I Turned His Divorce Into Millions

On the day of the divorce, my husband Cedric gave me an old, run-down little house and told me to get lost.

He said, You haven't worked a single day since we got married. Giving you this house is already more than generous.

But he forgotit was his idea for me to quit my job and be a stay-at-home wife in the first place.

After marriage, all the household chores fell on me. Since his father Anderson got seriously ill, I'd been the one taking care of him.

Now, for the sake of his first love Alice, he wanted a divorce.

But I calmly took the property deed without shedding a single tear and signed readily. "Deal."

He was stunned and scrutinized me. "Wesley, you better not try anything funny."

I smiled.

He had no idea that a real estate developer had contacted me last weekthis run-down house was about to be demolished for redevelopment, and they'd offered compensation of up to ten million dollars.

What he knew even less was that I'd just received a report confirming I was the only person in the world with the same blood type as his critically ill father.

I put away the divorce agreement and property deed and stood up.

Alice clung intimately to his arm and said in a saccharine voice, "Wesley, please don't blame me for speaking out of turn. These past few years you've been at home living off Cedric. It's only because Cedric is kind-hearted that he's willing to give you a house at allotherwise you'd be out on the streets."

I ignored her and looked at Cedric. "Is that what you think too?"

Cedric looked completely at ease. "Is Alice wrong? You've been enjoying an easy life at home every day while having no idea how exhausted I am at the company."

Looking at him, I felt nothing but bitter irony.

These past three years, living in this so-called wealthy family mansion, I'd been treated like a high-class housekeeper.

My father-in-law Anderson had serious patriarchal attitudes. Because my first child was a daughter, he'd never given me a single kind look.

My mother-in-law Judith was a status-obsessed snob who looked down on my ordinary background and resented that I was no help to Cedric's career.

As for my husband Cedric, at first I thought I'd found a good man. He said I made him feel the warmth of home.

He said I only needed to take care of the household for him, and I didn't need to worry about anything else.

I agreed. Outsiders all thought I was living the good life.

Only I knew he gave me just ten thousand a month to cover all household shopping and social obligationseven the housekeeper's wages had to come out of that.

Meanwhile, he could turn around and buy his first love Alice a boutique studio in the city center.

After our daughter Betty was born, they got even worse. Using the excuse that girls were delicate, they forbade me from taking the child to visit my parents, yet never bothered to help care for her themselves.

"Oh, by the way," Alice smiled maliciously at me, "Wesley, you absolutely must keep Betty under control. Don't use Betty's issues to bother Cedric."

She placed a hand on her belly. "After all, I'm carrying Cedric's family's eldest grandson. I'm afraid the family might not have enough attention to spare afterward."

So that's why they were in such a rush to divorce me.

I suppressed my emotions and responded calmly, "Don't worry. Once I walk out this door, my daughter and I will have nothing more to do with Cedric."

I turned and left without looking back at their reactions.

The demolition household communication notice with its bright red stamp in my bag was all the confidence I needed right now.

Taking my daughter with this fortune about to land in my hands, completely rid of this family of horrible peopleit was like winning life's biggest lottery.

The taxi stopped with my daughter and me in a narrow alley.

I got out and looked at the dilapidated two-story building before me.

This was the wedding gift my parents had scraped together everything to prepare for me when I married Cedric. They feared I'd be mistreated at my in-laws' and wanted me to at least have a way out.

At the time, to give me face in Cedric's family, both our names were on the property deed.

Now, it had returned to my hands.

I took out the key and opened the rust-covered door.

Betty asked in her sweet little voice, "Mommy, aren't we going back to Daddy's house anymore?"

Holding her small body, my heart ached.

"That's right. From now on, we'll have our own home."

The next day, I took all my documents to the real estate company.

After verifying my information, the staff warmly received me. "Ms. Wesley, your property's size and location are both excellent. According to current compensation policy, you can receive around ten million dollars."

I chose the latter without hesitation.

"I want the money."

That afternoon after signing, I took Betty for her favorite strawberry cake.

Watching Betty's happy face covered in cream, I felt more at peace than ever before.

Thank you for your charity, Cedric.

You used a run-down house you looked down on to buy out our three-year marriage.

And I used the key you handed me to open the door to a new world.

Cedric probably assumed I'd take that broken-down house and come crawling back home in tears, or return begging him when I had nowhere else to turn.

So when his assistant told him that house had already completed demolition procedures, he froze for a moment.

