After three years of marriage, I still wasn’t pregnant.
My mother-in-law, Martha Thorne, whispered to my husband Ryan behind my back. Evelyn Hayes definitely can’t have kids. What good is a woman who can’t give you a child? Divorce her now!
But Ryan always stood firm. Mom, I’m telling you again, Evelyn and I are happy. Even if we can’t have our own children, we can always adopt. If you say one more word about this, I’ll send you away, far from here!
Ryan’s words warmed my heart.
When Martha kept pushing, Ryan finally pulled out a medical report showing he was the infertile one.
Confronted with the evidence, Martha apologized to me, but Ryan still sent her away.
I knew there was nothing wrong with Ryan. When I asked him why he’d lied, he simply said, “Loving you means accepting everything about you.”
He added that he really loved children and perhaps we could adopt.
I agreed.
Years later, I had raised our adopted son into a celebrated child actor. Then a woman appeared at our door,claiming to be his birth mother.
Before I could even speak, Ryan immediately announced to everyone, “Since his birth mother has come forward, we should give him back.”
He turned to me, waiting for my refusal. The world knew I loved that boy more than my own life.
But if I refused, I would become a “child-stealing villain” and be destroyed by the public outrage.
So, I smiled and said, “No problem. He’s yours.”
Even before we got married, Martha always hinted that I was too fragile to have children.
Yet, she was always incredibly kind to me. Every day, she’d prepare nutritious, delicious meals and deliver them to my office. The best part? They actually tasted amazing.
Martha even told me to eat as much as I wanted, promising I wouldn’t gain weight.
Honestly, back then, Martha truly felt like the mother I never had.
I actually met her first. She’d been hit by a car, and I took her to the hospital, covering her medical bills.
She clutched my hand and insisted, “Don’t worry, I won’t try to scam you. My son will be here soon and he’ll pay you back.”
Later, her son arrived. Canvas shoes, jeans paired with a white shirt, neat short hair – he radiated sunshine.
I’ m a total sucker for good looks, and I was immediately smitten. So I often visited Martha, hoping to spend more time with him.
But Martha warned me that our financial backgrounds were worlds apart and urged me to reconsider carefully.
Ryan himself confessed that he liked me a lot but didn’t dare to pursue it because our family statuses were too different.
Still, I fell head-over-heels for him, without a second thought. He was sunny, positive, and then so sophisticated and intelligent with his glasses on at work. He met every single one of my criteria for a partner.
We eventually got married, and Martha moved in with us.
I grew up without a mother, and Martha truly showered me with maternal love. I spent more time with her every day after coming home than I did with my own husband.
But I never imagined I’ d overhear her in the study doorway, telling Ryan, “Evelyn Hayes definitely can’t have kids. What good is a woman who can’ t give you a child? Divorce her now!”
The moment I heard those words, tears streamed down my face.
Because for three years, I had truly thought of her as my mother.
And from what I knew of her, she wasn’t a rigid or old-fashioned person.
So why, just because we didn’t have children, was she pushing Ryan to divorce me?
“Mom, I’m telling you again, Evelyn and I have a great relationship. Even if we can’t have kids, we can always adopt. If you say something like that one more time, I’ll send you away, far from here!”
Ryan’ s frustrated voice echoed.
My heavy heart finally began to settle a little.
I didn’t dare to listen any further, even trying to reassure myself that Martha just wanted a grandchild too badly, that she was still a good person, and I should just try harder to have children.
But the next morning, as I was eating breakfast, Martha suddenly sat down opposite me.
She slammed her bowl onto the dining table with excessive force, then spoke in a harsh, biting tone, “My Ryan is supposed to carry on the Thorne family name! You can’ t have kids, so stop monopolizing him. Divorce him already! We’ll make you leave with absolutely nothing, we won’t ask for a dime from you!”
As she spoke, I forced a smile at her, telling myself that what I heard last night hadn’t happened.
But what greeted me was still her almost degrading words.
“Mom, I’ve always considered you…”
“Don’t call me Mom. I’m not privileged enough to be the mother of a high-society princess like you.”
“They say no one can have it all. Look at you – such a good family background, but you lost your mother young, and then your dad died too.”
