Chapter 2

Hearing the word "divorce," Mark finally realized I wasn't bluffing.

He muttered an insincere surrender:

"Fine, fine! I'll go talk to Sarah right now, happy?"

"It's just an elementary school spot. Do you really have to blow this out of proportion..."

With that, he slammed the front door and stormed out.

His dismissive attitude made me want to drag him back by his collar and scream.

But I forced myself to swallow the rage.

Losing my temper wouldn't solve anything right now. My daughter's education was on the line.

Given Mark's attitude, I couldn't count on him. If we couldn't get our spot back, I needed a backup plan. But this mess was too big for me to handle alone.

I let out a heavy sigh and dialed my parents.

"Hey, Mom, Dad... I need to tell you something."

For the next three days, there was zero progress on the school spot.

Whenever I brought it up, Mark brushed me off over the phone.

"I'm working on it, okay?"

"You think it's that easy? You can't just revoke a school transfer with a snap of your fingers. The kid's education is important too. We have to give them time to find another school! Stop nagging me!"

Then, before I could push further, he rushed to hang up:

"Anyway, I gotta go, I'm swamped at work. Working late tonight, don't wait up for dinner."

He claimed to be working overtime, but he came home later every single night.

The first night was eleven. The second night was near midnight. By the third night, I sat on the couch until 2:00 AM, only to receive a text:

[Project deadline is crazy. Crashing at the office.]

I wasn't stupid. It was painfully obvious Mark was dodging me.

Finally, on Friday night, I caught him sneaking through the front door.

"You're back?" I asked from the dark living room.

Mark kicked off his shoes, barely glancing up at me.

"Yeah, I'm back."

"If there's nothing urgent, I'm taking a shower and going to bed. I'm dead tired."

I stood up and blocked his path.

"What about our school district spot?"

"It's been a whole week. Nothing has changed. Registration closes next month."

Mark rolled his eyes, pushing past me toward the hallway.

"This again? Can you just let me breathe for one second? I work overtime every damn day for this family!"

"Asking me two or three times a day—aren't you tired of hearing yourself?"

"Sarah needs time to find another school for her kid too. That takes networking, paperwork, and meetings. Can't you just wait a little longer? Have some empathy for someone in a tough spot!"

I let out a cold laugh.

I had anticipated this exact reaction.

Crossing my arms, I said slowly, "Oh, I have plenty of empathy."

"And I know you two are close colleagues. It must be so awkward for you to ask her to give it up."

Hearing that, Mark froze.

He turned back to look at me, a gleam of relief in his eyes.

"Babe, I knew you were reasonable!"

"Honestly, sending Mia to private school really isn't a bad idea—"

Before he could finish, I cut him off sharply.

"That's why I already found a school for her son."

"Since you're too embarrassed to bring it up, I'll go to your company on Monday and talk to her myself. And if she refuses to give our spot back, I'll just have a chat with your senior executives. I'd love to ask them if breaking up an employee's marriage and stealing their child's future goes against company ethics."

### 小说标题

He Stole My Daughter's Future for His Mistress### 全文翻译

"Didn't you mention your company is currently downsizing?"

The smile vanished from Mark's face instantly.

He glared at me viciously and barked, "Chloe, what the hell does that mean?"

"Are you threatening me?!"

Then, as if remembering something, he lowered his voice and hissed a warning:

"Mia is right in her room! I don't want to start a screaming match in front of her."

"I told you, I'll take care of it! Do not come to my office on Monday, do you hear me? Don't make this a total disaster!"

I shook my head, amused.

I saw right through his little game.

He was stalling. He wanted to drag this out until public school enrollment closed so the spot couldn't be reclaimed. That way, I'd have no choice but to drop it and put Mia in private school.

I pointed toward Mia's room.

"Don't worry. I already sent Mia to my mother's place. She won't be staying here for a while."

"She's my daughter. I care about her far more than you do."

I picked up the manila folder from the coffee table and thrust it into his hands.

"And another thing: I'm staying with my parents starting tonight. These are divorce papers. I've already signed them."

"I gave you an entire week. Since you can't get that spot back, forget it. I'm done arguing with you. I'll see you in court."

"I've officially filed a lawsuit against you and Sarah."