Valentine’s Day, my frugal husband gave me a gold necklace. I was delighted and took a picture to share on social media, saying: “Seven years, and my husband finally understands!” That evening, I prepared a lavish dinner to reward him after a long day at work. However, it wasn’t my husband at the door, but a young woman. Just as I set the last dish on the table, the doorbell rang urgently. At this time, my son was still at his tutoring session, and my husband, Declan, if he forgot his key, would knock impatiently. Who could it be? I quickly wiped my hands on my apron and called out: “I’m coming, I’m coming.” “Theo, take a look for yourself. Isn’t this the necklace you gave me?” Before I could see who it was, a finger was pointed right in my face. I recognized her; she lived next door and had just moved in. Her name was Phoebe. Facing her rude behavior, I suppressed my anger and spoke calmly: “Young lady, you must be mistaken. My husband bought this necklace for me. Look, here’s the card he wrote himself!” The man named Theo looked at me gratefully under her aggressive gaze. “I just lost a necklace, and you received an identical one—what a coincidence!” Phoebe grabbed Theo’s phone and furiously typed on it, then thrust it in my face with a sneer: “Lady, open your eyes and take a look. This is the order screenshot, identical to the one on your neck. As for the card, it’s so scratched up, who knows how many hands it’s been through.” “And by the way, aren’t you a bit too old to be taking what your man can’t provide? Take it off and return it, and I won’t press charges.” She raised her voice to draw the attention of several neighbors who peeked out. I felt my face burn with embarrassment, thinking this young woman was out of her mind. Just because it’s the same necklace, she thinks it’s hers? “If you keep causing trouble, I’ll call the police,” I said coldly, showing her the door. But Phoebe wasn’t intimidated; she grew even more arrogant: “Never heard of the guilty party calling the police first? Who are you threatening? I’m not afraid of you!” When Declan arrived, Phoebe and I had just been separated, both with scratches on our faces. He pulled me aside without a word: “You’re embarrassing me all the time, hurry up and come home with me!” “Why are you in such a hurry? Feeling guilty? The matter isn’t resolved yet!” Seeing Phoebe provoke, Theo tugged at her sleeve: “Enough, we found the necklace, it’s all good. We’re neighbors.” “What, are you afraid he’ll retaliate? Look at him, he wouldn’t dare!” Hearing this, Declan pulled me angrily but didn’t dare lash out at Phoebe. Following Phoebe’s smug gaze, he saw the familiar necklace, then looked at my bare neck and said angrily: “Where’s the necklace you posted about? Did you give it to them? Do you know how expensive a gold necklace is?” “You have the nerve to talk about the necklace? Declan, why didn’t you tell me it was stolen? Three years of marriage, I’ve worked tirelessly, and I can’t even get a gold necklace?” Just now, Phoebe showed evidence. In the surveillance footage, Declan was seen rummaging through the flower gifts at her door, pocketing a gift box along with the greeting card. “Spare me, it wasn’t stealing. It was thrown away in the trash at their door. How was I supposed to know it was gold inside?” “And besides, gold is expensive. Do I look like I have spare money? Are you dumb? Posting pictures on social media, after all your education, housework must have fried your brain!” “And by the way, if you hadn’t been after me for it, would I have picked it up?” “Do you hear yourself? When did I ever hound you for it?” “You didn’t say? You didn’t say you keep nagging about my mother owing you a dowry? Aren’t you just after my family’s money? You don’t work, just want me to support you!” Back then, my grades were much better than Declan’s. He said the child needed a loving environment to grow up in. My mother-in-law was from the countryside, couldn’t adjust to city life, was uneducated, and couldn’t raise a child properly. He sweet-talked me into becoming a housewife. Now, it’s become a weapon against me. Watching the once handsome boy turn into this ugly face, I felt disgusted. I suddenly couldn’t argue anymore. Feeling disheartened, I said: “Declan, let’s get a divorce. I’ve had enough of this life!”
