They Chose Her Over Me

At the end of the year, the company gave every employee a shopping card worth ten million dollars. Every purchase made with it came with a discount. I had nothing I wanted to buy, so I planned to give it to my mother. After hanging up, I turned around and saw my husband clutching the card while he and our son glared at me. “Emily, how can you be so selfish? You got ten million dollars and didn’t think about me or our son? Instead, you secretly wanted to give it to your mother?” I was just about to explain when my five-year-old son suddenly rushed over and started pounding on me. “You’re a bad woman! That ten million belongs to Daddy and me! You have no right to touch it!” My husband immediately followed up. “I’ll hold on to the money for now. I’ve been eyeing a Porsche.” “I’ll also get my mother a luxury apartment with an elevator, and I can help my sister pay off her one-million-dollar debt while I’m at it.” “The rest will be deposited under my mother’s name and left for Leo to inherit in the future.” The expressions on both their faces completely chilled my heart. I sneered. “If you’re dividing everything so clearly, then there’s no need for this family to exist anymore. Get out of my house right now.” “And that card belongs to me too. You have no right to use it.” The moment I finished speaking, Leo froze beside me before immediately going berserk and pounding on me. “You bad woman! I hate you! I’m so unlucky to have a mother like you!” My husband, Jason, pulled him away and frowned at me. “Emily, are you really going to be this petty? You’re threatening me with divorce over something this small!” “Everything you own was going to belong to Leo eventually anyway. If I use the money to buy a sports car, it’ll make you look good too.” “Besides, my mother and sister have both had it hard. Isn’t helping them and showing them respect the right thing to do? No wonder nobody likes you!” Ever since Jason had volunteered to become a stay-at-home dad and take care of Leo, I had transferred my monthly salary of fifty thousand dollars to him. I had never stopped sending my mother-in-law nutritional supplements, and I also gave her ten thousand dollars a month as spending money. When his sister said she was short three hundred thousand dollars for a down payment on a house, I handed it over without hesitation. I also regularly sent her spa and shopping gift cards. I had done everything I could for them, yet I hadn’t received even a little gratitude. Instead, Jason called me petty. I was so angry that I laughed. “Your mother and sister’s problems weren’t caused by me. Besides, this card belongs to me. Even if I wanted to show filial respect, shouldn’t I be showing it to my own mother?” “And I’m not threatening you. I’m informing you that I want a divorce.” Jason froze. He clearly hadn’t expected me to be serious. Just then, the front door clicked open. My best friend, Chloe, unlocked it and walked in like she owned the place. Leo immediately ran into Chloe’s arms like a baby bird returning to its nest. Pouting, he complained, “Aunt Chloe, Mommy’s being mean. She has money but won’t let Daddy and me use it. I hate her!” Chloe looked surprised for a moment before turning to me. “Emily, you’re the one in the wrong here. If I had a husband as wonderful as Jason and an adorable son like Leo, I’d save the very best for them.” I was about to explain everything to my best friend when I noticed the familiar necklace around her neck. It was the latest design from D&T and cost nearly one hundred thousand dollars. Last month, on my wedding anniversary with Jason, I had seen the purchase record on his phone that morning and assumed he was preparing a surprise for me. But I waited until the next morning and still received nothing. When I finally asked him about it, I learned that he had completely forgotten our anniversary. He claimed the necklace he had bought was a gift for his sister. I wasn’t going to fight a relative over a necklace. Although I was disappointed, I let the matter go. But now, an identical necklace was hanging around Chloe’s neck. How could there be such a coincidence?I frowned. “Chloe, when did you buy that necklace? I’ve never seen it before.” She blinked and smiled proudly. “I bought it last month.” I looked at her. “But you only make four thousand dollars a month. Last time, you told me you couldn’t save any money. Where did you get nearly one hundred thousand dollars for that necklace?” Her eyes flickered. Then they reddened, and her face filled with hurt. “Emily, I may not earn as much as you, but you can’t humiliate me like this!” “Am I not worthy of having someone treat me well?” Jason’s expression changed almost instantly. He stepped in front of Chloe and Leo like a protector and glared at me furiously. “Emily, are you done? First you threaten me with divorce, and now you’re bullying Chloe too. How can you be so vicious?” “Someone like you doesn’t deserve that ten million dollars! I’m going to transfer five million to