Chapter 1The Second Act

After the divorce, I threw myself entirely into my acting career.

Aside from our scheduled weekly visitations with our son, I had zero contact with my ex-husband.

Until one day, I accidentally stumbled upon Lucas’s social media account.

He had become a parenting influencer with millions of followers.

For three years, I watched him expertly change diapers and prepare formula.

He transformed our babbling baby into a sweet, well-behaved angel.

In his latest video, our son asked, "Why can't Mommy stay with me every day like you do?"

Lucas was silent for a moment before answering seriously:

"Because she is herself first, and your mother second."

I rubbed the screen, quietly feeling the sudden flutter in my chest.

We had a child. We got divorced.

We had clearly reached the end of our story.

Yet, I was just starting to fall for this man.

* * *

Lucas Sterling and I were a business marriage. Two years married, still strangers.

I had just started making waves in Hollywood when my father cut off all my resources, effectively blacklisting me.

Forced into a corner, I had to obey his arrangement and agree to the marriage.

Lucas was the best choice.

He had no interest in romance but needed an heir.

We agreed to divorce once the child was born.

To return to the set sooner, I entangled with him every night.

Bodies burning and intertwined, hearts cold and distant.

After countless nights, we would silently turn away from each other.

Soon, I gave birth to a boy.

Lucas named him Leo.

He valued our son, and that was enough.

After Leo turned one, we finalized the divorce.

I don't know how Lucas explained it to the Sterling family, but they had no objections.

His mother even looked at me with a hint of pity and guilt.

She promised the Sterling family would do their best to support my career and always have my back.

I accepted graciously, of course.

To be fair, Lucas was dutiful as both a husband and a father.

As for my dad, since Lucas initiated the divorce and the child solidified the alliance between our families, he couldn't control me anymore. He just stayed silent for a long time before saying calmly:

"Elena, you're just as heartless as your mother."

Heartless?

My mother was once a top ballerina in New York, with a limitless future.

But she was forced to give up her career to marry my father.

The difference was, she had loved him for years, so it was a dream come true for her.

My father came from old money, elite education, traditional values. Profit was his god.

He wanted a wife to manage the home and raise children, not to show her face in public.

After marrying him, my mother's vibrant soul withered day by day, leaving only the shell of a perfect trophy wife.

After having me, I became her only emotional anchor.

Until my father demanded a son to inherit the family business, and my mother asked blankly:

"What about our daughter?"

"She'll marry for the family, of course. It's the responsibility she bears for enjoying this wealth."

He answered as if it were natural.

"Isn't our marriage the same? You should have been prepared."

In that moment, the last shred of expectation she had for this man shattered.

She finally realized how ridiculous it was to give up her career for him.

So she refused to let me follow in her footsteps.

Ignoring everyone's opposition, she resolutely chose divorce.

The day she left for Paris, five-year-old me cried and asked if she didn't want me anymore.

She squatted down, looking at me with sadness and tenderness.

"Elie, you will be the only child I ever have. I love only you, and I will support you unconditionally."

"I'm not abandoning you. Mommy just wants to live for herself once. You'll understand when you grow up."

She returned to the stage, and her dazzling brilliance made the world cheer.

Several times, my father would freeze while pouring tea, watching her smile on TV.

Even when the tea overflowed, he didn't notice.

She taught me by example: never give up your career for anyone.

I carried Leo for ten months; how could I not love him?

Even when I suffered from insomnia postpartum, seeing his small sleeping form softened my heart completely.

But he wasn't my whole life. I had my own dreams and pursuits.

I made the same choice as my mother, and I fully understood her.

But he would be my only child, and my motherly love would never be absent.

This was also my agreement with Lucas.

On the day of the divorce, his only request was that I set aside time every week to visit Leo at the estate, or video call if I absolutely couldn't make it.

I agreed without hesitation. It was my duty as a mother.

I just didn't expect him to value the child to this extent, even becoming a parenting influencer.

In two years of marriage, we barely interacted except in bed. I wasn't interested in his private life.

So when I accidentally scrolled onto his video, I was stunned for a long time.

It turned out that in the year I was busy getting back in shape, taking acting classes, and networking, Lucas had taken on the nanny's job.

He changed diapers, fed him, and put him to sleep, ensuring I had enough rest when I came home.

I thought the nanny was just doing a good job, ignoring the dark circles under Lucas's eyes.