The Faded Past Cannot Be Chased

In the three years of our marriage, Caelan had made it to the headlines for his affairs ninety-nine times.

Even me giving birth to his son couldn’t make him settle down and return to the family.

On our son’s second birthday, he went as far as making love with his female secretary to the point of madness and had to be rushed to the hospital. It was instantly becoming a trending topic.

When faced with his mother’s fury, he shrugged it off and said, “I was just adding a bit of excitement to an otherwise dull life. What’s the big deal? Even my wife doesn’t mind, so why are you so angry?”

I looked at the smug expression on his face and suddenly felt completely uninterested. I turned to my mother-in-law and said, “You promised me that if I had the baby, you'd give me 150 thousand dollars and I could divorce at any time. Can you fulfill that promise now?”

——

When I suddenly mentioned the prenuptial agreement, a look of confusion flashed across my mother-in-law’s face.

“Jane, have you thought this through? If you really take the money and divorce, you’ll have no more relationship with Theo. Are you willing to give him up?”

I pressed my lips together, not replying to her immediately.

Instead, I turned to look at Caelan, who was lying in the hospital bed. He seemed to be chatting with someone, his fingers quickly moving on the phone and a slight smile curved on his lips. His brows were unintentionally softening with warmth.

We had been married for three years and his gentleness was something I had never truly experienced before.

I gathered my thoughts, withdrew my gaze and nodded firmly. “Mom, I’ve made up my mind. I only want the money.”

As for the child, since his birth, he had been taken to the Shaw Family’s old house, where they arranged for two excellent professional nannies to take care of him.

The time I spent with him was only the brief two hours on weekends, or the short moments during holidays.

As a result, the child, now two years old, wasn’t close to me at all.

Because I had no money and lacked an outstanding education, I had no grounds to argue when they said they would carefully nurture and educate him from a young age.

My mother-in-law saw that I had made my decision and sighed heavily, her eyes full of regret. “Jane, for the sake of the child, why can’t you just endure a little longer?”

For three years of marriage, Caelan’s scandalous news never stopped.

I cried like a madwoman, threw tantrums and even begged.

What I got in return was his indifference, contempt, disdain and even disgust.

Many times, I would ask myself in my heart, what was the meaning of my persistence?

And now, seeing him lying in the hospital bed, still flirting with his mistress, I realized that my persistence had been completely meaningless.

I didn’t say anything, just smiled and looked at her.

She was a woman too, how could she not know what I was thinking?

Though reluctant, she finally sighed and said, “Alright, since you’ve made up your mind, I won’t persuade you anymore. I will give you the compensation according to the agreement.”

I gave a faint smile and thanked her.

Soon, I received 150 million dollars from my mother-in-law. However, the divorce would still take a little more time.

I didn’t rush her. After she left, I began researching information about studying abroad.

Once I had submitted the application as required, a genuine smile finally appeared on my face.

At that moment, a dissatisfied voice came from behind.

"What are you smiling about? Is my hospitalization that amusing to you?"

My expression faltered slightly as I looked at the anger in Caelan’s eyes, then lowered my gaze.

It was only then that I realized, in my moment of panic, I had clicked on a news article that a friend had sent me.

This article just happened to be about his hospitalization.

When I saw the headline with the words Frenzied Collapse at the top, I felt a heavy jolt in my heart.

Just a slip of the hand, I accidentally clicked on it.