Xena felt a jolt run through her body. She looked at the two boys in disbelief.

They glared at her with open disgust. “How could you be our mother? You’re so embarrassing!”

“Dad, I don’t want her to be my mom! Having a mother like her is a disgrace!”

Julian stood beside Moon. A heavy atmosphere settled around him. His eyes were icy as he said in a low voice, “Do you have anything else to say?”

From the looks in their eyes, they had already decided she was guilty.

Xena clenched her fists. Anger surged inside her. She wanted to question them and prove herself, but in the end, she forced out only three words.

“It wasn’t me.”

Moon suddenly grabbed Julian’s sleeve. “Julian, forget it! I found the bracelet. Ms. Xander probably didn’t mean to.”

Moon’s plea only made Julian angrier.

He took a couple of deep breaths. Then, he raised his voice. “Xena, you made a mistake, but you still deny it! How’re you supposed to set an example for the children? Today, I’ll make you admit your fault!”

Zayden and Yannick had picked up a ruler and held it out to Julian. Their eyes shone with excitement. “Dad! Use this to punish her!”

Julian took the ruler and walked toward her.

Xena stepped back on instinct. She wanted to turn and leave, but when Zayden and Yannick rushed over and held her on both sides, all her strength drained away.

A wave of helplessness washed over her.

She opened her hand and held out her palm. The ruler came down hard on it.

The impact made her skin burn in pain.

She saw the smug, taunting smile on Moon’s face. She saw the cold, indifferent look in Julian’s eyes.

She suddenly remembered her past life. After her mother died, she was left a pink diamond ring. One day, when Moon came over, the ring went missing.

Her mother had just passed away, and her hatred for Moon was at its peak. She made a huge scene and searched Moon’s bag despite the objections of the other three in the house.

She found the ring in her bag, yet she was still the one who was punished.

They all said she had put it there on purpose to frame Moon. They warned her not to use her mother’s death as an excuse to act however she pleased.

Xena’s eyes welled up.

She had thought her heart had gone numb, but it still ached with sorrow and helplessness.

“Dad, I want to hit her too!” the two boys said together. “Mom did something wrong, so we should make her admit it!”

Julian paused for a moment and handed the ruler to Zayden. “Fine. You should remember this day and learn from it. Never break the law or act without morals.”

Those words felt like a hard slap across Xena’s face. She suddenly lunged forward and knocked the ruler out of Zayden’s hand.

Her whole body shook. She stared at Julian with defiance and humiliation. She spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.

“I’ll say this again. I didn’t do this! The one without morals is Moon, and you, Julian!”

“What nonsense are you spouting?!”

Julian’s gaze turned icy. “Since you refuse to admit your mistake, you can go to the cellar and reflect on it.”

He grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the cellar door.

Behind her, Zayden and Yannick stood on either side of Moon.

“Ms. Jensen, you can come live with us!”

“Ms. Jensen, please be our mother! You’ll be the best mom in the world!”

Xena trembled all over. Her breathing grew rapid. Julian pushed her into the cellar with his own hands.

As the door shut, his voice sounded again. It was gentle but cut deep. “Moon, could you take care of the two kids for the next few days?”

Darkness swallowed Xena whole.

She curled up in a corner and wrapped her arms tightly around herself. Tears streamed down her face.

This cellar was her nightmare.

In the year after she married Julian, she went out alone and was knocked unconscious. When she woke up, she was locked inside a cellar.

She remembered darkness, the stench of rot and mold, a leering man with a crackling laugh, and rough hands covered in calluses.

It was the most terrifying moment of her life. At the last possible moment, Julian broke open the cellar door and rushed inside.

Those hands that usually held a pen picked up a stone and smashed it down on the man’s head.

The screams and the smell of blood should have frightened her, yet they made her feel safe.

That day, Julian held her gently and comforted her. She carried that memory with her for sixty years until she died.

But the Julian who had carried her out of that cellar was gone.

Xena slowly got used to the darkness and forced herself to calm down.

She counted the seconds and listened to the sounds outside.

Julian, Zayden, and Yannick moved Moon’s belongings into the house.

The three of them cooked together and bought a cake to welcome Moon into the house.

She heard Julian’s voice. It was gentle. His tone held a smile. “Moon, I took two days off work. I want to stay with you and help you get used to things here.”

How absurd!

When she had given birth, she asked him to take a day off and stay with her. He had said with a cold face, “My job’s important. I can’t take time off whenever I want. Since you chose to marry me, you should’ve expected this. Xena, you need to learn to be independent.”

She heard the two boys rush to clear the table. “Ms. Jensen, your hands are so pretty. You shouldn’t do housework. We’re old enough now. We can handle it.”

She heard them push Moon back onto the couch when she tried to help with the laundry. “Ms. Jensen, don’t come over. The dirty clothes stink!”

They complained as they washed. “Mom’s so lazy and so irrational. She can’t even compare to you!”

Julian laughed along with them. “Moon, the kids are grown now. This is the time they should be learning life skills. You won’t need to do this kind of work in the future.”

How absurd was that?

To think people could be this biased!

After ten years of constant effort in that home, she could not even compare to Moon.

Xena bit her lip hard. She listened to the sounds outside and suffered in silence.

She could not hold back any longer and let out a low, bitter laugh. The laugh turned into sobs as tears fell from her eyes.

Two days later, starving and dizzy, Xena was finally released.