Declan was my first love. I married him right after college and soon became a housewife after having Finn. To give Finn a better life, Declan saved every penny over the years. For seven years, I’ve used Finn’s baby cream as my skincare, wore outdated clothes passed down from my sister-in-law for three years. Even the promised gifts of gold from my mother-in-law at our wedding never materialized. He said I didn’t need them since I stayed home, and it was better to invest in Finn’s future so we’d be secure in our old age. When I received the necklace, I realized I hadn’t been that happy in a long time. But it turned out to be a slap in the face. Back home, seeing Finn eating alone, Declan flipped the table in anger: “Eat! Eat! Eat! All you do is eat! What use is it for me to support you two, just costing me money all day!” “Finn, if you have something to say, say it to me. What kind of skill is it to take it out on the child!” I hugged my trembling, crying son, stroking his head, trying to comfort him. Unexpectedly, he pushed me away: “I don’t want you, go away. I want Ms. Iris!” “Who is Ms. Iris?” I knew all of Finn’s tutoring teachers but had never heard of a Ms. Iris. “Ms. Iris is Ms. Iris, she’s prettier and kinder than you, and she doesn’t make Dad angry. I hate you, why didn’t you pick me up!” Hearing the door slam as Finn shut himself in, I felt guilty, thinking he was upset because I hadn’t picked him up from school. That night, I made his favorite egg noodles to try to cheer him up. But standing outside his room, I overheard my mother-in-law on the phone with him: “My darling grandson, do you like Ms. Iris?” “Ms. Iris is young and pretty, she can earn money. She’s a hundred times better than your useless mom. Wouldn’t you like Ms. Iris to be your mom?” Finn was silent for a while before asking: “Will Ms. Iris take care of me like Mom if Dad and Mom divorce?” At that moment, I felt ice-cold. My mother-in-law was supporting my husband finding another woman. My son wanted the other woman as his mom. After giving so much to this family over the years, I found myself utterly alone. There were no disputes over property, and I didn’t want custody, so the divorce was straightforward. Leaving City Hall, my son happily leaped into Declan’s arms without a glance at me. “Ms. Iris said Dad is happy today and will take us out for a feast!” Looking at Ms. Iris, with her delicate skin and refined clothes, clearly living a life of luxury, no wonder my son liked her. But I couldn’t understand what she saw in the unkempt, pot-bellied Declan. “Ms. Iris is right. Let’s have some western food, and after dinner, we’ll take Ms. Iris shopping, okay?” “Brother Declan, don’t spend too much. I haven’t even worn the gold necklace you bought me the other day.” Watching them walk away like a happy family, I realized Declan wasn’t stingy; he just didn’t want to spend money on me. But that’s okay; I’m done revolving around them. From now on, I want to live for myself.
Declan didn’t know I had secretly taken a loan to buy this house. The rent he paid each month was my loan repayment. When Declan and his new family returned, I was packing up their things. He smugly pulled out a crumpled $200 from his pocket and threw it at my face. “Smart choice. Here’s $200 for your trip home. Take it and go, don’t dirty Iris’s eyes.” Iris blushed, shyly tapping Declan, intentionally showing off her wrist adorned with a large gold bracelet. “Brother Declan, what are you saying? It’s not easy for her, she gave her youth to this family.” I rolled my eyes at them and interrupted impatiently: “You got it wrong, Declan. This house is mine. You should be the ones leaving.” “You’re lying. How could you afford a house without a job? You’ve been living off Dad all these years. Without Dad, you’d starve.” “Without me, you’d starve. Do you really think you’re Daddy’s good son? Who has been tirelessly serving you all these years? Today, I’m going to beat some sense into you, you ungrateful brat!” I picked up a broom and started swinging it at them. Several times, Declan hid behind Iris. “Get out, or I’ll call the police!” Iris was frightened, clutching her belly, looking pained. Seeing this, Declan hurriedly called an ambulance, not forgetting to threaten me: “If anything happens to Iris, you’ll pay!” “Without me, you would have been in dire straits ages ago. You think you’re the perfect son for your father? Who’s been looking after you all these years? Today, I’m putting an end to your ungrateful antics!” I grabbed the broom next to me and started swinging it at the three of them. Declan ducked behind Iris several times to dodge the blows. “Get out now, or I’ll call the cops,” I shouted. Startled, Iris instinctively shielded her belly, wincing in discomfort. Seeing this, Declan quickly dialed for an ambulance on his phone, still managing