On his way home from collecting recyclables after school, my son was bitten by a rabid dog. To save money, he painfully came home and asked me to staple the wound shut. With tears in my eyes, I took him to a small clinic for basic treatment. Tommy blamed himself, “Mom, I’m sorry. Ten dollars is our food budget for the day.” But as we turned to leave, we stumbled upon my husband at the high-end pet store next door, swiping his card to buy a premium grooming package for his ex-girlfriend’s dog. “James is so good to Sophia, coming every week to get little Bella the deluxe treatment!” “Yeah, it costs six figures each time. James really spares no expense.” Tommy and I stood there in shock, staring at James in disbelief. He didn’t notice us as he left with the dog and Sophia, getting into their car. Tommy tugged at my sleeve, “Didn’t Dad say he lost everything in a bad investment and owed hundreds of thousands? Why is he spending so much on a dog?” I forced myself to calm down and went to the pet store to confirm, not wanting to believe it. But the staff’s words sent another chill through us. “You’re asking about James? He’s one of our black card members. Six figures is nothing for him.” “Even that dog Sophia was holding is worth over a million on the market.” I left with Tommy, laughing bitterly and silent the whole way home. Once we arrived, I finally broke down in tears looking at his crudely bandaged wound. Tommy realized James had been lying and asked in confusion, “Mom, if Dad is so rich, why did he lie to us?” “Does he not want us anymore?” James had never revealed his true financial situation to me, even after marriage he only said he was doing some investments. Shortly after we wed, he claimed his investments had failed, leaving him millions in debt. For our ordinary family, it was an astronomical sum. But not only did I not abandon him, I took on three jobs to support us. Tommy has been sensible since he was young, helping me collect recyclables after school every day. Even when his classmates mocked and ostracized him, he never regretted it. “As long as we save up quickly, we can help Dad pay off his debts!” But now I’m told James has been pretending to be poor all along. Our mother and son live worse than his ex-girlfriend’s dog! Coming back to my senses, I choked out to Tommy, “If that’s the case, would you rather stay with Mom or Dad in the future?” His eyes dimmed, his voice trembling with hurt. “Mom, please don’t abandon us. I promise I’ll be good. I don’t want to be separated from you two.” “Mom, can we give Dad one more week? I’ll convince him!” Afraid of hurting Tommy further, I reluctantly agreed. Just then, James walked in the door. Seeing us both standing in the living room, he frowned slightly, “What’s wrong? You both look upset.” Tommy spoke up first, “Dad, I got bitten by a dog today. It hurts…” He held up his small hand, but James’ first reaction to the gruesome wound was disgust. “How could you be so careless? Spent a lot of money again, right? Your mom and I don’t earn easily, can’t you stop causing trouble?” “No dinner for you tonight, learn your lesson.” I clenched my fists, “Our son is hurt. If you don’t care, fine, but you’re punishing him with no food? Do you even care about this family at all?!” James had never seen me so angry before. After realizing, he started arguing back. We went back and forth, with Tommy quickly coming to pull me away. “Mom, it’s okay. I’m not that hungry anyway.” “Dad’s right, I did cause trouble. I’ll go do my homework now.”
