Chapter 16

Layla walked out of Horace's office, her hands ice-cold. She didn't want to dwell on what Seth had said, but she couldn't help it. She thought about her past self and her daughter who had been born with autism. Layla had lost her parents when she was ten years old and grew up in an orphanage, but she never forgot their teachings. They had a saying that went, "No matter how tough life gets, you must have your own goals. Only then does life have meaning." So, she studied hard and excelled in mathematics. The orphanage director arranged for a former senior student to tutor her, and she even won the Math Olympiad. But Layla was a born artist. It was something that she had inherited from her mother, who used to be a fashion designer. It had always been a dream of hers to showcase her artwork on an international stage. With her extraordinary artistic talent, she was accepted into the Kingsville Academy of Fine Arts at just 16 years old. She had envisioned a future in design after graduating, fulfilling her mother's dream. But then, the director approached her with news that Parker Group was funding a new dormitory for the orphanage, which would allow them to take in more children. Layla was overjoyed. However, the director added that Jenna had handpicked a few children from the orphanage to work at Parker Group, and Layla was one of them. At first, Layla wanted to refuse because Parker Group was a tech company, completely unrelated to her field of design. But she hesitated, fearing that her rejection might jeopardize Parker Group's funding for the orphanage. So, she put her dream on hold and began working at Parker Group. She worked extremely hard, often staying late to help the CEO. Her intelligence quickly landed her more important responsibilities in the company as she became Seth's most reliable support. Layla thought that her life would continue on like this. But everything changed after the night of the banquet, when she and Seth slept together. The situation worsened a month later, when she discovered she was pregnant. At first, she was resolute about terminating the pregnancy and keeping Seth in the dark. But just as she was about to go through the procedure, Seth burst into the room and carried her off the operating table. He promised to give her a home and raise the child together. To an orphan, a home was the ultimate dream. So, she agreed without hesitation. After their marriage, Layla poured all her love into their family, her husband and their child. She believed what she had read in books—that with effort and sincerity, one's love would be reciprocated. But life had played a cruel joke on her. After countless hardships, Layla had finally conceived her daughter. Full of joy, she had brought her pregnancy checkup results to Seth, only for him to serve her with the divorce papers. Even her son, who she adored, resented her. At that moment, she felt her world come crashing down. Every sleepless night, she would repeatedly ask herself why life was so cruel to her. She had worked so hard for her family, but they still left her. It was too big of a blow for her. Losing her dearly beloved husband and the son she had birthed had turned her world upside down. Layla became depressed and spent all her days crying. She began to see her unborn child as a cruel joke. She had gone through so much to carry Seth's daughter, hoping to give their family a beautiful future, only for him to abandon her for another woman. She had considered aborting the baby, determined to sever all ties with Seth. But in the end, she couldn't go through with it. The child in her belly was her only hope to continue living. Then, she met Mark Kirkland. He told her that she had depression, and if she continued down this path, she might lose her child. A mother with depression could inevitably have an impact on her child. But all of this was because of Seth's betrayal. He had broken his promises, tearing their family apart and leaving her dreams in ruins. Why should he now pretend to care about her? Layla set aside all her grudges for the sake of her daughter's treatment. She no longer intended to hold Seth accountable for the pain he had caused her and her daughter. All she wanted was to focus on her daughter's treatment and live a peaceful life. So why was Seth still bothering her, mercilessly reopening the wounds she worked so hard to close? Thinking about this, Layla's eyes reddened. Just then, the school bell rang. Layla swallowed the bitterness that was welling up inside her and walked to the classroom door, where she saw Benjamin holding a tissue and helping Daisy wipe her nose. As he wiped, he muttered disdainfully, "If I wasn't worried about you getting it on me, I wouldn't even help you." Daisy winced from his actions but didn't complain. Instead, she grinned at Benjamin. Watching this scene, Layla felt a mix of emotions. She couldn't run away from the fact that their blood tied them together. No matter what, Daisy had an inseparable bond to Seth and Benjamin, and she couldn't deny her affection for them both. Layla composed herself before walking over to Daisy and gently rubbing her head. "Daisy, have you been a good girl?" Daisy shook her head and pointed at Benjamin, indicating that he had been looking after her. Benjamin, however, turned his head away proudly and said, "I don't care about you." Seeing his attitude, Layla didn't get upset. Instead, she said warmly, "Thank you, Benjamin." Her polite, distant tone made it seem like she was speaking to any other student, as if their mother-son relationship didn't even exist. This made Benjamin unhappy. With a huff, he got up and stormed out of the classroom without looking back. Soon, it was the end of the school day. Layla escorted the children to the school gate, bidding them farewell one by one. That was when she saw Clarissa approaching, greeting the other parents with familiarity. "Ms. Price, it's been a few days since you've come to pick up Benjamin." "I caught a cold recently. Ben's dad didn't want me leaving the house, and I didn't want to risk getting the kids sick either." "Your husband is so considerate! When's the wedding? We can't wait to celebrate!" "Soon! He's already making arrangements." Layla wasn't surprised to hear this. In her four years of marriage to Seth, few people knew she was Mrs. Parker. They only had a marriage license; there was never a wedding. At events, she always attended as Seth's secretary. Clarissa, on the other hand, was announced as Seth's fiance less than a week after their divorce. It was then Layla realized that Seth hadn't been too busy for a wedding. He simply never intended to give her one. The thought of this made her lips curl into a bitter smile. Clarissa noticed her smile and sneered inwardly, thinking to herself, "Let's see how long you can keep smiling, Layla." She then walked up to Layla and asked humbly, "Ms. Jenkins, was my son well-behaved today?"