I Put My Ex-husband and His Beloved Woman in Jail

I had been married to Landen Patel for three years. He suddenly got down on his knees in front of me one day, and his eyes were filled with tears. "Honey, could you... temporarily divorce me?"

I froze, as if someone had hit me over the head without warning. A chill ran through my body.

"Jaynie is back, and she brought a five-year-old boy. I just found out today... that I am the father. But he has leukemia. The doctors said the only way to save him is if Jaynie and I have another child so that we can use the newborn's embryonic stem cells.

Looking at his pained face, I gave a bitter smile. "So you're saying you want a divorce... to have a child with her?"

He shook his head, crying. "It's only temporary! Once the boy is saved, I'll come back to you. Honey, please... think of it as saving a life..."

Just then, his phone rang.

Jaynie Payne sent him a revealing selfie with a message. "Landen, I'm ready. Has Lydia agreed? The doctor said it is the best time for me to get pregnant tonight."

...

I snatched his phone and stared fixedly at the words on the screen.

In the photo, Jaynie was dressed in a sheer lace nightgown, striking a seductive pose with a confident and provocative gleam in her eyes.

A flicker of panic flashed across Landen's face as he reached out to snatch the phone back.

I could no longer hold back my tears. They burst forth like a flood. "Landen, I can't accept that..."

I collapsed to the floor, and my voice shook uncontrollably. "No woman in the world can accept it. How can I push my husband into another woman's bed?"

Landen hugged me tightly, and his voice was pained and repressed. "Lydia, I'm sorry. I know it is unfair for you, but it's a human life. I can't refuse to save him."

He cupped my face and forced me to look at him. "Let's just divorce for now, okay? Just think of it as... as a temporary separation. "Once the child is saved, and when Jaynie no longer needs me... I swear I'll come running back to you."

His words felt like a lifeline, igniting one last, desperate flicker of hope within me.

I clutched his arms, and my nails nearly dug into his flesh. "No, Landen. Can't we... can't we not get divorced? We can try IVF... or I'll pay and use all my connections to find a bone marrow match for that boy."

Before I could finish, his phone rang again.

The caller ID showed "Jaynie."

Landen instinctively wanted to hang up. But after hesitating for half a second, he picked it up.

As soon as the call connected, Jaynie's voice came through in a wailing tone. "Landen, why haven't you replied to me? Have you talked it over? Has Lydia agreed?"

Landen glanced at me. His gaze shifted uneasily as his voice dropped to a hushed whisper. "I'm still discussing it with Lydia."

On the other end, Jaynie broke down and cried. Her voice suddenly rose, and she shouted at me through the receiver. "Lydia, please. Please let us go through with this. I'll kneel down if you want. I'll do anything you ask as long as my boy can be saved. If you don't trust us, I'm... I'm willing to broadcast the entire conception process live for you to watch. I promise you, there's nothing inappropriate between Landen and me. We're only doing this to save my boy."

Landen's face looked terrible as he immediately hung up the phone.

He looked at me, who was standing frozen and deathly pale. He said in a low voice, "Look, Lydia, I'm telling you, there's absolutely nothing between her and me. "All of this is to save the boy. You should stop being narrow-minded."

Was I narrow-minded?

I kept shaking my head, and tears ran down my face again.

I clung to his sleeve and pleaded humbly, "Landen, please don't leave me... Don't divorce me, okay? Let's think of another way. There must be another way. Please..."

But he just peeled my hand away expressionlessly. The last flicker of warmth in his eyes was completely gone. "Lydia, you've really let me down."

With those words, he left the house resolutely without sparing me another glance.

The door closed with a heavy thud.

I rushed to the window.

Downstairs, Landen's car lights flickered on. Without the slightest pause, he quickly drove out of my sight.

I could no longer hold myself up. I slid down the cold wall to sit on the icy floor, motionless for a long while.

In that moment, my hope shattered completely.

I didn't know how much time had passed before I slowly stood up from the floor.

I took out my phone and called my assistant, Kathy Wheeler.

I said calmly, "Kathy, prepare a divorce agreement for me now, requiring Landen to leave with nothing, on the grounds of his extramarital affair and his conspiracy with another woman to misappropriate jointly owned marital property."

After hanging up, I dialed another number.

It was James Norris, a private detective. I had been cooperating with him for a long time.

"James, investigate a woman for me. Her name is Jaynie Payne, and she has a five-year-old son. I need an urgent paternity test, as fast as possible." And I also want all her background information from the past few years. Get everything for me later."

After making all the calls, I hugged my pillow, wide awake until dawn.

Landen did not return home for the whole night.

Actually, it started a month ago when Landen began acting strangely.

He started to shower me with great care frequently, which was unusual.

He sometimes bought me my favorite cheesecake after waiting in line for more than two hours.

Sometimes he brought me a limited-edition handbag, which was long sold out.

Even during our petty squabbles-where he would typically argue for hours without conceding, he had now quickly apologized to me.

He had gently embraced me and brushed his chin against my hair. "I'm sorry, honey. Don't be mad."

I was once surprised and even secretly delighted.

I had thought that our three years of marriage had finally smoothed out his rough edges and taught him to value what we had and to be more considerate.

I had believed that my love had finally been reciprocated.

But the truth dawned on me yesterday, when Jaynie appeared.

Those sudden gestures of kindness and gifts were nothing more than the last acts of kindness before the end of our relationship.

He intended to make himself less guilty when he put forward his request for a divorce later.

Before I could recover from the shock and betrayal, Jaynie had already taken the next action.

