No Longer My Burden

I never expected them to take advantage of a moment when I wasn’t paying attention and put Tom into the trunk of my car.

By the time I reached my new place and opened the trunk, I saw Tom lying inside the pitch-dark space, crying so hard he could barely catch his breath.

There was a message from Mom on my phone.

"Natalie, Sophia still has an engagement to follow through with, and we’re too old to take care of a child. Whether this baby is yours or not, just take him in for now."

I laughed and drove Tom straight to the police station.

At the same time, I requested last night’s surveillance footage. The video captured everything clearly.

A figure appeared in the middle of the night, sneaking around while holding a cardboard box and placing it at our doorstep. Tom cried in there all night, until I discovered him in the morning.

I recognized the person immediately. It was Sophia.

I saved the surveillance footage as evidence.

The police tried several times to contact Sophia, but every call was rejected. With no other choice, they sent Tom to a welfare home.

After that, I went back to work as usual.

In my previous life, I had given up my career just as it was reaching a critical stage to raise that child. Every day felt like I was being drained dry.

This time, I finally had the chance to continue pursuing the dreams and life I had left unfinished.

Work projects were intense. I often worked late into the night, sometimes so busy I even forgot to eat. Fortunately, my teammate, Daniel Derrington, always took good care of me. He frequently brought me food and even stayed late to work overtime with me.

As time passed, we gradually developed feelings for each other.

When the project was successfully completed, the boss publicly commended me at a company-wide meeting and promoted me to senior management.

Daniel took the opportunity to confess his feelings, and just like that, we became a couple.

A year later, Daniel and I got married, and I gave birth to our son, Elliot Derrington. Together, we raised him. He was bright, quick-witted, and well-behaved. From a young age, he showed extraordinary interest and talent in astronomy.

I posted a few photos of Elliot and his awards on social media. I never expected my parents and Sophia to see them and reach out to me on their own. They probably mistook my son for Sophia’s child.

After marrying her CEO husband, Sebastian Langford, Sophia moved to a distant city. She hadn’t seen me again and had no idea I had ever been pregnant.

When she saw the photos of Elliot, she commented directly underneath.

"Winning so many awards at such a young age! He’s definitely going to be impressive when he grows up!"

I replied, "Good genes."

Sophia responded, "Are you complimenting yourself through the kid? You really think highly of yourself."

I let out a cold laugh and didn’t reply again.

Mom and Dad even transferred some money to me.

"Natalie, use this money to buy our grandchild more nourishing food. He’s at the age where he needs to grow."

I rejected it all. I didn’t lack their money, and I had never shortchanged my child when it came to food. After all, this was my own biological child.

Later, Daniel and I started our own business together. Our company, Northvale Holdings, grew larger and larger, and Elliot was successfully admitted to one of the country’s top universities, Sterling University.

I decided to celebrate his admission. At the party, I planned to announce Elliot as the sole heir to Northvale Holdings.

I had never told my family about my entrepreneurial journey or even invited them to my wedding. Somehow, though, they found out that I was hosting the party.

This part seemed to be exactly the same as in my previous life.

The moment my son got into Sterling University, my parents and Sophia were ready to come and take him.

The difference this time was that this was my biological son.

"Natalie, Sophia said she wants to come and show her support. You both haven’t seen each other in years. Take this chance to catch up!"

I looked at the message Mom sent me and curled my lips into a cold smile.

Fine.

I had a big surprise prepared for them.