My Husband and Daughter Replaced Me, so I Left

My billionaire husband cheated on me. My ten year old daughter covered for him. On her birthday, I found out my happy family of three only existed in my head. [“Mommy is too boring. Miss Celeste is more fun.”] The text was sent from my daughter’s secret phone to my husband. And his own message was, [“please distract her for me. Miss Celeste and I still need to do something at the penthouse.”] They weren’t just having an affair. They were building a new family together. And worse, they lied to my face every single day. While I was trying to be the best mother and wife, they were busy chasing after the hot flavor of the season. Realizing fighting for people who had clearly replaced me was useless, I filed for divorce and disappeared. But after I left, my husband and daughter went crazy trying to find me. Chapter 1 Serena’s POV I thought I was planning a wonderful surprise for my daughter for her tenth birthday. I didn’t know I was the one about to get surprised. It was Thursday evening, and her phone was carefully tucked away in my room to be released to her on the weekend, so when a phone lit up with a message under her pillow, my brows pulled into a deep frown. I picked up the luxurious iPad, immediately catching sight of a message from a familiar number. [Dad: My angel, can you try to distract Mommy some more? Miss Celeste and I still need to do something at the penthouse.] My heart slammed against my ribs. Celeste? Our daughter’s etiquette teacher? What business would she have with my husband? I gulped and scrolled back through their chats to the most recent one. It was a week ago, hours before we returned from our trip to our private island. [Dad: The pilot called to say he was coming to you with the jet. What happened, baby?] [Alessia: Daddy, I’m afraid I can’t stall Mom anymore. Will Miss Celeste still be at home when we return? I’ve missed you both.] I blinked fast, my body stiffening. My daughter had constantly brought up excuses as to why we should continue the two-month-long vacation until I finally had enough and refused to bow to her tantrums. [Dad: Oh no, baby. I haven’t had enough of Miss Celeste yet. Tell her you want to add an extra week.] [Alessia: I tried, but Mommy keeps insisting we must return. She didn’t even care when I threatened to never eat or talk to her. I’m sorry, Daddy.] [Dad: Don’t beat yourself up, darling. We’ll plan another trip soon. This time, only for Mommy, so we can stay back with Miss Celeste, okay?] My throat clogged as I kept scrolling through the messages. [Alessia: Yes, Daddy. Or she could stay home and we come here. Mommy is too boring. Miss Celeste is fun to be around. She lets me use my phone whenever I want, eat candy before dinner, and she never says no to ice cream and candy.] I pinched my skin, my chest tightening as I read what felt like a horrifying prank. [Alessia: She took my phone, saying we should have quality time together. Thankfully, I had this phone you gave me, or I won’t know how to talk to you.] The gift in my hand dropped to the floor, and I followed suit, my knees unable to hold my body up. My husband, whom I loved with all my being, was having an affair… and my daughter was covering up for him? “Mommy! Where are you, Mommy?” Alessia’s voice rang through the house. My body stilled. No, I couldn’t let her know I had found out just yet. With shaky hands, I placed the phone back where I’d seen it and picked up the gift from the floor. Right then, Alessia walked into her room. Seeing me, she froze, eyes wide open. “Mommy. What are you doing here?” I forced a smile onto my face. “Nothing, baby. I just… wanted to give your gift.” Her lips stretched into a smile so wide it looked like it was the best day of her life. “Yayy! Mommy, let me see.” Her excitement made my mind blank. Her grandparents had taken her for a birthday dinner, as she hated grand parties, and I wasn’t expecting her for another two hours. “Why not freshen up first?” I managed to squeeze out. “By the time you’re out, it’ll be ready.” “Sure, Mommy. You’re the best. I love you so much,” she cheered and ran off into the bathroom. The dam in my eyes burst, my body trembling as I sat on the bed. Minutes later, my tears finally dried up. I turned, seeing a bottle of perfume on her shelf. My hands grabbed it before my mind could think. Vanilla-scented perfume. Alessia was allergic to anything vanilla, so why was this here? Could someone have planted it to hurt her? All thoughts of the messages ran out of my head as goosebumps crept up my skin. If someone was trying to harm my daughter, I would make them regret being born. I marched toward the door, heading to have the maids investigated, when the bathroom door opened and Alessia stepped out. I smelled it before she even got close. Vanilla filled the air. So strongly that for someone with an allergy, it would be enough to cause death. I ran toward her, holding her arms