On my third year anniversary, I've whipped up a feast. Now I'm waiting for my wife, Cindy Kirk, to come home so that we can celebrate the occasion.

But that's when I accidentally find out that Cindy has transferred the deed to our home to her brother-in-law, Andy Campbell.

"Kevin will be attending elementary school next year. If he can't stay in a school-district property, which our home is, he won't be able to attend the school in this district!

"Andy and Kevin have had it rough as it is! Do you have the heart to watch them live on the streets?"

I just gaze at Cindy with a stony expression. Then, I ask her calmly, "Then what should we do if we lose our home?"

Cindy is very satisfied with my attitude. She responds by passing me a blanket.

"You should sleep on the shop's floor for the time being. I'll stay at home and take care of Andy and Kevin."

After leaving my home, I head over to the court right away to file for a divorce.

Since Cindy is greedy enough to have her cake and eat it, I'll make sure that she loses everything in her life!

I dazedly took the duvet cover Cindy handed me.

I looked at the elaborate spread on the table and thought it felt nothing like a wedding anniversary. Instead, it felt more like a farewell dinner before a divorce.

Without giving me a chance to refuse, Cindy pushed me out the door. She even packed up the food on the table and shooed me away.

When I opened the door, Andy and Kevin were already standing there outside.

Looking all pitiful, Andy hurried over with his head bowed and apologized to me in a small voice.

"Sorry, Gary. It's just with Kevin starting school and all, I had no choice but to resort to this. If you're not okay with this, Kevin and I will just go."

Even though he said that, he didn't make the slightest move to go. His eyes were locked right on Cindy.

Kevin immediately darted over and wrapped his arms around Cindy's leg.

"Aunt Cindy, are you really throwing Daddy and me out?" he asked pitifully. "But you promised you'd take care of us forever!"

Cindy instantly panicked. She bent down to comfort Kevin, then looked up at me and said urgently, "Gary, I know this isn't fair to you. But this is a critical time for Andy and Kevin right now, so I can't just turn my back on them.

"Besides, I'm only letting Andy and Kevin live here temporarily. This house will still be yours in the future. But if I abandon them at this point, it could affect Kevin's future for the rest of his life."

I clutched the duvet cover and said nothing.

Getting no response from me, Cindy gritted her teeth and forced a bitter, pleading smile.

"Of course, if you're still not okay with it, I'll just take Andy and Kevin, and we'll figure something else out."

When I heard those words, I clenched my fists so tightly that my knuckles went white. At the same time, I felt a telltale prickle in my nose.

She was even resorting to threats and bribes now.

I could see her fighting to keep the anger off her face. She was framing it like I had a choice, but I knew deep down she'd already made it for me.

"Andy, I really never would've guessed you had such a way of reeling people in. Consider my eyes thoroughly opened," I said sarcastically.

The room instantly fell silent. All I could hear was Andy quietly clenching his jaw.

"Gary Sampson, how could you think that of me? All I care about right now is raising Kevin right. If I'd had any other choice, I never would've come begging to Cindy."

At that, I let out a dismissive snort.

Cindy immediately frowned, looking both embarrassed and angry as she snapped at me.

"Gary, what is this nonsense you're pulling? Let me tell you—I have already transferred this house to Andy and Kevin. Even if you disagree, you don't have any say in the matter anymore."

I instantly dug my fingertips into my palms, nearly drawing blood.

If she'd already gone ahead and done it, what was the point of asking me in the first place?

Both the property transfer and being kicked out of my own home came as a notice. What difference would it have made if I'd objected?

In that moment, it wasn't sadness I felt, but a profound bleakness.

After three years of marriage, I still hadn't been able to make her forget Andy.

Andy and I were actually really good friends.

At least, that was what I'd always believed.

Back when I was dating Cindy, I didn't know that the person she had always loved was Andy. Even less did I understand the reason she suddenly confessed her feelings and said she wanted to be with me.

It wasn't until the day Andy married her sister, Tracy Kirk, that I suddenly realized with a jolt that Cindy had only been with me to get closer to Andy.

At the wedding, Cindy got completely drunk and threw a drunken fit up on the rooftop. No matter who tried to persuade her, no one could talk her down.

In the end, it was just one casual remark from Andy that made her obediently come back down.

I stood there helplessly watching all of this, while Andy's smug and provocative words rang in my ears.

"Gary, Cindy is your fiancee. If you can't even keep your own fiancee in check, what good are you?"

After that day, Cindy seemed to become a completely different person. She never brought up Andy again and showered me with even more affection. If the topic came up by chance, she would just smile faintly and brush it aside.

"I was young and foolish then. Now, the person I love the most is already right in front of me."

Little did she know, when those words reached my ears, a sweetness surged from deep within me and spilled through every inch of my body.

But after Tracy died unexpectedly, it only dawned on me then that Cindy hadn't changed at all. Instead, she had learned to bury her true feelings even deeper.

Afraid that I would be an eyesore to Andy and Kevin, Cindy couldn't wait to pack me off to the shop.

As soon as I got out of the car, Cindy hugged me from behind and softly apologized.

"I'm sorry, Gary. I was out of line just now, but surely you can understand, right? Don't worry, I don't have any feelings for Andy anymore. After all, he's Tracy's husband.

"But she's gone now, and as her only family, it's my duty to look after them. It's just six years. Once Kevin graduates from elementary school, I'll ask them to move out, and then you can come back home."

As Cindy spoke, I caught a hint of guilt toward me in her expression.

But I knew that deep down, she was secretly thrilled and excited. The wish she had harbored for so many years was finally about to come true, after all.

I pulled away from her embrace. Looking calmly at her, I asked, "What if I don't agree? Cindy, you have to choose—me or Andy?"

