Chapter 1

“Dad, if I tell everyone that Mom and Mr. Peterson are together, can Aunt Jessica become my mom?”

I jolted awake in the middle of the night, hearing those words after getting up to use the restroom.

Aunt Jessica, as Leo called her, was our new tutor.

A while ago, Leo had whined about wanting a tutor, and David had been surprisingly enthusiastic about finding one for him.

The tutor, Jessica Miller, graduated from a prestigious business college, studied abroad, and used to be an executive at a well-known company. Her resume was incredibly impressive.

That someone with such a background would agree to take on a simple tutoring job for us was a bit of a surprise, but seeing how well she got along with my son, I didn’t think much of it.

Jessica told me, “Stella, I don’t have many friends or family here. I don’t really care about the salary; just providing me a place to live is enough.”

Back then, I had no idea she was David’s first love.

Before we got married, I knew David had a first love. He said they dated in college, but she dumped him and went abroad because she thought he was poor.

He claimed he hated her guts.

When we got married, he knelt on one knee in front of me, eyes red. “Stella, you’re the only one who truly cares for me. I, David Miller, will only love you in this life. If I break this vow, may I suffer a terrible fate!”

His family was poor, and his relatives and friends barely acknowledged him.

I was the one who stood by him, helping him build his career until he became a regional manager for a major Asian company, earning millions a year.

“Leo, if you do exactly what Dad tells you, your mom won’t be able to boss you around anymore. Aren’t you excited?”

“I am!”

Jessica sat in my husband’s lap, gently stroking my son’s head.

This whole idea was Jessica’s. David wanted a divorce but was afraid I’d take his money, so he planned to frame me for cheating and make me leave with nothing.

After Leo fell asleep.

My husband and Jessica sat on Leo’s study desk, kissing passionately. Their clothes were half-undone, their explorations deep. I could hear their heavy breathing through the monitor.

I calmly recorded the video and sent it to my lawyer. “Is this enough to make him leave with nothing?”

He had no idea that I was just as afraid of him taking my massive fortune.

My family was incredibly wealthy. My parents owned properties all across the country; I could just lie around and collect rent, with more money than I could ever spend.

When I first met David, he had a deep resentment towards wealth. He said his first love abandoned him for money to go abroad, and he’d hated rich people ever since. So, I never dared to tell him the truth: I was filthy rich!

To match his lifestyle, I wore bargain-bin clothes every day and bought cheap produce at the supermarket.

He had a fragile ego. He’d lost his job and spent his days at home drinking, complaining that no one recognized his talent.

To protect his pride, I secretly approached Mr. Sullivan, offering to lower his rent by thirty percent, on the condition that he give David a chance. Mr. Sullivan immediately called David personally and offered him a job.

On his first day of work, he bought a big cake, kissed me like I was the most precious thing, and promised to earn lots of money to support Leo and me.

Now, for a few miserable millions, he was conspiring with his mistress to frame me for cheating.

He was pathetic. If he’d paid any attention to me, he’d have seen the dozens of keys on my nightstand.

The next day.

As David was leaving, he leaned in to kiss me. I pretended to look down, avoiding it.

He paused, then chuckled. “Honey, I’ll pick you up after work tonight. Dress up nicely.”

It was my birthday today.

He’d been talking about a big surprise for me for two weeks.

If I hadn’t witnessed last night’s scene, I wouldn’t have known that his so-called surprise was actually a trap for me.

I gave him a sweet smile. “Okay.”

You want to watch a show? You just don’t know whose show it’ll be.

“Leo, come here.” Jessica lifted Leo from the dining table and said in an overly sweet voice, “Say goodbye to Mom.”