My wife, Sophia Shelby, spent a fortune snatching a kidney donor from my mother, only to save her ex-boyfriend’s life. Meanwhile, my mother had been waiting for three years.

Before my mother died, she wanted to see our child.

I told her it was gone.

Sophia had aborted our child for the sake of her infertile ex-boyfriend, James Carl. She had chosen to go through IVF with him.

I had charged into the hospital and confronted Sophia, but James stopped me.

“She’s my wife! What gives you the right to keep me from seeing her?!”

“She’s pregnant with my child.”

I flew into a fit of anger. Barging into the ward, I shouted at Sophia, “I want a divorce!”

Inside, Sophia replied to me with irritation, “Divorce it is! Why are you yelling at James?”

Sophia finally returned home seven days after my mother passed away.

Sitting behind me, she draped her pantyhose-clad legs over my shoulders and brushed her bare feet across my cheek.

“Let’s spice things up.”

That was one of her favorite hobbies. She would play the dominant role to toy with me under the guise of foreplay.

In the past, I went along with whatever she wanted. I accepted her demands with no boundaries because I loved her to the point of losing myself.

This time, however, no more.

I pushed her away as she tried to pull me into an embrace. I had prepared our divorce agreement on the table, so I tossed it to her.

“You promised me.”

She casually picked it up and threw it into the bin.

“Hubby, stop causing a fuss.”

She grinned as she walked up to me. Then, she slipped her arms around my neck and playfully said, “James is infertile. He asked me to help him bear a child. Since we’ve been friends for so many years, helping him out is the least I can do.

“It’s just IVF. We didn’t actually sleep together. Please don’t be mad.

“Act like a man, and don’t be so petty.”

I had had enough of the same old lines.

Previously, I always forgave her. I thought being generous would make her understand, but all it did was give her room to push further and further.

I did not want to keep being this cowardly.

“Am I being petty, or are you the one who crossed the line?”

She froze before rising to take out a property deed. Then, she placed it in front of me.

“Stop causing a fuss, okay? This is the deed to the mansion in East City. It’s registered under your name.

“Haven’t you always wanted your mother to live with you?”

Was this her way of apologizing? She was certainly willing to spend big. Unfortunately, no matter how big the house was, it could never make up for what she had done to my mother.

I stared at her coldly.

“My mom doesn’t need your house anymore. She passed away.”

Sophia froze, and her eyes were filled with disbelief.

“Your mom passed away? How’s that possible? You’re lying, right?”

I glared at her and sneered, “You think I’d joke about my mom’s life?

“Do you know why she died? It’s because you spent a fortune to secure that kidney for James. It was the same one my mom had been waiting three years for.”

Sophia panicked and grabbed my hands anxiously.

“Sorry. I didn’t know that. I really didn’t.

“You can’t blame this all on me. After all, I was saving somebody else’s life too.”

Perhaps it was out of guilt, but her voice grew softer with each word.

Yes, she apologized. But she insisted that she was not really at fault and had tried to save a life.

So, James’ life mattered, but not my mother’s?

I yanked her hand off my hands.

“Sophia, this is where we end things.

“From now on, let’s pretend we never met.”

She fixed her gaze on me, and her eyes shimmered as if they might tear up.

“I’ll make it up for you. Could you just try to view things from my side. I’ve known James for twenty years. I can’t just stand by and watch him die.”

As she spoke, she gradually stepped closer and wrapped her arms around me.

I used to crave such warmth more than anything else. But at this moment, it only made me feel sick.

“All you care about is James. You aborted our child and disregarded my mother’s life because of him.

“In that case, go and be with him.”

I pushed Sophia away and strode outside. The moment I closed the door, I heard her crying.

…

I first met Sophia one night eight years ago.

At that time, I was working as a cashier at a convenience store.

Several thugs had stolen goods from the convenience store on that particular night. So, I went looking for them on a street they were known to hang around.

It was there that I saw the thugs harass and insult Sophia.

I had to get the stolen goods back. Otherwise, my manager would dock my pay.

Hence, I charged at the thugs and fought them. By sheer coincidence, I ended up saving Sophia too.

That night, I lay with my head resting on her lap while she gently tended to my wounds.

When she said she wanted to repay me, I just laughed it off.

A week later, I saw her again at the convenience store where I worked.