Chloe as an apology for the way you treated her!” Even Leo, who was still being held by Chloe, clenched his fists and stood up for her. “You bad woman! Don’t bully Aunt Chloe! Apologize to her right now!” When I saw the necklace around Chloe’s neck, I had only been suspicious. But now, everything was clear. Without wasting any words, I reached out and tore the necklace from her neck. Chloe cried out and looked at Jason in panic. Jason roared, “Emily, that’s Chloe’s necklace! Do you have no shame?” I ignored them and stared at the special characters engraved on the necklace. D&T offered custom engraving. The day I saw Jason’s purchase record, I had also seen that he had ordered the letters “J&C” engraved on it. At the time, I thought they must have had some special meaning. Now I realized they were the initials of Jason and Chloe’s names. My husband and my best friend had crossed the line behind my back long ago. Even my own child, whom I had carried for ten months and given birth to, had somehow grown closer to Chloe than to me. I pointed at the letters on the necklace and asked mockingly, “What about these? How are you going to explain them?” “Jason, do I really need to remind you that the purchase record for this custom necklace is on your account?” The disgust on Jason’s face was replaced by a trace of panic. “Can you stop being paranoid all the time? And who gave you permission to look through my phone?” Chloe’s eyes were red as she choked out, “Emily, I don’t know what I’ve done to offend you, but no matter what, you shouldn’t take your anger out on Jason and Leo because of me.” Tears streamed down her face. “If leaving would help your family live peacefully, then I’m willing to leave right now and never appear in front of you again!” With that, she put Leo down and rushed toward the door. But Leo clung tightly to her leg and burst into heartbroken sobs. “Aunt Chloe, don’t go! Make that bad woman leave! I hate her! She doesn’t deserve to be my mother!” Even Jason hurried to block the doorway. “Chloe, don’t say things you don’t mean. None of this is your fault.” Watching the scene unfold, I found it absurd and said sarcastically, “If someone didn’t know better, they’d think the three of you were the real family.” Leo looked at Jason and actually asked, “Daddy, can Aunt Chloe be my mommy? I don’t want that bad woman to be my mother!”Chloe’s face immediately turned bright red, and she glanced at Jason. “You little troublemaker. I don’t even have a boyfriend, so stop saying things like that. Otherwise, your mother will get angry again.” Jason turned to me with a cold expression. “Emily, I’m so disappointed in you. I won’t let you bully Chloe anymore.” “You look down on Chloe because she only earns four thousand dollars a month, don’t you?” “Go resign from your job right now. Someone unemployed and broke like you has no right to compare herself to Chloe.” “And you should kneel down and apologize to her. Otherwise, Leo and I will never come back to your house!” I raised an eyebrow. The house and the cars were all under my name, so his words held no threat for me. “Fine. Get out right now.” Just then, my mother arrived to pick up the shopping card. She heard me before even entering the house and immediately became anxious. “Emily, don’t say things when you’re angry. What happened? Whatever conflict a family has, it can be talked through.” Then she looked at Chloe and took her hand. “Chloe, you came at the perfect time. Please help me persuade Emily. I’ll definitely use that card to buy you something as a thank-you.” But Chloe suddenly looked pained and collapsed onto the floor. Leo screamed, ran over, grabbed my mother’s hand, and bit down hard. “You old hag, get away!” Jason immediately helped Chloe into his arms. “Chloe, are you all right?” Chloe shook her head and turned to my mother with tears in her voice. “Ma’am, I know you hate me just like Emily does, but I still have to say this. That ten million should go to Jason and Leo. They need it more than you do.” My mother winced in pain. Even with blood running from the bite on her hand, she didn’t dare struggle and could only stand there helplessly. “What ten million? Chloe, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.” “I didn’t even use any force. How did you suddenly fall to the ground?” I stepped forward, slapped Leo across the face, and said coldly, “Since your father never taught you to respect your elders, I’ll teach you myself.” Leo was stunned by the slap. He stared blankly at me, lips pressed into a pout, but didn’t dare say anything. Chloe screamed and threw herself over Leo. “Emily, how could you hit a child?” Jason’s face darkened. He suddenly walked over to my mother and kicked the back of her knee hard. My mother cried out and fell to her knees uncontrollably. I stared at the scene in disbelief, unable to contain my rage any longer. “Jason, have you lost your mind?” “If you have a problem, come at me! Don’t hurt my mother!” He shoved me away and refused to let me help