When Three Fake Affairs Took All I Had

The third time Austin Vance caught me in bed with another man, I didnt panic. I didnt scramble to put on my clothes, and I didnt bother to explain.

Sienna Montgomery, the head of the Vance Groups legal team, stood at the front of the crowd.

Mrs. Vance, this is your third strike of marital infidelity.

"According to the prenup, you will walk away with nothing and waive all custody rights to your son."

Austin had long lost his patience. The look in his eyes was pure disgust.

He threw the divorce papers right at my face.

"The first time, you claimed you didn't even know the guy."

"The second time, you said you had no idea how you ended up in that hotel room."

"Three strikes and youre out, Elena. Whats your excuse this time?"

He expected me to make up another pathetic lie.

But I said nothing.

I just quietly picked up the pen, signed my name on the divorce papers, and prepared to vanish from his world forever.

I wondered, thoughnow that I had finally given him exactly what he wanted, leaving with absolutely nothing, not even our child... why was he the one losing his mind?

Sienna snatched the signed papers away instantly.

As if terrified I would change my mind, she turned to Austin and said, "Mr. Vance, its signed."

Austin stared at me, his brows knitted tightly.

He probably expected me to tear up the papers like I did the first two times.

He expected me to drop to my knees, slap myself, and beg him through tears:

"Please, think of our son! Just trust me this one last time!"

I capped the pen and placed it back on the nightstand.

"Ill pack my things and move out as soon as possible. As for my visitation rights"

"You don't deserve to be a mother," he interrupted coldly. "You are never seeing Leo again."

I didnt look up. I just let out a soft laugh. "I was actually about to say... I don't want visitation rights either."

The coldness in Austins eyes didnt waver, but he shot me a sharp, questioning look.

He couldn't comprehend my sudden "indifference."

For the past four years, he and our son were my entire world.

Back then, if Leo so much as called Sienna "Auntie Sienna" one extra time, my heart would ache for days.

Now, I was giving him up without a fight. It wasn't like me.

He let out a harsh sneer, seemingly finding a logical explanation for my behavior.

"Throwing away your own flesh and blood for some cheap flings. Was this your plan all along when you climbed into my bed and forced me to marry you?"

Listening to his venomous words, I felt absolutely no desire to defend myself.

The first time he caught me "sleeping around" in a hotel, I was completely blindsided.

I had begged and screamed, swearing I had never betrayed him.

But Austin had always assumed I was obsessed with him. And since the man in my bed had fled, leaving only a blurry silhouette on the hotel's security footage, Austin barely let it slide.

Yet, he still took Leo away from me.

To see my son once a month, I had to schedule an appointment with Sienna a week in advance.

During our short visits, Sienna would tail us like a warden.

If I held Leo for a second too long, I had to watch her displeased face.

Even buying toys or clothes for my own son required Sienna's prior approval, or they would never make it to Leo's room.

The emotional abuse broke me, and soon after, I was framed for a second time.

I had taken a job to distract myself, but during a business trip, I woke up in a hotel room with a repulsive, overweight stranger drooling next to me.

I called the police, but the medical exam showed I hadn't been assaulted.

Despite the lack of physical evidence, Austin decided I was just caught before the "crime" could happen.

From that day on, I wasn't even allowed to attend Leo's kindergarten parent-teacher meetings.

Whenever the school called, Austin sent Sienna instead.

He told me to stay home so I "wouldn't embarrass the family."

Even when our four-year-old son pointed at my face and called me a "bad woman," Austin just stood there, saying nothing.

And now, the third time...

I was tired of this twisted game. I was ready to let them have each other.

And yet, he had the nerve to ask why I didn't want my own child anymore?

Sienna walked up to Austin and whispered loudly enough for me to hear:

"Austin, even though the prenup says she waives custody... in all my years of legal practice, Ive never seen a mother give up her child so easily."

"Elena has cheated so many times; she probably planned this long ago. After all, a child is just baggage for a woman who wants to play around... Don't waste your breath on her."

She looked up at me, a brief, heavy glint of triumph flashing in her eyes.

I chuckled softly.

She seemed to have forgotten...

Four years ago, she was the one who drafted this absurd prenuptial agreement, specifically detailing the "three-strike" cheating clause.

Austins face darkened.

"You better mean what you say. Don't come crawling back on your knees begging me later."

Leaving those cold words, he turned and walked out.

I watched his retreating back, the corner of my mouth curling into a bitter smile.

I won't, Austin.

My knees will never bend for you again.

Sienna looked at me, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Well, Elena, a night of romance is worth a thousand bucks. We won't disturb you and your... friend anymore!"

The moment the door slammed shut, the room fell into a heavy silence.

I looked down at the unconscious man still snoring on the bed.

A wave of nausea hit my stomach.