She was the new manager.

Our relationship grew closer as we worked together.

We gradually became the kind of friends who could talk about anything. Almost every night after work, she would drag me to the small lake in town with a few bottles of alcohol. There, we would sit and talk.

Sophia told me her father did not love her. She also said her family forced her into things she did not want to do.

I just played the role of a good listener.

I liked watching her without doing anything.

She was very beautiful, more beautiful than anything I had ever seen in the twenty years of my uneventful life.

I knew I had fallen for her.

However, I kept those feelings buried in my heart and dared not confess to her.

A girl like her would never be short of admirers.

Her temporary companionship already made me feel like I had gained more than I deserved. How could I dare hope that such companionship would last long?

That was until one night when she called and said she wanted to meet me at a mansion in North City.

I rode my old bicycle to meet her. In that wealthy neighborhood, I stuck out like a sore thumb.

By the time I found her, she was already drunk.

She hugged me tightly and sobbed like a wounded fawn.

“Johnny, can you stay with me like this forever?”

I stared at her, and the air between us was thick with something unspoken.

That night, I finally let go of my insecurity and responded to her feelings.

That same night, I finally learned that she was the only daughter and sole heir to the largest private company in town, Shelby Group.

They did not hire her to work in the convenience store. She had bought it.

After that, we were inseparable, like two people who fit each other perfectly.

When we started talking about marriage, her family decided I was not good enough for them. They ordered Sophia to break up with me.

Sophia and I registered our marriage without any blessing. She dragged me up to her family and said, “We’re already married.

“On top of that, I’m pregnant with his child.”

Obviously, there was no child. It was just a lie to force her family into backing down.

I thought we would stay happy forever, but James appeared.

Everything he said and did drew Sophia’s attention.

Sophia could give anything up for James’ sake, including myself, our child, and my mother.

She finally wore down every last bit of love I had for her.

I repeatedly reflected on myself. How could two people who once loved each other so deeply end up like this?

Perhaps time did wear everything down.

My thoughts drifted and slowly slipped into darkness.

By the time I opened my eyes again, I saw Sophia holding a tray of breakfast in skimpy sleepwear.

“Hubby, you’re up. Come and eat your breakfast.”

Her voice was full of tenderness. I had never seen her like this before.

Even so, I had no desire to respond.

“Tomorrow afternoon, we’ll go to the courthouse and finalize the divorce.”

The smile on Sophia’s face instantly faded.

“Aren’t you worried that things might get so ugly that it’ll no longer be within your control?

“I’m upset about your mother’s passing too. I’m sorry. I didn’t know that the kidney donor was meant to be hers. You can’t blame me for something I didn’t know. Can’t you try to understand me?

“As for our child, it’s true that I aborted it, and I’m bearing a child for James.

“But this isn’t a big deal. When you think about it, I’m just helping a friend out. If anything, we can always have another child later.”

Every word sounded reasonable. But she did not realize that she had completely neglected me in every way.

She neglected to see how much this hurt someone who had loved her for eight years.

“She was my mom! She raised me single-handedly. She loved me more than anyone in this world. It’s because of you that I can never see her again. How do you still have the nerve to expect understanding?

“As for our child, that’s even more ridiculous! You’re my wife, yet you’re bearing a child for another man, and I’m not even allowed to have a problem with that.

“Sophia, just how pathetic do you think I am to actually believe this nonsense?!” I finally exploded and removed the last bit of pretense between us.

Her face turned red as she pointed at me with anger.

“How did you become like this?!”

After yelling at me, she stormed out. She slammed the door so hard that I could feel the intensity of her rage.

She was angry that she could not manipulate me as easily as before. I actually dared to talk back to her.

While staring at the unsigned divorce agreement, I decided that I had to end this.

If she refused to sign the divorce agreement, I would take it to court.

I was doing this for myself and my mother’s sake.

My mother never even blamed Sophia for taking the kidney that was meant for her.

Before she passed away, she held my hands. Her wrinkled face was streaked with tears.

She told me that her only wish was to see her grandchild, even if it was just once. She wanted to personally give her grandchild a gift.

However, Sophia had aborted the child and denied my mother’s final wish too. As a result, my mother left the world with regret.

I packed up my things and moved back to the humble hut my mother had left me.