Chapter 1
His collar was askew, and there were obvious red marks on his neck. “Olivia, someone spiked the drinks at the fundraising gala,” he slurred. “But don’t worry, I’ve already had the lawyers take care of it.”
I nodded silently. We’d been married for years, and he only had eyes for me and our daughter. He’d never strayed before.
Eight months later, Nathan was away on a business trip when news broke of a devastating fire on a cruise ship.
I rushed to the hospital with a crying Lily, only to find Nathan covered in bandages waiting outside the delivery room.
“Wendy is pregnant,” he choked out. “From that night at the gala… I never thought it would happen on the first try…”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. “When the fire spread, she put the life jacket on me. But she got caught in the smoke…”
A baby’s cry pierced the air as Wendy was wheeled out of surgery. She grabbed my sleeve desperately. “Please, Mrs. Shen. A child needs a father…”
Nathan turned to me, his eyes full of torment. “Lily needs her mother. But this baby…”
I clutched our trembling daughter close and cut him off with a cold laugh. “Nathan, either make them disappear completely, or I’m taking Lily and leaving!”
He pressed me against the wall, eyes red. “I can’t lose either of you!”
On the day of the twins’ 100-day celebration, the Lu family home was decked out in festive decorations. Lily hid behind me, staring timidly at her new siblings.
I took off my wedding ring and pressed it into her little palm. “Sweetheart, let’s go meet your new daddy.”
As I dialed the number, a deep voice came through the line: “Olivia, you’ve finally decided to look my way.”
“Congratulations! The Lu family finally has an heir - twins no less!”
The Lu family mansion was filled with a joyous atmosphere as guests laughed and toasted.
Nathan was beaming as he held the two babies, handing out red envelopes to well-wishers.
Wendy leaned against him demurely, accepting congratulations as the new “Mrs. Lu.”
I stood at the entrance holding Lily’s hand. My daughter cowered behind me, staring wide-eyed at the lively scene. Her simple clothes stood out starkly against the lavish surroundings.
Wendy’s eyes flickered to us, a hint of triumph in her gaze. “Nathan, your sister and Lily are here.”
The room fell silent for a moment as all eyes turned our way.
Nathan’s smile faltered. He quickly handed the baby boy to a nanny and strode over. “Olivia, why didn’t you tell me you were coming back? I would have sent someone to pick you and Lily up…”
I let out a scornful laugh. Was he really concerned about us, or just worried we’d disrupt his happy new family?
Whispers rippled through the crowd.
“So that’s the original Mrs. Lu who couldn’t produce a son for 10 years? I heard she became infertile after her first pregnancy. If it weren’t for Young Master Lu protecting her, she’d have been divorced long ago!”
“Yet she had the nerve to run away with her daughter for three whole months, just because Mr. Lu took in his mistress and children!”
“How ungrateful. Old Mr. Lu’s dying wish was to hold a grandson. Mark my words, that Wendy girl will be the new Mrs. Lu before long…”
A flash of satisfaction crossed Wendy’s face as she slowly approached with the babies. “Sister, from now on Lily will have two little brothers. Let’s introduce them properly…”
Lily shrank back in fear. Before I could stop her, piercing wails erupted from the infants.
“Lily Lu!” Nathan roared, roughly shoving her aside.
Lily fell to the ground, scraping her knee. She burst into tears.
“Nathan, have you lost your mind?!” I crouched down to comfort Lily, glaring daggers at him.
But Nathan ignored me completely, frantically trying to soothe the crying boys.
Wendy dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. “Sister, I know you don’t like me. But how could you teach Lily to hurt these innocent babies?”
“If Nathan hadn’t reacted so quickly, she might have poked their eyes out…”
The guests immediately turned on us in righteous anger.
“Such a vicious child at such a young age! What kind of mother raised her?!”
“The Lu family can’t keep a girl like that around!”
I held my trembling daughter close and shouted, “Wendy, you’re twisting the truth! How dare you slander us in front of all these people. Aren’t you afraid of karma?!”
Wendy turned to Nathan with pleading eyes. “Nathan, your sister can’t accept me. Maybe I should take the children and leave the Lu family…”
Nathan’s face darkened. When he looked at me, there was disappointment in his eyes.
“Olivia, I’ve been too lenient with you two. Since you can’t discipline your daughter properly, I’ll have to do it as her father.”
As soon as he finished speaking, two security guards moved to take Lily away.
I clutched her tightly. “Nathan, if you dare touch her, I’ll divorce you!”
Nathan hesitated for a moment. Suddenly Wendy cried out tearfully:
“Nathan, I think the babies are having trouble breathing. We need to get them to the hospital right away!”
Nathan’s expression changed instantly. He roughly pushed me aside and rushed to Wendy and the infants.
I quickly shielded Lily behind me, watching his panicked retreat. An icy realization settled in my heart.
It was clear now that these twin boys meant far more to him than we ever had.
“I’m taking Wendy and the babies to the hospital first,” he called over his shoulder. “As for the divorce - don’t even think about it!”
“As long as you accept Wendy and the children, you’ll still be the only Mrs. Lu! Olivia, my patience is wearing thin. Don’t push me any further!”
