Chapter 4

Five years of self-deception. Five years of agonizing fertility treatments. Countless needles that left my stomach bruised, and hormone pills that made me vomit daily.

All of it became a hilarious joke in the face of Ethan's words: "I had a vasectomy years ago."

I didn't go back to the penthouse we shared. Instead, I drove straight to the Carter Estate.

Helen Carter was sitting in the grand living room, elegantly trimming imported roses. When she saw me walk in alone, her brows furrowed in annoyance.

"Why are you here at this hour? Where is Ethan?"

"He went to be with his legal wife," I said, my voice dead calm.

Helen's hand slipped. A sharp rose thorn pricked her finger, but she didn't even flinch. She looked up at me, eyes wide with shock.

"What did you say?"

I took a printed document from my bag and tossed it onto the glass coffee table. It was the registry search result showing Ethan's active, legal marriage to Serena Miller.

"Mrs. Carter. Or maybe I should just call you Helen," I said, a faint smile playing on my lips.

"Five years ago, I promised you that if I couldn't have a baby in five years and Ethan refused to sign our marriage license, I would leave. Well... time is up."

Helen's face flushed with a mixture of emotions. Although she had always looked down on my lack of an elite family pedigree, she couldn't deny that I had taken flawless care of her son for five years.

More than that, she never expected the submissive, quiet Vivian to speak to her with such cold defiance.

"Vivian, you..."

Helen opened her mouth, a brief flicker of guilt crossing her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by the cold calculation of a high-society matriarch.

"Since you brought up our agreement, the Carter family won't send you away empty-handed. However... my father-in-law's 80th Birthday Gala is in three days. The entire New York elite will be there."

Helen sighed, her tone softening into a manipulative plea.

"Grandpa Charles's health is failing. He cannot handle any shocks. For his sake, and for the reputation of the Carter family, you must attend this gala as Ethan's wife."

"Once the gala is over, you can leave. I won't stop you."

I looked at the calculating woman in front of me, the last spark of warmth in my heart completely dying out.

To the very end, all they cared about was their precious reputation.

"Fine. I'll play along for one last show," I agreed instantly.

Helen let out a massive sigh of relief. She immediately gestured to her assistant, who handed me a pre-written check. The amount was staggering—a multi-million dollar payoff.

"Think of this as your severance package. Consider it my personal compensation to you."

I took the slip of paper, holding it lightly between my fingers. The smile on my face deepened.

Helen thought she was buying my silence with a few million dollars.

She had no idea that as the sole heiress of the Sterling Group, I could buy ten Carter estates with a snap of my fingers.

I took the check only because it was the perfect, ironic receipt to close out the last five years of my humiliating devotion.

I turned and walked out of the estate.

As the cool night breeze hit my face, I felt lighter than I had in years.