During the long National Day holidays, I planned a Golden Highlands trip for the whole family. I even booked tickets for a luxurious train ride so we could enjoy the scenery.

But on departure day, my husband and son vanished.

I called my husband. I could hear an airport boarding announcement in the background.

My voice trembled. "Where are you?"

He panicked and mumbled that the company had an emergency before hanging up.

I tried calling again, but the line was busy.

The next day, he posted an update on his social media.

In the photo, he stood beneath the snowy peaks of Wintercrown with one arm around his old love while the other held our son.

The caption read: [If we had been a little braver back then...]

A friend commented: [Where is your wife?]

I stared at his reply: [She's sick and resting at home.]

Three expired train tickets sat on the table as my eyes welled up with tears.

A decade of marriage.

A pack of lies.

It was time to bring it all to a close.

[If we had been a little braver back then...]

Tears rolled down my cheeks in an instant as a bitter smile formed on my lips.

What would being braver change?

Would I have been completely excluded?

I stayed with Samuel Moore as he clawed his way up from the wreckage of his family's bankruptcy. I stayed with him through the despair of losing both his parents. I stayed with him step by step until he built the success he has today.

For ten years, we shared every hardship. I thought we were the only ones for each other.

It turned out I was only a stand-in. I just happened to appear during the long years when he could not confess his love to the one he could never forget.

Trembling, I made my way to the furthest room inside our home.

The study.

In our decade of marriage, he had never let me set foot inside.

He had said it was where he placed his parents' and older brother's belongings. He said he needed a quiet place to remember them.

I believed him and never questioned it.

The door was unlocked and opened with a gentle push.

The study was decorated minimally. There was just one massive desk and a bookcase that reached the ceiling.

However, there were no photos of his parents or his brother, Alex.

Instead, the walls were covered with Rachel Taylor's pictures.

Rachel as a teenager, running along the shore in a white dress.

Rachel in college, smiling by a library window as she held her textbook.

Rachel in a wedding gown...

My eyes burned.

Through my tears, I noticed a diary on the desk.

I felt like I was falling into a freezing pit the second I opened it.

Rachel was Samuel's sister-in-law! She was Alex's wife!

[I saw her again today. She wore the dress Alex gave her. She looked beautiful. I wish that dress had been from me.]

[Alex said he is going to propose to her. I drank all night. I should be happy for him. Why does it hurt this much?]

[They got married. She became my sister-in-law. Every time I have to refer to her by that title, it hurts so much.]

Page after page, line after line. All of it was his hidden and raging love for Rachel.

He’d loved her long before Alex ever did, long before he loved me, and long before these ten wasted years of our marriage.

When I met Samuel, Alex was already gone. I knew nothing about the past.

So… Samuel had lied to me for ten whole years.

How many ten years does a person get in life to waste like this...

I could not read another word as I snapped the diary shut. I then picked up my phone and started to dial a familiar number. I wanted to demand answers. I wanted to ask what these decades meant.

Halfway through, I stopped.

The answer was already before me.

Asking again would only invite self-humiliation.

I started laughing and couldn't stop, tears welling in my eyes and rolling down again. They hit the floor, as if they could pierce through the floor... Just like how the sorrow had pierced through my heart.

My eyes were red as I smashed the entire wall of photos.

Frames shattered and glass fragments sprayed everywhere, just like how my heart shattered along with them.

I did not know how long it took, but I only stopped when there was not a single intact smile left on the wall. Then, I collapsed on the floor with no more strength left in me.

After a long time, I called my best friend Brenda Harris. "Brenda, I'm getting a divorce. You said you needed a partner in Floraland, right? I'm coming to see you."

Brenda froze for a second, then she supported me without hesitation. "I'll go ahead and get your ticket. You can leave in three days."

After I hung up, I called my private lawyer and told him to draft the divorce agreement immediately.

I had just put my phone down when the screen lit up again. Several messages from an unknown number came in.

