She said, "Honey, let's have a baby."
I froze for a moment.
She turned around and hugged my head, looked into my eyes with affection and said, "I saw the parenting books you bought! What's the point of studying those on your own? We've been married five years, it's time to have a child."
"Next year when the baby is born, we can go together to tell your parents. They'll be relieved to know you're no longer alone. But before that, you need to work hard, okay?" she said again.
I forced a smile and hugged her back without saying a word.
She ran upstairs, looked excited and even glanced back at me flirtatiously.
To keep me from losing hope, she had dangled the idea of having a child in front of me for five years. Because I could endure any humiliation, but a child shouldn't have to.
Truthfully, without her constant manipulation, I wouldn't have achieved so much. But this five-year-long scam had to end.
As soon as she went upstairs, I left the house using the lab as an excuse. After drafted a divorce agreement, I bought a plane ticket to go abroad in three days.
The Timberson Family holds immense power in the capital, so if I expose Luke now, I stand no chance. My only shot was at his product launch three days from now. That day, everything will come to light.
The next day, when I brought the divorce agreement to her office, I overheard the secretaries talks.
"Is that Shania's husband? He looks so shabby." One girl said.
Another secretary chimed in, "Of course he's shabby. His family went bankrupt five years ago. Now he lives off Shania, he's just a kept man. I don't know what she ever saw in him."
"But the one who just went in is different. I heard he's a rising star in the business world, self-made. The way Shania looked at him, like she wanted to stick to him. I think she's planning to trade up!" The other girl said again.
I clenched my fists tightly and ignored the chatter. I walked straight to Shania's office door and was about to knock. But I stopped when I heard voices inside.
Shania said, "Have you been doing well these years?"
The man's voice replied, "Didn't all the letters I sent you tell you that? I've been living abroad alone, I have more money than I can spend. I even bought a private jet to come back this time. Just a shame … traveling alone is always a bit lonely."
Shania's voice was filled with sadness, almost choked up, "That's good. That way, I can rest easy."
"Shania, thank you for everything you've done for the company. Otherwise, I might still be struggling to survive somewhere." said Luke.
He said again, "I won't stay at your house before the launch. I don't want to upset Gabriel. After all, he used to support me. Now that our roles are reversed, I'm afraid he won't take it well if we argue ..."
Luke was always like this. Benefited from everything, yet pretended to be the humble one. He always tried to make me look bad in front of others.
When I failed the first time, I had investigated him in secret. I found that his company's products were strikingly similar to mine.
I reported him for use my real name, requested data proof, but was arrested by the police for defamation. Everyone said I couldn't handle failure and was smearing others out of spite.
Only Shania stepped in to smooth things over for me. She became the only one I trusted.
But now, she handed over everything I had to someone else.
Through the crack in the door, I saw her bitter expression. She pulled a document from her desk and handed it to Luke while said, "This is Gabriel's latest research. With this, you'll have a firm footing in the domestic market during your launch in three days. Consider it a gift to celebrate your return."