“Have you ever considered that the wealth you have now is just a trade-off for your parents’ deaths?”
Martha’s next words made me burst into tears.
I had always considered her my mother, yet she was hurting me like this.
Just then, Ryan walked over, his face grim. He sat beside me and pulled me into his arms.
He whispered soothingly, “Evelyn, don’t listen to her nonsense. To me, you’re the most important person. No one compares to you. So what if we can’t have kids? As long as I can be with you, I’ll be content.”
Ryan’s words made my anxious heart finally begin to settle. At least someone cared about me.
Then, Ryan pulled a medical report from his pocket and pushed it towards Martha. “It’s my problem, not Evelyn’s. Don’t make things difficult for her!”
Martha froze, her hand trembling as she picked up the report.
Ryan cupped my face and asked, “Evelyn, I can’t have kids. Will you divorce me?”
I shook my head, crying as I did so.
Ryan continued, “We can adopt a child.”
He said that as long as we could be together, no problem was truly a problem.
Then, ignoring my objections, he sent Martha away.
Later, I discovered the medical report was fake. Ryan then confessed the truth to me – he simply couldn’t stand to see me wronged, so he fabricated it for Martha.
I was touched beyond words, feeling so lucky to have him.
Some time after that, Martha passed away.
When Ryan and I returned, he cried terribly.
The villagers said Martha died of a broken heart.
They didn’t say it explicitly, but I knew my presence was part of her grief.
I kept vigil in the mourning hall, fainting several times from crying.
Finally, Martha’s nephew, Julian Brooks, took me back home.
After returning, Ryan suggested we adopt a child, and I agreed.
Then, he brought home a five-year-old boy, naming him Leo Hayes, after my family name.
But Ryan and I were both very busy with work, so we couldn’t care for Leo very well. That’ s when Ryan’s ‘cousin,’ Vanessa Reed, came from out of town.
Vanessa’s personality was very similar to Martha’s – always taking good care of people.
But no matter how busy I was, I always made sure to have Leo with me often.
I even had him sit in on company board meetings.
Leo was incredibly bright and talented at everything. I often said he was quite like Ryan, who was also a person of extraordinary talent.
As the company hit a bottleneck and urgently needed to expand into new ventures, Martha’s nephew, Julian Brooks, joined me.
He was a talent agent with over a dozen aspiring stars. He told me a few of them had potential, and with some development, they could at least support an entertainment company’s initial stages, even if they didn’t become A-listers.
So, I got the board’s approval to establish “Evelyn Hayes Entertainment” and began producing web series.
Web series were still exploding in popularity, with low barriers to entry, low costs, and minimal demands for acting or production quality.
Even the scripts could be simplistic, even absurdly over-the-top.
As long as they delivered intense satisfaction or heartbreaking drama, they would quickly generate revenue.
Seeing Leo’s talent, I brought him to set with me.
His schooling didn’t suffer; he had a private tutor following us.
This made Ryan a bit unhappy. He kept saying that a child’s most important thing was still their studies.
Even Vanessa chimed in, saying children should focus on school.
I told them that my ability to grow the company to its current size proved my judgment was good, and I had my own ideas about Leo’ s education.
After all, this house was still my house, so they didn’t say anything more.
Leo didn’t disappoint me. His small guest roles were astonishing.
I even created social media accounts for Leo, where he’d post daily updates, including photos of his tutor helping him with homework on set.
Leo never missed a chance to post about his perfect life online and the adoration for his mom.
Every video ended the same way, with him beaming at the camera, “I love your most, my most beautiful mom, Evelyn Hayes!”
I never held back on promoting Leo, taking him to various events, and posting about him daily on my own social media.
After one project wrapped, Julian Brooks drove Leo and me home.
Since Julian joined me, he’d been living at the villa.
Ryan had expressed jealousy, but I told him to be more understanding, as Julian was his cousin.
Besides, if Vanessa could live with us, why couldn’t Julian?
When we arrived, Ryan had just gotten off work and was preparing dinner in the kitchen.
He immediately rushed out, wanting to hug me, but I stepped away.
