On my birthday, my husband's childhood sweetheart Irina posted the new robot that my husband and son had made for her on social media.

I casually liked the post, but soon received a scolding from my husband:

"Didn't we give you one too? Our son even baked you a cake by hand. What more do you want?"

However, Irina's robot was clearly the latest model, and even the cake our son gave her was a bit larger than mine.

They love me, but they love Irina a little more.

Perhaps I should try to let go and love them a little less too.

————————

The clock had just struck midnight, signaling the arrival of a new day, when my husband and son returned home.

The cake on the table remained untouched, with a sign that read: "Happy Birthday, Mom"

"Why haven't you eaten the cake? Were you waiting for us to come back and eat together?"

My husband forced a smile and, along with our son, lit the candles to sing me the birthday song.

But I only felt irritated, waving my hand dismissively, "I have no appetite. You two go ahead and eat."

Upon hearing this, my husband's face immediately fell.

"I know you're still upset about Irina, but can't you be a little more understanding? She doesn't have any family here. Today she had a rough time at work, so our son and I just went to comfort her a bit. Nothing else happened, don't overthink it."

Our son chimed in, "That's right, Mom. Aunt Westwood's got it tough as a single woman. Can't you be a little more gracious?"

Looking at the father and son duo singing the same tune, my heart felt colder than if it had been plunged into an ice cave.

It was my birthday, yet this father and son had abandoned me to go find an outsider.

Every time I get angry and lose it because they neglect me to care for Irina, they always trot out this same old excuse.

Making me feel like I'm the unreasonable villain in all of this.Every time, their behavior would leave me crying silently in the dead of night. But come morning, all it took was a kind word or a small gift to placate me, and I'd be right back to playing mommy for the two of them, happy as can be.

This time, it was clear they thought they could manipulate me the same way.

But I'd grown tired of these tests of obedience.

"Mhm, you're right. You two go keep her company. I'll just celebrate my birthday with my girlfriends," I said.

With that, I grabbed my purse and prepared to head out.

The father-son duo was clearly caught off guard by my attitude, left stunned and speechless.

Seeing I was actually about to leave, my husband rushed over to stop me.

"You're forty years old now. Can't you stop throwing these little tantrums? My company keeps me busy, and our son is swamped with schoolwork. We're exhausted trying to make time to humor you, okay?"

Exhausted?

I gave them both an icy stare. They weren't too tired to build Irina the latest model robot. They weren't too tired to bake Irina a cake the size of a washbasin.

So how come when it comes to me, they're suddenly so worn out from tossing me an outdated housekeeping bot and whipping up a tiny cake with leftover ingredients?"You want too much. I'm not angry, I just want to celebrate my birthday with my girlfriends. It's been years since I've done that with them."

"Mom! When will you stop this nonsense?"

My son suddenly erupted, knocking over the cake on the table. The candles nearly set the tablecloth on fire.

He's been under a lot of stress from school lately, always emotionally unstable. Every time he loses it, I patiently try to calm him down.

But this time, I remained unmoved.

Seeing that I made no attempt to soothe him, my son's anger intensified. He started hitting and smashing the furniture around the house.

"What will it take for you to leave me and Dad alone? Isn't years of your psychological control enough? Are you trying to drive us insane before you're satisfied?"

Looking at my son's hysterical state, I felt a wave of sadness wash over me.

All these years of hard work, pouring my heart and soul into my husband and son. Just because I wanted a little extra attention from them on my 40th birthday, I'm labeled as a control freak.

What a failure I've become, haven't I?

I laughed bitterly at myself, then saw my husband comforting our son while sternly rebuking me.

"Look what you've done to our son! Are you even fit to be a mother? If you really can't go on like this, maybe we should get a divorce."Every time I get angry, my husband coldly says this phrase, and every time I give in out of fear.

But this time, I don't care anymore.

They may love me very much, but they love Irina a little more.

And I should try to love them a little less.

"Fine then."

After saying that, I ignored the shocked expressions of the father and son and walked straight out the door.

It was already late, but when I called my girlfriends to come out, they still happily agreed.

We were at a late-night food stand, drinking beer and munching on skewers. They complained that ever since I got married, I've been revolving around my husband and son all day, almost forgetting about them.

The alcohol numbed my brain, and the days of gossiping with my girlfriends in our college dorm felt like they were just yesterday.

Thinking about it now, I really have given up a lot for my husband and son. It's not worth it.

After saying goodbye to my girlfriends, I glanced at my phone. There were countless missed call notifications.

I was about to ignore them, but among the numerous messages from my husband, I saw one from Vivienne.

"I'm sorry, Rainey. Elio and I really don't have that kind of relationship. I was just upset yesterday and wanted Elio and Zain to keep me company. I forgot it was your birthday yesterday. I'm truly sorry!"

I was drunk, and I don't know if it was this message that made me sick, but I ran to the roadside and started vomiting violently.

After a while, I finally replied: "It's okay, I don't mind."

The other side showed "typing", but after waiting for a long time with no new message, I went home.

