To go on a summer vacation with my husband and daughter, I barely slept three or four hours a night for half a month. I worked myself to the bone to finish everything and take time off. I also wanted to create the perfect itinerary for our family trip. But I never imagined my husband, Ryan, would give my meticulously planned itinerary to his female colleague. And then take our daughter, Daisy, and that colleague on the trip instead. After they returned from their “happy family” vacation, Ryan couldn’t care less about my feelings. He just thought I was being unreasonable. Even Daisy started begging for his colleague to be her mom. That was it. I was completely done. I filed for divorce. A few days before their trip, I noticed Ryan’s suitcase was already packed. On his desk, I found a printed document. I picked it up casually and opened it. It was my travel itinerary, the one I’d poured my heart and soul into creating. The cover had been edited. Another name was written on it: Mia. Mia was Ryan’s colleague. I immediately confronted Ryan. He just brushed it off, totally nonchalant. “Oh, Mia has always wanted to go to that place.” “I saw your itinerary was really good, so I let her use it as a reference.” I bit back my fury. “A ‘reference,’ huh?” “Then why are all the hotel booking details exactly the same?” “Even my personal notes are printed on it?” “And the date is tomorrow?!” Ryan still looked bored. “Well, she can stay at that hotel, too.” Daisy, hearing us, ran over and chimed in. “Mom, why are you so stingy?” “Isn’t it okay for Aunt Mia to use it?” For the sake of family peace, I swallowed my anger. The next day, I woke up to find Ryan and Daisy gone. I called Ryan’s phone over and over, but it kept going straight to voicemail. On the twelfth try, someone finally picked up. “Hello? Who is this? What do you want with Mr. Ryan?” It was a woman’s voice. “Who are you? Why do you have my husband’s phone?” “Oh, it’s you, Scarlett. It’s Mia!” “Where’s Ryan right now? Is Daisy with him?” Mia chuckled softly a few times. “Ryan took Daisy and me on vacation.” “You don’t mind, do you, Scarlett?” A lightning bolt struck me. Everything suddenly made sense. The printed itinerary on the desk yesterday. The suitcase packed in advance. I was left alone in the empty house. Looking at the itinerary I’d made on my laptop, my heart twisted in agony. After that, Ryan’s phone went straight to voicemail again. I called Daisy’s smartwatch. Each time, Daisy would just say a few quick words and then rush off to play. Over the next few days, I kept checking Ins. It was flooded with Mia’s travel photos and videos. I saw pictures of Daisy, her smile radiant, holding Ryan’s hand in one and Mia’s in the other. My emotions were a mess. There was Mia holding Daisy on a carousel ride. That was supposed to be *my* special note in the itinerary, that *I* would hold Daisy on the carousel. The three of them looked like the perfect happy family, eating together in the restaurant I had carefully picked out. In one video, Daisy even thoughtfully picked up some food for Mia. Ryan gazed at them both with such tender affection. It wasn’t until the last day of their trip that a mutual friend of mine and Ryan’s sent me a screenshot. “Scarlett, what’s going on?” “Ryan and Daisy are out traveling with another woman?” It was Ryan’s Ins post, a photo dump, a grid of nine perfect shots. But I couldn’t see Ryan’s posts on my own feed. He had blocked me. Every photo in that grid radiated pure bliss. The caption read: “Perfect vacation, thanks to Tour Guide Mia for the company.” In the center of the grid was a standalone photo of the three of them together. Below it were comments from friends: “Summer trip for the family of three, how lucky!” “Ryan, your family life is truly blessed!” “You guys are having too much fun!” Ryan replied to every comment, thanking them. He clarified nothing.