Perhaps Tommy’s disappointment was too obvious, as James’ expression softened a bit. “Alright Tommy, how could Dad really punish you?” “I had a business dinner today and brought back some leftovers. Take them to your room to eat.” He pulled out a bag of cold leftovers from his briefcase. It was fish – Tommy’s least favorite. Watching Tommy’s face fall further, I snatched the leftovers and threw them in the trash. “That’s enough, James. We can cook our own food. We don’t need your charity.” James’ brow furrowed deeply at this, “Olivia, what’s gotten into you today? What did I do wrong?” “This was specially brought back for you. Even one fish costs hundreds!” “So you’re saying I misjudged you?” I laughed coldly, “Then do you remember Tommy is allergic to seafood?!” “For seven whole years, you haven’t contributed a cent to this family. Every time I ask, it’s always about business dinners. Which one has ever been successful?” Tommy’s lip quivered, tears falling like broken pearls. But James didn’t even glance at him. He turned to leave, his tone disdainful, “I knew you were this kind of gold-digger. Using Tommy’s seafood allergy as an excuse! Eat it or not, I don’t care!” Even at this point, he still thought I was complaining about him not giving us money. I was so angry my chest hurt sharply. I had to sit on the couch for a long while to recover. Tommy wiped away my tears, “Mom, don’t be sad. Dad’s just upset right now.” Even though he hadn’t calmed down himself, he was still trying to defend James for the sake of our family. Such a sensible child, I really couldn’t bear to let him suffer in silence anymore. So I ruffled his hair, forcing a smile, “Mom understands. I’ll go make something tasty for Tommy now, okay?” Tommy sighed in relief, nodding vigorously. After dinner was ready, he took my phone to send James a voice message. “Dad, Mom made noodles with meat sauce. Do you want to come back to eat?” After sending it, Tommy nervously clutched the phone waiting for James to reply. But by the time we finished eating, James had only coldly responded that he was busy. I sighed, telling Tommy to go back to his room. Just as I was about to talk to James, I received a friend request. It was from Sophia. After accepting, she immediately sent over several videos. So James was busy feeding her dog, that’s why he couldn’t reply to our son. The James in the video was gentle and patient, a stark contrast to how he treated us earlier. “Olivia, even if you snatched James back then, so what? His heart still only belongs to me now.” “You’ll never be able to compete with me, nor are you worthy to.” Yes, after James and Sophia broke up years ago, he fell into severe depression. He even tried to jump into a river to end his life at one point. I had secretly loved him for a long time, and happened to pass by and save him without hesitation. When he woke up, James confessed to me, saying he wanted to marry me. At the time, I wasn’t sure if he still had feelings for someone else, so I initially refused. “Don’t worry, after this brush with death I understand now. I just want to choose someone who loves me.” It was James who promised over and over, which is why I agreed to be with him. Later we got married and have been together for seven whole years. I don’t know when he reconnected with Sophia. I didn’t reply to Sophia, but silently called my lawyer friend. “Help me draft a divorce agreement.”
“You’ve finally come to your senses?” “Sure you don’t want to keep being your husband’s doormat?” My lawyer friend fired off questions, her tone exasperated. “Leave it to me, I’ll make that man pay for hurting you.” Hearing this, I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore. For a man who didn’t care about me, I had repeatedly turned down invitations from my girlfriends, just to clean up his messes. I even became estranged from my friends because of it. But when I needed help, these girlfriends were still the only ones there for me. Before I finished the call, I received another friend request. Her profile picture was of my husband. My husband gazing lovingly at his first love Sophia, smiling radiantly. So he did know how to smile, just not at me. As if possessed, I accepted her friend request. Immediately after, she sent me a video. In the video, my husband was wearing only pants, kneeling on the ground washing Sophia’s feet! Her feet kept trampling all over my husband’s body, splashing dirty water all over his face. But he seemed to enjoy it. I remembered how when I once asked him to grab my bath towel, he flew into a rage and cursed at me. “Can’t you use your own hands?” “And do you know how filthy your towel is?” I felt so guilty for troubling him back then, I even took on another part-time job to make it up to him. Faintly, I heard Tommy’s pained groans. Thinking of how our son was injured today, yet his father as lingering with another woman, Anger burned in my chest. I couldn’t help but snap back at Sophia. “If he loves you so much, why hasn’t he divorced me to let you be more than just the other woman?” “Or do you enjoy being a homewrecker?” The “typing” indicator flashed several times on her end, but she didn’t send anything. Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, a voice message from her came through. “James, who has the better body – me or your wife?” And my husband, panting heavily, replied: “Of course it’s you. That old hag can’t even compare to you.” I collapsed onto the sofa, my heart shattered beyond repair. At 3 AM, there was finally some commotion outside the door. James had come home drunk. As soon as I opened the door, he leaned heavily against me. Fumbling with the buttons of my pajamas, he sweetly called me “honey”. For a moment I thought everything today had just been a nightmare. He pulled me towards the bedroom. “Sophia, hold me…” A sickly sweet perfume wafted over – I knew it was Sophia’s scent. My stomach churned with nausea. Taking advantage of the open door, I quickly dragged James back outside. Then I swiftly closed and locked the door in one smooth motion.
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