They were intimate videos of Rachel and Samuel. There were also photos of Rachel with Samuel and our son, Morgan, as well as even more messages after that.

[Samuel said the person he let down the most is me. He said he owes me a family.]

[Cindy Wright, you took my place for a decade. It's time to give it back.]

How laughable.

Rachel was the one who had chosen not to be with Samuel. Now she blamed me for taking her place?

How shameless.

I then replied: [If that were true, you wouldn't need to prove anything to me.]

[A worthless man is only a prize to someone like you.]

After I sent the texts out, there was no response.

I let out a short snort and saved every video and photo. I bundled them up and sent them to my lawyer.

-

The next afternoon, Samuel came home with our son, Morgan, with Rachel right behind them. She hid behind Samuel and looked miserable, as if I would tear her apart.

I asked coldly. "What are you doing bringing her home?"

A hint of panic flashed in Samuel's eyes, but he looked more impatient than anything. "Don't argue in front of our son. Let's go inside first. Rachel is my sister-in-law, and she hasn't found a place yet, as she just got back. It's not safe for a woman to live alone out there, so she'll stay here for a few days."

Rachel then spoke softly, but the provocation in her eyes was clear. "I've lived overseas for so many years, and I've always felt lonely. Now that I'm back, I feel safer when I am with my family."

I laughed coldly, and my eyes darted from one to the other. "Family? The term 'lover' would be more appropriate in this case."

"Cindy!" Samuel yelled as he raised his voice. "What nonsense are you talking about?! Rachel is my sister-in-law. Why are you talking like that!"

I looked him in the eyes and did not budge. "Did what I said bother you? But were your actions any better? Samuel, we have been married for a decade, and you never once told me you even had a sister-in-law! You suddenly vanish without a word and take her on a trip after leaving me behind! Are you brave enough to say your feelings for her are pure?!"

Samuel's expression darkened as he snorted. "So, you're just throwing a tantrum. It was only one trip. The Golden Highlands are not going anywhere, and we can visit at any time. Do you really have to make a scene out of this?"

Rachel cut in with a tone that made it seem as though she was the one aggrieved. "Cindy, you've misunderstood us. Samuel just felt sorry for me because I was alone..."

I cut her off. "You do not get a say here!"

I turned back to Samuel and spoke slowly. "I own this house, too. I have the right to decide who can stay and who cannot. Now, tell her to leave."

Samuel finally snapped as his patient ran out. "Be reasonable, Cindy! Rachel's family, too! She's alone and helpless right now! How can you be this cold?!"

I froze there for a long time as the ache in my chest swelled into rage. "When my parents died, why didn't you think about how helpless I was? Where were you when I had to handle everything by myself?!"

The moment I mentioned my parents, his anger faltered.

My parents had been on a trip half a year ago, but they had rushed back to deal with an urgent company crisis. Alas, on their way, they had encountered a car accident.

Panic had completely overwhelmed me at the time. I had called Samuel while he was overseas, but he had simply brushed me off and said he would come back as soon as he could.

By the time he returned, my parents had already passed away. All he did was hug me and comfort me with a few words.

Meanwhile, our son, Morgan, had excitedly pulled my hand and talked about how much fun he had had while overseas.

"Mom, why are you bringing this up again!" Morgan's voice pulled me back to reality. He looked at me with open disgust as he said, "Why do you always fight with Dad? Rachel never does that. She is gentle and pretty, and she takes me skiing. I don't like you."

Children don't hold back what they say… And their words sting the most. The worst part of this? I raised this one myself.

I smiled with tears welling in my eyes.

Morgan simply pouted and said, "You're always controlling me. You don't let me eat snacks, and you don't let me play games. I don't like you at all! I want Rachel to be my mom!"

Rachel's face bloomed with a smug smile when she heard that. She squatted down and hugged him with fake tenderness. "Morgan, behave. How can you talk to your mom like that? But... since you like me so much, you can call me 'Mom' later."

She looked at me with pure provocation, as if she was bragging.

