Chapter 1 Chapter 1

“Why? You love Verde too! Not only is she pretty and can dance, she doesn’t try to control me, unlike that woman. She also wouldn’t make me feel ashamed in front of my classmates,” Cain Howard, my son, said in disappointment. My heart hurt so much that I could not breathe upon hearing him outside the study. When I was not in front of him, he refused to even call me his mother. After a long pause, Elwood rubbed the ring on his finger and sighed. “Your mother loves us. I betrayed her because of Verde, so the only thing I can do now is to give her an unbroken family.” Cain’s young voice was laced with puzzlement. “What if she finds out about it?”“She won’t,” Elwood said firmly. “I’ll keep it a closely-guarded secret. Even if she suspects something, for our family’s sake, she will choose to believe in me.” The pain in my heart made me tremble. I wanted to run away, but I ended up going into the room Elwood forbade me from entering. There was nothing strange about the room. Just when I thought that perhaps my ears had played a trick on me, I saw a few property agreement documents on the table. The benefactor was Verde. Over the years, I thought that she was in prison, but Elwood had actually sponsored her participation in various dance competitions abroad. When I saw how full of spirit Verde was in the photos, I could not breathe due to the pain in my heart. The photos had dates along with some words on the other side. [Dates worthy of remembering should be spent with a person worthy of my companionship.] It was at this moment that I came to a realization. When Elwood and Cain disappeared mysteriously for several days every month, they were actually spending time with Verde. On her birthday, they went to Disneyland and hugged her under the fireworks to celebrate her birthday. On their anniversary, my own son happily referred to her as his mother under the aurora and wished that they could become a real family in another lifetime. My eyes stung, but I found myself unable to cry. To think that I still ended up falling in love with the wrong person even when I had the chance to redo my life. Since I was a child, my parents treated me like a tool and never gave me the warmth of a family. That was why I always wanted to have my own family. In my previous life, I was tricked by the gentle facade James, my then fiance, put on, and he killed me along with Verde. At that time, Elwood bawled like a baby in front of my grave and even destroyed James’s company for me, which made me think that he loved me. Hence, in my current life, I chose him. But to think that I ended up jumping into another trap. I lived in the lie he created, and I felt thankful to him! I thought that he was my savior! But the family he gave me was a fake one. I’ve known Elwood for two lifetimes and had been married to him for five years, but it was time to end it.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Once I composed myself, I wheeled myself out of the room. I came out just in time to run into Elwood and Cain looking for me in a panic. “Mom…” Cain could not hide the fear on his face. Elwood schooled his face but still asked nervously, “Were you in the room just now, Morgan?” I smiled faintly, but said nothing. I reacted as I usually would, which made Elwood and Cain sigh in relief. But this small reaction left a bitter taste in my mouth. I did not want to watch their act anymore. It was time to leave. Elwood hurried forward. He was slightly teary eyed as he carefully lifted me on the couch. “Don’t worry, Morgan. I’ve contacted the best orthopedician in the world. You’ll definitely recover. If you can’t, I’ll become your legs and bring you all over the world.” In the past, I would have thought that he felt sorry for me, but time had shown that it was all just crocodile tears. I was an idiot. That was why he managed to deceive me for five years. He wanted to say something else, but his phone rang. The caller ID made Elwood instinctively turn his body to the side and cover the phone. With slight panic, he cast me a glance before he said gently, “It’s work matters. Let me just answer the call.” He went to the balcony. I could not hear the conversation clearly, but I knew that Verde had called him. I looked down and did not expose him. Soon, he walked over and said with a regretful face, “Morgan, I’m sorry. I’ll be unable to go with you for your follow-up today. Cain’s teacher called just now and said that there’s a rare aviation exhibition. Cain has been looking forward to it for a long time, so I want to bring him over. “Why don’t I go to the hospital with you tomorrow?” I looked at him. He appeared regretful, as if he really thought that he was letting me down. We had been married for five years, but I never realized that he was such a good actor. He could lie as naturally as he breathed. I held my tears back. “Can you not go, Elwood?” This was my last chance for him. If he chose to stay, I would pretend that nothing ever happened. Elwood hesitated for a second before he hugged me and planted a kiss on my forehead. “Going to the aviation exhibition can help Cain get new knowledge, which is good for his future. Be good, Morgan. I’ll bring your favorite cake back when we come home later.” I did not answer him and just turned to Cain. “Is it true?” Cain nodded without hesitation. “Yeah! I’ve wanted to go for a long time! “Rest at home, Mom. I’ll tell you about the exhibition once I come back with Dad.” I scrutinized them before saying calmly, “Okay.” Elwood handed me over to the housekeeper and told her to take good care of me before he left in a hurry with Cain. The sight of them leaving made my tears fall. An unknown amount of time passed before I took out my phone to call a lawyer. “Help me draft a divorce agreement. Also, I’d like to ask you a question.”