After they left, the guests’ gossip washed over us like a tidal wave.
“Tsk tsk, the drama in this household is better than any TV show. The proper wife can’t compete with the mistress, and even the child suffers for it.”
“Indeed. From the looks of it, Olivia has completely lost her standing. Once a man has a new love and sons, who cares about the old one!”
Lily looked up at me, confusion and fear in her eyes. “Mommy, does Daddy not want us anymore? It’s all Lily’s fault for making Daddy angry. Please don’t fight with Daddy because of me. If you get divorced, I won’t have a daddy anymore…”
I choked back tears as I hugged my daughter, desperately trying to reassure her. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You’ll have a new daddy someday.”
But memories of the past kept surfacing unbidden in my mind.
Nathan and I had dated for 3 years and been married for 8. He had always treated me like a precious treasure.
When I became infertile after Lily’s difficult birth, his grandfather tried to force us to divorce. But Nathan endured 99 lashes from the family disciplinary whip to keep our marriage intact.
The night of that fateful fundraiser, Nathan had sworn to me: “It was all an accident. I’ve already had the lawyers take care of everything.”
But a month later, he came back from a business trip missing a shirt button. He claimed it had come off during a meeting.
Soon after, I discovered an ultrasound photo on his phone, dated exactly one month after the gala.
When I confronted him, Nathan’s eyes darted away guiltily. “It’s a business partner’s baby. I’m just keeping it safe for them.”
From then on, Nathan started taking frequent business trips. He even missed our daughter’s birthday.
Until his latest trip, where he just happened to be on the same ill-fated cruise as Wendy…
“Mommy, it hurts.” Lily’s tearful voice snapped me back to reality.
Looking at the blood beading on her scraped knee, remembering Nathan’s furious eyes as he shoved her aside - I suddenly felt like our 8 years of marriage had been nothing but an absurd dream.
Nathan had long since betrayed his vows to me.
When I had a huge fight with him over Wendy and took Lily away for 3 months, he never once tried to find us.
I comforted my daughter and opened my phone to send Nathan the divorce papers I’d prepared long ago:
“Sign them. I don’t want anything except Lily.”
Then I dialed a number I’d blocked years ago. A deep voice answered:
“Olivia, you’ve finally decided to look my way.”
“Wait for me to return.”
I hung up the phone and picked up Lily, heading for the exit.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Lu ordered that you can’t take the young miss away.” The security guards blocked our path.
I steeled myself and opened my phone. But what I saw was a new social media post from Wendy, showing a photo of Nathan:
“Thank goodness Nathan rushed us to the hospital in time! On behalf of our boys, I want to thank their daddy!”
My breath caught painfully. I felt like I was about to cough up blood.
“Mommy! What’s wrong?!” Lily cried out in panic, seeing my pallor.
“Quick! Mrs. Shen is coughing up blood. Get her to the hospital!”
In the chaos, I was rushed to the emergency room. I remained unconscious for three whole days.
When I finally came to, Lily was nowhere to be seen.
“Lily!” I called out frantically.
“A man came earlier saying he was the little girl’s father. He took her away,” a nurse informed me.
My heart sank as a terrible premonition gripped me.
I called Nathan’s number three times before he finally picked up.
“Nathan, what have you done with Lily?! What are you planning?!”
Nathan let out a cold laugh. “What am I planning? I should be asking you that! You sent Lily to harm my children with Wendy. Did you think I was blind?”
“That’s impossible! Lily would never do such a thing. This is all Wendy’s scheme!”
I struggled to get out of bed, but the IV lines held me back painfully.
“A scheme?” Nathan’s voice was ice cold. “The security footage clearly clearly shows Lily approaching the cribs with scissors, saying she wanted revenge for you. What a fine daughter you’ve raised, Olivia!”
I felt like I’d been plunged into an icy lake. It couldn’t be true. Lily had even told me not to blame Nathan earlier…
There was a loud crash through the phone, followed by Lily’s tearful pleas:
“Daddy, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt the babies…”
My hands shook uncontrollably as I gripped the phone. Tears streamed down my face.
“Lily! Nathan, don’t hurt her, she’s only seven years old! If you want to take your anger out on someone, come find me! I’m begging you…”
But Nathan didn’t even let me finish. “Olivia, from now on Lily is under my care. If you dare interfere again, don’t blame me for disregarding our marriage!”
The line went dead.
I yanked out my IV, ignoring the nurses’ protests as I stumbled towards the exit.
No matter what, I had to save my daughter!
But as soon as I made it outside, I was surrounded by a sea of flashing cameras.
Reporters swarmed around me, thrusting microphones in my face.
“Ms. Shen, is it true that you incited your daughter to harm the twins out of jealousy over Wendy giving birth to sons?”
“Online rumors say you can no longer bear children, so you wanted to eliminate the Lu family heirs. Can you comment on this?”
“Mr. Lu has released a statement saying he will hold you legally responsible. What is your response?”
I was jostled so badly I could barely stand.
My phone buzzed incessantly as trending topics popped up one after another:
#LuFamilyWifePoisons Illegitimate Children# #OliviaMadWithJealousy#