to throw a threat my way: “If anything happens to Iris, there will be hell to pay!” Once I finally got them out, I slumped down on a chair, surveying the chaos of the room. A wave of emptiness washed over me. Just then, my mom called: “Dear, Declan said you two got divorced. Do you want us to come and get you? What’s going on?” Hearing my mom’s worried voice, I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer. “Don’t cry, sweetheart. Take your time. No matter what, your dad and I are here for you.” Through my choked words, my mom pieced together what had happened and comforted me gently: “I always had a feeling Declan wasn’t the right one. Luckily, we were smart enough to put the house under your dad’s name back then.” “And that kid, like father, like son. Don’t worry, darling, you’re still young and have plenty of opportunities ahead.” My dad also encouraged me to come home for a few days. I wiped my tears, shaking my head: “Dad, Mom, could you lend me some money? I want to open a breakfast shop downstairs.” Seeing that I wasn’t letting this knock me down, my parents were overjoyed: “Silly child, don’t talk about borrowing. You always dreamed of opening a dumpling shop when you were little. Fulfilling a dream is a good thing. We’ll come over soon to help you out.” 4. With my parents’ support and school starting, my breakfast shop quickly gained traction. Back then, we chose this area so Finn could attend school conveniently. Finn, whom I raised for six years, was now in a new family dynamic. I was concerned about how he was doing. As I set up shop, a group of elementary school kids gathered around. Amidst the chatter, I heard a familiar name: “Finn, these dumplings are amazing! But doesn’t that lady look like your mom?” After not seeing him over the winter break, Finn had grown taller and slimmer. He looked at me coldly and said nothing. I packed two meat dumplings and handed them to the chubby kid who spoke: “Thanks for the free advertising, kiddo. These are on the house.” My son suddenly knocked the dumplings from my hand, sneering: “She’s not my mom. I don’t have a mom like that. What’s so great about dumplings anyway? I’m sick of them. After school, I’ll have my mom take us for burgers.” He said this, and without another glance, dragged the chubby kid across my dumplings. I watched my son’s back, picked up the dumplings from the ground, dusted them off, and tossed them to Whiskers, who wagged his tail happily. Indeed, raising an ungrateful child is not as good as raising a dog. News about our community’s relocation had been circulating for a while and was recently finalized. I hadn’t had a chance to share it with my family. Then I got a message from Declan, asking to meet to discuss transferring Finn to my custody. Hearing Declan’s request, I was taken aback for a moment, unsure what he was up to now. Iris, sitting beside Declan, touched her round belly with both hands and pleaded with me: “Sister, I didn’t mean to come between your family. Now that I’m expecting, I understand the pain of family separation. Please take Finn back. Otherwise, I’ll always feel guilty.” Knowing my mother-in-law’s preference for boys, I followed Declan’s uneasy gaze and, sure enough, spotted a shadow behind the fake flowers. “Alright, transferring Finn to me is fine, but we have to change his last name!” As soon as my mother-in-law heard this, she rushed out, pointing at me and cursing: “I knew you had ulterior motives. It’s already a favor to transfer Finn to you, and now you want to change his last name? You want to end the Declan family line?” Not wanting to argue with them, I picked up my bag to leave. My mother-in-law quickly blocked my path, insisting on the transfer that day. Finn, called over during his last PE class, saw the aggressive scene before him. “Dad, Grandma, what are you doing? I’ve already said I don’t want to transfer. Can you stop embarrassing us?” My mother-in-law looked at him with disappointment: “What do you understand? Your mom’s house is about to be relocated. After the transfer, that money will be yours! How can your dad’s salary support you and your brother? Today, even if we have to tie her up, this brat must be transferred!” More and more onlookers gathered, but no one offered to help. Just as I was about to take out my phone to call the police, Declan snatched it away: “Don’t waste your effort. Family matters are hard to resolve even with the police!” Just when I was about to fight back, a familiar voice came from behind: “I was wondering who was being so arrogant. Turns out it’s the necklace thief!” Phoebe held up her phone, walked up to me, and recorded their faces one by one. “This is a live stream to ten thousand people. Stories about cheating husbands, mistresses, and ungrateful sons are very popular!”
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