Chapter 3

"I don't care what trick you used to win."

"The outcome is set, and I'm done arguing with you. I only have one thing to say: divorce."

When we got home, both sets of parents were already waiting in the living room.

The moment my mother-in-law saw me, she launched into a tirade.

"You are unbelievable! Austin just won a prize, and you throw a fit out of jealousy and demand a divorce?!"

I countered.

"You seem awfully familiar with Brenda's company. You even know her assistant's name is Austin."

She choked for a second, then quickly deflected.

"Don't change the subject! Keep throwing tantrums like this, and see who else will put up with your rotten attitude after a divorce besides Brenda!"

My dad pulled me behind him.

"He's my precious son! If I want to spoil him, who are you to stop me?!"

My mother-in-law rolled her eyes dramatically at my father.

"So what if you spoil him? Can a father replace a wife?"

"Can a father keep him warm in bed? Can you have children with him?"

"Oh, I almost forgot. Your son is sterile. Brenda being with him is a complete waste of her life! Brenda comes from a family with a proud lineage of fertility!"

Her words carved through my heart like a dull knife.

Noticing my pale face, my dad immediately roared at her, "Shut your mouth!"

To defend my dignity, he didn't waste another breath and called our family lawyer on the spot.

"Get over here right now to handle the divorce papers."

During the early days of Brenda's startup, she used my father's seed money.

Yet her stubborn pride couldn't stomach people saying she relied on my family's connections.

A business model that usually took three to five years to break even—she insisted on doubling profits within one year just to pay my dad back every single cent.

Back then, young and recklessly devoted, I stood by her side around the clock.

There were times I didn't even have a moment to eat and collapsed from exhaustion, ending up in the hospital.

The first thing I said before blacking out was: "Don't tell my dad."

That brutal, nonstop grind, paired with the elite connections my dad gave us out of sympathy for me, allowed Brenda to reach her goals early and brag to the media about her visionary leadership.

But the chronic strain destroyed my health.

The doctors said my kidneys were severely compromised. I would likely never father a child.

Back then, Brenda held me, weeping, kissing away my tears as she comforted me.

"It doesn't matter. Even without kids, my love for you will never change."

"At worst, we can adopt. We're both so capable, we'll raise an amazing child."

To spare my father the grief, we told the world that we chose not to have kids so we could focus on each other.

Yet Brenda turned around and told her parents the brutal truth.

The moment her mother heard I was sterile, she stormed over and demanded that Brenda leave me.

"Brenda is the only daughter of nine generations! How can our bloodline die because of a rooster that can't lay an egg?!"

My father had been furious back then and demanded an explanation.

He nearly forced me to abandon that ungrateful family right there.

It was only when Brenda knelt outside my dad's house for three days and three nights, refusing food and water to prove her devotion, that my dad reluctantly forgave her.

He forbade them from ever poking at my wounds again.

Yet tonight, my mother-in-law weaponized my condition once more.

It was impossible not to suspect that she had gained some newfound leverage to feel this emboldened.

Brenda still feared my father.

Hearing that he was actually calling the lawyer, she resorted to her old trick and dropped heavily to her knees.

"Logan, I was wrong. Please don't divorce me."

"We built this company together from nothing. It's like our baby! Can you really bear to watch our baby die right when it's at its peak?"

"Tell me why you want a divorce! Just tell me! I'll change, okay?"

I remained completely unfazed.

"I already told you. Because you gave Austin a one-year paid leave."

"You'll change? How? Are you willing to revoke his paid sabbatical?"

Brenda's eyes flickered with panic.

"A prize given is a promise made! If the industry hears that our company revoked an employee's raffle prize, we'll be the laughingstock of the business world!"

I let out a bitter chuckle.

"Then there's nothing left to discuss. Divorce."

The lawyer arrived swiftly. I signed my name without hesitation and tossed the papers at Brenda.

Brenda held the pen, her hand trembling so violently that she couldn't make a mark.

Finally, as if gathering her courage, she looked up at me.

"Can you just tell me why you care so much about Austin's paid leave?"

To give her closure so she would sign, I spoke up.

"Didn't you orchestrate this whole elaborate charade just to give Austin a legitimate reason to take a year off?"

"A lot can happen in a year. For example..."