Chapter 1 Chapter 1

On my son’s birthday, my husband had asked his first love to pick our son up from our home. While I stubbornly refused to let him go, a huge fire broke out in the hallway during our standoff. I was struck by falling debris, and blood started streaming from my head. However, my son was unharmed as he lay beneath me. My husband, who was a firefighter, came forward to rescue us. But he handed the only gas mask he had to his first love. “Miss Leia has a weaker constitution. Dad, please get her out first. Mom, wait for the other firefighters to save you!” I watched them leave with a faint, bitter smile. It appeared that they had both forgotten about my severe asthma and the fact that I would die without a gas mask. … Through the blaze, I watched helplessly as my husband ran outside with another woman in his arms. My son, whom I had risked my life to bring into the world, was so attentive toward Leia Scott. He would support her from time to time because he was worried that she might fall. They never looked back at me. I was engulfed in profound sadness. I was family, but they abandoned me without a second thought in that life-and-death situation. Just half an hour ago, Leia had knocked on our door to take my son out for his birthday. I rejected her offer, but James heard of the commotion while he was doing his homework. He stormed out of his room and knocked me out of his way. He then took her hand and headed toward the door blissfully. I was deeply hurt, and I tried to stop them. However, my son bit me on the arm and looked at me with resentment. “Why can’t I go with Miss Leia? “If it weren’t for you, Miss Leia would’ve been my mom. How I wish that you were dead!” He must have hated me so much that he left a bleeding bite wound on my arm. During the standoff, a fire broke out in the hallway. We were trapped and waiting anxiously to be rescued. My son did not even look at me. Instead, he stayed by Leia’s side and comforted her like an adult. “Miss Leia, don’t be scared. You’re important to Dad, so he’ll come to your rescue right away.” My heart shattered. It had been seven years—this amount of time should have been enough to make even the most stubborn of people develop feelings for someone else. Yet, he never did; all he had for me was hatred. On top of that, his reasons for hating me were ridiculous. It was because I would not buy him expensive toys or let him play on his phone without finishing his homework. The biggest reason was my refusal to allow Leia to be his mother. Even so, when I noticed the slab that was about to fall, I rushed forward without hesitation to shield him with my arms. The slab struck me on my head and left a gaping wound. But he pushed me away and grabbed Leia’s hand. He asked her with a concerned look on his face if she was scared. Williams Taylor burst in with a gas mask, and he was the first to rush over. He got hold of the only gas mask and handed it to Leia. “Dad, please save Miss Leia first, she’s not well. Mom can wait for the other firefighters.” Tears streamed down my face, and I wore a bitter smile. I raised the medicine bottle in my hand and said, "My medicine’s almost out. I won’t be able to hold out much longer in this smoke." On the exact same day seven years ago, I had suffered from severe complications during childbirth; I was on the verge of death. I had grabbed Williams’s hand and asked him to save the baby at all costs before blacking out. If it came to that, he had to choose to save the baby. I had fought so hard to birth him. Yet, this child was holding on to Williams’s hand and begging him to save someone else today. With Leia in his arms, Williams glanced at me and spoke coldly. “Christelle, you owe Leia this. Just wait for a bit, and my colleagues will be here soon.” I instinctively grabbed his sleeves out of the desire to live and pleaded desperately, “Williams, I’m pregnant! You can hate me, but you can’t leave the little one!” Williams was shocked. He had not been home much lately, and there had been no chance to tell him. James saw his dad hesitating, and he pried my fingers off in anger. “Mom, you can’t be so selfish! How can you lie to Dad like this?” Leia was crying uncontrollably in his arms too. Williams’s expression changed. Then, he shoved me aside and rushed out with Leia. The thick smoke engulfed me, and my breathing became labored. The inhaler in my hand was nearly empty. I took one last deep breath and closed my eyes in despair. A wave of bitterness washed over me. I should not have started this ill-fated relationship.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

