Chapter 2

I didn't need long to make my decision.

To me, my child was definitely the most important.

But to my husband Ryan, I wasn't sure who mattered more—his mother or an unborn child. I didn't want to gamble on that.

I decided to say nothing, but this left me feeling somewhat guilty toward Ryan. So when he came home drunk from another business dinner, even though the heavy smell of alcohol and smoke on him made me nauseous, I still took care of him personally.

I wiped him down with a hot towel and changed him into pajamas.

He mumbled groggily, "Honey, you're so good to me."

"How's the baby? Today I..."

Before he could finish, he fell asleep and started snoring.

As I took his changed clothes to put them in the hamper, my gaze suddenly stopped on his shirt collar.

Only the size of a fingernail, the color quite faint, but the red was glaring.

I reached out to touch it, then smelled it. Instantly, I was certain—it was lipstick.

Thinking about how guilty I'd felt all day, I found it utterly ironic.

After a long moment, I tossed the shirt into the hamper, then took Ryan's phone from his pocket.

Using his fingerprint to unlock it, I opened his messages.

I found it quickly. That woman's profile picture was a glamour shot—a typical Instagram face with a curvy figure.

I clicked into their chat history. The earliest message was from five months ago.

I remembered that date clearly, because that was the day I found out I was pregnant. That day, Ryan had cried tears of joy.

I expressionlessly took screenshots of all the chat records.

After finishing everything, I lay down in bed.

Ryan had cheated. The marriage was definitely over.

But the baby was already over six months along. He could move in my belly now. I couldn't bear to give him up.

But if I kept the child, would Ryan fight me for custody?

And there was my father-in-law. He was particularly obsessed with bloodline and legacy, so he definitely wouldn't easily let me take the child away. The divorce needed careful planning. I needed a foolproof solution.

I ran through all the people and situations in my mind, and finally realized the key to breaking this deadlock was Linda.

I quickly formed a plan, and I believed Linda would definitely cooperate.

The next day, I found an opportunity to tell Linda my plan.

Linda agreed immediately, because our goals were aligned to some degree.

After laying our cards on the table, I couldn't help being curious. "Why didn't you choose Ryan?"

If nothing else, Ryan was at least young!

Linda raised an eyebrow. "Because he's too young."

I paused, then understood.

Linda came from a poor family with little education. Her only asset was being young and pretty. That was an advantage to my father-in-law at his age, but not much to Ryan.

Linda said mockingly, "Margaret told me outright that someone like me serving her son was my good fortune!"

"She's just looking down on me because of her husband's status. If that's how it is, then I'll take everything from her. I'll make her regret it!"

Linda's eyes filled with tears, looking like someone who'd endured endless humiliation and was finally fighting back.

But she didn't mention at all that my father-in-law had built his fortune from scratch and was the undisputed authority in the family, while Ryan was just a spoiled rich kid living off his parents—no power, no money, no ability.

But I just smiled and said nothing, pretending to believe her.