03
Suddenly, the world went silent.
Everyone was shocked to see that Carly had recovered from her aphasia, and her words left
them even more stunned.
All eyes turned to me, filled with doubt. After all, no one would expect a child to tell such a lie.
But I knew better. I knew children at this age were the best at lying.
Devin seized the opportunity, picking Carly up and walking over to stand next to Eileen. The
two of them stood side by side as if united.
He looked at me with disappointment in his eyes. “Theresa, I know you have issues with Eileen, but you can’t take it out on the child.” He said, “Don’t you realize why Carly didn’t tell you she was better? She’s afraid you’ll hurt her again! Carly is still so young, and you drugged her.
What if it caused irreversible damage? You used to be so considerate and kind. What happened
to you?”
Eileen nodded in agreement, her eyes reddening as she added, “Mrs. Murray, Carly only
wants to be close to me because she knows who treats her well and who doesn’t. If you have a problem with my relationship with Devin, I can leave.” She wiped her tears, pretending she was about to walk away.
This gesture immediately earned her sympathy from the onlookers, and the way they looked
at me shifted to one of disgust.
ignored them, walked up to Eileen, and pulled Carly from her arms. I looked Carly straight
12:12 Mon, 23 Dec ti.
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in the eye and said firmly, “Carly, you may not like me, but you can’t lie! You were better for a long time. Why are you saying I drugged you? You need to understand that if your father and I divorce, I have the right to fight for custody. If you keep lying, do you think I’ll keep speaking to you this gently?” Devin’s face darkened at my words. He stepped forward, trying to pull Carly back to
him.
But just as his hand touched Carly, she suddenly threw her doll at me and screamed, “You’re not my mother! Ms. Schmidt is my mom! You were jealous of Ms. Schmidt and stole me away! It’s all your fault. It’s all your fault!”
I looked at Devin’s face, which now had a hint of guilt, and I laughed bitterly. “Is that so? Well, t’s do a paternity test and see who’s lying!” Upon hearing my words, the reporters immediately suggested companies that could conduct the test.
Devin grew frantic.
He scrambled to send the reporters away, then turned to scold me.
Before he could say anything, I handed him the divorce papers.
Eileen snatched the papers from my hand, gasping. “You’re divorcing him? Mrs. Murray,
if this is about me, I can leave right now. Devin and I are completely innocent. Please don’t misunderstand. Devin is such a young, capable man, an expert in his field. He’s about to publish another paper. Mrs. Murray, how can you not appreciate a good man like Devin!” I didn’t have the time or patience for her hypocritical performance. I turned to walk away, but Devin grabbed my wrist tightly.
He leaned close to my ear and gritted his teeth, “You’re divorcing me over something so
trivial? Don’t you know, the reason I said all that earlier was to explain why Carly’s been taking
donations for her illness after she’s already recovered? I know we shouldn’t have kept it from you,
but now you know. What’s the point of this divorce? You just want to throw a tantrum, don’t you?”
I couldn’t listen anymore and slapped him hard across the face.
I shook my stinging hand, smiling as I said, “What’s the point? Well, the benefits are plenty. Devin, I not only want a divorce, I want you to leave with nothing. If you don’t agree, you’ll be
seeing me in court!”
That was the first time I had spoken to him so firmly since we got married.
Before our marriage, I had been spoiled and stubborn, with no close friends around me.
Looking back, I realized that perhaps, in his eyes, conquering a rich young lady and turning her
into a housewife was his greatest achievement.
As I thought about it, my gaze fell on my wedding ring whose paint already worn off.
I remembered when Devin first gave it to me, his eyes filled with guilt. “When I have money,
I’ll get you a bigger diamond ring,” he had promised. Back then, I was so caught up in happiness
that I believed he was the perfect man for me.
But if I looked closely, I would realize that what he had called a diamond ring was actually just a cheap silver band.
“Ha…” I twisted my lips in self–mockery, the sound of my quiet laughter slipping out.
After that day, when I parted ways with Devin, we never contacted each other again.
Occasionally when went out to buy groceries I’d see him driving out of the villa area across the
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12:12 Mon, 23 Dec ti f
Eileen, always sending him off, would look at me and sneer. “Theresa, you’re getting a divorce, so why are you still clinging to Devin’s house? Do you still think you’re that pampered young lady from before? Do you think you can make Devin come back to you by playing hard to get? You are now aged and ugly. Not just men, even I can’t stand looking at you!” My fists clenched at my sides. After a long moment, I released them, met her mocking expression, and sneered back. “At least I’m not the one being a mistress. Eileen, weren’t you the untouchable campus queen at Lumina College? How did you end up as a lover to a poor guy like Devin?” I laughed loudly and turned to walk away.
Eileen stomped her feet and screamed in rage.
To my surprise, Carly took the initiative to call me for Eileen. “You wicked woman, stay away from my parents! We won’t come back to you even if you beg my dad. We only want Ms. Schmidt!” I could hardly believe what I was hearing. I thought, “Is this really my daughter?”
