Six months after our wedding, my husband Ethan Stone volunteered for disaster relief. With my six-month pregnant belly, I managed everything in our new home while caring for Ethan’s stroke-ridden mother, Emily Stone. Six months later, when the disaster relief volunteers returned, all I received at the train station was a thin coffin. The deputy officer Harold Hayes who escorted the coffin held my hand and said, “My condolences.” His entire face was covered in burn scars, yet his eyes looked exactly like Ethan’s. Every time I met his gaze, I couldn’t help but cry. Until one day, I returned early from the market after selling all my eggs, only to hear voices inside the house. “Helen has been waiting for you all this time. Now you’re faking your death to start a family with another woman and have children. If this gets discovered, you’ll be executed!” The man fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking: “Ruby’s husband was my comrade. He died saving me when a burning beam crushed him. I have to take responsibility for his wife and child. I promise, once Ruby’s child starts elementary school, I’ll come home and reunite with Helen!” ***** After hearing the man’s firm promise, I was already sobbing uncontrollably. Emily asked disappointedly, “Is that woman pregnant? Did you do it? How could you do something so foolish!” Ethan’s expression darkened: “I had too much to drink that night. I thought she was Helen, and I accidentally…” I hastily wiped away my tears, the calluses on my hands scraping painfully. Looking at those ugly bumps on my palms, constantly reminding me of how hard it was to manage this household. Six months ago, Ethan insisted on going to the disaster area. Before leaving, he asked me to take care of the home and wait for his return. Although I had just gotten pregnant, I supported him. So from then on, I got up early every morning to sell vegetables on the street to support the family. When Emily fell and had a stroke, I carried her to the city for medical treatment every day, rain or shine. Even though I never received any news from Ethan, I kept holding this family together. Yet fate played such a cruel joke on me—it was all fake. Emily slapped her thigh: “We’re the ones who wronged Helen. Back then, she knew our family’s poor conditions but still married you. All these months, she’s been devoted to me too. She’s a good…” Ethan interrupted: “Mom, don’t worry. Helen is a good woman. As long as she can accept my child, we’ll always be family.” Emily said helplessly: “That’s all we can do. It’s getting late, you should leave quickly before Helen discovers you.” Seeing they were about to leave, I quickly hid behind the quilts hanging in the yard. The cotton quilts were warm, but nothing could warm my heart. I asked myself what I had done wrong to them—why did they treat me this way? I collapsed, pounding the quilts, with nowhere to vent my grievances and resentment. I went to the well to splash water on my face to wash away the tear stains before going back, when I heard familiar crying. Following the sound, I saw my daughter Stella Stone sitting on the ground, covered in dirt. “Why did you take the toy my daddy gave me? Give it back!” Stella had fallen to the ground, her knee scraped and bleeding quite a bit. Standing next to her was a chubby boy, Michael Hayes, with Ethan’s frog toy—the one he’d bought for Stella before leaving for disaster relief—under his foot. This was the only memento her father had left her. Michael kicked the frog far away and mocked: “My mom says girls are useless things. Your family buying you toys is just a waste, and besides, your dad is dead—you’re a kid without a father!” Stella’s eyes turned red with anger, but she couldn’t find words to argue back. She could only stubbornly reply: “I am not!” “Then where’s your daddy? Tell him to come out.” Stella repeated what I had told her to comfort her: “My daddy is a great hero. He’s in heaven protecting me!” Michael laughed loudly: “If he’s not here, he’s not here. You don’t have a father. Did your mom pick you up from somewhere?” I couldn’t stand it anymore and rushed out to slap him across the face. “How can you be so ill-mannered!” He covered his face and wailed, drawing the attention of the man inside the house. Just then, a graceful figure ran over. Unlike my shirt that had been washed until it was nearly white, this woman wore a pink floral dress and was wearing perfume. She was Ruby Evans, the woman Ethan had mentioned. Without waiting for my explanation, she held the boy and cried with him. “Helen, he’s just a child. If you have issues, take them up with me—don’t make things difficult for the kid.” Ethan walked over with a stern face, protecting both of them behind him. His look toward me was full of reproach. “We’re all neighbors. How could you treat a child like this?” Fighting back tears, I asked him: “If your wife were accused of cheating and the child wasn’t yours, would you be angry?”
