My mom had a heart condition, and her health had been getting worse over the years.

Afraid she couldn't bear it, I never dared to tell her about the changes in my marriage with Bella. I just said that everything was fine.

She was getting older, and the clock was ticking on her life. She just wanted to see Leo more in her remaining time.

A month ago, on our anniversary, my mom struggled to make a table full of dishes, eagerly waiting for us to come home.

But she waited until the dishes were cold, and Bella didn't come back with Leo.

I searched everywhere and made countless calls to her, but no one answered.

My mom sweat from anxiety and was about to call the police.

Just then, I received a call from Sebastian through Bella's phone.

His one threat took away my mom's life, as well as the last bit of affection I had for Bella.

I no longer needed to continue this marriage that was falling apart.

"Ethan, you're really bold. You can tell any lie to get my attention."

Bella got up impatiently. "I've said I've been under a lot of work pressure recently. Can you stop causing me trouble?"

When we first got married, I was in the ascendant phase of my career.

Even if I worked overtime until ten o'clock every night, I would still prepare breakfast for Bella the next day.

When she was asleep, I would put soundproofing cotton under the cutting board.

So, Bella's excuse was really too poor.

"Sign the divorce agreement. I won't trouble you anymore."

"You're just making Bella hate you more with such unreasonable fuss." Sebastian deliberately added fuel to the fire.

Realizing that it was useless to talk with them, I directly picked up my luggage and prepared to leave.

Bella was furious. "Don't ever come back if you leave today!"

I didn't look back.

The moment I closed the door, I heard Bella comforting Sebastian again.

"Even if his mother really died, it's none of your business. Besides, it's good if she's dead. She won't affect my family's fortune anymore. As for him, he's already homeless. He'll slink back once he cools down."

Yes, every time we quarreled before, I was always the one to apologize, no matter who was wrong.

But this time, Bella would never be able to wait for me to return.

I left that so-called home, and tears streamed down my face.

In six years of marriage, I had wasted my prime on such a woman.

It was truly not worth it.

I couldn't help but think how different things might have been if I hadn't accepted the candy Bella offered that year.

I had just graduated from university and was new to the workforce, clueless about everything.

Once, my boss made me stay late to revise a project.

After I finished it, it was already past eleven. In the pouring rain, hailing a cab was difficult, so I just squatted at the entrance, lost in thought. Bella pulled over and handed me an umbrella and a piece of candy.

"We've met before. I'm the person in charge of the project you're working on. I have a deep impression of you. Your business skills are excellent."

Bella invited me into her car and offered me a ride home.

She adjusted the air conditioning carefully to a comfortable temperature, praised my strong work ethic, and said I was shining. We exchanged contact information.

I knew there was a massive gap between our social statuses and didn't dare to entertain any romantic thoughts about her.

Even though there was a small expectation in my heart, I remained rational.

But Bella started to appear in front of me frequently. She would come to our company under the pretext of discussing work and specifically ask for me to report.

She also occasionally treated the whole company to coffee. Everyone else got the same, but mine was always perfectly tailored to my taste.

After a while, my colleagues started gossiping about us.

I was at a loss for words, but Bella came from behind and hugged my arm.

"I'm pursuing Ethan. He's so outstanding. If I don't put in extra effort, how can I stand out among the many admirers?"

From then on, Bella became bolder—sending flowers and gifts, driving me to and from work, and preparing surprises every now and then.

How could I not be moved by such gestures from a powerful businesswoman?

So, I accepted her pursuit.

That day, she gave me a ring and put a piece of candy in my mouth.

"I may not be romantic, but I can make money. From now on, I will make your life as sweet as this candy."

Naively, I believed her and let Bella trick me with a piece of candy to give her my youth.

Then, after being drained of my worth, she gave her candy to a younger, more handsome man.

When we first got married, I worked tirelessly to gain the approval of Bella's family.

I accompanied Bella to social events. Even when I had stomach bleeding from drinking too much, I would force myself to prepare a hangover cure for her before collapsing.

Bella, concerned for me, persuaded me to quit my job, promising to support me for life.

So, I resigned and started living off her, wasting time on everyday trivialities.

I witnessed our love consumed by the daily grind until now, when I had lost my family and everything else.

I felt a deep sorrow, but there was no one around to confide in.

After much thought, I decided to buy some flowers from a florist and talk to my mother at her grave.

I chose some tulips, my mother's favorite flowers. As I handed them to the florist to be wrapped, I suddenly heard Sebastian's cheerful voice.

"Men also like to receive flowers. You promised to give me ten thousand roses, and not a single one can be missing."

Bella's smiling face immediately darkened when she saw me.

"Why are you here? Spying on me?"

I didn't respond and just prepared to leave with my tulips.

"The tulips are so beautiful. I've changed my mind. I don't want roses. I want ten thousand tulips."

The florist was a bit embarrassed, saying tulips were understocked. Sebastian blurted out that I should give him the ones I had.

"Give them to him! Sebastian's dog died. I promised to give him flowers to cheer him up."

"These are for my mother."

Bella frowned, "Didn't you say Grace was dead? You lied. Ethan, how have you become like this!"

"It's not a perfect lie, but Ethan has put in the effort. Look, he even has an urn in his bag. I haven't buried my little dog yet. Why don't you give me this urn to hold my dog's ashes?"

Bella, fearing that men would become unfaithful when they had money, always limited my spending. I had no money, so I handled my mother's funeral simply.

I felt guilty and used the money from selling the wedding ring to buy this urn.

She cared most about Leo in her life, so I wanted to take her to see Leo one last time before resting in peace.

I didn't expect Sebastian to ask for this from me.

I couldn't take it anymore and slapped the tulips in his face.

"Here you go. You're so used to being a homewrecker, always grabbing everything. Why don't you grab death instead?"

Bella slapped me.

"Ethan, why have you become so unreasonable? Apologize to Sebastian right now! Otherwise, you'll never see Leo again."

I shook off Bella's hand in disgust. "Get out of my way. Don't block my way home."

The home I wanted to return to wasn't the house defiled by Sebastian but the one my mother left me, a place to shelter from the storm.