Mason came to my family as he was ten years old and was now 35 years old.

We grew up together, were childhood sweethearts, and it was a natural progression for us to fall in love and get married.

When he first came to my family, he would have nightmares and wake up crying all night long.

At that time, I was also struggling with the loss of Brenda, feeling extremely unsettled. I secretly held onto the rabbit doll she gave me as a final birthday gift and spent nights with it, seeking comfort.

Later, Mason gradually got better and treated me better and better.

On rainy days, he couldn't bear to see me get my shoes dirty by wading through water puddles. So, Mason would carry me on his frail body, stepping over one water puddle after another.

During my rebellious phase in high school, I didn't study properly, so Daniel got so angry that he pointed at me and said, "If you don't study hard and can't go to university, who will support you if you can't find a job in the future?"

Mason protected me behind him and pleaded for me.

"I'll take care of her! I'll study hard, get into a good university, find a good job, and take care of Skylar for the rest of her life!"

He coddled me and said, "Skylar, with me, you can be completely yourself!"

On the wedding day, Mason took my hand from Daniel and burst into tears.

"From now on, I am no longer alone. I finally have a home!

"Daniel, don't worry. I will love Skylar with my life and won't let her get hurt!"

But ironically, the biggest hurt in my life was caused by him!

After Mason graduated, he had aspired to start his own business. Without hesitation, Daniel took out his retirement savings of two million dollars and gave it to him as startup capital.

Daniel was a kind-hearted person and donated money every year to support children in mountainous areas.

Mason wanted to learn from him, so he took me to the mountains and selected a few children to donate.

One of them was Tiffany.

She graduated from university, couldn't find a job, and didn't want to go back to her hometown, so Mason recruited her to be his secretary.

At first, he often complained that Tiffany was clumsy, didn't know how to use a coffee machine or a printer, and that the contracts she drafted were full of loopholes.

But later on, our lives were filled with her presence in every aspect.

"Tiffany is sick. She has no relatives in this city, so I have to take care of her.

"She is afraid of thunder. With such loud thunder outside, she's probably going to start crying. Let me go check on her."

He would even bring Tiffany to my birthday and our wedding anniversary.

"Tiffany is alone and wants to join in the fun."

I had quarrels with Mason many times because of this. In the beginning, he would explain that there was nothing between them and it was all innocent.

But later on, Mason became more and more impatient.

"Skylar, I'm exhausted from work. Can you please be more understanding and stop being so unreasonably troublesome?"

"Even if I have something with her, what are you going to do? Divorce me?

"Skylar, you are 30 years old, not a little girl of 18 or 19. Stop being so childish!"

We had known and accompanied each other for 30 years, already becoming the closest people to each other.

I knew that separating from him would bring immense pain.

Whenever I thought about divorce and leaving him, the pain became unbearable for me.

Because of my deep love for Mason, I endured it again and again.

I thought that as long as I could quietly maintain this family and we had a child in the future, everything would be fine.

But I was wrong.

My tolerance had only resulted in Mason treating me even more recklessly without any regard.

This time, in order to cover up his infidelity, he actually pushed Daniel down the stairs.

Mason was the nemesis of my family.

Because of him, I lost Brenda; now, because of him, I lost Daniel.

As I watched Daniel being pushed into the crematorium, my last bit of love for Mason also turned into ashes.

Holding the ashes, I returned to Daniel's house.

Cemetery resources were limited, so I had to wait for many days before I could get a spot.

Early in the morning, I dressed up and prepared to attend his funeral.

The moment I opened the door, I was pushed to the ground by someone.

The urn almost fell, but I held onto it tightly. In the process, I lost my balance, and my lower back hit the edge of the table hard.

I looked up and saw Mason and Tiffany standing at the door, surrounded by several bodyguards.

He didn't even look at me. With a gloomy face, Mason kicked open every door in the house and searched everywhere.

Without any provocation, he came up to me, grabbed my collar, and spoke in a harsh tone.

"Skylar, where's Daniel?"

I tightened the urn in my hands and subconsciously took a half step back.

"Shouldn't you know best where my dad is?"

He glared at me impatiently. "Where is he hiding? Call him out!

"Does he think that just because he raised me, he can act recklessly? Today, I will definitely teach this old scoundrel a lesson!"

I clenched my teeth, and the fire of anger burning in my chest was ready to erupt at any moment.

"Mason, what do you mean? How can you say that about my dad?"

I had initially thought that he would come today to offer condolences and attend the funeral upon hearing about Daniel's passing.

But he was here to cause trouble.

Not only did Mason cause the death of Daniel, but he also wanted to falsely accuse him even after his passing.

"He can do it, but can't I say it? I must bring him to justice today!"

Daniel devoted almost all his life to work before he retired. He was selfless and altruistic, and there was no one among his colleagues and neighbors who disliked him.

