I looked up at him, feeling nothing but disgust. He once felt so familiar, yet he seemed like a stranger."What do you think?" I asked, my voice as frigid as ice."What's with that attitude?" Ethan frowned, his tone full of displeasure. "I'm asking you a question. Why are you giving me that look?""I have a question for you." I stared directly at him, enunciating each word. "Why did you leave Heidi alone in the car?""Why? Why?" Ethan laughed mockingly as if he had heard some ridiculous joke. "Amelia, are you out of your mind? The car broke down, and Timmy suddenly had a fever. We had to call for help, but the ambulance could only take three people, so we left Heidi in the car for a bit.""The ambulance could only take three people?" I repeated his words, my heart clenching.The pain was almost unbearable. "Yes, what else?" Ethan replied impatiently, "Should we have left Mandy and the kid stranded in the middle of nowhere? Besides, we arranged for someone to pick up Heidi. It w
I immediately recognized that although the voice sounded like Heidi's, it was not her. There was definitely something suspicious about the voice messages.I stared intently at Ethan, saying slowly, "Ethan, there's something off about Heidi's voice messages. Listen closely. Doesn't it sound different from usual?"However, Ethan refused to believe me. He frowned impatiently and said, "Amelia, what are you trying to say? Are you still making up lies even now?"I took a deep breath, struggling to control my emotions. "I'm not lying! Please, believe me! Heidi really is..."...Before I could finish, Mandy cut in sharply, "Amelia, have you no shame? Your lies have been exposed, and now you're making a scene. What more do you want? Do you think Ethan's a fool?"Ethan stormed out of the room with Mandy, slamming the door hard as if mocking me for overestimating my place. I collapsed onto the cold floor, staring blankly at the ceiling, letting despair consume me. Ethan had changed so
I remained unaffected by her insults and removed the bracelet, tossing it into the trash."This and Ethan are nothing more than trash in my eyes, and I don't want them anymore. If you do, they're yours. I'll consider it as recycling my waste," I said calmly.Mandy trembled with anger, moving closer to me. "Amelia, who do you think you are? What right do you have to talk like that? Look at yourself—you're just a bitter, unwanted woman. How dare you act so high and mighty?"I met her gaze, unfazed. My voice was cold as ice as I uttered, "My worth isn't for you to decide. Regardless of everything, I'm still Ethan's lawfully wedded wife. You're nothing but a homewrecker!" I sat in the cab, clutching Heidi's belongings tightly."Heidi, my sweetheart, I'm so sorry. Mommy couldn't protect you," I whispered, my mind filled with images of her sweet smile and the sound of her calling me 'Mommy' in her adorable voice.Ethan and I were college sweethearts. After graduation, we naturally got
In the days that followed, I numbly handled Heidi's funeral arrangements. Each step I took was heavy, and I felt like I was living in a hell on earth.The funeral was a sad affair with only me in attendance. There were no relatives or friends, laughter or tears—just endless grief and despair.Regret and guilt gnawed at me, and I truly wished I were dead. I even considered joining Heidi after everything was settled, imagining how lonely she must be on her journey to the afterlife. Just when I had hit rock bottom, I received messages from Ethan that jolted me like a bucket of ice water.[Ethan: Are you done with your tantrum? Where's Heidi? Where have you taken her?][Ethan: Come back immediately. Apologize to Mandy, and we can put this behind us.]His tone was as presumptuous and condescending as ever, as if I were the one who had done something wrong. As I read his messages, my heart turned cold.Ethan had not realized that his precious Mandy had caused the death of his own dau
Ethan's phone slipped from his grasp as he muttered in disbelief, "It's impossible... It can't be..."My eyes brimmed with tears as I said hoarsely, "Not possible? Heidi is dead! She was left in the wilderness and torn apart by wolves!"He jerked his head up, his eyes wild with panic. "What are you saying? Heidi's fine. Stop lying to me!""Lying? Why would I lie about this?" I screamed, my heart aching, "Why did you leave Heidi alone in the car that day? Why did you abandon her in the middle of nowhere?" Ethan's face turned ashen. He tried to say something, but he could not find the strength to utter a single word."Say something! You said Simon would pick her up, right? Why doesn't Simon know anything about this?" I pressed on, tears streaming down my face.He collapsed to the floor, clutching his head in agony. "Timmy was suddenly very sick back then..." "So you just left Heidi alone in the car? That's your reason for abandoning your own daughter?" I cut him off, my anger bo
Ethan remained motionless under my blows, even grabbing my hand to slap his own face. "Amelia, hit me harder. If it makes you feel better, you can even take my life..."His eyes were filled with desperation and a plea for redemption, like a lost child begging for forgiveness."Do you remember this?" I asked coldly, my voice dripping with mockery.Ethan stared blankly at the pumpkin pie in my hand, clearly confused."Heidi made this herself. She was planning to give it to you during the Thanksgiving dinner," I explained, trembling with emotion. "But she never got the chance..."I hurled the pie at him. It hit his chest and fell to the floor, covered in dust."You don't deserve it! You don't deserve Heidi's love!" I shouted, pointing at him angrily.With shaking hands, Ethan picked up the pie from the floor. It was smeared with a trace of blood and dirt. He stared at it vacantly as if his soul had left his body. Then, as if something inside had snapped, he shoved the pie into his
For three whole days, I confined myself to my room while Ethan seemed to have vanished without a trace. That evening, I decided to go downstairs for some fresh air, hoping it would ease my pain.As I reached the bottom of the stairs, everything suddenly went black, and I lost consciousness. When I came to, I found myself tied up in a moving car with Mandy sitting in front of me.She had lost her usual polished appearance, and her face was even swollen."Amelia, you're finally awake!" Mandy hissed, her eyes filled with venom."Mandy? What do you want?" I asked coldly, already guessing her intentions.Mandy suddenly became agitated. "What do I want? I should be asking you that! Heidi's gone. Why don't you just die too? It's because of you two that Ethan not only hit me but kicked Timmy and me out!" "You deserve it! If you hadn't kept messing with our lives, Heidi would still be alive!" I snapped back."So what? Why couldn't you let Ethan go? Ethan and I were childhood sweethearts