her up. Then he grabbed my mother by the hair with a cold laugh. “Too late! Emily, this is all your fault. If you and your mother weren’t so vicious, I wouldn’t have done this.” “You refuse to apologize to Chloe, right? Fine. A daughter’s debt can be paid by her mother. Let your mother kneel and properly apologize to Chloe!” He pressed my mother’s head against the floor three times in a row. Leo watched from nearby and clapped in satisfaction. “Aunt Chloe, Daddy got revenge for you!” “Don’t worry. As long as Daddy and I are here, we won’t let that bad woman bully you again!” My mother was old and had a weak heart. By the time Jason finished forcing her to bow three times, she had already passed out. Jason stood up, walked over to Chloe, and picked up Leo. Looking down at me, he said, “Leo and I are taking Chloe home. You and your mother can forget about that ten million. You have no right to use it.” The three of them left side by side. My eyes burned as I immediately helped my mother up and took her to the hospital. Sitting on the sofa beside her hospital bed, I called my lawyer. “Prepare divorce papers for me. I don’t want custody, and the other party must leave the marriage with nothing. I have proof of infidelity.” “And I want to sue my ex-husband for intentionally injuring my mother. There’s surveillance footage as evidence.” Of all the things they could have done, they should never have hurt my mother.The moment I put down my phone, Chloe sent me a video. In it, Jason and Chloe had taken Leo to an amusement park. The adult and child were walking toward her with three ice cream cones in their hands, their faces filled with tenderness and smiles they had never once shown me. “So what if you’re better than me in every way, Emily? Your husband and son both love me.” “A woman like you, who can’t hold on to a man’s heart, is the real failure. Oh, and I accepted that ten million on your behalf too, along with your husband and son.” I saved the video and chat history she sent me and forwarded everything to my lawyer. When I finished, I met my mother’s weathered gaze. I immediately took her hand. “Mom, does anything else hurt? I’ll call the doctor right now.” But she held my hand and shook her head. “I’m fine.” “Emily, tell me honestly. Chloe, Jason, and Leo… They…” She couldn’t bring herself to finish, but I understood what she meant and nodded. I didn’t intend to hide my decision. “Mom, I’m getting a divorce.” This time, my mother didn’t try to persuade me. “Good. Whatever decision you make, I’ll support you.” My nose stung, and all the hurt I had been holding inside finally burst out. Fortunately, the doctor said that my mother had only fainted because of the shock and that there was no serious damage. So I took her to the luxury apartment my company had given me as a reward. I had earned it through countless late nights working on a major project and securing a partnership. At the same time, I had been promoted to president of one of the company’s regional branches, with an annual salary of ten million dollars. Jason and Leo could have moved into that apartment with me. Unfortunately, they were no longer worthy of it. After settling my mother in, I returned to the house where Jason, Leo, and I had lived for several years and called a cleaning service. When Jason brought Leo home, both of them still had lingering smiles on their faces. But the moment they saw me sitting on the sofa, their smiles vanished. Leo snorted and went back to his toy room. Jason’s expression was calmer than it had been that morning. He sat beside me and said coldly, “Don’t blame me, honey. We’re a family, and we’re all connected. If you do something wrong, you make our whole family look bad, so I had to make you take responsibility.” At that moment, Leo came running out in panic. “Daddy, all the toys in my toy room are gone!” His reminder made Jason realize that much of the house was empty. Almost everything belonging to him and Leo had disappeared. I placed the divorce agreement on the coffee table and pushed it toward him. “Sign it. I bought this house, and the cheating spouse should leave with nothing. I’ve already had all your belongings thrown into the dumpster downstairs.” Jason stared at the agreement in shock. “You’re really divorcing me over what happened this morning?” Leo hugged Jason’s leg and asked excitedly, “Daddy, does that mean we can be with Aunt Chloe now?” Jason hesitated, then calmed down. “Emily, after all these years, we still have feelings for each other. But if this is what you want, I suppose I can respect it.” “But that ten million belongs to me. Otherwise, I won’t agree to the divorce.” At the same time, Leo planted his hands on his hips and glared at me. “You bad woman! I’m staying with Daddy. Don’t be shameless and try to fight for custody, or I’ll hate you for the rest of my life!” I looked at the father and son in front of me and smiled. “Fine. I don’t want custody of Leo. Consider that card payment for buying out my relationship with him.”