The Illegitimate Son and My Daughter

The first thing my ex-husband did after his rebirth was to bring his illegitimate son home, demanding I send our biological daughter to the countryside.

Cradling the drooling, developmentally delayed child, his eyes burned with fervor: This is the hope of our family! He's a genius who will win the Nobel Prize someday!

"As for that worthless girl, she'll only divide the inheritance. Get rid of her!"

I watched the illegitimate son, still playing in the mud, and calmly signed the divorce papers.

My ex-husband didn't know that in the last life, this illegitimate child only became a genius because I quit my job, slept only three hours a day, spent all our savings visiting renowned doctors, and painstakingly tutored him for twenty years.

And my own daughter, neglected and abandoned, ran away from home early, only to become a financial titan controlling the global economy.

In this life, since you treasure the "genius" who needs his diapers changed for two decades, then I'll take my "worthless" daughter and become the mother of a global billionaire.

I swiftly signed the divorce papers.

Noah Stone didn't even glance at me. He snatched the drooling illegitimate child, Adam, into his arms, his eyes burning with fanaticism. In his mind, he saw the colossal headline from the last life's newspaper: "Chinese-American Scientist Adam Stone Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics." That was the supreme glory he had missed. In this life, he would never let me steal that honor again!

"This is the hope of our family! He's a genius who will win the Nobel Prize someday!" he declared, almost shouting at me.

"As for that worthless girl, she'll only divide the inheritance. Get rid of her!"

I looked at the illegitimate son, still playing in the mud, and snapped the pen cap shut with a crisp click. "My passport, driver's license, everything's in my bag. See you at the courthouse tomorrow at nine."

With that, I turned and walked toward our daughter Aurora's room.

Noah scoffed behind me. "Take that worthless girl, you two can starve for all I care."

I didn't look back.

The door had barely closed when my mother-in-law, Clara Stone, burst in, her voice shrill. "Noah Stone! Are you mad? You're just letting her leave like that? What about Aurora? Aurora is our Stone grandchild!"

She moved to rush toward Aurora's room.

Noah stopped her, his tone impatient. "Mom! What are you yelling about! Didn't you see Adam is sleeping? It's just a girl, let her go, it's less trouble."

Clara paused, but her voice didn't quiet down. "That's not the same! How can she, Elizabeth Vance, a divorced woman, raise a child properly? Aurora will suffer with her! Make her leave the child!"

I pushed the door open, leading Aurora, who was already wearing her coat, by the hand. Aurora's small face was calm, unlike a five-year-old's. She just clutched my hand tightly.

I looked at Clara. "The child is mine, and I have full custody. The agreement states it clearly."

Clara's eyes widened. She pointed a finger at me. "Elizabeth! Don't you dare act ungrateful! Our Stone family supported you for so many years, and now you think you can just fly off? Take our Stone bloodline away? Dream on!"

She reached out to grab Aurora.

I stepped sideways to block her, shielding Aurora behind me. "Clara, try to touch her again."

She flinched, intimidated by the coldness in my eyes, and retreated half a step.

Noah impatiently pulled a card from his wallet and tossed it onto the console by the door. "Alright! Stop yelling! Elizabeth, this is for you. Fifty thousand. It should be enough for you and that girl for a while. Don't bother me again."

The card slid a short distance on the polished surface, stopping at my feet. Fifty thousand. A pittance for a beggar. I didn't even bother to bend down. I took Aurora's hand and walked straight past the card, opened the door, and left without looking back.

Behind me, Adam's cries suddenly escalated, and Noah frantically tried to soothe him. "Don't cry, baby, don't cry, my genius"

The elevator doors slowly closed, cutting off all sound.

Aurora looked up at me, asking softly, "Mommy, where are we going?"

I knelt down and tidied her collar. "We're going to our new home."

Aurora nodded, as if understanding, and said no more, just holding my hand tighter.

I took Aurora back to the old house to pack our things. The home that once echoed with our mother-daughter laughter was now eerily silent.

In the living room, Noah was awkwardly feeding Adam, spilling formula everywhere. He saw me, his brows furrowing into a knot. "Why are you back again? Just get your things and leave. Don't disturb me with Adam."