“Bad allergies lately. You’ve got a strong scent on you.”
I offered a wry smile.
Ryan asked anxiously, “Is the set environment that bad?”
“Oh yes,” I said.
“So many people are heavy smokers, it’s so smoky and suffocating every day.”
I chuckled lightly.
Ryan then knelt down, trying to pick up Leo. “Come here, son, let Dad give you a hug.”
Leo said expressionlessly, “Dad, I’m really tired. I’m going to bed.”
Then he walked off.
Ryan’s face dropped a little, and he gave an awkward laugh. “Evelyn, look, the child isn’t even close to me anymore.”
“As long as you’re close to me,” I said, smiling.
Ryan didn’t say anything more, instead turning to Julian. “Julian, let’s have a drink tonight.”
“Sounds good, Ryan,” Julian replied with a smile.
He was a man who seemed very refined, and his modesty came from deep within.
His kindness towards people was also very genuine.
I said to Julian, “Come to my study, let’s discuss the new project.”
“Alright.”
Julian nodded at Ryan and followed me to the study.
About an hour later, dinner was ready.
Our family sat at the dining table, but Vanessa Reed was eating in the kitchen.
I glanced at Vanessa’s back and said, “Vanessa, why aren’t you eating with us?”
“Evelyn, although I’m Ryan’ s cousin, I’ m still the nanny. I…”
I waved my hand, cutting her off. “Even as a nanny, you can sit at the table with us. We don’t have so many rules in this house.”
Vanessa then came over and sat beside Leo, constantly putting food on his plate.
Leo frowned. “Aunt Vanessa, you should use serving forks for that.”
He pushed his plate forward, refusing to eat it, as if it was dirty.
I looked at him and said, “Go get another plate yourself.”
Leo nodded, smiling, and immediately went.
Vanessa quickly apologized, “Evelyn, see? I don’t know the rules.”
“You’ll get used to it,” I said, smiling.
Later, a well-known screenwriter brought me a script.
The new script was a slice-of-life drama from a child’s perspective, and the screenwriter suggested that Leo would be perfect for the lead role.
I agreed.
The web series took half a year to film.
After its release on major platforms, it instantly garnered immense popularity.
Especially Leo, who directly became America’ s sweetheart, the nation’ s son.
And all sorts of film offers came flooding in.
Leo was a sensation and even major directors started extending offers.
I accepted a film for Leo and invested in the production.
After the film was released, its popularity remained high.
Leo’s acting skills were once again recognized.
Every time Ryan came home and saw Leo, his eyes were full of pride.
He’d always say, “That’s my son!”
Vanessa would also exclaim excitedly, “Wonderful! Someone’s bringing glory to the Thorne name!”
Ryan would frown and say, “Don’t say that randomly, it’s the Hayes family!”
Vanessa quickly apologized, “Right, right, my mistake.”
I smiled at them and said, “We’re all family, there’ s no ‘yours’ and ‘mine’.”
However, Leo’s rise had been too smooth; it was time for him to take a break and mature.
So, Leo personally announced he was temporarily withdrawing from acting to focus on his studies.
But to thank his fans of all ages, he announced a grand farewell party—with tickets given away through a lottery system.
The party would be held on the Lakeview Island in Sterling City.
This island had once been the economic backbone of my family, the Hayes family. The food court there had been incredibly successful.
But later, due to sewage issues and a company transition, I shut down the food court.
And when I decided to open the entertainment company, I developed Lakeview Island into a film studio complex.
On the day of the party, Lakeview Island was buzzing with guests, and Leo’s fans were the most numerous.
Leo sang, danced, and played the piano on stage.
He showed everyone that he not only could act but had many other talents.
Holding the microphone, Leo told everyone in the audience, “I owe everything I am today to my beautiful mom, Evelyn Hayes, who raised me so well!”
Then, I also stepped onto the stage, and the applause from the audience grew even more enthusiastic.
But just at that moment, Vanessa Reed suddenly rushed onto the stage.
Holding a microphone in her left hand and a document in her right, she declared to the audience, “Ladies and gentlemen, I have to reveal the truth! Leo is actually my son. Evelyn Hayes stole my son!”
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