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

I told the lawyer everything that happened, which led to her sighing in resignation. “Letters of forgiveness issued by the victim’s family are legally binding. It has also been five years since the case, so it’s practically impossible to hold Verde Sala accountable in the eyes of the law. “But have you thought things through about the divorce?”“Yeah. Since he loves Verde so much, I’ll help them get their wish of being together,” I answered without hesitation. “What about Cain?” I fell silent for a moment. I had nearly died giving birth to Cain, and he was my only family left. I wanted to say that I did not want him either, but I just could not steel my heart to do so. He was young. As long as I explained things to him, it would be fine. Just as I was about to reply, Elwood and Cain came back with smiles on their faces. When Cain saw me on the phone, he came over curiously. “Who are you talking to, Mom?” Elwood gave me a searching look as well. “It’s nothing. Just a friend. We’re catching up.” I hung up and ate the cake Elwood bought for me. I loved it in the past, but I found it disgustingly sweet at present, just like this rotten marriage. Elwood looked at me eagerly. “Is it good? If it is, I’ll buy it for you again next time.” Cain turned to me as well, and I smiled. “It’s nice. But you don’t have to.” Elwood immediately tensed up nervously and asked me why. I shook my head. “The doctor told me to cut down on these things.” He sighed in relief. “I’ll get the cake for you again after you’ve recovered, then.” I looked down at the draft of the divorce agreement on my phone screen. There would not be a next time, Elwood. … The next morning, I got a call from Cain’s teacher. She asked me to attend the school’s sports meet. Usually, Elwood was the one who attended such events, since I could not move my legs. Thinking that Elwood had forgotten about it and worried that Cain felt lonely, I hurried to school. When I arrived, before I could even say anything, a teacher walked over and asked politely, “May I know who you are?”“You called me this morning to attend the school’s sports meet. I’m Cain’s—” Before I could finish speaking, realization lit up in the teacher’s eyes. “You must be his nanny. Cain mentioned that his parents hired a pitiful person to take care of him.” My smile froze. So, I was just a nanny to him? Right then, Verde walked over. She dismissed the teacher with a wave and regarded me in disdain. “Look at how pathetic you are. You’re so pitiful.” She crossed her arms and leveled me with a provocative look. “So?”“Stop pretending to be all high-and-mighty, you piece of trash. I’ll tell you the truth. You could have been walking already, but because I said that I wanted to become the principal dancer, Elwood bribed the doctor to use the wrong medicine on you, which is why your legs are completely gone. You won’t be able to stand up again. “Seriously… It troubles me that he loves me so much, you know?” I trembled uncontrollably, and anger spread through my heart. I wanted to rip her to shreds. When Verde saw this, she suddenly took a step to the side and fell down the stairs. The next second, someone shoved me to the floor, and a man’s enraged voice came from above. “Are you crazy? If anything happens to her, I’m going to make you pay dearly.”

Chapter 4 Chapter 4

I struggled up from the floor, only to see Elwood running over to hug Verde. “Will you?” I laughed at Elwood’s threat, but felt grief in my heart. When Elwood saw that I was the one he pushed down, he panicked. “Morgan? Why are you here?” Before I could answer, Verde started crying. “Elwood, I know that Morgan hates me, but I didn’t do it on purpose. I just wanted to apologize to her…” Elwood scowled at me in displeasure. “Morgan, what happened is already in the past. Verde has paid for her crimes in jail. You shouldn’t have done that.” I looked straight into his eyes and said, “In jail? Was it fun lying to me?” Elwood flinched in shock. In a panic, he tried to give me an explanation. “Morgan…” But Verde cradled her ankle in “pain.”“Elwood, my leg hurts. Do you think it’s broken?” He looked at me, then at Verde. I could see a war waging in his eyes for a brief moment before he eventually chose to hold her. “Wait for me, Morgan. I’ll give you an explanation later.” He told Cain to go back home with me before he left with Verde. “Mom,” Cain said timidly behind me. When I said nothing, his panic grew, and he sobbed as he begged for my attention. “Mom, please don’t ignore me. I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at me.” After a moment’s hesitation, I decided to give him one final chance. “Cain, if I divorce your dad, who will you choose to go with?” Cain looked at me at a loss and bit his lip. After a long period of silence, he looked up. “Mom, did Dad do something wrong? Is it like how I’m picky with my food? Could you forgive me? If I go with you, he’ll be sad. “Dad says he loves you. Please don’t divorce him.” I looked at him with my heart full of grief. The moment he hesitated, I already knew his answer. If that was the case, I wanted neither of them anymore. I patted his head. “I need to talk to your teacher. Go back first. “By the way, I have a wooden box on my bedside table in my room. Hand it over to your dad. Then, I’ll forgive you.” Cain was delighted after hearing this, and he ran home in excitement. As I watched him slowly disappear from view, I bade him farewell and headed off in the opposite direction. … Elwood was taking care of Verde in the hospital. After she was settled, he called Morgan. She loved him dearly, so as long as he apologized sincerely, she was surely not going to leave him and Cain. But no one picked up no matter how many times he called. This had never happened over the course of the five years they were married, so all he thought was that Morgan was asleep. That was why she was not picking up. It was only when he heard the system telling him that Morgan’s phone had been turned off that his hope that he might luck out and that Morgan might forgive him was crushed. He could not sit still. No matter how much Verde called out to him, his panic spurred him to run out of the hospital. When he ran past the shopping mall, Elwood stopped to buy an expensive necklace. Then, he ordered 9,999 fresh flowers. As if he thought that this was not enough, he even bought everything that he thought Morgan would like. He drove back home in a hurry, but Morgan was nowhere to be found. He cried out to Morgan in a frenzy, but no one answered. At that moment, Cain saw him and ran downstairs happily before handing him a wooden box. “Dad, Mom asked me to give this to you.” The sight of Cain made the unease in his heart fade a little. Since Cain was still around, it meant Morgan was too. How could she cast aside their family? Elwood took the wooden box with a smile, but the moment he opened it, his smile froze. A piece of paper stating that Morgan was cutting ties with Cain appeared before his eyes. Tremors wrecked Elwood’s body, and the wooden box fell on the floor, as if it had burned him. It shattered, and another paper below the one saying that Morgan was cutting ties with Cain was revealed. A divorce agreement.