"Lucky for her."

Cedric's brow furrowed tightly.

This was completely different from the script he'd envisioned. The feeling of things spiraling out of his control made him very uncomfortable.

Just then, his first love Alice pushed the door open, carrying a bowl of elegant bird's nest soup.

"Cedric, still busy? I made you bird's nest soupdrink it while it's hot. You haven't rested properly these past few days dealing with your father's situation."

She spoke gently and considerately, naturally nestling beside him.

Cedric smelled her expensive perfume, but the irritation in his heart didn't dissipateit only grew stronger.

His mind involuntarily flashed to images of Wesley.

She always carried a faint scent of soap. She never disturbed him while he worked, always quietly placing warmed soup by his side before silently leaving.

"What are you thinking about?"

Alice playfully pushed him.

"Nothing."

Cedric collected his thoughts and accepted the bird's nest soup.

"Alice, about my fatherhas the hospital found suitable bone marrow?"

At this mention, Alice's expression grew heavy too.

"Not yet... The hospital says the blood type is too rare. On top of that, finding suitable bone marrow with a successful match probability is almost negligible. The doctor told us to prepare ourselves mentally."

Cedric's heart sank bit by bit.

Anderson was the anchor of Cedric's family.

Once he fell, those circling vultures in the corporation would definitely seize the opportunity to strike.

His position as heir wasn't secure at all.

"Cedric, don't worry." Alice grasped his hand.

"I've already mobilized all my connections to search. There will be a way."

Cedric looked at her and forced out a smile.

He didn't know that his only real solution had already been pushed away by his own hands.

Meanwhile, after receiving the first demolition payment, I immediately rented a large flat in a quiet neighborhood downtown.

Next, I used this money to take over a ceramics studio near the west side of the city that was on the verge of closing.

In college, I'd studied sculpture. Opening my own ceramics studio was a dream I'd shelved for years.

I renovated the shop, added new pottery wheels and kilns, using half the space to sell pottery I made myself and the other half for pottery experiences.

I registered a social media account and shared daily pottery-making content and cute moments with Betty.

No sob stories, no complaintsjust love for life.

The warm tones and healing content quickly attracted my first batch of followers.

Late at night, I'd sit by the window watching the city lights in the distance.

I no longer had to watch anyone's face, no longer had to hear those harsh comments about bearing sons, no longer had to face a husband who never came home.

This freedom made me feel richer than that twelve million dollars.

Alice's path to integrating into Cedric's family was proving exceptionally difficult.

She thought driving me out as the legitimate wife would let her smoothly take my place, but she underestimated Judith's fighting power.

That day, she accompanied Judith to the hospital to visit Anderson.

In the doctor's office, the attending physician gravely informed them, "Mr. Anderson's condition isn't good. We've tested samples from all direct and collateral relativesnot one matches. The bone marrow bank has also reported that there are currently no suitable donors."

Judith's body swayed, nearly unable to stand.

Alice quickly supported her and asked urgently, "Doctor, is there really no other option?"

The doctor sighed. "No. Currently we can only gradually expand the search starting from people he's had contact with. Though the hope is slim, it's the only hope."

Leaving the hospital, Judith's expression remained terrible.

Alice tried to comfort her, saying carefully, "Don't worry too much. Cedric has already brought in expert teams from abroad. I'm sure..."

"What do you know!" Judith suddenly cut her off sharply, her gaze cutting like knives. "Besides spending Cedric's money, what can you do? I must have been blind to think you were better than Wesley!"

Alice's smile froze on her face.

Judith seemed to have opened a floodgate and began criticizing indiscriminately:

"Wesley may have come from a poor background and wasn't good with words, but at least she knew how to take care of people! Look at youyou don't even know to pour a glass of hot water!

Before Anderson got sick, Wesley personally prepared all those medicinal meals for him every day. And you? You just buy flashy, useless things!"

These words woke Alice up.

She finally understood that in the eyes of people like Judith, there was no such thing as true loveonly utility value.

When she couldn't provide practical help, she wasn't even as good as me.

That night, Alice and Cedric had a huge fight.

"Cedric! How did your mother treat me today! She actually compared me to Wesley! Didn't you say that as long as I came back, you'd make her accept me?"

Cedric was already overwhelmed by company and hospital matters. Hearing Alice's tearful complaints now only made him feel irritated.

"My mother is just anxious about my father's illness. Can't you be understanding?"

