Chapter 1: The Divorce Decision

Zachary Mason was attending an overseas conference and was too busy to sign the divorce agreement.

I placed the agreement on the desk in his study without sending him a message.

After all, he had stopped replying to my messages a month ago.

I assumed he was spending time with Charlee Mills.

The night before, Charlee had posted on Instagram, 'We found our way back to each other after five years apart.'

The photo showed the back of a man in a pearl-gray suit standing by a moonlit window.

I recognized him immediately. It was Zachary.

Their love story had always been complicated.

In comparison, my marriage with Zachary felt like a mistake.

Still, I didn’t think it mattered much.

After all, he gave me fifty thousand dollars every month.

But I had spent it all on my brother Frank’s medical treatment.

I had very little savings.

During our five years of marriage, Zachary bought me luxury jewelry, dresses, handbags, and shoes.

Yet I didn’t take any of them with me.

The only thing I took was a painting drawn by Erik.

In the painting, the sky was green, and a light pink star shone brightly.

He once told me that star represented me.

I understood him better than anyone else.

That was the reason Zachary had married me.

As I stared at the painting, memories of my first day at the Mason family’s house came flooding back.

At that time, my younger brother Frank Murray had just been diagnosed with severe brain damage.

He didn’t have medical insurance, and all the treatment costs had to be paid by our family.

We were short of money, and my parents cried and begged me for help.

I was in my second year of postgraduate study and decided to find a part-time job.

Coincidentally, the Mason family was hiring a nanny with a high salary.

Erik was autistic and disliked strangers.

Zachary had already replaced more than fifty nannies.

When it was my turn for the interview, something unexpected happened.

Erik walked toward me and suddenly hugged me.

Then he spoke a word.

"Mom... Mom."

Everyone in the room froze.

Maybe it was because I was wearing a T-shirt with his favorite star pattern.

Or maybe there was a mysterious connection between us.

Whatever the reason, Erik liked me immediately.

I was hired.

Over time, his pronunciation of 'Mom' became clearer.

No matter how many times I corrected him, he insisted on calling me that.

Zachary loved his son deeply.

For Erik’s sake, he decided to marry me.

And just like that, I became Erik’s legal mother.

Years passed.

This year, Erik turned eight.

After years of therapy, he was almost like a normal child.

Then his biological mother returned.

Charlee Mills came back from Yodruland.

She could provide him with better resources and advanced treatment.

Erik no longer needed me.

And Zachary had never truly needed me as his wife.

There was no reason for me to stay in the Mason family anymore.

Staying would only bring me more pain.

I would rather leave with dignity than remain as someone unwanted.

A person who knows when to walk away is far wiser than someone who clings on shamelessly.

It was better to end things sooner rather than later.

So, I decided to leave.