Chapter 1

It was my daughter's seventh birthday party.

She was just about to ask her dad to cut the cake. But my husband shoved her away, hard, right in front of everyone.

"Don't call me that. I'm not your father." He slammed a DNA test report onto the table.

I stood there, frozen in shock, only to be slapped across the face by my own adoptive parents.

Audrey, the biological daughter who had just returned to the Harlow family, shrunk into my husband's arms, her eyes red with innocent tears.

"I'm so sorry, Gemma. I just casually mentioned that Chloe didn't look like Julian. I had no idea Julian would actually go and run a test."

From that night on, I was branded a cheating whore, and my daughter became a bastard child everyone looked down on.

Later, Julian demanded a divorce.

For Chloe's sake, I wanted to beg him to run another DNA test. But instead, I accidentally overheard a conversation between him and his friend.

"You ruined Gemma's reputation and called Chloe a bastard just to make Audrey feel better. Aren't you afraid your wife and kid will actually leave you for good?"

Julian's voice was completely nonchalant. "Afraid of what? Her parents knew about the fake DNA test anyway."

"She's just an adopted daughter who stole Audrey's life for over twenty years. Once Audrey feels compensated and her mental health stabilizes, I'll just remarry Gemma."

"Gemma can't live without me. Even after the divorce, she'll keep waiting for me."

I recalled Chloe crying, asking me if her daddy really didn't want her anymore. I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug deep into my palms.

The next day, I didn't cry or make a scene. I calmly finished the divorce paperwork with him at the courthouse.

But what he didn't know was that the moment I walked out, I turned around and married another man.