I had woken up much earlier than them. I could have escaped before they "caught" me.

But I was just so sick of this cat-and-mouse game.

I wanted it to end.

I threw on my coat and walked out without looking back.

The next evening, I went back to the Vance mansion to pack my things.

When I pushed open the master bedroom door, I realized all my clothes and personal belongings were gone.

The maid stood there, fidgeting nervously, not daring to meet my eyes.

"Ma'am... your things have been moved to the backyard storage room. Miss Montgomery said... she said the master bedroom will have a new mistress soon, so we had to clear it out immediately."

I smiled faintly.

Four years of marriage, and I wasn't even allowed a decent departure.

I turned and walked toward the storage shed in the backyard.

Pushing the door open, I saw boxes stacked upon boxes, trash bags piled high.

I knelt down and began rummaging through them one by one.

Nothing else mattered, but I had to find my mothers antique sapphire bracelet.

It was passed down from my grandmother to my mother, and then to me...

It was the only thing in this godforsaken house that truly belonged to me.

Finally, I found it at the very bottom of a dusty box.

Clutching the velvet pouch tightly in my palm, I let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief.

Just as I was about to grab a few changes of clothes, a childish voice came from the doorway.

"What are you doing?"

I turned around. Leo was standing at the door.

He looked exactly like Austin, but his arrogant, condescending posture was a carbon copy of Sienna's.

"Getting my things," I said quietly, turning back to my packing.

Usually, even if he pushed me away, I would rush to hug and kiss him.

But this time, I was completely numb.

"Those are not your things."

Seeing me ignore him, he stormed inside.

He stomped his dirty shoe right onto my scattered clothes. "Auntie Sienna said everything in this house belongs to Daddy. You are not allowed to take a single thing."

I paused. "These are my personal belongings."

"You bought them with Daddys money," he said, putting his hands behind his back. "Daddys money belongs to the Vance family. Strangers have no right to it."

A stranger?

I looked up at him.

My four-year-old son was standing over me, looking at me as if I were a thief.

The coldness in his eyes was even worse than Austin's.

"I'm only taking one thing," I said, clutching the sapphire bracelet. "The rest can stay."

"No!" He stepped forward, blocking the doorway with his arms spread wide. "You can't steal from the Vances!"

"Leo, move."

"No!" he shouted. "You're a beggar! A thief! Auntie Sienna said once you leave, you can never come back. If you do, you're just here to steal!"

My temples throbbed painfully. "I'm telling you one last time, move."

"No! Give it to me!"

He lunged forward, grabbing the velvet pouch in my hand.

I instinctively pulled back, and the pouch ripped open.

The antique sapphire bracelet slipped out, hitting the concrete floor. The delicate gold chain snapped, and the small diamonds framing the sapphire shattered into pieces.

I froze, staring at the ruins.

I remembered the day my mother put this bracelet on my wrist.

She had said, "Elena, this has been in our family for six generations. Pass it down to your daughter, or your daughter-in-law..."

I had no daughter. And I would never have a daughter-in-law.

I only had this bracelet.

It survived six generations, only to be shattered by my own son.

Leo stood beside me, suddenly murmuring under his breath:

"It's your fault for not letting go..."

My eyes welled with tears as I looked at him. "I told you, this was the only thing my mother left me."

"Do you even know why your mother is rotting in that hospice care?"

Leo blinked, taking a step back.

"I don't have a grandma. I only know shes a money-draining old hag..."

The blood rushed to my head.

"Auntie Sienna said she stays in such an expensive room, wasting Daddy's money when she can't even be cured. She's just a black hole for money"

"Say that again."

My voice changed.

It was so cold and hollow, even I didn't recognize it.

Leo was startled by my expression. He bit his lip but forced himself to yell, "She is a money-draining old hag! What are you gonnaah!"

I shoved him.

His foot caught on a box, and he fell backward onto his butt.

He froze for a second, then burst into loud, dramatic wails.

"Daddy! Daddy!"

I stood there, my palms completely numb.

Looking at my crying son on the floor, the words "money-draining old hag" echoed in my ears.

That "old hag" was my mother. His grandmother.

She was the one who, despite just undergoing major surgery, spent nights hand-knitting a baby blanket for him when he was born.

She was the one who, every year on his birthday, would call from the hospice, begging the nurse to read her birthday wishes to him.

And he called her a money-draining old hag.

The sharp edges of the broken diamonds dug into my palm.

The pain cleared my head.

Austin rushed in, seeing Leo crying on the floor. He knelt down and scooped him up.

"Leo, what happened?"

Leo buried his face in Austin's chest, sobbing hysterically. "Daddy! She pushed me! Kick her out! I want Auntie Sienna..."

Austin held him, glaring at me.

His eyes were filled with absolute disgust. "Elena, have you lost your mind? You're physically abusing a child now?!"

