My Professional Partner and My Husband Are Kissing

Chapter 4

Soon enough, Sophie and Jake arrived, hand in hand, looking every bit the doting mother and son. Jake was weighed down with shopping bags, his face slick with sweat, but his grin was wide with excitement.

"Mom, check out my haul! Pretty cool, huh?"

My heart clenched hearing him call Sophie "Mom." The ink wasn't even dry on our divorce papers, and there he was, my son, the result of nine months of love and labor, calling another woman mother.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself. "Jake... what did you just say?"

His soft gaze hardened, a hint of annoyance creeping in. "Sophie's gonna be my new mom once she marries Dad. What's the big deal?"

My voice caught. "What about me?"

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, "I've been your mom for ten years."

Jake looked at me with barely disguised disdain. "All you do is nag and boss me around. Sophie's cool. She buys me all the latest gadgets, lets me game whenever I want, and even says it's okay to eat junk food sometimes. We can afford the best doctors if I ever need them."

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. I could hardly recognize the son I'd raised. He wrapped an arm around Sophie's waist and delivered the final blow.

"Hurry up and divorce Dad. Sophie's gonna have my baby sister soon. You should just get rid of the one you're carrying, I wouldn't care for them anyway."

I stumbled back, speechless, my mind reeling. How did things get this bad?

Sophie shot me a taunting smile. "Kids always tell the truth, don't they? Poverty makes everything harder. You should stop dragging Jason down just because you can't cut it."

I caught my breath, trying to steady myself. "I heard South City's richest family only has one son, and their daughter went missing years ago. Are you the one they just found?"

Sophie's face momentarily faltered, but she quickly masked it with a smirk. "There's a lot of nonsense online. Only fools believe that kind of thing. What, are you suggesting you're the lost daughter and not me?"

"Jason's met my dad," I said, keeping my voice steady. "He even snapped a photo with him."

Jake, always quick to show off, whipped out his new phone and proudly showed me the photo.

"Look, that's my granddad."

I stared at the picture. It was unmistakably the man I'd recognized as my father during my trip.

On my recent business trip, I'd stopped by the hospital for a routine prenatal check-up. Amid the chaos, an emergency patient had been rushed in, badly bleeding. I'd offered to donate blood, but somehow, the nurse mixed up my sample with the patient's, using it for a paternity test. That's when it came to light, I was the long-lost daughter of South City's wealthiest family.

My mom had told me our family only had one son, so who was Sophie cozying up to in this picture? Could she be a secret child from my father's past?

My mind spun as the answers remained just out of reach.

Soon, the lab results were handed over, confirming that the prenup was authentic, no forgery found. The ground beneath me seemed to tilt.

"No way! I would never agree to leave with nothing!" I shouted, my composure slipping.

Jason pulled me aside into an empty lounge, slamming the divorce papers down in front of me. "Enough with the drama. Isn't it time you signed these?"

I glared at him, fighting the urge to lash out. "Not a chance. The one who should be leaving with nothing is you."

Even with the fortune now at my disposal, this wasn't about money, it was about principle. This money, which seemed trivial now, represented decades of my life before discovering my true heritage. I wasn't about to let Jason walk away with it so easily.

From the corridor, Sophie's impatient voice echoed. Jason's fists clenched, his patience finally breaking.

"Emily, you're forcing my hand!" he growled.