

Theodore rushed over and gave Eleanor a hard shove, "Bad woman, why are you shouting at Claudia?"

Eleanor stumbled backward, her lower back slamming into a decorative cabinet. The pain contorted her face.

Eleanor closed her eyes in despair.

Her five-year-old son, whom she had raised, was treating her like an enemy for Claudia’s sake.

"Since you hate me so much, from today on, I am no longer your mother."

"What?" Theodore froze, looking at Eleanor, bewildered and helpless.

Sebastian stood up, his face grim and terrifying, "Eleanor, what are you doing? Are you trying to end our marriage?"

"Yes, I am," Eleanor looked at him. "Divorce. Sebastian, we are getting a divorce. The son stays with you, and our daughter..."

The rest of the words caught in her throat, and her eyes welled up.

"It was just a joke. Why are you making such a scene?"

Eleanor’s reaction took Sebastian completely by surprise.

She was practically invisible in the house, a woman who usually didn't dare raise her voice to him. Her sudden challenge to his authority made Sebastian deeply uncomfortable.

He was about to lose his temper, but seeing the tears in Eleanor’s eyes, he softened his tone. "That’s enough. Stop dragging this on day after day."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear anything. Now, go prepare dinner. We're hungry."

Exhausted in mind and body from the sudden death of her daughter, Eleanor said, "The day after tomorrow, two in the afternoon. See you in court."

Sebastian slammed his phone down toward Eleanor, "You're still going on about this? Fine! Divorce! Don't you dare regret it."

"No regrets."

Eleanor went upstairs to pack her belongings, resolved to move out.

When she came back downstairs, Claudia and the nanny were cooking in the kitchen.

Hearing the movement, Sebastian glanced up at her. He gave a cold, contemptuous snort and returned to looking at his phone.

Theodore was shaking a piece of chocolate in his hand.

His respiratory system was very sensitive. Eating anything greasy, sweet, or spicy would easily cause inflammation and a persistent high fever.

Before, Eleanor watched him closely and never allowed Theodore to touch snacks.

Even a single lick would make her worry for days.

She repeatedly lectured him, but Theodore only found her annoying.

"This is so good! I want to eat chocolate every day from now on."

"Eating too much can cause a fever," Eleanor swallowed the bitterness in her heart and gave one final warning.

"Mind your own business! You're not my mom anymore," Theodore stuck out his tongue at her and deliberately stuffed another piece into his mouth.

Eleanor pretended not to see and turned to leave.

Only after the sound of the door closing echoed did Claudia walk out of the kitchen, falsely suggesting, "Sebastian, maybe I should go apologize to Sis and beg her to come back."

"Beg her? She’s been living off me for years. How long do you think she can survive out there?" Sebastian sneered. "I'll count to ten. I guarantee she'll crawl back and apologize to me." Sebastian was certain.

Theodore began the countdown, "Ten, nine, eight... three, two, one."

The countdown ended.

Eleanor was nowhere in sight.

Sebastian scoffed, "Playing hard to get. She'll be back tomorrow, begging me on her knees."

Claudia thought to herself, I won't give her a chance to come back.

Sebastian hadn't thought Eleanor leaving would affect him much.

Unexpectedly, in the early hours of the morning, Theodore developed a high fever.

Claudia had no idea how to care for a child and simply suggested, "It’s nothing. You'll be fine after a nap."

But Theodore’s temperature was nearing 104°F (40°C). His face was flushed, his eyes glazed over, and he just sat in bed giggling foolishly.

Claudia told Sebastian, "It's just that Eleanor pampered Teddy too much before. He's a boy, but he topples over if the wind blows."

The family doctor was taking a long time to arrive. Theodore was burning up and constantly mumbling nonsense.

Sebastian genuinely feared his son might suffer permanent damage. He picked up his new phone, reassuring himself, I'm only doing this for the child, giving you a chance to apologize.

He sent Eleanor a voice message, "What kind of mother are you, still out running around in the middle of the night? The child has a fever. Get back here now."

He released the button and sent the message.

A red exclamation mark immediately pierced his eyes like a needle.

Sebastian was shocked. "Damn it, Eleanor actually blocked me!"