The Seventh Year

"Mommy, you're really awful. I wish Lily were my mom instead." On Audrey and Nathaniel Bennett's seventh wedding anniversary, their son, Colin Bennett, was hospitalized due to an allergic reaction. Audrey stayed by his side and cared for him tirelessly for three days. To her horror, the first thing Colin did upon waking was call the police, accusing Audrey of k********g him and insisting she wasn't his real mother. Cold handcuffs snapped around Audrey's wrists. Her mind went blank. The police ordered a DNA test for both of them. During this time, she was detained in the interrogation room and subjected to relentless questioning while being denied sleep, food, and water. Just as her emotions were about to collapse, the test results finally came in. "It has been confirmed that you and the boy share no biological relation," the officer declared sternly. "Colin has accused you of k********g him, deliberately feeding him foods he's allergic to, and abusing him. You need to explain everything clearly!" The officer's words reached Audrey's ears distorted and muffled. Her head spun, and her hands and feet trembled violently. Even worse than the physical exhaustion was the crushing realization that the child she had cherished for six years wasn't biologically hers. 'This is impossible!' She had carried him for nine months and endured three days of excruciating labor before giving birth to Colin in a luxury maternity ward. After losing a great deal of blood and falling unconscious for hours, Nathaniel had stayed by her side the entire time. After her uterus was removed during surgery, apart from Colin, she could never have another child in this lifetime. Nathaniel had never held it against her. The billionaire CEO had willingly cared for her and Colin himself, steadfastly for seven years. "I need to contact my husband..." Audrey suppressed the churning in her stomach, desperate to see Nathaniel immediately. The police exchanged glances and allowed her to communicate with the outside world. Her fingers trembled as she dialed, mistyping the number multiple times. The first call rang out. So did the second and the third... On the ninth attempt, just before the phone disconnected, someone finally answered. Audrey's lips quivered, but before she could speak, a sweet, unfamiliar woman's voice cut her off. As an adult, she instantly understood what was happening on the other end. Her husband was f*****g another woman. Her mind went blank. Eventually, her family's lawyer, James Walker, arrived with all the documents proving their identities and hurried Audrey out of the police station. "Ma'am, are you returning to the hospital to take care of Colin?" "No. To Bennett Group." She clenched her teeth, biting into the soft flesh inside her mouth. Only the sharp pain kept her from collapsing. She was desperate to find Nathaniel, to confront him and demand the truth. The office door stood wide open, revealing Nathaniel with his shirt disheveled and a hickey on his neck. A friend snorted. "This is the ninety-ninth time you've had me deliver condoms. That secretary must really have you hooked. Even when you were crazy about Audrey, you weren't this out of control." He leaned back with a smirk. "Come on. Audrey carried your son and nearly died giving birth to Colin. You treated her like a stranger. Three hours in the shower with disinfectant before you'd even touch her. Remember?" His smile turned sharper. "But Lily? She gets whatever she wants. Trips, gifts, the whole damn world. Honestly, the only thing you haven't given her yet is your last name." Audrey stood frozen, her blood turning to ice, a chilling numbness spreading through her heart. Every one of his unexplained absences now made sense. While she lay feverish and unconscious from a post-surgical infection, he was on a global honeymoon with Lily White. When she narrowly survived a rain-soaked car crash, he was lighting sky lanterns with Lily at a foreign auction. As she tended to Colin's allergic reaction without even changing clothes, he was pinning Lily down on billion-dollar contracts to have s*x. Her husband of seven years was cheating on her. Just when Audrey thought nothing could be worse, Nathaniel's words plunged her into the abyss. "She's been with me since we graduated," he said calmly. "Back then, Audrey had just given birth to a sickly daughter. Lily handed her own son over without hesitation and said she'd disappear once the boy turned ten." He paused, his voice indifferent. "For that alone, I promised to take care of her for ten years. When those ten years are up, I'll go back to my family and be Audrey's perfect husband." Then he added lightly, "For now, Lily and I are heading north to see the northern lights." Nathaniel smirked as he toyed with his phone. A second later, Audrey received a text. Nathaniel: [Honey, an overseas project requires my personal attention. I'll make it up to you when I get back.] Audrey blinked slowly, tears dripping onto the screen. She wanted to give him one last chance. Audrey: [Don't go. Stay.] Nathaniel: [Be a good girl, Audrey. I need to make enough money to take care of you and Colin, to make you the happiest woman in Northvale.] She stared numbly as the screen dimmed, reflecting her own pallid, hollow expression. Her heart extinguished along with the fading light. Sharp pains shot through her chest. Stumbling in her haste, she fled and collapsed into the backseat of the car. Lily was Audrey's father's bastard daughter. Twenty years ago, Lily's mother intruded into their household, causing Audrey's pregnant mother to die of rage. Two decades later, Lily seduced her husband and replaced her daughter. Audrey sobbed until she gagged, blood staining her lips. Her phone lit up again with a photo from Lily. In the picture, Lily leaned against a man whose face was partly hidden, but Audrey recognized him instantly. It was the husband she had loved for seven years. A caption sat beneath the photo. [Some people will stand with me against the whole world.] Audrey forced a stiff, mocking smile. As she wiped her tears, her eyes blazed with steely resolve. The bastard child? She would disown him. The treacherous scum who had betrayed their love? She would cast him aside too. In a calm voice, she turned to James. "Prepare the divorce papers. Secure my assets and recover every dollar I invested in Bennett Group."