"Understanding? How am I supposed to understand? Every word out of her mouth was praising Wesley! Are you regretting this too? Do you also think Wesley is better than me?"

"Can you stop being so unreasonable!"

Cedric slammed the door and left, not turning back to comfort her for the first time.

He drove aimlessly through the streets. Almost as if possessed, he opened my social media account.

He'd had his assistant go through some trouble to find it.

On the screen was my latest video.

In the video, I wore a simple cotton apron, sitting at a pottery wheel with my hands covered in clay, focused on shaping the beginnings of a vase. Sunlight streamed in from the window, my profile soft, my gaze calm and bright.

Betty sat on a small stool nearby, also clumsily kneading a lump of clay, humming an off-key tune.

The comments section was peaceful.

"The shop owner is so gentle!"

"This is what life should be like!"

"The daughter is so cute. The blogger seems really happy now."

The word "happy" stabbed painfully at Cedric's eyes.

In his memory, I always had a hint of sadness and humility in my expression that wouldn't dissipate.

But this woman in the video was composed, confident, radiant.

This huge contrast stirred an unprecedented sense of loss and panic in him.

He irritably closed his phone and called his assistant.

"How's the hospital screening going? Has everyone been notified?"

"Almost everyone, but... there's one person we haven't been able to reach."

"Who?"

"Your ex-wife, Ms. Wesley. She's changed all her contact information and hasn't responded to private messages on social media."

"Useless!"

Cedric roared and hung up, punching the steering wheel.

The horn let out a piercing long blare, like mockery of his current state of mind.

He didn't know why he was so angry.

He was the one who initiated the divorce. So why, when she truly disappeared without a trace, did his heart feel so panicked?

The turning point appeared in a place no one expected.

At the blood bank center conducting bone marrow screening for Anderson, an elderly professor about to retire happened to see my name while doing final file archiving.

Wesleythe name seemed familiar to him.

He pulled up my blood donation records from years ago and my registration with the bone marrow registry.

When he saw my blood type report, his eyes behind reading glasses widened instantly.

"Quick! Pull up Mr. Anderson's matching data immediately!" he shouted excitedly to his assistant.

The two sets of data were placed side by side. The locia complete match.

A miracle with odds of one in hundreds of millions had just occurred.

The news reached Cedric's ears immediately.

After a brief moment of wild joy, he immediately fell into even deeper panic.

Wesley, the ex-wife he'd dismissed with a broken-down house, was actually the only hope for saving his father.

He immediately mobilized all his resources, even hiring a private investigator at great expense, searching frantically for my whereabouts.

Two days later, the investigator placed a stack of photos and documents on his office desk.

The photos showed my little shop, me playing on a swing with Betty in the yard, me shopping and eating ice cream with my best friend.

In every photo, I smiled so happily, so relaxed.

Cedric grabbed his car keys and practically tumbled out of the office.

He sped all the way, running several red lights, finally parking on that quiet street corner half an hour later.

He saw my shop.

Through the glass window, he saw me sitting inside, head lowered, patiently teaching a young woman how to throw pottery.

He took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Wind chimes rang out crisply.

I looked up.

The moment I saw him, I wasn't surprised.

I knew he'd find his way here eventually.

The smile on my face didn't even change. I just said to the young woman, "Feel it out on your own for now. I'll be right back."

Then I wiped my hands and walked toward him, as if approaching an ordinary customer.

"Sir, how may I help you?"

My voice was calm and flat.

Cedric looked at this face so close yet utterly unfamiliar, his throat tight.

He spoke with difficulty, his voice hoarse. "Wesley, let's talk."

"Sure." I pointed to the small stone table in the yard. "Let's talk here. I'm busy in the shop."

We sat across from each other. He looked at me with complex emotions in his eyes.

He pulled a document from his suit pocket and pushed it in front of me.

"Wesley, I know you hate me. But this time, I'm begging you. As long as you're willing to donate bone marrow to save my father, I'll agree to any condition. This is an asset transfer agreement. My large flat in the city center, plus twenty million in cash from my personal accountit's all yours."

He thought this was the greatest sincerity he could offer.

I didn't even glance at the document.

I simply picked up my teacup, blew on the steam, then raised my eyes to look at him calmly.

"Cedric, did you forget? We're already divorced."

"According to the law, we're strangers now."

"What makes you think a stranger has any obligation to undergo a risky major surgery for your father?"

My words drained all color from his face instantly.