Chapter 2

I opened my Twitter account and saw a picture Gordon had recently posted.

In the picture, he still appeared stoic and dashingly handsome, despite his elderly years.

Gordon was an esteemed literature professor, while Karen was a literary critic. They often discussed various works of literature together.

In the photo, Gordon was all smiles, a rare sight given his usual seriousness.

Meanwhile, Henry, who had never done any house chores, was trimming the leaves of a tall tree in Karen's yard, sweating profusely. It was something he would never have done for me, as he always claimed to be afraid of heights.

I felt another dagger stab into my heart, and the pain in my back was so intense that I collapsed onto the floor, sobbing.

I couldn't help but reflect on how laughable my life had been all those years.

I would wake up at 5:00 a.m. every morning to prepare breakfast for my family.

After breakfast, I would rush to clean the dishes before taking Carl to school, as both Henry and Lily had to work.

After grocery shopping, I would return home to make the beds, do the laundry, and prepare lunch.

Once lunch was ready, it was time to pick Carl up from school.

Carl, being the picky eater he was, would only eat certain dishes like my rainbow ricotta gnocchi, grilled eggplants, and tomato pasta with shrimp.

Preparing those dishes was time-consuming, so sometimes I’d ask Gordon to help pick Carl up from school. But he'd always give me a look of disdain, saying I was interrupting his work.

Despite my best efforts and years of service to my family without a single complaint, I now faced this profound betrayal.

The pain was so deep that I began to wonder if I had ever truly been needed in that family.

Then, a sudden realization hit me—I could no longer waste my time on them.

-

I needed to start treating myself better, so I went to the mall to shop for new clothes.

On the way back, I even stopped at a restaurant for a meal.

For 40 years, most of my time had been spent in the kitchen because I wanted my family to eat healthily and save money. I only allowed myself free time for special events.

But that was over. I swore I would never spend the rest of my life in the kitchen again.

When I got home, I spent the rest of the evening watching reels on my phone until the sky turned dark.

It was then that I heard Gordon return home.

The smile from his tweet had vanished, and the glasses on his face only made him appear more distant.

Truth be told, I was slightly frightened by his cold and arrogant demeanor, something I had mentioned to him when we first got married.

At that time, he had replied that he was bad at expressing himself, but he loved me with all his heart.

Yet, after seeing his tweet, I felt an overwhelming disgust for the hypocrite.

Gordon was massaging his temples when he said, "The booze is making me feel sick. Go make me some green tea."

In the past, I would have immediately complied with his request. But things were different now…

"Didn't you hear me? I said go fetch me a cup of green tea!" he demanded.

Previously, I would have subconsciously grown nervous whenever I saw him becoming impatient.

Yet, I felt strangely calm that day…

"I'm busy. Go make your own tea," I shot back.

Gordon was taken aback by my response, as it was the very first time I had refused to do his bidding.

His face darkened as he asked, "What's the matter with you? I also heard that you hung up on Henry today.

"We thought we would let you have a day off and decided to eat out. Yet, this is the thanks we're getting?"

Just as I was about to reply, Henry, Lily, and Carl came home…