At my son’s kindergarten graduation ceremony, Daniel Brooks showed up with Chloe Miller, both dressed to impress.
My son, Lucas Brooks, beamed with pride as he told his little classmates,
“This is my real mom. Isn’t she young and beautiful? I told you I wasn’t lying!”
“The old and ugly woman who used to pick me up from school was just our housemaid.”
Daniel even announced in public,
“Chloe is the woman who has always supported me in silence. She is also my one and only true love.”
“As for the rumors that Emma Carter is my wife and the mother of my son, let me make this clear—those are nothing but lies. I hope everyone will stop spreading false stories!”
At home, I watched the live stream calmly. I watched the man I once loved dearly embrace another woman so tenderly, and my son—my son whom I carried for nine months—boast proudly to others that Chloe was his real mother.
At that moment, my heart completely broke.
I made my choice: I would divorce Daniel, and I no longer wanted either him or Lucas.
The live broadcast of the graduation ceremony became wildly popular. Chloe, carefully dressed and radiant, instantly drew attention, and the internet was full of comments:
“Daniel and Chloe are truly a match made in heaven!”
“Only someone as gentle and elegant as Chloe deserves a man like Daniel.”
“Some people claimed Emma was Daniel’s wife, that he only succeeded because of her sacrifices—what nonsense!”
“Emma looks at least ten years older than Chloe. Standing next to Daniel, she looks completely out of place.”
“Daniel’s son Lucas is obviously Chloe’s child. Look at his nose and eyes—he looks just like her. How could that old woman Emma possibly give birth to such a handsome boy?”
“Emma was nothing more than a live-in nanny. Anyone who believed otherwise should shut up.”
Every comment was aimed at me, mocking and belittling me.
I knew very well that this online smear campaign was orchestrated, and the mastermind was none other than Chloe.
But at that point, I no longer cared.
Daniel and Lucas’s words and actions at the graduation ceremony had already drained me of all anger and all will to argue.
I once believed I was happy. But later I realized I was nothing more than a bird trapped in a cage.
Now, all I wanted was to leave Daniel and his son behind, to break free from the prison that had stolen six years of my freedom.
I closed the live stream, prepared a divorce agreement, and began packing my belongings.
After hours of packing, I realized with sorrow that, apart from a few keepsakes left by my parents, I owned almost nothing of my own.
Over the years, people said I was a devoted wife and mother—but in truth, I was just an unpaid maid for the Brooks family.
Most of my clothes were six years old. I had barely any jewelry. All my energy had gone into caring for Daniel and Lucas, leaving me little time or money to spend on myself.
Looking back on those years, I couldn’t help but feel foolish.
Just then, Daniel and Lucas returned home with Chloe.
They laughed together like a happy family of three.
In that moment, I realized I was nothing but an outsider in my own home.
Lucas shot me a look of pure disgust and snapped impatiently,
“Why isn’t dinner ready yet? Are you trying to starve me?”