with panic in my eyes. “Alessia, are you okay? We need to get you to a hos—” My words got stuck in my throat. The smell… it was coming from her body, and she was… fine? I glanced at her and back at the bottle of perfume. Following my gaze, she froze. “Alessia, didn’t you say you were allergic to vanilla?” She scratched the back of her head and wrinkled her nose. “I didn’t say I was allergic, Mom. I just said I hated it. But Miss Celeste always smelled so beautiful, and when I asked what she used, she got me this bottle. It’s nice, right, Mom? And it doesn’t give me any allergies.” Miss Celeste. Again. My hands dropped from her body. I stood rooted to the spot, unable to move. For four months, I had rid the house of everything vanilla, going as far as checking the maids’ bathrooms because Alessia and Nicolas had told me she had a terrible allergic reaction to vanilla. I had even changed my perfume just to make sure my daughter was okay. “Mommy, are you okay? You look pale.” Alessia’s voice pulled me out of my daze. I nodded shakily and pointed to her bed. “Your gift is there. I have to do something. Go to bed soon.” I ran out of the room as fast as my trembling legs could carry me. When I got to my room, I closed the door and clutched my chest. This… it could just be nothing, right? There was no way my daughter and her dad had something going on with her etiquette teacher. Celeste had a boyfriend. Nicolas himself has told me so. And we had been together for twenty years, from when we’d first met as kids to this day. I trusted Nicolas with all my heart. He wouldn’t hurt me. I pulled out my phone, typing Celeste’s name into the Instagram search bar. She loved flaunting everything on social media, so I was certain I would see her boyfriend posted. A few pictures and videos popped up, the most recent one being a video from two hours back. [The caption read: Celebrating my favorite girl with the most important man in my heart. #familyforever#] See. I knew it was nothing. She had a boy— The camera tilted, revealing a man leaning forward to light candles on a birthday cake. My stomach dropped. I didn’t see his face, but I could recognize the ring and watch he was wearing even in a dark room. Beside him, smiling brightly in matching pajamas, was a little girl wearing the same clothes Alessia had returned with. Chapter 2 My throat seemed to have something lodged in it as I scrolled through her profile. They had spent the whole day together, going to an amusement park, a cinema, and ending it at what looked like Celeste’s apartment. Together, my husband and child had played me like a fool. Although my muscles were weak from the shock, I shakily rushed out of the house into the garden, my phone tightly in my hands. As the cold wind swept over me, I scrolled through more of Celeste’s pictures, dating as far back as seven months ago when she became Alessia’s etiquette teacher. On our anniversary seven months ago, Nicolas and I had planned for Alessia to go to his parents’ place so we would spend the night together. I had spent hours preparing for him. I waited all night in the robe and lingerie he once said drove him crazy. But Nicolas and Alessia only arrived the next morning, telling me that she had an allergic reaction and had been taken to the hospital. When I asked why they hadn’t informed me earlier that my daughter was at the hospital, they said they didn’t want me to worry on my special day. Nicolas told me he would make it up to me. Now, as I scrolled through Celeste’s profile, I realized that on that same night, Celeste had just been promoted from general instructor to private etiquette teacher. They had never been at the hospital. They were celebrating with her. She captioned the photo: “Finally part of this beautiful family. And I’m never giving them up.” I closed my eyes and lowered my head, a steady stream of tears resurfacing. My hand went to the locket on my neck, opening it to the picture of my mom and me 25 years ago. My mom’s mental state drove her to her death after my dad cheated on her when I was five. Because of that, I promised myself I would never stay with a cheating man. Nicolas and I met at the cemetery, where he was visiting his sister. Dad didn’t want me to go see my mom’s grave, but I’d snuck out of the house when he was drunk and went there. Nicolas found me crying on my mom’s grave, and he held me, a five-year-old stranger, till my tears stopped. We became very close, even attending the same elementary school, high school, and university. His parents hated me because, to them, their son was obsessed with me and was throwing away his future for me. I pulled out the ring on my middle finger. It was his first gift to me, and his promise was: “My love, I know what your dad did to your mom. I promise you that I will never hurt you in that way. I, Nicolas Laurent, will never cheat on you. And if I do, I deserve everything that comes my way.” My body shook uncontrollably