Stacy had a nanny, a housekeeper, and a butler—she didn't have to lift a finger at all. As long as she stayed away from gambling, that money would last her several lifetimes.

A young girl adopted from the orphanage—now she had struck it rich and lost a husband. Most people couldn't even dream of getting that lucky.

So I didn't understand why, in everyone's eyes, she was somehow the most pitiful one.

I was exhausted to see her appearing everywhere in my life, yet I couldn't even accuse her of being a mistress who wrecked someone's marriage.

I heard myself saying, "I want a divorce."

Troy's eyes widened in anger. "You want a divorce over something so small?"

I nodded nonchalantly. "Think whatever you want."

Over something so small? Sure.

While he spent every day and night with Stacy, I kept telling myself that it was only right for him to do that. We were family, after all. And she had just lost her husband, so it was understandable she needed someone there for her.

But the truth was, I couldn't stand sharing my husband with another woman. Even if she was my sister-in-law on paper.

I took the divorce agreement out of the drawer. I had prepared it a long time ago, but I kept waiting—waiting for things to get better. Yet, all I got in return was his escalating disregard.

"Troy, once we're divorced, you'll finally be free to take care of her openly and without guilt."

In that instant, Troy lost it.

He swept the roses off the table and pointed at me, his expression cold. "When did you become like this? I'll say it one more time—there's nothing going on between me and her. So stop dragging her name through the mud!

"Take some time to cool off. I'm not getting divorced, and my parents would never agree to it either."

He quickly put his coat back on and slammed the door on his way out.

I glanced at the clock—13 minutes.

After a fight, he could've chosen any room in the house. But his instinct was to walk out the door. I didn't even have to guess where he went.

Stacy called to apologize, but her tone was light, almost smug.

"Diane, Troy's at my place. I heard you two had another fight? Can't you two just talk things through? If Troy's treating you badly, just tell me—I'll help you teach him a lesson."

I laughed in exasperation, "You'll help me? Oh, so he listens to you that much now? Do you really have no idea why we're even fighting?

"Ask Troy—what kind of husband runs off to his widowed sister-in-law in the middle of the night after a fight? Stacy, do you even know what the word 'self-respect' means?"

Stacy choked for a second, and before I could hang up, I heard her crying through the phone. "Fine. I'll just die! Is that what you want?"

"You're bullying my mommy. I hate you!" Jude's voice rang out in the background, loud and clear. He didn't sound sick in the slightest.

Troy took the phone and said angrily, "You want to divorce? Fine! Just don't regret it."

Then he hung up.

I sat there listening to the dial tone for a while, then stood up and went to pack. But I quickly realized there were traces of me everywhere in this house.

The flowers on the windowsill were arranged by me. The curtains and carpet were my choice. And even the scent in the bathroom was one I specially picked out.

Troy always said to me, "You're the best, honey. With you around, I don't have to worry about a thing."

The result was that this home seemed to carry only traces of my life, and the only person he ever truly cared about was Stacy.

The thought that she might one day move in, live in my house, and sleep in my bed made me sick to my stomach.

I took what I could, but I made sure the house was mine in the divorce agreement. I packed a few changes of clothes and drove through the night to my parents' home.

I didn't wake my parents. I just went to my room quietly and let myself fall into a deep sleep.

…

The next morning, Troy was sitting in the living room. He looked worn out, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

I ignored him and sat at the dining table, asking the maid Wanda Kline to make me breakfast.

After Dad finished eating, he said to me, "Diane, when you're done eating, go back home."

"I'm not going back. I'm getting a divorce," I said.

Dad's face darkened immediately. "Don't be ridiculous. You were the one who insisted on marrying him, and now you're the one demanding a divorce? Is this how you treat marriage? Like it's some kind of joke?"

"Honey, this is all my fault. I didn't mean what I said yesterday—I was just upset," Troy said sincerely. "If you don't want me to stay in contact with Stacy, then I won't. Okay?"

I kept my head down, focused on eating, not looking at him. "You make it sound like I'm some jealous woman tearing apart star-crossed lovers."

He raised his hand and swore, "I'll love you and only you for the rest of my life! If I ever stray, may I get hit by a ca—"

A sudden phone call cut his vow short. After answering, he looked at me with hesitation. "My dad wants us to go to his place."

"Let me guess—did Stacy go there and tattle?"

He didn't respond.

I dabbed the corner of my mouth with a napkin. "Let's go."

I had been waiting for this day for a long time.

The moment we stepped through the door, a vase smashed at my feet. My cheek stung. I reached up and touched it—my fingertips were tainted red with blood.

Troy pulled me into his arms, distressed. "Mom, what are you doing? You hurt Diane!"

Stacy sat on the sofa holding Jude, her shoulders trembling with suppressed sobs.

Sharon Mullen, my mother-in-law, was so furious her chest was heaving. She jabbed at me and snapped at Troy, "I told you not to marry her, but you wouldn't listen. Now look! Your brother's gone and she's bullying Stacy! It's not easy for Stacy to raise Jude all by herself, you know!

"She already has depression to begin with, and just when she was starting to move on from your brother's death, this happens. Diane just can't stand to see us happy, can she?"

Jim just sat silently on the side, looking at me with a face full of disappointment.

Troy quickly explained, "It's not like that. Diane has always helped Stacy."

I pulled him back and asked Sharon emphatically, "Sharon, just tell me—what exactly makes Stacy's life so hard? Is the family starving her? Is she lacking anything?