As soon as the words left my mouth, I couldn't help but laugh. How ridiculous was it that I had to ask my own wife to choose between her brother-in-law and me, her lawfully wedded husband?

And yet, it was precisely this kind of absurd and pitiful question that made Cindy's expression darken like a gathering storm. The tenderness in her eyes just moments ago had already turned into displeasure and resentment.

"Save your petty schemes. If I find out you've done anything, you'll be sorry!" she warned, her gaze sharp and menacing.

I squeezed my eyes shut tightly to force back the tears threatening to burst forth.

Sorrow and indignation twisted together in my chest, sticking in my throat like a barb.

After wiping away the traitorous tears that had spilled from my eyes, I opened them to find that Cindy had already laid out all the food she had brought from home.

She sat down impatiently and urged me, "Hurry up. I know today is our third wedding anniversary. I'll have dinner with you, but right after, I need to go back and take care of Andy and Kevin."

She pulled me down to sit.

When I went for the shrimp, she said Kevin loved them and took the plate away.

When I reached for the fish, she mentioned Andy liked the fleshy bit, so the bony tail was what I got.

I had barely taken two bites before she packed up all the remaining food. Then, without a moment's delay, she hurried back home.

I stood there in a daze. It wasn't until I watched the car disappear into the flow of traffic that I finally snapped out of it.

I had spent the whole day laboring over this meal, yet in the end, all I deserved was a fish tail?

My phone suddenly buzzed, and a photo of Andy, Kevin, and Cindy appeared on my Instagram feed.

"I feel so blessed. After all these years, the same person is still by my side."

In front of them was a dazzling spread of delicacies, and Cindy was carefully picking fish bones out for Andy and peeling shrimp for Kevin.

I looked at the inedible fish tail in front of me and felt my heart skip a beat, as if a knife were twisting inside it.

That night, I sat in the shop until daybreak without receiving a single word of concern from Cindy.

She didn't saunter in until the breakfast rush was long over, and the first thing she did was chew me out.

"It's late—why haven't you opened the shop yet? What's the point of having you here to watch over the place?"

Her tone made it sound as if I owed her and that I deserved nothing better than to slave away for her.

For the past three years, she and I had been running a bakery together.

Every day, before dawn even broke, I had to start kneading dough and then make all the baked goods. All these heavy, grueling tasks had always fallen on me. Cindy only had to come in and man the cashier.

But today, all of a sudden, I just didn't want to go on like this anymore.

I blinked my dry, stinging eyes and let out a soft, bitter laugh, my gaze settling indifferently on her.

"From now on, you can do all this yourself. The bakery is in your name anyway, so it has nothing to do with me."

Cindy froze, as if she hadn't expected me to say such a thing.

Suddenly, an innocent-sounding voice came from behind her, but every word was laced with malice toward me.

"Uncle Gary, if you won't even do the baking, then why are you still clinging to Aunt Cindy? My teacher said that lazy, good-for-nothing people like you are a drain on society!"

I looked over and saw Kevin walking into the shop, holding Andy's hand on one side and Cindy's on the other.

In that moment, the three of them looked just like a family.

Andy looked at me apologetically and said cautiously, "Gary, don't be angry with Cindy. I know it's all my fault—I'm the reason you two are fighting. I'll figure out another way to get Kevin into school, and I'll transfer the deed back to you too. I won't be in your hair anymore."

Before he could finish, Cindy cut him off. "No, I won't allow it!"

She looked at Andy with all the tenderness in the world, but when her gaze turned to me, it was ice-cold and full of impatience.

"If anyone should leave, it's you, Gary. The house has nothing to do with you now, and this shop isn't in your name either. I've been more than kind enough to give you a place to stay, so don't be so ungrateful. Are you determined to destroy this family before you're satisfied?"

Those words jolted through me like an electric shock. My eyes reddened, and I said nothing more.

With a bitter smile, I tore my gaze away from Cindy. But my heart had already sunk into the pit of my stomach.

Just then, Cindy suddenly let out a dry heave.

Kevin immediately burst out laughing. "Daddy, look! The baby in Aunt Cindy's belly is acting up again. Hurry up and comfort her."

I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around in disbelief, only to see Cindy's face glowing with maternal radiance, while Andy looked surprised and delighted.

In the three years we'd been married, Cindy and I had never had a child.

It wasn't that I didn't want to, but rather that Cindy took every possible precaution, going to extreme lengths with contraception and never giving me the slightest chance to get her pregnant.

It finally dawned on me now that I was simply never worthy, and the only man she would ever bear a child for was Andy.

"Who's the father of this child?" I asked through gritted teeth.

Annoyed, Cindy shoved me, sending me stumbling to the ground.

I slammed my lower back heavily against the dining table, and a wave of searing pain shot through my entire body.

She brushed past me impatiently and walked out of the bakery. Then, as if afraid I lacked the sense to read the room, she even reminded me, "This is none of your business! Know your place and take good care of Andy and Kevin."

After Cindy left, Andy put on a smug, triumphant look and started ordering me around with an arrogant, condescending air.

"Pour me a glass of water! Give me a shoulder massage!"

Seeing that I remained unmoved, he gnashed his teeth in hatred.

Suddenly, a rat scurried out, startling him. Kevin was so frightened that he fell to the ground and started wailing at the top of his lungs.

Just then, I felt a tremendous force hit me.

A sharp, crisp sound of a slap echoed throughout the bakery. My vision went black, and a deafening roar filled my ears. Then came a numbing and searing pain across my cheek.

The whole world seemed to fall silent.

I turned my head and saw Cindy, her face dark and stormy.

"I told you to take good care of Andy and Kevin. Did my words just go in one ear and out the other?"