“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.”

The next afternoon, Xena packed her things. She planned to stay one night at the Xander family villa and then head straight to get the divorce settled.

Julian suddenly burst in with Moon. He looked more anxious than she had ever seen him.

“The teacher said you picked up Zayden and Yannick at noon?”

“What?” Xena froze for a moment. “No, I didn’t.”

Julian grabbed her wrist. His eyes were sharp. “The teacher said you called the school at lunchtime and told them to send the boys home. They still haven’t returned.”

Moon ran forward with tears streaming down her face. “Ms. Xander, I know you were upset this morning when you heard I was going to the parent-teacher meeting with Julian. Did you hide them somewhere?”

“Xena!” Julian squeezed her wrist painfully. “The boys like Moon and want to be close to her. That has nothing to do with you. Why would you do this?

“Where did you hide them?”

“I didn’t.” Xena frowned. Her heart started racing, and she said anxiously, “I neither called the school nor picked them up. Could something have happened to them?”

Julian stared at her. When he saw the genuine worry in her eyes, he finally let go.

“Search for them! I’m going to call the police.”

He grabbed Moon’s hand and ran downstairs. His car was parked at the gate. They got in and drove off.

Xena ran out after them. Panic made her heart race. Her arms and legs felt weak, and she could barely stand.

She bit her tongue and forced herself to stay calm. She asked the neighbors to help search for them. Then, she rode her bicycle to all the places the boys usually went. She checked each spot and called out their names.

The world felt silent and colorless. All she could see in her mind were her two children.

She remembered how they looked as babies, how they babbled, how they took their first steps, and how they once promised to protect her.

Even if they did not like her, even if they were ungrateful, even if she had decided not to love them anymore, she was still their mother. She wanted to cut ties with her children, but she also wanted them to be safe and happy.

Tears ran down Xena’s face as her body shook. She rode her bicycle and searched for them everywhere.

After checking the usual places, she went to the woods outside the city and followed the river. She searched there for a long, long time.

By the time night fully fell, she was soaked in sweat and completely exhausted. She finally stopped and turned back.

She had to go back to the house and check.

When she parked her bicycle at the door, the lights inside were on. She could hear Zayden and Yannick laughing.

Xena felt calm. She exhaled, moved her cold, numb hands and feet, and pushed the door open.

The room fell silent.

A ceramic cup broke at her feet.

“Xena, how dare you come back?!”

Zayden and Yannick hid behind Moon. “Ms. Jensen, please protect us. Mom locked us up on purpose and said we could never see you again!”

“What?”

The words hit her like a thunderclap. Her head rang, and she could barely hear anything else.

She stared at Zayden and Yannick in disbelief. “What’re you saying?”

“You!” Zayden pointed at her. “You took us at noon and locked us in that abandoned warehouse in the west. You said we couldn’t leave until we admitted we were wrong!”

Yannick put his hands on his hips. “You even said we could never be with Ms. Jensen. You said Dad belonged only to you!”

Xena’s eyes were bloodshot. Her hand braced against the doorframe. Her knuckles turned white, and her nails dug into the wood.

Her throat was dry from thirst, and her voice sounded frighteningly hoarse. Even so, it was sharp and firm. “Do you know what you’re saying? You’d better tell the truth!”

Zayden and Yannick were frightened by the look on her face. They quickly hid behind Moon.

“Enough!” Julian stood up abruptly. He seized Xena’s wrist and dragged her inside. His grip was so strong that it felt as if her bones might break.

His gaze was sharp and full of disgust. “Xena, is this how you act as a mother? You hurt your own children out of jealousy, and now, you want to threaten them into lying for you?”

“I didn’t!” Xena shouted. Her body shook violently. Her eyes burned red, and tears slipped from the corners.

Julian froze. It was as if he had touched something hot, and his grip suddenly loosened.

Moon suddenly said, “Julian, you’re scaring Ms. Xander.”

Julian snapped out of it and looked at Xena. His voice was cold and sharp. “You’re still denying it! Xena, they’re only ten years old. Do you really think they’d lie on purpose to frame you?

“Xena, you’re not fit to be a mother.”

‘Not fit to be a mother…’ she thought.

Xena staggered. A bitter smile tugged at her lips, and she slowly closed her eyes. Tears streamed down her face.

“Dad…” Zayden and Yannick suddenly began to cry. “That warehouse was so dark. We were so scared…”

Julian quickly turned to them. His face softened with concern. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”

“Dad, we don’t want to live with Mom anymore. I don’t want to see her. I’m scared!”

“Dad, Mom did something wrong. She should be punished. We should lock her in the warehouse, too!”

Xena looked at the two faces in front of her, and a chill spread through her chest.

She turned to Julian. The iciness in his eyes made her feel frozen in place.

“Fine! I’ll make sure she’s punished.”

He grabbed Xena’s wrist, dragged her outside, and shoved her into the car.

The car drove off at high speed. The silence around him was suffocating, and the air inside the car felt heavy and still.

At the warehouse on the western outskirts, he pushed her inside.

“Xena, think carefully about what you’ve done! I hope this is the last time this happens.”

The door locked behind her, and Xena fell into complete darkness once again.

She felt no resentment and no fear. Pain and anger washed over her and then faded. Only complete silence remained.

She let out a quiet laugh and lost consciousness.

Xena dreamed all night.

In her dream, she had been sick from the very start of her pregnancy. She threw up constantly and felt miserable.

In the middle of her pregnancy, she had to stay in the hospital to prevent a miscarriage because her cervix was too small. She spent three months there alone. Every day, she received injections to stop her contractions. Her arms were covered in needle marks.

The injections made her allergic. Her whole body broke out in rashes, but she could not take medicine because of her pregnancy. Her whole body itched so badly that she could not sleep for nights.

When it was time to give birth, her blood pressure rose to a dangerous level. She had to undergo an emergency C-section and spent ten days in the ICU.

Zayden and Yannick were born and weighed less than four pounds each. They were weak and sickly from the start.

She went through endless days and nights alone and wore her body out completely to take care of them.

Even when she was sick and running a fever, she cared for her two sick children.

She had brought her children into the world at the risk of her own life and raised them with love and care and all the nurture she could provide. It was a pity they treated her in this manner.

Xena felt pain like nothing she had ever known. Her heart felt torn to pieces, thrown into the air, and crushed underfoot.