I suddenly felt exhausted

Ten years of being his mother meant less than a few sweet words from a two-faced snake.

Suddenly, it all felt pointless.

I pulled out the divorce papers I had prepared some time ago and slammed them in front of Samuel. "Let's get a divorce."

Samuel froze. He still believed I was just throwing a tantrum. "Cindy! What's wrong with you! All this because I didn't take you on a trip? And you're already taking it all the way to divorce?! How childish can you get?"

Morgan rushed over, too, and he kept pounding my legs with his fists. "Bad mom! You're bullying Rachel! I hate you!"

Rachel immediately stepped in and pulled Morgan back as she put on a saintly look. "Don't be mad, Cindy. This is all my fault. If you really can't stand me, I'll leave right now..."

The way she acted made my stomach turn.

I immediately slapped her and said in a cold voice, "The kind of people I can't stand the most are fakes like you."

Rachel held her swollen face and shrieked.

Samuel lunged forward and shoved her behind him as he roared at me, "You witch!"

Right then, Morgan charged in and shoved me hard. "You bad person! You're not allowed to bully Rachel!"

I didn't brace myself, and the back of my head slammed into the wall. I slipped down to the floor as I hissed in pain, my vision becoming darker.

Samuel did not even look at me as he yelled at me impatiently. "Stop acting! How much strength could Morgan possibly have!"

Then, he helped Rachel up and comforted her gently. "Are you okay? I'll take you to your room. Don't bother with this crazy woman."

I watched them walk away together, and tears rolled down without a sound.

So, this was what it felt like when a heart finally died.

Not long after, Samuel stormed out of the study with red eyes. "Cindy! You went into my study and smashed it?!"

I looked up, my expression deathly calm. "Yes. I smashed it. What? Was there something in there you could not let anyone see?"

He stiffened. Then, his tone softened. "Fine, I'll let it go. You're done venting, right? Rachel isn't feeling well, and she needs to stay somewhere pleasant. You should sleep in the guest room for a few days."

I let out a bitter laugh. He was only backing down so he could demand something worse. I then said, "Samuel, we're getting a divorce."

He did not expect me to keep insisting, and his voice dripped with arrogance. "Cindy, you have no wealth and no influence. Your family's influence collapsed a long time ago, and you have not worked in ten years. If you leave me, how will you live?"

He threw that at me and then left with Rachel and Morgan.

From the doorway, Morgan shouted in excitement. " Mom! We're going to the amusement park!"

Those words really stung. It stung so bad that I could not tell whether my body or my heart was in more pain.

-

That night, my head felt like it was splitting open as I lay in bed. The door into the guestroom suddenly slammed open. Samuel barged in and yanked me up from bed. "Cindy! Rachel was in a car accident! This is all because of you! If you didn't fight with her this afternoon, she wouldn't have been upset! Nothing would have happened to her!"

He dragged me so hard I stumbled as I felt the room spin. I couldn't comprehend the absurdity of his logic as I said in a cold voice, "Her accident has nothing to do with me."

"This all started because of you. You'll make things right!" Samuel roared at me.

He ignored my struggle and forced me to the hospital. He dragged me toward a doctor's office and said to the doctor in a commanding tone, "Take her blood. Rachel has a rare blood type, but she has the same blood type, too."

Only then did I understand what he meant. "Samuel! What gives you the right to do this?!"

I fought with everything I had, but it meant nothing against the two bodyguards who pinned me to the chair. The ice-cold needle went into my veins.

My body grew colder, and my mind blurred.

In the last few seconds before I passed out, I saw Samuel sprinting outside, no doubt toward Rachel's room.

-

In my dreams, I drifted back to ten years ago.

At the time, Samuel had just lost his family, and he was gloomy and withdrawn. I stayed with him, cooked for him, talked to him... I was awkwardly trying to warm him up.

At our wedding, he looked at me with deep affection. "Cindy, this time, I will protect you."

But his protection was never meant for me.