The days that followed were pure torture. Finally, they returned from their trip. And Mia came back with them, carrying some of their things. They looked like a real family of three. The atmosphere between them was sweet and lively. They brought back a pile of souvenirs and local specialties. Daisy excitedly counted them out. “This scarf is for Grandma, she’ll love how pretty it is.” “This tea is for Grandpa, he loves tea the most.” “This watch is for Uncle.” …She showed them off one by one. But in the end, there wasn’t a single thing for me. I asked, my voice tinged with a desperate plea, “Daisy, why didn’t you mention anything for Mom?” “Oh, Mom, your gift is in Aunt Mia’s bag!” Daisy chirped. “Aunt Mia even tried it on personally to make sure the size was right, because she was worried it wouldn’t fit you.” “Mom, see how nice Aunt Mia is?” My heart sank. There was no joy in me. Daisy continued to excitedly show off the toys and new clothes Mia had bought her. “Mom, look at this cute doll Aunt Mia caught for me in the claw machine!” “Aunt Mia is super good at it!” “And this pretty little dress Aunt Mia bought for me.” She then rattled on about the fun things they did on the trip. “This trip was so much fun! I want to go with Aunt Mia again next time!” “We even caught little fish, and lots of crabs!” “We ate so much good food!” Ryan was also clearly thrilled with the trip. He nodded in agreement, telling Daisy, “I’ll take you again next time, but you have to be well-behaved.” My pent-up anger, building for days, finally exploded. “You took my meticulously planned itinerary, went on vacation with another woman and my daughter, and left me alone at home. Do you think that’s okay?” “Ryan, what do you even take me for?” Ryan instantly frowned, a hint of impatience in his voice. “I did it all for your own good.” I stared in disbelief. “You did it for my good by treating me like this?!” “Isn’t it? I was worried you were working too hard, so I asked Mia to look after Daisy.” “Weren’t you relaxed, having a few days off at home?” Mia also put on an innocent face. “Scarlett, please don’t misunderstand.” “Daisy has always really liked me, so Ryan just asked me to help look after her on the trip.” “I really didn’t mean anything by it.” “I’m so sorry… If I’d known you’d be upset, I wouldn’t have gone…” she said, looking distraught. Ryan chimed in, “We even brought you a gift, what are you making such a fuss about?” “And I was worried the dress size would be wrong, or the style wouldn’t be good.” “Seeing as you and Mia are the same size, I specifically had her try on several pieces before picking this one out.” Daisy, hearing me accuse Ryan and Mia, immediately started crying and throwing a fit. “You’re a bad mom, you don’t love me at all!” “All you do is work all day. Only Aunt Mia ever plays with me.” “Aunt Mia even takes me to eat delicious burgers and fries.” “You never let me eat this, and you never let me eat that.” Ryan then added to the blame. “And it’s just a travel itinerary you can find a million of online. You’re making a huge deal out of this little thing.” “Mia helped revise many of the details, which is why the trip went so perfectly.” “You’re so busy every day, when would you actually have time to finish that itinerary anyway?” “I was just trying to fulfill your wish for Daisy to have a happy trip, what are you still unhappy about?” Mia, ever the picture of understanding, said softly, “It’s okay, I’m just happy I could help.” “The most important thing is that you and Daisy had a good time on this trip.” “It doesn’t matter if I’m misunderstood.” Daisy was still crying and whining relentlessly. “Why can’t I have a fun trip? Don’t you want me to have fun, Mom?” “This is my first summer trip this year, Mom, don’t you love me anymore?”