I ignored him, walking straight into the bedroom and pulling out two of the largest suitcases. Clara followed me in, hovering like an overseer. "Elizabeth, I'm telling you, this house belongs to my son. You won't take anything extra from here." Her eyes scrutinized every item I packed.

I folded Aurora's and my clothes one by one and placed them in the suitcase. "These were all part of my dowry before we married. This jewelry set was left to me by my mother." I pointed to a box on the dressing table.

Clara immediately pounced, pressing down on the box. "What 'left to you by your mother'! Once it enters my Stone family's door, it's our Stone family's property! You want to take it? No way!" Her hand gripped the box tightly.

I stopped what I was doing, stood up, and watched her silently. She got a little spooked by my stare but still refused to let go. "What are you looking at! Am I wrong? You're a woman who's being thrown out; do you really think you can take such valuable things?"

I didn't argue with her. I just quietly took out my phone and started recording. "Say that again. Whose property is this?"

Clara froze for a moment, then burst into a tirade. "It's the Stone family's! What can you do to me!"

I put my phone away, no longer looking at her, and continued packing other things. A picture frame fell to the floor, the glass shattering. Inside was a photo of Aurora and me at the beach. Aurora walked over, carefully trying to pick up the photo.

"Don't touch it; you'll cut your hand." I pulled her back.

Noah, hearing the sound from the living room, shouted impatiently, "Elizabeth! Can't you hurry up! You're dawdling, and if you break something, can you afford to replace it?"

I pulled out the photo from the frame, untouched by the shattered glass, and slipped it into my pocket. Then I swept the empty frame and scattered glass into the trash. Clara, seeing that I was ignoring her, started yelling again. "Did you hear that? My son wants you to hurry up and leave! Don't be an eyesore here!"

I zipped up my suitcase with a dull thud.

With a suitcase in each hand, and holding Aurora's hand, I walked toward the door. As I passed the living room, I saw Adam throw his baby bottle on the floor and reach for a set of car keys Noah had forgotten on the coffee table, preparing to put them in his mouth. Noah, oblivious, was still engrossed in a "Genius Early Development Guide."

I walked straight out, not looking left or right. The door slammed shut behind me. I didn't care if that child swallowed the keys, nor if that man could nurture a genius.

I rented a small one-bedroom apartment in the city's old town. Compared to the spacious, bright riverside apartment at the Stone's, this place felt like a pigeon coop. Aurora, however, was very composed. She put down her small backpack and carefully surveyed her new "home."

"Mommy, where's my bed?"

I pointed to the small bed by the window, covered with a new cartoon bedspread I'd bought. "That will be your bed from now on."

She nodded, climbed onto it, tested it out, then flashed me a smile. "It's soft." My heart softened instantly.

It was late by the time we settled in. After I told Aurora a bedtime story, she quickly fell asleep. I sat on the creaky sofa in the living room. My phone vibrated. It was a message from my friend, Lena Hayes.

"How are things? Found a place to stay? Do you have enough money?"

I replied that everything was fine, and then there was nothing more. It wasn't that I didn't want to say more; it was that I didn't know where to begin.

I opened my mobile banking app, looking at the paltry savings in my account, then remembered the card Noah had tossed on the floor. A wave of helplessness washed over me. I had to find a job quickly.

Just then, my phone rang. It was Noah. I slid to answer, but didn't speak. His voice, muffled with suppressed anger, came from the other end. "Elizabeth, did you take the washing machine manual?"

I paused. "No."

"Then how do I use this new front-loader? My mom can't figure it out; she's getting water everywhere trying to do laundry!"

"There's a QR code on the door. Scan it for the digital manual."

"I don't have time for that! You come back now and show my mom how to use it!" he ordered, as if it were his right.

I was silent. In the last life, it was always like this. No matter where I went, he always found a way to drag me back to deal with the messes he and his mother couldn't handle. And every single time, I softened and went back.

"Noah Stone, we're divorced." I said, and hung up.

My phone immediately began ringing incessantly. Annoyed, I kept hanging up, eventually just turning it off. I walked into the room, looking at Aurora's peaceful sleeping face. The last vestiges of helplessness in my heart vanished.

In this life, I would only live for her.