Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

Linda always took care of herself. Even in her forties, she still looked like a total knockout. Maybe that's why Victor was so hung up on her and even had an affair. And why, after all these years, he still wanted her back. Lacey was a spitting image of her mom, but with a twist. Lacey's beauty was all-natural and easygoing, while Linda's was more in-your-face and calculated.

As I strolled over, Linda was sipping her coffee. She spotted me and her eyes locked on. She took another sip and set the cup down.

I plopped down across from her, and the waiter swung by. I ordered a latte.

I had no clue how to start this convo. I had a pretty good idea of what was coming, but I had to play it cool until she laid it all out. So, I just gave her a weak smile.

But Linda wasn't here for small talk. She cut straight to the chase, "I know you went to the hospital a few days ago, and I know your test results. If you don't want Ethan to be without descendants, you should leave him soon." I was floored for a sec, feeling a chill run up my spine. It was clear they'd been watching me all along. Creepy as hell.

I tried to keep my cool, and after a bit, I met Linda's intense stare and said coldly, "So, is this how you forced Ethan's mom back then?"

Linda's face twisted for a moment, but she was tough and quickly put on a smile. "Forced? If she couldn't keep her man, that's on her. If she couldn't hold onto his love, who else is to blame?"

Linda seemed pretty proud of her journey from mistress to wife.

I scoffed, "Yeah, keeping my man is all about my own skills. But it looks like you're eager to help your daughter snatch my husband now."

Linda probably didn't expect me to clap back. After a few seconds of stunned silence, she sneered, "Lacey is a capable girl, beautiful and talented. You, a poor, divorced, and infertile woman, are nothing to us."

Since Linda laid it all out, I had nothing to lose. I took a deep breath and said firmly, "Ethan is my lawful husband. Unless he doesn't want me, I'm not leaving. If your daughter has what it takes, let her compete with me fair and square. Are you here to bully me because you think your daughter can't even compete with me and needs your help?"

Linda's face turned dark immediately. Before I could react, she picked up her coffee and threw it at me.

Luckily, I closed my eyes in time. The coffee didn't get in my eyes, but it drenched my hair, flowed down my face, and soaked my white clothes.

People at nearby tables turned to look, whispering. I didn't need a mirror to know I looked like a mess.

Coffee dripped from my eyelashes and hair. Through the blur, I saw Linda's smug face, her hand holding the coffee cup shaking.

The more disheveled I was, the more helpless I felt.

Suddenly, a man's jacket was draped over me, covering the stains on my clothes. "Aunt Linda, acting like this makes you look really uncultured."

Jason held my shoulders, talking to Linda. Even though he called her "Aunt Linda," his tone was icy and had a hint of anger.

Linda probably didn't expect Jason to show up. Her usual good-woman facade crumbled, and she looked pretty embarrassed.

Jason helped me up from the chair and said to Linda, "Aunt Linda, you need to understand that you can't even control Richard, let alone have the standing or qualification to interfere in Ethan's affairs."

That hit the nail on the head. I had argued for a long time without hitting the main point. The fact was, Linda wasn't Ethan's biological mom; she had no right to meddle in his marriage.

Linda looked at Jason in shock. Until we turned and left, she couldn't find the right words to clap back.

As we walked out, I could feel the stares from behind. Jason let me sit in his car first, then he went to a nearby convenience store and quickly came back.

I saw he had a pack of wet wipes in his hand. He took out a wipe, turned my face, and started cleaning the coffee off my hair and face.

He didn't say a word, but his actions were gentle, and the tenderness made the hurt in my heart swell. My eyes felt a bit teary. I tried hard to hold back my tears and took the wet wipe from his hand. "Let me do it." Jason let go and leaned back in his seat without saying a word.

"Why didn't you leave?" I broke the silence.

