Chapter 2

I looked at the gold-embossed invitation, a flicker of complex emotions in my eyes.

Five years had passed in a blink.

The memory of them abandoning me was still vivid.

Even now, thinking back, I admire how I managed to survive that painful period.

I shook my head, telling Ryan, "No, I won't go. You go alone."

Ryan tossed the invitation directly into the trash can. He gently pulled me into a hug, his voice soft. "If you're not going, then neither am I."

"They're getting off easy. I was planning to publicly humiliate them, but I guess I'll let them slide this time."

I hated Brad, and I hated Candace for taking him and my son from me.

But now, I had my own happy life, a loving husband who adored me, and a sweet, sensible daughter.

I no longer wanted to dwell on those toxic people and that messy past.

However, what I never expected was that while I wasn't looking for trouble with Brad and Candace, they actively provoked me.

The day before Justin's 18th birthday celebration happened to be a weekend.

I took my daughter, Lily, to an amusement park.

This park was a gift from Ryan to me when Lily was born, personally designed and built by him, costing hundreds of millions of dollars.

To my surprise, I actually ran into Brad, Justin, and Candace here.

Candace was looking around, pouting sweetly to Brad, "Honey, are you sure CEO Ryan will be here today?"

Brad said confidently, "I bribed Ryan's driver and got some important information."

"Ryan loves his wife very much. This amusement park was built specifically for her, and his wife and daughter come here every weekend.Ryan also often takes time to come to the park with them, so us 'accidentally' running into him here won't seem too out of place."

Justin pouted, his voice impatient, "We can't just spend the whole day in this park, can we? What if that Ryan doesn't show up today? Wouldn't we be waiting for nothing?"

Brad frowned, scolding Justin, "What do you know? Even if we don't see Ryan today, we still have to stay in this park. We need to find his wife and daughter and make sure we leave a good impression on them so they'll speak highly of us to Ryan."

Candace gently told Justin, "Our family business needs to diversify, and we have to rely on the Ryan family."

"You accidentally offended Ryan's distant niece last time. Luckily, Ryan didn't pursue the matter, otherwise, our family would have been in deep trouble."

"Tomorrow is your 18th birthday celebration. Your dad pulled some strings to get an invitation to Ryan, but we heard a few days ago that Ryan wasn't planning to attend. So, we came here today to try our luck…"

Justin grumbled, "The problem is, we don't even know Ryan's wife and daughter. How are we supposed to curry favor with them?"

Brad snorted, "Ryan's driver said that he had a secret marriage to protect his wife."

"To be his wife, she must be an extraordinary woman, her presence surely something special."

"Ryan's daughter, her demeanor and image will definitely be exceptional compared to other little girls. I heard she just started preschool. As long as we look carefully, we'll definitely be able to…"

At this point, Brad suddenly froze. Because he saw me!

Candace and Justin also noticed me, both showing looks of surprise.

Especially when they saw that my face had completely recovered, and I was holding my daughter's hand, their expressions became even stranger.

I didn't want to deal with them, so I turned and walked away with my daughter. But Brad and his group blocked our path.