I knew from the start that Williams did not love me. Everyone knew that I had a crush on him the entire four years I was at university. Unfortunately, he had already met the woman of his dreams, so he did not care about me. Right before graduation, Leia accepted her family’s arrangements for her to study abroad. The day she left, Williams approached me while he reeked of alcohol. He hugged me and called me Leia with glazed eyes. He had mistaken me for someone else. Yet, I liked him so much that I allowed myself to indulge in a moment of passion. However, it was a mistake. When I woke up the next day, he threw my clothes on the floor and told me to leave with a gloomy face. I thought that it would just be a short fling, but I unexpectedly got pregnant. Williams held a wedding ceremony and had me give birth to the child; he then named him James. He probably did not love me at all. That would explain why he turned a blind eye to Leia’s provocation toward me. After she returned to the country, he even allowed her to enter our home and take James with her. Even when I desperately demanded an explanation from Williams, James would take his side. He would say, “Mom, you’re not as pretty or as gentle as Miss Leia. Why don’t you just leave? “Then, Dad can be with her, and Miss Leia can be my mother.” My eyes felt heavy, and I started to lose consciousness. I slumped onto the floor, as I was too weak to stand. Just then, a small head peeked through the suffocating smoke. “Madam, do you need any help?” someone asked timidly. I forced my eyes open and saw a young boy who was about the same age as my son. He was covered in ash and dirt, but his eyes shone brightly through the smoke. He was so small in size, yet he managed to muster the strength to help me up. Then, together, we slowly made our way outside. The path to the outside was incredibly challenging, and I felt like giving up several times. Even so, the boy held on to me and refused to let go. As soon as we escaped the fire, he was so exhausted that he kneeled on the ground. Despite that, he quickly helped me call for a doctor. I hugged him and cried uncontrollably. While we were on our way to the hospital, I learned that he had no parents, and his grandfather had died in the fire. Overwhelmed with grief, he buried his head in his hands while we were in the ambulance. He tried to hold back his tears because he was afraid that he might disturb those around him. I felt an inexplicable amount of sympathy for him. I held his hand as I asked if he would let me adopt him. His eyes lit up with joy, but he shook his head. He said that he did not want to be a burden to me. I smiled wryly and told him that I was a big mess myself. So, I was not worried about him being a burden. I promised him that we would begin the adoption process as soon as I was discharged from the hospital. I was hospitalized for three days, and I lost my baby, as I had inhaled too much smoke. During this time, neither Williams nor James called or visited me. They were just in another room nearby, but they were busy taking care of Leia. The only one by my side was the little boy who had saved me. He told me that his name was Lucas Peterson and that his father had named him. If I was willing to adopt him, he would allow me to change his name. I patted his head and shook my head in disagreement. “I’m willing to adopt you, but you don’t need to change your name. You can do anything you want without making any compromises, okay?” Lucas’s eyes lit up with joy, and he nuzzled against my arm affectionately. He also thanked me in a sweet voice. It had been a long time since I last heard those words. Williams and James found me annoying, and they never thanked me for anything. I was touched, so I hugged him. I was smiling for the first time in a while. It was then that I bumped into Williams and James in the hallway. I had just completed the surgical procedure for my miscarriage. So, Lucas was carefully helping me back to my ward. As we turned the corner, we ran into Williams and James who were supporting Leia. They were chatting and laughing away; this trio looked more like a family. I thought that I would feel incredibly hurt, but to my surprise, I only felt a faint ripple of emotion. As such, I quietly walked past them. However, Williams could not hold back and called out to me. I turned and saw a hint of worry in his eyes. “Christelle, are you hurt?” he asked. I wanted to laugh. Of course not, but I did have an asthma attack and nearly suffocated in the smoke. There were a few stitches on my head, and it was still wrapped in bandages. Yet, he chose to be oblivious to it all. On top of that, I had a miscarriage. Perhaps the baby was fortunate in a sense; the baby did not have to live with such a cold-blooded father and brother. Seeing that I was silent, he stared at my flat abdomen. Then, he sneered mockingly. “Christelle, I really thought that you were pregnant. It looks like Leia was right. You were just being selfish and trying to trick me into saving you first.” Next to him, Leia stared at me with resentment.

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

At this point, I felt that no further explanation was needed. So, I nodded faintly. “Think whatever you want. You must be disappointed to see me alive, right? “But it’s fine…” I looked up and met his calm gaze. “Williams, let’s get a divorce. “I’ll set you free so that you can pursue your true love.” I turned and shifted my gaze to Lucas. “I’ll stop being your mother as well, just as you wish.” I smiled as I saw their shocked faces. How wonderful. We were all finally free. I turned and started to leave, but Williams grabbed my wrist. His voice trembled slightly as he spoke. “Christelle, what do you mean? You want to divorce me just because I saved Leia first? “You aren’t hurt, and you even lied about being pregnant. I haven’t even begun to blame you, yet you want a divorce? Is that really necessary?” I could not be bothered to argue with him; I just silently pulled away. However, he held on even tighter, and my wrist started to turn red. Lucas had been standing beside me, and his eyes started to well up. He furiously pried Williams’s hand open and shielded me behind him. “Don’t you dare touch my mother! She just had surgery, and she’s still very weak. You’re hurting her!” he shouted. I held back my laughter. He was glaring at the man before him like a little tiger cub. He was determined to protect me. Unfortunately, Lucas was too small. When James ran over and struck him, he easily got pinned beneath him. Then, James started punching him. “You liar! She’s my mother, not yours!” Lucas could not fight back, and he covered his head as he dodged the punches. However, he still refused to give in. “She’s not anymore. She said you didn’t want her. Besides, you left her behind in the fire and hoped for her to die! “She told me that I saved her, and from now on, she’ll be my mother!” James was stunned, and he began to tear up. He looked down and saw a customized silver necklace on Lucas’s neck. Right then, he went back to being angry. He pulled the necklace apart and gripped it tightly in his hand. His face had turned red with rage. “This belongs to my mother. Who do you think you are to wear it?!” James raised his head and looked at me with pleading eyes. “Mom, didn’t you say this was a gift for me? Why is he wearing it?!” I smiled and reached out to him to help him up. However, I did not hug him. Instead, I gently moved him aside. After that, I helped Lucas up and brushed off the dirt on his clothes. I pulled him into my arms and snatched the necklace from James. “You had the same necklace. You’re the one who threw it into the bin because you thought it was ugly,” I reminded him flatly. I had spent half a month crafting two identical necklaces for his birthday last year. and My hand bled from all the continuous hammering. I even gave him the prettier one and wore the other around my neck. Despite that, he threw it away without even bothering to look at it. He held on to the latest Lego set that Leia had given him and said with disdain, “Mom, don’t give me such worthless things anymore.” I stared at the discarded necklace in grief. But all I could do was smile awkwardly and nod in agreement. After all that, he still wanted to snatch my necklace from Lucas? Seeing my refusal to help him, he started crying. “Mom, I want this one. Can’t you give it to me—”“If you like it so much, just ask your father to get you one.” I calmly interrupted him. Following that, I held Lucas’s hand and prepared to leave. As I turned, my eyes met Williams’s piercing gaze. “Christelle, the boy mentioned that you had surgery. “What surgery was it?”