Six years after my release from prison, I opened a hamburger and fries shop in the west side of the city.

My life was just getting back on track.

Yet on an ordinary afternoon, I swiped over a "confession" video from an emotional blogger.

In the video, she proudly boasted about how she married into a wealthy family. How she gradually kicked the original wife out of the house. And how she secured her so-called perfect life by expertly manipulating her husband.

"Why did the latecomer surpass the early ones? Because I know how to compete and seize opportunities."

"Remember, the one who isn't loved is the mistress."

"The self-righteous, aloof old woman was destined for misery."

I thought her values ​​were warped and clicked "not interested."

But then, while kneading dough that afternoon, it suddenly dawned on me, everything she said sounded exactly like what had happened between me and Dwayne Maguire.

——

The video was blurry, making it hard to see anything clearly.

I casually swiped into the homepage list and sure enough, I saw Dwayne's back in the pinned video.

Strangely, that large, bony hand still had our wedding ring on it. He wasn't a frugal or sentimental person.

Perhaps business hadn't been good these past few years.

I shrugged it off with a laugh.

Just as I was about to block her, the curtain was lifted.

A heavy chill swept over me.

I put down my phone and casually called out. "This morning's hamburger are sold out."

"If you want some, come back after four in the afternoon when we reopen."

The man stood motionless at the door, blocking half the light. Only after a long while did a familiar voice call out to me. "Navier, it's me."

I looked up and the familiar figure was shrouded in the winter gloom.

I was momentarily lost in thought, then offered a polite yet distant smile. "I said the hamburger were sold out."

Dwayne had no response. His gaze swept over the shabby little hut and settled on my rough, cracked hands.

I was not sure if it was real or just something I was imagining.

His breath seemed to pause for a moment. He looked at me, his tone filled with shock and disbelief. "Navier, all these years ... you've been living here all along?"

He seemed surprised, to see me kneading dough with the same hands I used to play the piano and paint and to see the once proud and bright Ms. Ridley would willingly endure such a hard life now.

It also seemed like a test, to see if I would cling to him like before and to see if I would cry and beg him to come home.

However, faced with the man's intense gaze, I remained silent.

After a while, he spoke again, his voice tinged with doubt and resentment,

"I've seen Sienna's video."

"What happened back then ... I'm sorry."

"If you want to come back ...."

"No need." I interrupted, then continued to knead the dough without even lifting my head. "I am living well now."

Dwayne, who was not getting a definitive answer, was growing anxious. He unconsciously raised his voice, "What about Noah?"

"You're going to let my son live this kind of miserable life with you?!"

My hands, which were kneading the dough, paused for a moment.

I lowered my head and spoke calmly, "Noah died."

He frowned and continued. "Where are your parents? Don't they care about you?"

I threw the dough aside and looked up at him, replying, "My parents have also died."

"I'm not selling the hamburger today. You can leave."

Seeing my attitude, he became somewhat angry. "Navier, I know you resent me for what happened back then. But can you please stop joking about the lives of your loved ones?"

"So many years have passed and you haven't changed your bad temper at all!"

"I've already apologized to you, what more do you want? Why are you so stubborn?"

A fierce argument erupted in the cramped room.

This time, I said nothing and silently pushed open the small door behind me.

The dust from the burnt paper money drifted in the sunlight.

All the questioning came to an abrupt stop.

I lit the cigarette in my hand, leaning against the corner of the table, I smiled and offered that belated blessing. "Congratulations on your wedding."

Had it not been for Dwayne's arrival, I would have nearly forgotten.

Today marked the tenth anniversary of his relationship with Sienna. It also marked the tenth anniversary of my family's destruction.

Ten years ago, he wanted a divorce from me for the sake of his lover, whom he had cherished.

Though I was three months pregnant ....

Though we had spent our years together ....

And though our family's dissuasion and pleas ....

He even disregarded his own reputation and dignity. He was determined to divorce me. He said he had met his true love, a soulmate with whom he shared a deep connection.

He would rather give up everything to be with her.

His betrayal and infidelity were unacceptable for me. Even more unacceptable, the person he cheated on me with was Sienna Cavendish, the little girl we raised together.

In those days, an old friend, with his final breath, entrusted his only daughter to me and Dwayne to take care of.

Dwayne hesitated, finding the responsibility of raising a life too heavy. However, Sienna took my hand and timidly said, "Auntie. I'll be good."

