Chapter 3

When people learned about our divorce, many came to talk me out of it.

My usually arrogant former mother-in-law, Mrs. Smith, came to find me with her daughter.

At the time, I was pulling my suitcase, preparing to leave.

Mrs. Smith grabbed my suitcase, her eyes smiling. "Oh, you don't need to move out."

"You haven't worked in so many years. Can you even support yourself out there?"

"Besides, you've done our Smith family a favor. If you starve to death out there, people will say we repaid kindness with cruelty."

My daughter, Riley, stood beside her, looking at me sideways and muttering, "Stingy jerk. You're just jealous that we like Daddy Leo more."

Mrs. Smith pretended to scold Riley a few times, then turned to speak to me.

"Good boy, Mom knows you've been wronged."

"But you know Hannah—she just doesn't understand social niceties. But you're the one she likes most."

Her tone was familiar and affectionate, as if nothing had ever gone wrong between me and the Smith family.

I sneered. "Mrs. Smith, didn't you always want us to divorce?"

I cut straight to the point.

The smile on Mrs. Smith's face nearly cracked.

She forced a dry laugh. "What are you saying? Your mother and I are such good friends. Of course I'm very satisfied with you as a son-in-law."

She looked sincere.

But I only found her hypocritical.

I couldn't forget that after I fell down the stairs and was sent to the ICU, just as the operating room doors closed, I heard Mrs. Smith's extremely cold voice: "It would be better if he died. The Smith family doesn't need such a useless son-in-law."

In private, Mrs. Smith often told people, "Jasper doesn't deserve my daughter at all. He's worthless."

I looked at Mrs. Smith coldly. She must have had ulterior motives for coming to find me today.

Sure enough, the next second, Mrs. Smith spoke, her tone turning cold and hard. "Hannah is at a critical point in her career. If news of your divorce gets out now, it won't look good."

"So you can't publicly announce the divorce yet. Can you do that?"

Before I could respond, Riley pushed me. "Just agree already."

"Daddy Leo was right. You're so selfish, always only thinking about yourself."

Riley's words were like countless silver needles piercing my heart until it bled.

I stared at her in a daze.

My daughter used to cling to me the most.

She would hug my leg and say over and over, "Daddy's the best. I love Daddy most."

But she carried Hannah's blood in her veins after all.

Just like Hannah, she would immediately abandon me the moment Leo appeared.

I hardened my expression. "Riley!"

Riley stuck her neck out stubbornly, not thinking she was wrong at all.

Just then, the door was pushed open.

Hannah and Leo walked in side by side.

Riley's eyes instantly reddened as she rushed toward Leo.

"Daddy Leo, I hate Jasper so much. He's always yelling at me. Can you help me get rid of him?"

Leo looked at me with disapproval in his eyes. "That's going too far, don't you think?"

"Even if you're Riley's father, you can't bully her."

"An irresponsible father like you would have custody taken away in other countries."

Hannah's displeased gaze fell on my face. "Jasper, you're getting more and more unreasonable."

"Go see a doctor if you're sick."

I coldly dropped one sentence and left with my suitcase.

As I got on the elevator, Leo caught up.

He looked me up and down with a challenging expression. "You're really never coming back, right, Jasper?"

"Hannah's pregnant—with my child."

I was somewhat surprised.

I thought someone as proud as Hannah wouldn't go that far.

Leo's mouth curved into a wide grin. "Hannah said she wanted to have a child with me, connected by blood."

"That's between you two. It has nothing to do with me."

My expression didn't change.

But Leo wouldn't let it go.

He stepped closer and closer, lowering his voice. "Hannah also said that only with me does she feel alive, only with me does she understand passion."

"And you? You're utterly boring."