I felt as if needles were being driven into my heart, and it hurt so much that my breathing became labored.

Tears slid unbidden down my face.

Wasn't I already dead? Why could I still feel pain?

The sound of Ansel closing the door woke Anne.

She was wearing a lacy nightdress, and she took Ansel's arm affectionately. "We're going to take wedding photos today! Let's hurry and set off."

The two of them left after getting dressed.

In the studio, Anne changed into a pink, gauzy gown that swept along the floor. Ansel wore a white suit.

The photographer guided them into posing in several intimate ways.

The last photo was of the two of them kissing.

I did not want to watch any longer. Watching more would just be torture to me.

Anne posted their photos on Facebook, and soon, there were over ten thousand comments.

"Anne is so pretty! A woman like her, who can start from scratch with Ansel, is what you call a good woman!"

"Anne is much better than Ansel's selfish ex-wife!"

"Callous people like Ansel's ex-wife are sure to die young!"

Ansel saw the last comment and was about to press the button to report it, but then he changed his mind and liked it instead.

He stared at the screen and muttered, "Julie, do you think you can just disappear? Let me see how long you'll keep hiding.

"If you can divorce me, why can't you come and see me?

"I want to ask you if you regret divorcing me now that you can see how much I've accomplished, and if you regret abandoning me during the darkest time of my life!"

I stood behind him, reading the comments that were cursing me and telling me to go and die.

There was a lump in my throat, and I wanted to cry.

I didn't regret divorcing Ansel, nor did I regret abandoning him.

If I could go back in time, I would do the same thing.

After leaving the wedding studio, Ansel went to the office. He was very busy for several days and did not go home.

The news of his marriage to Anne began to grow in popularity on the Internet.

More and more people were paying attention to the love life of Wall Street's top finance giant.

More and more people were also growing to like Anne, the woman who had stayed with Ansel during the lowest point in his life.

I was abused harshly as his ex-wife.

One day, he suddenly received a call from the police, asking him to go over. Anne had been stalked and harassed by someone.

When Ansel saw the person who had been harassing Anne, his temper flared at once.

I stood there in shock.

The person who had been stalking Anne was Jake Dursley.

He was the man who had pretended to be my boyfriend in front of Ansel back then.

Ansel punched him without a second thought.

"How dare you stalk and harass my fiancée? Do you have a death wish? How could Julie have seen anything in a jerk like you?

"Oh, I get it. Now that she sees that I've succeeded and I'm about to get married, she told you to come and bully my fiancée, didn't she?"

Jake was a whole head shorter than Ansel, and there was no way he could win in a fight against him.

He was beaten up so badly that his entire face was bruised.

I rushed over to pull them apart, but I could only watch as my hands went right through their bodies. I had no effect on them at all.

"Stop hitting him, Ansel! Stop! Jake, can't you run?"

I couldn't stop them, nor could they hear me.

In the end, it was the police who separated them.

Jake panted as he sat on the floor. "I wasn't stalking her or harassing her. I just wanted her to delete those comments under the photos that she posted on Facebook, and she refused to do so! I had no choice but to keep pestering her!

"Ansel, you're also to blame for Anne's indulgence of those people who are cursing and abusing Julie in the comments, aren't you?

"You're not worthy of being a man! You're so petty! You actually allowed them to curse Julie. No wonder she divorced you! You're not worthy of her!"

"You're not worthy of her!" Jake yelled.

Ansel was thoroughly infuriated by what he had said.

He kicked the chair aside in anger and raised his fist to hit Jake. "How am I not worthy of her?

"During my darkest moments, she divorced me and aborted our child to be with you! She betrayed our love!

"She was the one who left, not me!

"Jake, go home and tell Julie that I'll treat her the same way she treated me back then! Tell her to wait and see!"

After that, Ansel and Anne left together.

Jake was detained for stalking.

As he watched Ansel leave, Jake sneered. "Ansel, you'll find out the truth one day, and you're going to regret it!"

Ansel did not hear him.

I followed and left with him.

Anne took out her phone. "Maybe we should delete these photos."

Despite what she had said, she looked very reluctant to do so.

Ansel hesitated. "You don't have to delete them. Keep them."

Ansel drove Anne home, but he did not look as if he intended to get out of the car.

Anne looked pitifully at him. "Can I stay with you? I'm scared of being alone at home. I'm afraid that there'll be other nasty people following me."

Ansel shook his head. "I'm going home to pack up. You can move in after some time. The security in this neighborhood is very tight, so there won't be any nasty people."

Anne wanted to say something else, but then she nodded and got out of the car, because she had seen the impatience in Ansel's face.

When Ansel returned to the Lovean Sea, he stood beside the trash can at the entrance. The cardboard box that he had thrown out a few days ago was no longer there.

He looked conflicted.

He was the one who had thrown it away. Why was he upset?

"Why are you staring at the trash can? It's so cold outside. Come in, quickly."

It was my mother-in-law, Emily Patterson.

"Mom, why did you come back so suddenly? You should have told me. I would have gone to the airport to pick you up!"

Ansel stubbed out his cigarette and got out of the car.

Emily frowned. "I know the way home. I don't need you to come and get me.

"You've been back for over ten days. Why didn't you bring Julie home? I miss her!

"Didn't you tell me that you and Anne were just friends and that you didn't have any feelings for her? Why have you announced that you're going to get married?

"If you marry her, what's Julie going to do? Don't you want Julie anymore?"

When I heard Emily's concern for me, I burst into tears. I wanted to hug her and tell her that I missed her so much.

When I saw her rosy complexion, I felt reassured.

She was much healthier now compared to six years ago, when she had been unconscious and swollen all over because we'd had no money for her dialysis.

It was a pity that she did not know that I missed her.

Ansel remained silent at Emily's nagging. Finally, he went to the study. When he saw that Emily was drinking out of the handmade cup that I had given her, he could not help complaining.

"Mom, stop talking about Julie. I hate her!

"She divorced me and abandoned both of us back then. What use is it for you to miss her now? She's probably off having fun somewhere. Why do you want to go looking for her? Do you want to be abandoned by her again?

"Besides, she was the one who abandoned us first. You didn't even scold her, and now you're complaining that I'm not bringing her home? Be reasonable!"

Emily blocked his path angrily and said sternly, "Ansel, I adopted Julie and brought her home when she was six years old. She lived with us. She's such a kind child. She must have had a reason for abandoning us during that difficult time!

"Julie grew up with you and was always following you around. You were her world, and after she grew up, she married you and became your wife. You loved her so much, and she loved you. Shouldn't you try to investigate why she divorced you so suddenly?

"Julie's such an obedient child. I won't believe that she's as callous and cruel as they say she is on the Internet!

"Tell Anne to delete those negative comments at once!"

Tears rolled uncontrollably down my cheeks as I listened to Emily.

For so many years, she was the only one who could understand my suffering.

I said silently, "Mom, you treat me so well. You're willing to believe that I did all of this because I had a reason, but I'm dead now. I can't take care of you properly anymore.

"Thank you for looking after me for so many years."

Upon hearing what Emily had said, Ansel's expression of anger turned to hesitation, and he looked conflicted.

He knew that she was right and that what she had said made sense.

After a long moment of silence, Emily told him, "I don't care how busy you are. Go and bring Julie home tomorrow. I miss her.

"I've been feeling uneasy for the past two weeks. It feels like something bad has happened, and I'm worried that something has happened to Julie.

"I'll only feel reassured when I see her!"

Ansel nodded and took out his phone to send me a message: "Julie, Mom misses you very much… I miss you very much too…"

He typed out the last few words but deleted them again and changed them: "Can you come and see her tomorrow?"