Chapter 3Divorce and the Full-Time Housewife's Revenge

I thought I would carry my resentment into the afterlife.

Unexpectedly, an angry roar exploded in my ears: "If you want to divorce, then divorce! Just don't drag me down with you, you broke loser!"

I twitched my stiff limbs. A sharp piece of ceramic from a shattered bowl pierced the bottom of my foot.

It hurt!

I stared blankly at my son's greasy, acne-covered teenage face.

It slowly dawned on me that I had been reborn. Reborn to the day right after his middle school graduation, the day I discovered my husband, Mark, was cheating, and I demanded a divorce.

God was giving me a second chance?!

My palms instantly warmed up, burning hot, and my heart pounded violently against my ribs.

I desperately suppressed my excitement and said flatly: "I don't have a job, and I have no income. The judge won't grant me custody of you anyway."

Mark looked shocked: "Chloe, what are you talking about?! Didn't you just get a job making $1,500 a week?!"

I let out a cold laugh in my head.

I remembered the gossip I accidentally overheard from coworkers in my past life.

"Our manager, Jessica, is so ruthless. She helped the ex-wife get a job just so she could win custody, killing two birds with one stone and kicking all the annoying baggage out the door."

"Then she's going to take her own daughter and marry the guy, living a clean, baggage-free life. So savage."

That was the moment I realized Jessica was the HR manager at that company!

I had been played!

Desperate to survive, I swallowed my pride and didn't confront her.

But Jessica burned the bridge immediately. A few days later, she fired me, claiming my "skills didn't match the position."

People who didn't know the truth thought I was a nepotism hire and cheered when I was let go.

In that moment, I couldn't defend myself, and I lost all hope.

Now, my son charged at me with a demonic expression, clawing the air like he wanted to rip my face off.

"I don't care what schemes you pull, I'm not going with you! Bullshit $1,500 a week, what company pays a glorified nanny that kind of money?!"

I laughed. A chilling, freezing laugh.

Thanks to the constant brainwashing from my mother-in-law and Mark, my son genuinely believed that I—his mother—was the most useless, worthless person in the family.

That I was nothing more than a live-in maid worth maybe $500 a week.

I grabbed his hand, lightly tossed it aside, and gave a half-smile.

"Your dad was just joking. He and your Aunt Jessica are very well-off financially. I'll feel perfectly safe leaving you with them."

My son froze instantly.

"Your Aunt Jessica is a highly educated professional. I'm sure she'll treat you just like her own biological child."

My son puffed his chest out, completely agreeing: "Duh! Aunt Jessica and I get along great! She totally understands me, and she really likes me!"

Understands that you want to play video games all day? Likes buying you skins, praising your gaming skills, and telling you you're going to be a pro esports player?

I didn't even bother arguing.

Mark, however, panicked. He paced around the room anxiously with his hands on his hips.

"Chloe, didn't you just say that if Jessica has another baby, the dynamic between the three kids would be too complicated and hard to manage? What the hell are you trying to pull now?!"

He was still dreaming of dumping me and our son to start his shiny new life, hoping I'd walk away with absolutely nothing.

I apologized sincerely: "I was being too narrow-minded before, I'm sorry. I trust that you'll love Tyler, and I trust Jessica will treat all the kids equally."

Mark choked on his words, while my son wore a smug "glad you know your place" expression.

I gave a faint smile and quickly scribbled a few lines onto the divorce agreement.

"Mark, I have all the evidence of you and Jessica cheating. I don't want the house or the car. I just want $120,000 in cash."

I didn't have time to haggle with them. I just wanted to take what I could get quickly.

Besides, the housing market was going to crash in a few years anyway; that house wouldn't be worth much.

Mark was caught completely off guard by my decisiveness and tried to use our son as leverage against me.

I just casually tossed out a line: "Didn't you always claim you loved Tyler more than anything? Are you really going to nickel and dime over a little bit of money?"

This was exactly what he used to block me in my past life.

I wanted to see how he was going to maintain his "perfect, intellectual gentleman" facade in front of his precious son.

My son chimed in carelessly: "Dad, just give it to her! You and Aunt Jessica make plenty of money anyway! But make sure you add a clause in the agreement: absolutely no visitation rights! We're just paying to get rid of her!"

Mark suddenly thought of something, gave a dark smirk, and threatened: "Chloe, I know you hate me and you're just doing this to spite me. I can give you the money, just don't back out later."

I rolled my eyes, grabbed the document, and signed my name.

"You!" Mark instinctively reached out to grab my pen.

I sighed at my son: "Tyler, looks like your dad doesn't value you as much as you thought."

My son's face changed immediately. He stood up and demanded: "Dad, what does that mean?! Just pay her so she'll leave!"

Mark frowned tightly, clearly hesitating. I knew he couldn't bear to part with the money. After all, that $120,000 was the entirety of our liquid savings.

Heh, well then, don't blame me for targeting your true love.

"Oh my, speaking of my new job, I think I heard a woman named Jessica referred me."

I spoke slowly, enunciating every single word.

"A stay-at-home mom with zero corporate experience somehow lands an offer as a department supervisor at the Sterling Corporation? I should really go ask the CEO about that—"

Mark's face instantly went pale. He cut me off: "Enough! Let me think about it for a few days!"

I sneered: "What, do you need to ask your mistress for permission before she even moves in? I might not be offering these same terms in a few days."

With me saying that, Mark was obviously too embarrassed to call Jessica for help in front of me.

Plus, he had our son standing right there being an absolute idiot teammate.

He agreed to my terms.

I was planning to drag him straight to the courthouse to file the paperwork, but then Jessica called, crying that she was spotting.

Father and son completely forgot about me and rushed out the door in a panic.

Their retreating figures looked quite pathetic.

Heh, panicking?

I wasn't panicking at all.

In this life, my son was no longer my weakness.

Did Jessica really think she could pull the same trick as my past life? Force me to take the son so her perfect family of four could live happily ever after?

Not a chance in hell!