He turned to look at me and said, "When I parked, I saw a familiar license plate and knew she was inside. I figured she had set up a meeting with you, and I doubted she just wanted to chat over coffee. So I waited in the car for a bit. When you didn't come out for a while, I got worried and came in to check on you."

I crumpled the used wet wipe in my hand and shrugged, "No biggie. I don't care. She can't hurt me. I'm not backing down that easy."

Jason took the used wet wipe, tossed it in a plastic bag, and went out to throw it away. When he came back, he started the car.

I apologized, "Sorry for messing up your day."

Jason shook his head and gave a faint smile. "It's cool. I took the day off anyway."

"Took the day off? For what?" I asked.

The car passed through a traffic light, and he stepped on the gas, speeding up a bit. "Go home, clean up, and come with me somewhere."

After getting back to the villa, I took a quick shower, changed my clothes, and hopped back in the car.

Jason drove us out to the suburbs. At the foot of a hill, he bought two bouquets of flowers, then drove up the hill and parked outside a cemetery.

After getting out of the car, he led me into the cemetery and to a gravestone. The woman in the photo on the gravestone looked a lot like Jason.

"Today is my mom's death anniversary, so I took the day off to visit her. Over the years abroad, I haven't been able to visit her much." He gave a bitter smile. "I'm a lousy son."

I tried to comfort him, "You were abroad, and some things are just out of your control. I'm sure she understands."

Jason stood in front of his mom's gravestone for a while, then moved to another grave and placed the other bouquet in front of it.

Jason told me this was Ethan's mom's grave. There was a relatively fresh bouquet in front of her gravestone, but I had no clue who had placed it there.

I thought that in this world, the only people who would remember Ethan's mom were probably Ethan and Victor.

Given how heartless Victor was, I guessed the flowers weren't from him but from Ethan. So Ethan had visited his mom, and I had no idea.

To outsiders, Ethan seemed invincible like Superman. But in reality, he had a fragile side that he didn't show easily. And he never told me about it. He always liked to keep everything to himself. As his wife, I knew nothing. When we got back from the cemetery, just as we were pulling up to the villa, another car rolled up and parked at the entrance.

The two cars stopped facing each other, and through the windshield, I saw Ethan sitting in the driver's seat of the other car.

The sunlight reflected off the car window, making it hard to see his expression. I was curious why he was back at this time.

After we got out of the car, Ethan also got out and walked towards us. "Where'd you go?" He asked us, but his eyes were on me, and his tone was pretty calm.

Jason said flatly, "Emily came with me to the cemetery. I took her to see her mother-in-law."

Ethan walked up to me, placed a hand on my shoulder, and nodded.

I asked, "Aren't you busy? Why are you back so early?"

Ethan looked at me, smiling lazily, and pulled me into his arms. "You slept outside last night. I missed you, so I took some time to come back and see you." His sudden move caught me off guard, and as I fell into his arms, my chin hit his shoulder, causing some pain.

Jason glanced at us, his smile tinged with fatigue, and turned to walk into the house.

After lunch, I took out a book to read while Ethan and Jason watched TV in the living room. Two usually busy guys suddenly had a lot of free time today.

When I ran into problems in the book, I'd go ask them, and usually, Jason could answer my questions. Ethan would get pretty frustrated when he couldn't.

While making dinner, Jason mentioned we were out of beer and went out to buy a couple of cases. I knew today was a sensitive day, and it was normal for him to want to drink. Jason and Ethan ate and drank beer. Jason, usually calm and composed, seemed to have drunk too much today. By the time I finished washing the dishes, they were still drinking. Feeling a bit sleepy, I thought that since they were drinking at home, it wouldn't matter if they got drunk and went to sleep. So I went upstairs to bed.

Half-asleep, I heard footsteps coming in, then felt the bed sink beside me, followed by a pair of arms wrapping around me. Instinctively, I snuggled into the embrace, faintly smelling alcohol. When I woke up in the morning, I was shocked. Jason was lying next to me.