"I, too, was devastated when Jerry died. You forced Troy to mourn for him and refused to let us have a wedding. I put up with all of that.

"Then when Jude started kindergarten, he said the other kids teased him for not having a dad. So Troy pretended to be his dad—picking him up and dropping him off every day, having him call him 'Dad.' Again, I bit my tongue and let it slide.

"Whenever I bought anything, I'd always buy extra to send to Stacy. Ask yourself honestly, Sharon, haven't I done enough as her sister-in-law? I've been married to Troy for three years, but he's spent more time at her house than at his own."

I gave a self-deprecating smile. "Sometimes, I can't even tell whose husband died."

Sharon screamed, "You witch! How dare you curse my son?"

She lunged at me, trying to hit me, but Troy held her back. "Mom! Don't be like her. She's just saying all this because she's upset with me," he pleaded.

But Sharon didn't find herself in the wrong. She stood with hands on her hips and snapped, "Jerry's gone, and Jude needs someone to look after him! So what's wrong with Troy helping out?"

Stacy stood up timidly, eyes brimming with tears. "Sharon, Troy, please don't fight because of me. If Diane doesn't like me, I'll leave. I won't get in anyone's way. It's all my fault.

"I was too used to being taken care of by Jerry. Now that he's gone, I really don't know how to live anymore. If it weren't for Jude, I might've gone to be with Jerry already."

Sharon stroked her head, her expression soft and warm—completely unlike the way she looked at me.

"It's all my fault for not seeing how malicious she is sooner, and now you've suffered because of it. I'll take care of it right now—I'll make sure they get divorced!"

Troy panicked. "Mom, I'm not getting a divorce!"

I asked coldly, "So, to make sure Stacy has it easy, you pushed for a divorce between me and Troy? Really playing the role of the perfect, self-sacrificing mother and son, huh?"

"Sharon, you didn't seriously think Troy could marry two women, did you? And if I don't go along with it, you're just going to kick me out?" I continued.

Sharon pressed her lips together, glaring at me, silent.

I froze, taken aback. Did I just hit the mark?

Stacy straightened her back, turning away from me. There was no way she didn't know anything about Sharon's plan.

Suddenly, I burst out laughing, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I guess. Turns out you caused the problem."

Gritting my teeth, I continued, "Let me make this clear, it's never going to happen!"

Troy tried again to explain, "Honey, I swear I didn't do anything to betray you."

I slapped him hard across the face, and tears began to fall uncontrollably from my eyes. "You really make me sick."

"How dare you hit my dad!" Jude screamed and charged at me, his small head slamming into my stomach.

I was caught off guard and knocked to the ground, landing in a pile of shattered ceramics. The pain made my face turn pale.

Sharon stepped forward but then stopped, looking away as if she didn't see me.

Troy quickly pulled Jude behind him, seeming to fear that I would retaliate. Trembling, he asked, "Diane! Diane, are you alright?"

Clutching my stomach, I said calmly, "Call an ambulance, my stomach hurts."

Sharon scoffed, "Yeah sure, just keep pretending."

A wave of blood suddenly spilled from beneath me, and I gasped for air, "I-I think I'm having a miscarriage. Hurry up and call an ambulance!"

Sharon froze in place.

"Diane!" Troy scooped me up and bolted outside like a madman, his voice shaking with fear. "It's going to be okay. You and the baby will both be fine."

I turned my head to look. Stacy was holding onto Jude tightly, her eyes overflowing with hatred.

The doctor managed to stop the bleeding and cleared away the broken ceramic pieces from my back.

Holding a freshly printed ultrasound, I carefully examined the tiny, bean-sized spot in the middle. It was my baby.

The doctor cautioned Troy, "She's pregnant—so she can't be making jarring movements, overexert herself, or go through intense emotional stress."

Troy nodded repeatedly.

After the doctor left, Troy came over and crouched by my bed. Holding my hand, he said in a voice choked with emotion, "Honey, we're going to have a baby."

I coldly yanked my hand out of his grasp. "This is my baby—it has nothing to do with you."

I had always loved children. Troy and I tried over and over to conceive, but to no avail.

Because of that, Sharon went from being distant to openly resentful. She once mocked me to my face, saying I was just a useless woman who couldn't even have kids.

Stacy, on the other hand, had Jude—which was why Sharon constantly favored and protected her.

Troy kissed my hand. "Honey, don't divorce me, please! I'll put you and the baby first from now on.

"If you don't want me to go to Stacy, then I won't go. We'll live happily ever after from now on. Honey, I love you!"

His heartfelt speech was cut off by the sound of a camera shutter.

Tristan Hardy, tall and slender, leaned against the door frame. After putting down his phone, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh, don't mind me. I just haven't seen such great acting in a while. Please continue."

Troy gritted his teeth. "Do you want a death wish or something?"

Over the next few days, Troy barely left my side at the hospital, even though I kept trying to push him away. Wherever I went, he was right there, carefully supporting me.

He was deathly afraid that Tristan would swoop in the second he let his guard down.

Tristan trailed behind us, all nonchalant as he said, "You sure you've got this? If not, I'm happy to step in."

Troy helped me to the bathroom. When I came out, I couldn't find him anywhere. It was then that I received a text from Stacy.

"You'll never win against me."

I took a deep breath, a sense of relief washing over me. Finally, that disgusting trash was gone.

"Since you like trash so much, you can have him."

Tristan walked over and gently placed his hand on my stomach. "Hey Baby, Daddy's here."