as sobs once again broke out. How had I let myself be deceived like this? And Alessia, my own daughter, whom I had sworn to give my life for if need arose. I worked my ass off to earn money so that if anything ever happened to Nicolas’ company, she would still have a bright future. I was there for every event of hers. I gazed up at the stars, seeing a lone one tonight. I had always seen three: one for Nicolas, one for Alessia, and one for me. Alessia always insisted the biggest star belonged to me because it was the prettiest. Tonight, the lone star matched my reality. Maybe it was right. Maybe this family… was never mine to begin with. My heart twisted as more tears left my eyes. A thought suddenly crossed my mind. Penthouse. His message had mentioned a penthouse. I knew all of Nicolas’ properties, and there was no penthouse in this city… unless he had an undeclared property he was using to play house with Celeste. I pulled out my phone, calling my private investigator, the same one who had once made sure my father ended up behind bars. “I need you to investigate something for me. Find out all of Nicolas’ undeclared properties and get me access to them by morning. Be as discreet as possible.” Chapter 3 The next morning, I had just finished setting up the table when Nicolas walked in. His hair was disheveled, and from the corner of my eye, I noticed him fidgeting, trying to adjust his collar to cover his neck, where a hickey was visible. As his hands wrapped around my waist, I gripped the plate I was holding so tightly it would have shattered if I had stronger muscles. “Darling, I’ve missed you so much,” he whispered, kissing my earlobe. The faint smell of vanilla clung to his shirt. I stiffened, my stomach twisting as I gently stepped away from him with a curt, “hi.” He casually walked off and kissed Alessia’s cheek. “I’m sorry I came home only this morning. I know we were supposed to spend our angel’s birthday together, but something urgent came up at the office. How about I make it up to you guys?” I nodded with a tight-lipped smile plastered on my face. Nicolas’s smile faltered. “Look, Serena, you have every right to be mad. I already missed our anniversary, and I missed Alessia’s birthday. I’m sorry to both of my ladies.” I blinked back the tears threatening to fall and excused myself. As I walked out of the room, he and Alessia started speaking in hushed tones. “Daddy, Mommy was in my room last night. Thankfully, she didn’t find anything. How is Miss Celeste today?” “She’s doing fine, darling. We will go and meet with her right after we come back. Make your mommy tired so she will sleep off as soon as we return, okay?” She nodded. “I really like Miss Celeste. I wish she could live with us too. Then I’d have two mommies,” she cheered, clapping her hands.. “I’m glad you like her too. She’s fun to be around,” Nicolas smiled, a dreamy look in his eyes. “Yes, Daddy. Mom… I mean Miss Celeste lets me eat ice cream and candy whenever I want. She even let me stay up until midnight watching movies last week. Mommy never lets me do any of that. She even says I’m too young to have a phone. Miss Celeste doesn’t mind.” I clenched the wall to stop my trembling legs from meeting the floor. Mom? Then who was I? And she preferred Celeste because I enforced rules meant to care for her well-being? Nicolas placed a hand on her hair. “It’s okay to call her Mom. She already takes care of you like a mother, so don’t feel guil—” He stopped talking as I walked in and cleared his throat. “Serena, how about we go out today so I can make it up to you? My parents want to celebrate with us.” “That won’t be necessary. I don’t feel too well.” His face twisted into a frown. “Yeah. I noticed you look pale. Are you okay? Didn’t you sleep well? Were you crying?” I shook his hand off my shoulder and met his concerned gaze. “I just had some urgent work to handle, so I couldn’t sleep well. About your parents…” He raised a brow. “I think you should just take Alessia there. I won’t be able to join you guys.” He shook his head and wrapped his arm around me again. “Darling, I’ve told you, my parents will like you, okay? You’re the only woman I’ll ever love.” My eyes caught sight of the hickey on his neck peeking through his collar. My fists clenched. “My parents will eventually like you, but you can’t avoid them forever.” I scoffed under my breath at how smooth his lies were. For all twenty years of our friendship, dating and marriage, I had tried to impress his parents to no avail. Even his mother, who was my mom’s best friend, hated me. Two weeks ago, I had personally picked fruits and gifts to take to them only to be met with insults. Perhaps they even knew of their son’s infidelity. “You guys go ahead. I won’t be joining,” I said with a straight face. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Alright, rest well. We’ll be home soon.” “Bye, Mommy. We love you,” Alessia kissed my cheek with a sad smile. At the same time, a message popped up on my phone. “This is the address of his penthouse in the city. I’ve already gotten you access into it. Is that all?” I typed back: Yes, that is all for now. Thank you. Thirty minutes later, I stood before the penthouse, my heart racing. Deep down, I was still hoping that all of this was a dream. That last night never really happened. And that I’ll find out this penthouse was just a getaway place for when he wanted to be alone. My thoughts kept tangling as I swiped the key card and heard two beeps. Access granted. My investigator had confirmed Celeste wasn’t around, so I quickly walked inside and froze. Two pairs of house slippers and Alessia’s flip flops, were placed neatly by the door. I walked into the first bedroom, decorated in purple and blue, Alessia’s favorite colors. The walls were lined with drawings, each one squeezing my heart even more. Alessia loved drawing, and I always supported her. Until now, as I stared with glossy eyes at the little family of three on the paper. Even with no recognizable faces, the mother was a blonde. I had black hair. My lips trembled as a sob broke out. I wrapped my arms around myself, scurried out of the room, and into the master bedroom. I wrinkled my nose at the untidied state of the room. White lace lingerie lay on the floor along with Nicolas’ shirt and shoes. A watch I had gifted him for his last birthday lay on the nightstand. My gaze wandered into the closet, filled with all brands of designer clothes. The color drained from my face as I glanced through. Dresses and jewelry I had lost over the past months, they were all here. I had been extremely worried, not that I couldn’t afford more, but because my stuff was disappearing from home. Nicolas had only said, “Don’t bother, my love. We’ll buy new ones. Whoever the thief is, they clearly just want your style.” Now I could see he was stealing my clothes and dolling up his mistress to look like me. I swallowed hard, pulled out the little camera my investigator delivered to me, walked to a flower vase, and gently attached it inside. Chapter 4 Nicolas was in our room when I returned. “Hi, baby. We came back early. I want to spend the rest of the day with you and our princess.” I hummed, ignoring his worried look as I headed straight for the restroom. Alessia dragged my reluctant body into the living room, where Nicolas stood with a cake and a broad smile. “Since we couldn’t celebrate together as a family yesterday, let’s do it now.” Alessia squealed and looked at me. “Mommy, do you know your gift to me was the best gift I received?” I studied her face for a few seconds, then smiled faintly. “Is that so? So my gift was better than that beautiful custom diamond charm bracelet? You’re even wearing it right after receiving it.” I gestured toward Celeste’s gift on her hand. Alessia paled. “Um… Mommy, I didn’t wear yours because it’s—” “It’s fine, Alessia. I just wish I could have thought of something like this instead of a drawing book and a silly necklace. Whoever gave you that is great.” I ended with a small laugh. Nicolas and Alessia exchanged nervous stares. Alessia walked to me and wrapped her arms around me. “Mommy, you know I love you the most. And no matter what you give me, you’ll always be my favorite person in the world.” A tear slid down my cheek. Nicolas stood up, joining the hug and placing a kiss on my lips. “We will always love you, and you’ll always be our favorite person in the world,” he muttered, the same words he would say to Celeste later. My hands shook as I gently pushed them away. “I’ll be upstairs. I need a nap.” They both looked at each other, then back at me. “I just don’t feel well,” I explained as an awkward silence was beginning to settle. As I walked away, I heard Alessia whisper, “Daddy, is something wrong with Mommy? Do you think she knows about Miss Celeste yet?” His reply came fast. “No. She’s just tired. Let’s go out and give her space to rest.” I rushed into the bathroom, gargled water, and rinsed my lips. That night, while Alessia slept, a video popped onto my phone. Nicolas and Celeste… at it again. My thumb hovered over the screen. So this was the fire emergency at the office he had left earlier to attend to. Of course, the fire in his groin. With a straight face, I copied the footage into the file containing all the photos of my jewelry and clothes in Celeste’s room, and their affair. Since Celeste loved flaunting everything on social media, I might as well make her more famous. I uploaded the photo and video, making sure Celeste’s photo in the background was visible so everyone would know who the cheater was, and typed a short message: “Does anyone know this lady? Tell her that stealing from me is not okay. If she had just asked, I wouldn’t even have fought for the trashy man she took, let alone the clothes.” I hit send and closed my eyes. Then I placed the divorce papers on the bed and dragged my suitcase behind me.