Julian and the two boys wore casual clothes that matched the color of Moon’s dress. They looked like a small, happy family.

But their eyes were cold when they looked at her. “Consider this matter over for now. From now on, do your duties and don’t cause trouble.”

The two boys grabbed Moon’s hands and bounced with excitement. “Mom, look! The clothes Ms. Jensen bought are so beautiful. They are a thousand times… no, ten thousand times prettier than yours!”

“Dad, Ms. Jensen, let’s go! I want to go to the new amusement park!”

The four of them turned and walked away. Their laughter and chatter echoed far into the distance.

Xena did not look up again till they were gone.

In just two days, the living room had completely changed.

The couch that she bought when they first got married had been replaced with a trendy leather one.

The pillows and ornaments she had made by hand were gone. Everything had been replaced with Moon’s preferred soft, elegant style.

The home she had poured her heart into bore only Moon’s marks.

The only thing left was their wedding photo on the TV stand.

Xena smiled brightly in the photo, while Julian’s eyes looked cold and distant.

Xena glanced at it, opened the frame, took the photo out, and tore it into pieces.

She made a simple meal, cleaned up, and then began packing.

She sorted out every corner of the house and every item she had carefully prepared. Then, she threw them away.

The last things she packed were their clothes.

Over ten years of marriage, she had made almost all of their clothes by hand.

If they could not compare to what Moon bought, there was no reason to leave them here.

She gathered all the clothes she had made and carried them to the courtyard. She threw them into the fire, one by one.

There was the first shirt she had made for Julian after their wedding. Then, there was the first pair of underwear she had made with a flushed face. She burned them all.

There were even more clothes for Zayden and Yannick. From tiny onesies she had prepared during her pregnancy to blankets and little booties, everything went into the fire.

Hundreds of pieces of clothes she had made over ten years, through all four seasons and countless nights, went up in smoke.

The smoke filled the air.

The courtyard gate flew open. Urgency flashed through Julian’s eyes before his expression hardened.

He stared at the clothes that were still burning, and his eyes widened.

“What’re you doing?”

“Mom, what’re you doing?!”

Zayden and Yannick ran over. When they saw their clothes in the fire, they shoved Xena hard and grabbed the rest of the clothes from her hands.

“That’s too much!” Zayden yelled. “Just because we said the clothes Ms. Jensen bought are nice, you want to burn all our clothes?”

Yannick shouted, “You’re so stingy! Ms. Jensen’s clothes are beautiful! They’re beautiful! They are ten thousand times prettier than yours!”

Moon stepped forward and held the boys. Tears ran down her cheeks as she said, “I’m sorry, Ms. Xander. I shouldn’t have bought those clothes.”

Julian gritted his teeth as pain shone in his eyes. He reached out and wiped the tears from Moon’s face. “Moon, you did nothing wrong. You don’t need to apologize.

“Xena, apologize right now!”

The setting sun and the fire made Xena’s face burn red, but her eyes were as cold as ice.

She stared at the four of them for a few seconds and let out a bitter laugh.

She leaned down and threw the rest of the clothes into the fire. Then, she turned, walked back to her room, and slammed the door behind her.

Soon, Zayden and Yannick’s screams rang out from outside.

“Where are my pillows?! The dolls that I’ve had since I was little are gone!”

“Our rocking horse! Our teddy bears! Our spinning tops! Our toy cars!”

The boys cried like their hearts were going to break. “All our toys and clothes are gone! Dad, we don’t want a mother like that anymore!”

The light in the room grew dim. Only a faint glow remained.

Xena sat on the floor and hugged her knees. Her face was expressionless.

It felt as if someone was squeezing her heart, and the pain made it hard for her to breathe.

“Xena, open the door!”

Julian knocked several times. He sounded angry.

He twisted the doorknob hard. “Come out! We need to talk!

“If there’s a problem, we can fix it. Stop acting like a child!

“Zayden and Yannick are your sons! Do you think you’re fit to be their mother?”

The door suddenly opened. Xena looked exhausted.

Her eyes were cold and still. Her voice was calm. “I’m not fit to be their mother. Moon is.”

Julian’s breath caught. His fists clenched. “What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said.” Xena met his usual cold gaze. “Julian, all these years I’ve been chasing a fantasy. If you like Moon that much, I’ll step aside and let you be happy.”

“Xena!” Julian’s eyes turned razor sharp. “Zayden and Yannick are your sons!”

He drew in a deep breath. “I made everything clear before we got married. I gave you the status of my wife and children. What more do you want?”

Xena closed her eyes tightly. Marriage, children, status—she had wasted her life over these things in her previous life, all because she could not swallow her pride.

Tears filled her eyes. “Julian, I don’t want any of it. We—”

“It’s good if you don’t want it!” Zayden and Yannick ran forward. They clenched their fists and shouted, “You can’t even earn your own money! All you’re fit for is housework. Even that, you make us do it! You don’t even let us watch TV. You don’t let us play whenever we want! You’re not fit to be our mother!

“What we want is a mom like Ms. Jensen, who’s beautiful, gentle, and can dance!”

“Fine.” Xena lowered her head and looked at the two boys. Her voice was hoarse and low. “Zayden, Yannick, your wish will soon come true.”

Julian’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean—”

Bang!

The door slammed shut.

Xena leaned against it. Tears ran down her face.

She looked down and slid slowly to the floor. Her voice was barely a whisper.

“Julian, this time I don’t want anything.

“I don’t want you either.”