Seeing Daisy’s outburst, Ryan angrily snapped at me. “Look what you’ve done to the child!” “Mia was trying to be kind. What could a child possibly do wrong by going on a trip?” “Can you stop being so unreasonable?” “Do you have to turn our home into a chaotic mess before you’re satisfied?” Mia, meanwhile, still played the understanding role. “Ryan, don’t say that. Scarlett works really hard too.” “And Daisy, you too. How can you talk to your mom like that?” Watching the scene unfold before me, I felt like an outsider. My heart went completely cold. I said, calmer than I had ever been, “Ryan, let’s get a divorce.” Ryan looked at me as if he’d heard a joke, scoffing. “I worried you worked too hard, letting you stay home with nothing to do.” “And now you want to divorce me? Are you out of your mind?” “Don’t make jokes like that!” Daisy heard me say “divorce” and cried even louder. “Mom, you don’t want me and Dad anymore!” “Daisy will be a wild child with no mommy’s love!” “Why can’t Daisy go play, boohoohoohoo.” Ryan didn’t refute Daisy’s words. “Everything I did was for your own good. Why can’t you understand my intentions?” “Do you have to make such a scene?” “Do you know how much damage talking about divorce in front of Daisy does to her?” I stopped wasting words, went back to the room, and pulled out the divorce papers I had already prepared. For days, my heart had been enduring excruciating pain. I had drafted the divorce agreement but never thought I’d actually have to use it. Ryan had pushed me to this point. “Sign it.” “Ryan, I’m truly exhausted.” Mia, seeing our situation, feigned panic and tried to dissuade me. “Scarlett, don’t be impulsive! Ryan and Daisy really love you.” “And during the trip, Ryan and Daisy kept saying they wanted to go on another trip with you when you had free time.” I gave Mia a cold stare, silently telling her to shut up. Mia, however, acted as if she was deeply hurt. She covered her face, looking pained. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I truly didn’t realize you’d care so much, Scarlett.” “I thought it was just helping Daisy have some fun.” “It’s all my fault, Scarlett. If you’re angry, just hit me.” “Don’t take your anger out on Ryan and Daisy.” As she spoke, she started to cry, her voice laced with injustice. Ryan saw Mia’s tears and didn’t say a word against her. “Scarlett, I really don’t understand you anymore.” “You know how exhausting it is to take a child on vacation.” “You’ve been home doing nothing, and you tell me you’re tired?” Daisy rushed over, wanting a hug. But because she was so clumsy, she knocked me to the floor. Mia quickly reacted, trying to help both Daisy and me up. But before I could even touch her hand, she stumbled and fell to the side with us. Ryan first helped Mia up, then scooped Daisy into his arms, comforting her. Ryan’s emotions were more agitated than I had ever seen them. “Daisy, don’t cry, don’t cry. Did you hurt yourself?” Daisy cried even harder, gasping for breath. Lying on the floor, my back throbbed with a sharp pain. The pain made me stare blankly at the scene for a few seconds. I couldn’t help but mock my own failure. Daisy was still screaming next to me. “It hurts so much, Daisy hurts so much.” “Mommy, Mommy, do you really not love Daisy anymore?” Ryan, fuming, shot me a cold glare. He snatched the divorce papers from my hand. And with a swift, decisive motion, he signed his name. “Scarlett, this is all your own doing.” “When you regret it, that’ll be your own damn fault!” My heart completely gave up on that father-daughter duo. “Daisy, don’t be scared.” “Daddy will take you to the hospital right away to see if you hurt yourself. We’ll get you checked out.” Ryan soothed Daisy as if she were a fragile treasure.
After they rushed off to the hospital, I looked at the divorce papers in my hand. A true sense of relief washed over me. I had been so tired for so many years, and finally, it was all over. Ryan and I were college sweethearts. He was the one who pursued me back then. He would carry me through muddy paths on rainy days. He’d personally brew brown sugar water for me during my period. Because he was good at academics, he’d tutor me, helping me improve my grades. Our relationship was always so strong. Until we got married. When I was only a month pregnant with Daisy, he insisted I quit my job. He said it was for my own good, that I shouldn’t overexert myself during pregnancy, or my body wouldn’t handle it. I thought he was genuinely caring. But after I gave birth to Daisy, Ryan insisted I breastfeed. He said it was best for the baby. Yet, he didn’t know that breastfeeding left my body incredibly weak. Each feeding was excruciating. During pregnancy, I had severe morning sickness and lost a lot of weight, but he never noticed. When Daisy turned three, he still wouldn’t let me work, saying Daisy needed her mom. He couldn’t let her childhood lack a mother’s love. So, I stayed home as a full-time homemaker, caring for Daisy around the clock. But when Daisy turned four, Ryan’s company went bankrupt. I had to go back to work to earn money, leaving Daisy with his parents. Ryan’s parents were very upset with me. They even blamed me for Ryan’s company going under, saying I was bad luck for him. They were incredibly old-fashioned, always hinting that Daisy needed a brother. And behind my back, they constantly manipulated Daisy, filling her head with the idea that I didn’t love her, that’s why I left her alone with them.
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