Now, he was killed by Mason, and he was scolded by him.

"Mason, can you please have some shame? It was you who couldn't control yourself and had an affair, don't slander my dad!"

He looked at me angrily as if I was his sworn enemy.

"Slander?"

Mason gritted his teeth, hesitated for a long time, and still didn't say the rest of the words.

Tiffany walked forward and pulled up her low-knit hat, revealing a faint red mark across her delicate face.

"Maybe it's just a misunderstanding...

"Maybe Mr. Mitchell misunderstood the relationship between Mr. Murphy and me. He said that as long as I disfigure myself, Mr. Murphy will be able to go home and be with you wholeheartedly.

"Skylar, only have a professional relationship. Can you please call Mr. Mitchell out so that we can clarify things face to face?"

She had tears in her eyes and looked extremely aggrieved.

"Do you mean that the injury on your face was caused by my dad? When did he approach you?"

Daniel was a man who always suffered losses himself. I had never heard of him breaking the law and actively hurting others.

"Mr. Mitchell probably saw Mr. Murphy and me working overtime together on the weekend and misunderstood us.

"Last night, on my way home, he cornered me in an alley with a knife... No, he didn't force me..."

Her evasive and hesitant behavior only fueled Mason's anger even further.

"Tiffany, don't be afraid. I will definitely seek justice for you today!

"Skylar, what do you have against me? Is it an achievement to bully a defenseless woman like her?

"Where's Daniel? Call him out. As long as he kneels down in front of Tiffany and admits his fault, I will forgive him this time."

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Daniel had always been so good to Mason, and now he wanted Daniel to kneel down and apologize based on the vague and unsubstantiated words of a woman.

"Mason, you bastard! My dad raised you. Don't you know what kind of person he is? You slander him like this. Do you still have a conscience?"

He sneered and threw a video in front of me.

"Conscience? In the face of the evidence, how dare you talk to me about conscience?"

The video was not clear, and in the dim lighting, a man wearing a duckbill cap cornered Tiffany in an alley.

The man's clothes looked exactly like the clothes Daniel wore as he delivered meals on weekends.

But he was long gone.

"Mason, the video is so blurry that we can't even tell if it's my dad. Are you blinded by your lover domination?"

The pain in my heart had reached its limit, leaving me numb. In the end, all that was left was resentment, despite the love I once had.

A trace of confusion flashed across his face, and Tiffany spoke.

"Skylar, I don't have to hold Mr. Mitchell responsible. I just want to ask him to let me go and stop following me. I'm afraid..."

She cowered, her face showing the lingering fear and trepidation.

Mason's anger was aroused again. "Don't you want to tell me? Then, I'll find him myself!"

He took out his cell phone and called Daniel directly. The ringing sound came from my body.

Then, Mason stretched out his hand toward me and moved closer and closer.

"Give me."

I stepped back, looking at him hatefully.

However, he suddenly stretched out his leg and kicked me in the stomach, causing a sharp and intense pain that engulfed my entire body.

Tiffany stepped forward, snatched the urn from my hand, and lifted the cloth.

"Ah!"

She screamed and threw the urn in her hand to the ground.

The urn broke into pieces in an instant, and the ashes were scattered all over the ground.

"What the hell is this? It's so unlucky!"

The pain in my body instantly disappeared, and all I could see was the gray floor beneath me.

I rolled and crawled, trying to collect the ashes, but Mason grabbed my hair tightly.

"Tell me, where is Daniel?"

I seemed oblivious to it all, murmuring under my breath, "Dad, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."

"Okay, you don't want to say it, right?"

Suddenly, Mason turned around and winked at the bodyguards, who came forward and pinned me to the ground.

"It doesn't matter if you don't tell me! Daniel loves you the most. I'm sure after seeing the video of you being humiliated, he will come to me obediently!"

An ominous feeling came over me.

"Mason, you bastard, what do you want to do?"

He nodded and ordered the bodyguards to hold me down against Daniel's ashes, tearing at my clothes.

"Mason, may you have a miserable life!

"I hate you! I curse you to go to hell for eternity!"

He stood aside coldly and even turned on the video on his mobile phone.

Behind me, Tiffany smirked with a triumphant smile, silently mouthing the word "whore" towards me.

I struggled hard. How could I be...

But I was alone and weak and couldn't break free.

I stared blankly at the ceiling, regretting why I had asked Daniel to adopt Mason all those years ago.

If he hadn't adopted Mason, Daniel would still be alive and well, and I might have an ordinary and happy family.

Seeing that I was lifeless and no longer struggling, Mason signaled them to stop.

He came up and slapped me in the face with his cold phone.

"Skylar, tell Daniel that if you don't come and apologize to Tiffany within three days, the whole world will see your erotic video!"