Seeing tears welling up in my eyes, Ethan was momentarily speechless. At that moment, Sophia Morgan, who had been selling vegetables with me, rushed over after hearing the commotion. “What’s all this fighting about? How much trouble can a child cause? Besides, I clearly saw this boy push Stella. “Look, the kid is still stepping on Stella’s toy. Her father died serving his country, and here you are bullying his wife and child… “Come on, Helen, I’ll take you to the military leadership to get this sorted out!” Hearing this, Michael quickly kicked the frog toy away and hid behind Ruby, putting on an innocent act. Ethan crouched down to check on Michael, but Ruby covered her face and started crying. “You just can’t stand having our family live here. Helen, why don’t you just say it straight – I’ll take Michael and move out. There are plenty of houses outside where people can live…” She wiped her tears while trying to pull Michael away. Hearing this, Ethan quickly grabbed both Ruby and Michael. “Ruby, stop crying. I’ll get to the bottom of this.” He looked at me as if I were a complete stranger. He said loudly, “Mr. Stone and I were comrades who shared life and death together. Before he died, he asked me to take care of his wife and daughter, and I’m not an ungrateful person.” He painted himself as so noble that I couldn’t help but laugh coldly. “Helen, you’re so reasonable, and what just happened was just kids playing around. You can’t possibly want to see our family of three wandering homeless outside.” Ethan’s words made me laugh out of sheer anger. Back when I first knew him, he used to offend his superiors because he didn’t know how to kiss up. Now his words were full of manipulation, all used to pressure his own family. He had truly abandoned his wife and child. Ruby nestled happily in Ethan’s arms, a provocative smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “Harold, thank goodness I have you…” “Don’t worry, I’m here.” The burn scars on Ethan’s face combined with the tenderness in his eyes made him look even more grotesque. Watching this loving couple, I almost couldn’t hold back from retching – absolutely disgusting! Michael suddenly pointed at me and shouted, “Mommy, why is she dry heaving just like you? Could she be pregnant too?” His eyes darted around – he was clearly saying this on purpose! After hearing this, Ethan’s face darkened. Ruby immediately tapped Michael’s nose. “Don’t talk nonsense. Mr. Stone has been gone for six years – how could she be pregnant? Unless…” She said this while glancing at Ethan, whose face had turned ashen. The explanation I wanted to give died on my lips. “If you want to keep living peacefully in the martyrs’ family compound, don’t cause trouble. This is my husband’s house!” After delivering this harsh warning, I left without looking back. As I turned to close the door, I caught a glimpse of Ethan’s furious expression, and I felt strangely satisfied. People like him who are so shameless deserve a taste of their own medicine. Seeing that I didn’t explain, Ethan actually believed Michael had hit the mark and pointed at me, cursing angrily: “I really misjudged you! I never thought you were such a shameless woman!” I paused in closing the door and said coldly, “What kind of person I am isn’t for some unrelated person to judge – unless you’re my husband.”
Ethan froze for a moment, his face turning extremely ugly. But he quickly composed himself. “Helen, you betrayed Mr. Stone. I have no choice but to let Mr. Stone’s mother come out to discipline you!” Ethan couldn’t wait to push me into the spotlight, wanting everyone to condemn me. Was this what he called seeking justice for Ruby and Michael? By now, I had to accept the fact that Ethan no longer had any place in his heart for Stella and me. If that was the case, then I wouldn’t spare any dignity for his family either. “Harold, this is a new society. My husband is dead. Even if I remarry with my daughter, no one can say I’ve done anything wrong. “All these neighbors know that the only reason Emily can live normally now is because I carried her to the county hospital day after day to get her treated. “Everything I’ve done has been worthy of the Stone family!” By the end, I was sobbing uncontrollably. No matter how heartless Ethan was, he couldn’t deny my contributions to the Stone family. I stared at Ethan intently, waiting to see what else he could say. He silently picked up the frog that Michael had kicked away, returned it to Stella, and promised to buy her a new one. Then he took Ruby and Michael back inside. I wiped the tears from my face and smiled disdainfully. At this point, who cared about those cheap toys he bought? After returning inside, I coaxed Stella to take her afternoon nap, then went out to the street and spent five cents to call my uncle who lived far away. Since Ethan and Ruby wanted to keep this secret, why should I expose it? I had to make him taste every bit of suffering I’d endured these past six years! After this incident, Ruby and Michael became much more restrained. Michael stopped bullying Stella whenever he saw her. But their expressions were full of reluctance, and I knew this matter wouldn’t end here. On Independence Day, Stella was playing in the yard with several neighborhood children. The town was hosting an evening party, so I went to the market early in the morning to buy materials and made Stella a toy. Emily, perhaps having heard about the previous incident, surprisingly bought me a new dress. “Helen, you were wronged last time. Dress up nicely today and take Stella out to have fun.” Looking at the brand-new floral dress, my heart was filled with mixed emotions. I agreed and went to change clothes. Just as I was braiding my hair in front of the mirror, Ruby appeared silently behind me. I jumped in fright. “What are you doing?” Ruby sneered, “Helen, do you really think your husband sacrificed himself to save my husband? “They look exactly alike. Haven’t you ever suspected anything?” I looked at her coldly, wondering what she was planning now. Ruby stood with her hands on her hips triumphantly. “I’ll tell you the truth. Harold is Ethan. Your husband isn’t dead at all. He faked his death to get away from you and your daughter, all for me!” Seeing no expression on my face, she thought I was too shocked to speak. She patted her belly gently and said, “Want to know why? Because I’m carrying his child. I’ve already seen a doctor—it’s a boy! “If you’re smart, you’ll get out of here now. Otherwise, once I give birth, I’ll have Ethan throw you out! “And that daughter of yours—if she dares to cross my son, I’ll sell her sooner or later…” Hearing her threaten Stella, I couldn’t take it anymore and slapped her hard across the face. I didn’t care how much I suffered, but Stella was the only person I cared about, and no one could hurt her. Ruby was stunned by my slap, staggering backward and falling to the ground. “Helen, what are you doing?!” Suddenly, Ethan burst into my room, not even bothering to maintain his fake identity anymore. Ruby clutched her belly, moaning, “My stomach… it hurts so much…”
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