On her birthday, Sophia Andrews cooked a whole table full of dishes and waited for her husband to bring their son back from her mother-in-law’s place so they could celebrate together.

The food had just been set out when her phone rang.

"I’m working late tonight. I’m not coming back." Richard Andrews’s flat, distant voice came through the phone.

"Richard, today is my—"

Before Sophia could finish, the call was already cut off.

She listened to the dead tone buzzing in her ear, and her heart just sank.

She had wanted to tell Richard that today was her birthday, to ask if he could skip just one day of overtime and stay with her for a while. He’d been working late six days straight this week. She wasn’t asking for much. Just one day. That was it.

Then suddenly, an explosion ripped through the building, and everything in front of Sophia went black.

When she came to, a sharp, piercing pain shot through her leg. Only then did she realize a cabinet had slammed down onto her calf. Flames were roaring all around her now, thick and vicious, sealing her in like a trap.

With trembling hands, Sophia struggled to call Richard.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later."

Why wasn’t he answering?

Luckily, Sophia was rescued alive. Only then did she learn there had been a gas leak downstairs, and the explosion had set everything off. She had burns all over her body, and her leg was fractured too.

As she was being lifted into the ambulance, she suddenly heard a familiar voice shouting like crazy, "My wife is hurt! Give us the ambulance right now!"

That was... Richard’s voice!

Wasn’t he supposed to be working late?

Ignoring the pain, she forced herself up and looked outside the ambulance. There he was, arguing with the medical staff like a man losing his mind.

In his arms, he was holding a woman tightly. His face was dark with fury, but underneath it was pure panic and worry.

In eight years of marriage, Sophia had never once seen Richard this emotional.

And Christopher, her son, stood beside him wiping away tears, crying pitifully, "My mom is hurt! Please save my mom..."

"Sir, please understand, we have to arrange treatment based on how serious the injuries are. This lady is in worse condition, so she needs medical attention first."

"Richard... it hurts so much..." The woman in Richard Andrews's arms buried her face in his chest, her voice thin and shaky, weak like a little kitten.

Richard's face darkened at once. "No one matters more than my wife!"

"Please save my mom!" Christopher was so anxious he was practically spinning in circles. Even then, he kept coaxing softly, "Mom, don't be scared. We'll be at the hospital really soon."

The medical worker looked helpless. "Mr. Andrews, we can arrange an ambulance for you first. Which floor do you live on?"

"Building Ten, twenty-eighth floor."

"Sir, the patient already in the ambulance is your neighbor from the twentieth floor downstairs. Could you make a little room and go together to the hospital?"

At those words, Sophia Andrews felt her whole body turn cold.

Her husband had another home.

Not only that, it was in the same residential complex as hers, right upstairs from her.

And the son she had carried for ten months, the boy she had raised with endless care, cleaning him up, feeding him, loving him bit by bit as he grew... was now calling another woman "Mom" with that kind of closeness, like they were the real mother and son.

A chill crawled up Sophia's spine. She struggled to sit up, then forced herself off the ambulance. Her face was pale, her eyes ice-cold as she looked at Richard Andrews and the woman in his arms.

"No need," she said flatly. "Let them have the ambulance."

The moment they saw Sophia, both Richard Andrews and Christopher froze.

Clearly, neither of them had expected the person in the ambulance to be her.

Only then did Sophia get a clear look at the woman's face in Richard's arms.

It was Wendy Yates, the daughter of the Andrews family's maid.

Back then, Richard's parents had looked down on Wendy's background and firmly refused to let them be together.

After they were forced apart, Richard met Sophia.

Then he married her.

Richard fell silent for a moment. His handsome, sharp-featured face was coated in a hard, chilly expression as he said to Sophia, "Wendy is hurt. I'll explain to you later."

After saying that, he didn't even spare Sophia another glance. He simply carried Wendy into the ambulance.

Christopher only looked at Sophia once too.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, he followed them up.

...

Half an hour later, Sophia sat alone in the hospital, and she overheard two nurses talking about Richard Andrews.

Wendy Yates had nothing more than a few surface scrapes, yet Richard Andrews acted like she’d suffered some life-threatening injury. He practically dragged an ER doctor away from another patient and ordered him to treat her first, right now.

People nearby were openly jealous, saying Wendy was ridiculously spoiled by her man, loved down to the bone.

Some even whispered they wished they could find a boyfriend like that too.

Sophia Andrews lowered her eyes to her leg wrapped in plaster and let out a faint, mocking laugh. Her hand was ruined, and now her leg was too. Amazing. Just amazing.