"I didn't abuse him," I said quietly. "I just shoved him."

"Is there a difference?!"

I looked down at the broken pieces of my mothers bracelet in my hand.

"Yes," I said. "Abusing him would be me trying to discipline him as his mother. Shoving him was just him getting what he deserved."

Austin stunned, looking down at his son.

Leo shrank into his fathers arms, his crying softening into a whimper. "But I was just telling the truth... Auntie Sienna said that old woman is just wasting Daddy's money..."

Austin pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Why are you picking a fight with a toddler?" He shot me an annoyed look. "Sienna manages our family finances now. She was just stating a financial fact, and Leo overheard it. Don't blow things out of proportion."

"You have no idea how much she stresses over managing this estate."

He glanced at the broken jewelry in my hand.

His tone softened slightly, though his annoyance remained.

"I brought Leo here today so we could have a proper talk. But about the... other thing, let's keep it from him for now. I don't want it affecting his mental health."

I knew he was talking about the divorce.

I remained silent.

A proper talk?

About what?

In our four years of marriage, the amount of time he and Leo spent talking to me wouldn't even add up to half of what he shared with Sienna.

Back in college, he was the one who pursued me relentlessly, breaking down my walls.

Even without that "accidental pregnancy," I had already gathered the courage to ignore our social class difference and say yes to him.

Looking back, I wished I had never agreed.

My mother was still lying in that hospice, waiting for me to visit.

With that thought, I grabbed my bag and walked out of the shed.

In the living room, Sienna was kneeling in front of Leo, gently consoling him.

I walked past them, expressionless.

Behind me, Leo wailed louder, "Why is that bad woman ignoring me?!"

He stomped his feet, throwing a tantrum.

He was used to me immediately crying, hugging him, and apologizing every time he threw a fit.

So when I didn't even spare him a glance, he felt wronged.

Austin said nothing, but I could feel the icy glare burning holes in my back.

I didn't stop.

Just as I reached for the front door, his furious voice boomed through the hall: "Stop right there!"

I paused.

"Come back here and apologize to Leo," he demanded. "You shoved him. You scared him."

I closed my eyes.

Realizing this would probably be the last time we ever spoke, I didn't want to waste energy arguing.

I walked back and knelt in front of Leo.

"I'm sorry," I said, looking into his eyes one last time. "I shouldn't have shoved you."

Leo sniffled, and suddenly, he spat right in my face.

The warm saliva slid down my cheek.

He said in his cute, childish voice, "Dirty woman. You deserve it."

Austin watched coldly, adding a flat remark: "You're so busy sleeping around that even your own son can't stand you."

I slowly raised my hand, wiping my cheek.

I let out a soft laugh.

"Me? Sleeping around?"

These three "affairs" were set up so poorly. Did he honestly not see the loopholes?

Or maybe he did, but chose to ignore them because he wanted an excuse.

Fine. If that's what he believed, so be it.

"Weve been married for four years, Austin, and youve been parading around with her for four years!"

"You even sent my son to stay at her place. Who is the one sleeping around here?"

"We're getting a divorce. Can we stop lying to ourselves?"

Siennas face drained of color.

Tears welled up in her eyes instantly. "Elena, how could you slander me like this? Austin, I..."

"Elena, it's been four years. Are you ever going to stop this drama?" Austin glared at me, taking a slow step forward.

"Fine. Since you're so convinced we're sleeping together..." He grabbed my wrist, dragging me toward the bedroom.

The moment the door slammed shut, he pinned me down, took off his silk tie, and bound my wrists tightly before tossing me onto the floor.

Then he turned, pulling Sienna into his arms, leaning close to her ear.

"Do you want me?"

Sienna gasped softly, then wrapped her arms around his neck. "Austin, I've waited so long for this..."

The two of them immediately began tearing at each other's clothes, shedding them onto the carpet.

I bit my lip so hard it bled, my voice scraping out of my throat:

"Austin, we're getting a divorce! You can do whatever you want later! Why do you have to humiliate me like this?!"

He paused, his hand gripping my jaw tightly. "Humiliate you? Elena, do you really think you still have any dignity left to be humiliated?"

"Austin, don't get distracted..."

Sienna wrapped herself around him from behind, blowing softly against his neck.

He let go of me, turning back to sink into her embrace.

I closed my eyes, tears silent and bitter, running down my face.

Suddenly, my phone, which had fallen onto the carpet, began to vibrate.

It was my mothers number.

I struggled, dragging myself across the floor to answer it with my chin.

But it wasn't my mother. It was the frantic voice of her nurse:

"Elena! You need to get here right now! Your mother heard rumors that you're getting a divorce. She thinks she's a burden to you and has climbed onto the roof of the hospice"

"What?!"

"She said... "static"..."