Early the next morning, a lengthy plea for help exploded across major social media platforms.

The title read, "Please Save My Critically Ill Boy; Give Him a Chance at Life."

In her writing, she painted herself as a tragic mother who had been far away from home for love, only to find herself pregnant. Then she had to raise her seriously ill son alone.

Meanwhile, I was described as the cold-blooded, heartless wife of the guy she loved, who obstructed her son's father from saving her son.

In her writing, she repeatedly insinuated that not only did I refuse to agree to the "temporary divorce," the only life-saving option, but I also threatened her and Landen and cut off the boy's only chance of survival.

She even included several photos in her post.

One showed her holding the boy in a hospital queue, and her eyes were weary.

Another depicted the boy's frail arm, covered in needle marks.

And yet another showed Landen kneeling before me, desperately pleading.

I was engulfed in an online storm overnight.

My photos, my job, and my law firm address were all exposed online.

"How can such a woman be a lawyer? She's rotten to the core."

"She cannot get pregnant and is jealous of the one who can."

"Expose her. Let her face complete social ostracization."

Abusive messages and harassing calls flooded my work line.

Several of my important clients called me and hinted at pausing our business cooperation.

What was worse was that my parents' information was leaked.

My father, Edwin Knight, was old. As soon as he found those indecent photos, which were edited, and malicious comments online, he was infuriated. He almost couldn't breathe and was rushed to the hospital.

I immediately called Landen, and my voice trembled uncontrollably. "Landen, make her stop everything and explain everything online right now. Stop spreading rumors about me."

But Landen showed no guilt on the other end of the line.

His voice was calm and even excited. "Lydia, don't get agitated. Listen to me. This is our best chance to raise money. The more attention this matter gets now, the more people will follow it. Once we launch the crowdfunding campaign, we'll quickly be able to cover the boy's surgery expenses."

I was shaking with anger. "Don't get agitated? You're using my reputation to fund your crowdfunding. Now you're telling me not to get agitated?"

He continued saying sanctimoniously over the phone, "I know you're feeling a bit aggrieved right now. But as soon as the boy is saved, everyone will understand and thank you. We are taking one for the team, and it's a great love."

"Landen, you have no heart. You're so shameless!"

I slammed the phone down and then drove anxiously to the hospital.

Edwin had a heart condition and must not be agitated.

Yet, the very thing I dreaded most had already happened.

Before I even reached the hospital room, I heard some noise, mixed with the suppressed sobs of my mother, Aileen Knight. "You're lying. Lydia isn't like that."

My heart clenched as I pushed through the crowd and plunged inside.

The scene before me made my blood boil.

Aileen stood at the entrance of the hospital room to block others from getting in. Her eyes were red, while a group of strangers pointed at her and the door, hurling insults.

"Here they are! The daughter is a heartless woman. She refused to save the boy. None of her family are nice people."

"They even forced the boy's father to kneel. She is such a heartless woman. Why does she still live in the world?"

Dirty leftovers had been splashed across the door, and some broken eggshells littered the floor, mixed with spoiled food scraps. It was really a filthy mess.

My blood rushed to my head, and I felt dizzy instantly.

"What are you doing?" I screamed, rushing over to shield Aileen. I glared at those people. "If you don't get out of here, I'll call the police."

Someone in the crowd recognized me and immediately pointed a phone at me.

"Look, it's her! That vicious woman, Lydia."

"She looks decent, but she is actually so heartless."

Fortunately, the hospital security arrived in time and finally dispersed the group of "justice warriors" incited by online public opinion.

I supported Aileen, who was trembling, and walked into the hospital room.

Edwin lay on the bed. He clutched his chest, and his lips turned purple with anger. The heart monitor beside him beeped alarmingly.

"Lydia..." Edwin looked at me with difficulty, and his eyes were filled with pain. "Tell me, the things online... aren't true, are they?"

My heart was torn apart, but I fought back the tears as I comforted my parents. A blazing fire ignited in my chest.

I walked out of the hospital room and intended to confront the hospital administration for an explanation.

However, when I was just around the corner, I stumbled upon the scene I least wanted to see.

Landen was gently supporting Jaynie.

He looked very tender, and I had never seen such an expression on his face before. He was whispering softly to her. Jaynie leaned against him and looked shy.

They were heading towards a department with an unmistakable sign-Obstetrics and Gynecology.

To my surprise, I realized I no longer felt any pain.

On the way home from the hospital, I received an urgent email from James.

As I quickly read it, my hand trembled so much that I could barely hold my phone.

I didn't hesitate before taking a deep breath and dialing Landen's number. I said in a surprisingly calm tone, "Landen, where are you now?"

He sounded a bit surprised that I would reach out to him. His voice carried a hint of appeasement. "Lydia, I'm with Jaynie for a pre-pregnancy check-up. The doctor said..."

I interrupted him and said, "I've thought it over for a long time. You're right. It is a good thing to save the boy. If we're going to act, let's do it thoroughly. Bring Jaynie and the boy over, and we'll talk face-to-face. To make the public believe it more and to raise more funds, I'll help you stage a scene. You can film it and post it online. Create a media buzz as much as possible so that the boy can be saved sooner, and you can return to me earlier, right?"

Landen was stunned on the other end of the line. Then he was incredulously delighted. "Lydia, do you... really agree to do so? That's great. I knew you were kind and always considered the bigger picture."

His words were filled with excitement and admiration. "You are so considerate. Let's do it. Lydia, thank you. I'll bring them back right away. Wait for me."