In an instant, my heart softened.

After years of trying, Dwayne and I still hadn't had a child. I thought having a little girl around might bring some good luck, to bring our own children to us.

So I did everything I could to give her the best of everything.

Dwayne and Sienna were fifteen years apart in age.

To both of us, she was both a daughter and a younger sister. She was also very well-behaved, taking on most of the housework and spending time with both of our parents.

Back then, Dwayne would often say, "She was born with the temperament of a young lady."

"I don't expect her to be well-behaved and sensible, as long as our child is as good as her."

His words came true.

In the fifth year after Sienna came into our family and after enduring so many struggles, I was finally pregnant.

I rushed to my husband, eager to tell him the news, but the moment I pushed the door open, I saw the two of them embracing.

On the large bed in the master bedroom, the two of them were lost in passionate lovemaking, oblivious to the world around them.

On Sienna's neck still lay the lucky charm I had gotten for her when she was eighteen years old.

I was shocked and speechless for a long time.

I slapped Dwayne in the face and asked him why he did it and why he targeted Sienna. "She's a child. She's a child we raised ourselves."

"Dwayne, you beast!"

"You're worse than an animal!"

At that time, I thought he was the one who had seduced Sienna.

I even thought about calling the police to seek justice for her.

But then she grabbed my hand and said with a grin, "Don't be angry, Auntie, you're getting wrinkles around your eyes."

"Dwayne and I are in love, please don't break us up," she said.

I felt like I had been struck by lightning.

I had no idea when the two of them had gotten together.

I had no idea how I could raise such an ungrateful child.

For all those years I took care of her, I never once spared my efforts.

When she told me she missed home and struggled to sleep, I stayed with her, night after night.

When she said she was bullied at school, I stood up for her.

When she said her uncle seemed to dislike her, so I encouraged Dwayne to spend more time with her.

To my surprise, the kind of "disliking" she spoke of was actually romantic affection.

I passed out in anger and I almost lost my baby.

When I was hospitalized, Sienna kept sending me provocative messages, a video of the two of them together, Dwayne's sweet words of vows of eternal love and even the divorce papers Dwayne had already prepared.

After seeing that thick stack of videotapes, I vomited for three days and three nights.

I just couldn't do anything about it.

Imagined the woman in front of me posing in lingerie was the timid little girl I first met back then, I almost cried my eyes out.

Besides, Dwayne never visited me once.

When I returned home from the hospital, I saw him directing people to move my belongings.

In front of a huge wedding photo, he held Sienna's hand tightly.

"Navier, you'll never understand, you never will."

"Sienna is the girl I raised with my own hands, my confidante and soulmate."

"She's different from you. She's thoughtful, insightful and someone I can discuss life with!"

He had disdainful gaze swept across my branded clothes and spit out coldly, "Vulgar."

Those words shattered the last vestige of my composure.

I had no idea how Sienna, who didn’t even finish high school, could talk to him about life.

I only had idea, that back then, in order to be with Dwayne, I gave almost everything.

I almost broke ties with the Ridleys, my family, for him. I drank myself into a stomach hemorrhage countless times at the dinner table for him.

But just when I thought my suffering was over, they dealt me ​​a fatal blow.

I remembered the traces they left all over the house, remembered what she said when she left.

"What do you have that money and ability to do?"

"From now on, this is my home."

"Your man, everything you earned through hard work, is mine now."

Soon, my anger reached its peak.

I set the villa on fire in a fit of anger. The fire wasn't big and was quickly extinguished, but Dwayne filed a lawsuit against me for arson.

He gave me two choices, divorce or go to jail.

I also gave him two choices, die, or face utter disgrace.

He was a law professor who had been upright for half of his life. The last thing he couldn't let go of most was his scholarly integrity.

I could accept him leaving me over personal issues between us, but I couldn’t accept him spending my hard-earned money to have a fling with his mistress.

And then he turned around and despised me for being vulgar and materialistic.

The argument got so intense that both our parents came and calmed us down.

When both our parents asked me why I was arguing, with tears streaming down their faces, I couldn't even answer.

How could I bring it up?

The girl I raised on my own turned out to be a bitch. And my husband, whom I had loved for many years, wanted to divorce me for this bitch.

I couldn't utter a single word.

Just thinking about it made me feel nauseous.

It was my mother, Eleanor Ridley, who caught a glimpse of the intimacy between Dwayne and Sienna.