She pushed herself along in a wheelchair, looking for her husband and son.

But before she could find them, she heard something at the hospital room door that made her whole world crash.

“Sophia Andrews got hurt too. She’s hospitalized. Aren’t you going to see her?”

“Wendy, you’re Christopher’s real mother. No one matters more than you. Back then, I got rid of Sophia Andrews’s daughter so she could raise your child.”

“My Wendy is a princess. She should live carefree and happy. Sophia Andrews isn’t dead. She just got a little hurt. You’re the important one, always.”

Wendy’s sweet laughter floated out from inside. “Richard, I love you.”

In that instant, Sophia felt like her soul had been ripped clean out of her body. Her fingers clamped so hard around the wheelchair armrest they nearly went numb.

So Christopher… wasn’t her child.

Her child had been killed by Richard Andrews.

How had he done it? How could he possibly do it? That was his own daughter.

Back then, while still recovering after childbirth, she had endured endless days and nights all alone, guarding that child with all the care and tenderness she had. And now she found out that child had never even had the chance to stay by her side.

She had spent eight whole years acting as a nanny for Richard Andrews’s one true love.

Eight years raising their child.

Sophia didn’t even know how she made it back to her room. She lay on the hospital bed in a daze, like her mind had gone blank.

Her daughter...

The daughter she had never even seen once...

Then suddenly, the door was pushed open.

Richard Andrews walked over to her bedside, his face cold and unreadable as he said, “I just finished dealing with everything, so I came by to check on you.”

Sophia gave a very soft laugh.

She said flatly, "The one you should be checking on is Wendy Yates, not me."

Richard Andrews’s brows locked tight at once. His face turned impatient as he snapped, "Sophia Andrews, what exactly are you throwing a tantrum for now? I just brought Wendy to the hospital. It’s such a tiny thing, and it’s enough to make you mad? Are you really that narrow-minded?"

"She’s just like a younger sister to me. Why are you even jealous of her?"

A younger sister...

The kind you could have a child with?

How did he even have the nerve to say something that shameless?

Just then, Christopher pushed the door open and walked in. He had clearly heard what Richard said. His little face dropped on the spot, and he turned to glare at Sophia Andrews, lecturing her viciously.

"Mommy, why are you picking a fight with Daddy again? Auntie Wendy is my godmother. Daddy and I bringing her to the hospital wasn’t wrong at all! What right do you have to be mad at Daddy?"

So they had done nothing wrong.

The only one at fault was her.

"Mm, I’m not blaming you." After saying that, Sophia Andrews added, "From now on, whatever you want to do with Wendy Yates is your business. I’ll make room for you. Let’s get divorced."

Richard Andrews’s expression darkened even more. "What are you even making a scene for? Just because I took Wendy Yates to the hospital? If that’s what you’re upset about, then fine, I’m apologizing to you. Happy now?"

But that shallow, fake apology could never bring her daughter back to life.

The moment she thought of the daughter she had never even gotten to meet, tears slid from the corners of Sophia Andrews’s eyes.

Back then, she never should have saved Richard Andrews.

Right now, all she wanted was for him to pay in blood for blood.

When Richard Andrews noticed the tears glimmering at the edge of her eyes, the coldness on his face eased a little.

He stepped forward, lifted a hand, and gently touched Sophia Andrews’s head. His tone softened, like he was trying to calm her down. "Sophia Andrews, I know you’re upset."

"Wendy’s father is connected to the Andrews family. I only sent her to the hospital out of respect for him. Don’t overthink it, okay?"

"I know you’re in a bad mood right now. You’re just angry. Once you calm down, I’ll come talk to you again."

Christopher was still unhappy. He let out a dissatisfied huff and said, "Mommy, I got hurt too, but you didn’t even ask if I was okay. Instead, you just got mad at Daddy. How are you even like Auntie Wendy? She kept asking if I was hurting."

"And now you’re still throwing a fit at Daddy. Auntie Wendy was even the one who told Daddy to come see you. You’re seriously so unreasonable."

"And you’re always poking me with needles, and forcing Daddy to drink that awful soup you make. Your cooking is super gross. Auntie Wendy cooks way better than you!"

"If only you were even half as good as Auntie Wendy!"

Christopher’s words only made everything feel more absurd, more mocking.

He didn’t know that the needles were to keep his allergic reaction under control.

And what Richard Andrews drank was never soup at all—

it was herbal medicine for his stomach.