Trying to keep my composure, I explained patiently, “Carly, you came from my belly! No matter what lies you’ve heard, I’m still your real mother!”
“You’re not! Dad said you were jealous of my mom and stole me away, forcing him to marry you! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been separated from my mom for all these years! You’re a wicked witch!” “Don’t worry, my dad will find a way to make you disappear, and you’ll be punished!”
The phone went dead.
Carly’s words made me realize many things. Recalling everything, I realized that whether it was Eileen’s return or Carly’s aphasia, I seemed to have learned about it all from Devin.
I hadn’t gone to the hospital when Carly had her checkup. Devin had said, “It’s just a small thing. I’ll handle it.”
At the time, I thought it was a sign of his responsibility, but now I understand better. I realized that it was likely part of his plan.
It all clicked in my head. I thought, ‘No wonder when I gave him the divorce papers, he stayed so calm. If it had been the old Devin, he would have been there to belittle me and force me to apologize!‘
I thought about it for a long time but couldn’t find the answers I wanted.
There had been so many recent events. I felt dizzy, overwhelmed, and out of sorts.
“Ugh, I’m so useless!” I slammed my palm against my temple, downed some vitamins, and lay down to sleep.
But then, it hit me.
Looking at the vitamins in my hand, I remembered the extravagant insurance Devin had bought for me before our marriage.
Suddenly, it all made sense.
I grabbed the vitamins and rushed to the testing center.
On the way, I called my parents, whom I hadn’t contacted in a while. “Mom, Dad, there’s something I need your help with. The assets under my name…”
“1
The test results were what I had expected. The report revealed that the vitamins were
x+
23
KIKA
12.1 Mon, 23 Dec
72
contaminated with sleeping pills, Long–term use would cause dizziness, confusion, and cognitive disarray. It would turn me into a shell of myself.
I realized this was why I had been fainting so often when taking deliveries.
I had thought I was just exhausted, but now it was clear. Devin had been trying to kill me!
“Theresa!” My parents rushed to my side. The moment they saw me, their eyes immediately
reddened.
My mom pulled me into a tight hug, her tears falling in large drops, quickly soaking the collar
of my shirt. At that moment, I deeply regretted leaving my family for love.
After hearing the whole story, my parents were furious, but they remained calm and helped me think it through. “Theresa, do you have evidence for the lawsuit? If you do, you can get a divorce quickly. If not, we’ll create the evidence. Devin has probably covered all his bases. Carly’s ‘truth‘ that she mentioned, those large insurance policies…they’re all risks. You should come back
home for now so we can at least feel a bit more at ease.”
I shook my head, took my parents‘ hands, and said firmly, “I have the evidence, but just
divorcing him like this would be too easy for him. I used to believe there was love between us, always choosing to forgive him. Now, I want him to experience the pain I’ve endured.”
My parents couldn’t change my mind. In the end, they could only remind me to be careful.
I nodded. Once home, I immediately took down all the hidden cameras and sent the footage
to Devin.
[I’ll meet you at Skyline Café,] I messaged, then deliberately applied a pale makeup look.
At the café, as soon as Devin sat down, he growled at me. “Theresa, what do you want? I
know you don’t want a divorce. You just want me to apologize, don’t you? Now that I’m here, isn’t it time to let it go?”
I looked at his empty hands, then recalled that day when he’d loaded Eileen down with luxury
items, and suddenly, this whole marriage seemed ridiculously laughable.
“Let it go? You tell me what letting go really means! Didn’t you say we were poor? Didn’t you say we had to rely on you driving a taxi while I took on multiple part–time jobs just to cover
Carly’s medical bills? Then why were you so generous in buying luxury items for Eileen?”
I spoke coldly, staring him down.
Devin, feeling guilty, scratched his nose and said, “Eileen’s been helping us take care of Carly. Shouldn’t I give her some gifts? Theresa, can you stop being so paranoid all the time?”
By the end, his confidence was back. Normally, I’d have nodded along with him, but not this
time. I wasn’t backing down.
I said, “I told you there were only two choices for you: leave with nothing, or I sue you. Devin, I found your account. You’ve been secretly filming me. I want half of the profits from that account. Of course, you can choose to refuse, but if you do, I’ll take this evidence and formally sue you. I heard you’re about to start a national lecture tour. If you don’t want negative news damaging your image, I suggest you make up your mind quickly.”
I ran my fingers across the design in my coffee, tapping on the table with my freshly done nails, every movement dripping with threat.
12:12 Mon, 23 Dec tif >
There was a long silence.
Devin’s gaze shifted, and I could see a subtle change.
Now, his eyes reflected a hint of threat.
“Theresa, I did all this to help our family. Besides, we’re family. Why do you have to be so distant? This can all be forgotten. I’ll handle things with Eileen, and we can still live a good life together,” he said, reaching for my hand, but I pulled it away.
I took out the verification report and spoke coldly, “There’s nothing more to discuss, Devin. If you want to be with Eileen, just tell me. There’s no need to mess with my vitamins. By the way, since you didn’t agree with my solution, I’ve already posted all the evidence you saw online. The
rending topics should be blowing up right now!”