The floor was a mess, even worse than when I left.I sprawled on the couch, feeling drowsy. Suddenly, something jabbed my backside. It was my husband's phone, unlocked, displaying his chat history with Vivienne.

"Elio, you and Zain came to keep me company and made Rainey angry. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have been so selfish. Maybe we should see each other less from now on."

"Don't say that. She's just being petty and can't stand these things. Birthdays happen every year, can't we just make it up later? Who knew she'd get so worked up? She's really regressing with age."

"Elio, don't say that. Rainey has every right to be upset. Don't be too angry yourself, it's not good for your health."

"Hmm, thanks for your concern. If only Rainey were half as understanding as you."

My husband rushed over and snatched the phone back, yelling furiously, "Why do you always like to snoop into other people's privacy? I'm telling you, there's nothing going on between us!"

"Whatever. I'm going to bed."My eyes flew open and I glared coldly at my husband.

He stood there, obliviously explaining how to operate and use the robot, completely unaware of the anger in my eyes.

"Elio, did you forget that I helped develop this model of robot?"

My words stopped him dead in his tracks.

He glanced at the model number on the back of the robot, then gave me a sheepish smile.

"Oh, then I guess I don't need to explain. That's good."

My husband and I used to be researchers at the same tech company. But with no one to help care for our child, I quit my job to stay home and focus on being a wife and mother.

Now, looking back, I regret every single thing I gave up for the sake of our family.

We fell into an awkward silence, with only the mechanical whirring of the cleaning robot filling the room.

"You should go back to bed. I'll sleep on the couch."

With that, I closed my eyes.

"By the way, I have to work late tomorrow night, so I won't be coming home..."

"Got it," I snapped irritably.

My husband hesitated for a moment before returning to the bedroom.

I hadn't slept long when I was awakened by someone shaking me. Opening my eyes, I saw my son already dressed in his school uniform, standing before me with an unhappy expression.

"Why didn't you wake me up? I'm going to be late. And where's breakfast? You didn't make that either?"

Every day, I would wake my son on time and prepare a table full of hot, delicious breakfast for him, sacrificing my own sleep.

Due to lack of sleep, I had thick dark circles under my eyes, and my skin was sallow and dull. At forty, I looked more like fifty.

"From now on, just set your own alarm. Eat breakfast outside. Do you have money? I'll transfer you some."

My son stared at me wide-eyed, clearly not expecting the formerly selfless mother to become so "irresponsible."

"I don't need your money. Aunt Westwood would never be this lazy..."

He muttered the last part softly, but I still heard it.

However, it didn't stir up even a ripple in my heart.

Angry, my son slammed the door as he left. The impact caused something small to fall out of the shoe cabinet in the entryway.I walked over and picked it up, discovering it was a toy car. But this was no ordinary toy - it was one I had modified. It could transform into a robot and play theme songs from various anime.

My son had been sickly since birth. When he was ill, he was always gloomy and depressed. But when he saw this little car, he would giggle with delight.

Seeing his smiling face, I submitted a proposal to my company to produce more toy robots that could provide emotional value.

However, my husband opposed this idea. He believed robots should serve humans and have more functions, not just be decorative like a vase that could only transform or play a few songs.

Later, the proposal was abandoned. As my son grew older, he began to look down on this childish toy.

I went over and picked up the robot, pressing its button. It still worked normally. Suddenly, an idea struck me, and I decided to give it to the neighbor's child.

The kid's nickname was Timmy. His parents were divorced and had dumped him with his grandmother. He had no friends and always played alone with sand in the courtyard below our building.

When he received this little toy, he examined it from all angles. His small face lit up with joy as he played with it enthusiastically.Seeing him in this state, I couldn't help but think of my son when he was little, and that proposal from years ago.

Almost instinctively, I picked up my phone and called my former boss. By the time I realized what I was doing and wanted to hang up, he had already answered.

"Rainey? Why the sudden call?"

"Oh? It's nothing... I just wanted to ask if you're still hiring?"

I nervously rubbed my nose, knowing that for a housewife who had been out of the workforce for nearly a decade, trying to return to the high-tech industry was nothing short of a pipe dream.

To my surprise, my former boss was thrilled.

"Really? It's wonderful that you've changed your mind! Someone with your talents is exactly what my new company needs. However, since you've been away from the industry for so long, you'll have to start from the bottom."

"I can do that! I'll give it my all!"

After hanging up, I was so excited I could barely contain myself. I played with Timmy until evening.

"Aunt Rainey, you're so nice. I wish you were my mom," Timmy said, blinking up at me, his eyes full of longing.

I didn't know what to say, so I just patted his head.

Just then, the front door was kicked open, and a drunk man stumbled in.

"Who are you? Where's my mom?"The man had barely finished speaking when Timmy's grandmother came running out, shouting warily at him:

"What are you doing back here? I won't give you another cent!"

"Damn it! You're my mother, who else should you give your money to if not me? If you don't, I'll chop up this little brat!"

With that, the man suddenly pulled out a knife and swung it at Timmy.

In that split second, I could only throw myself in front of Timmy, taking the blow meant for him.

In an instant, blood pooled on the ground.