My neighbor, Helen Wilde, saw that I was about to pick up my daughter, Elisa Anderson, from school and asked me to pick up her son, Kaelan Wilde, as well.

After I brought Kaelan home, he sneaked off to the reservoir to play and accidentally drowned.

She then turned around and sued me, claiming that I didn't bring her son home.

The court found me not guilty, and she was furious that she couldn't get any compensation. While I wasn't paying attention, she pushed Elisha in front of a speeding truck.

After Elisha's death, I cried every day.

My husband's mother, Amanda Anderson, scolded me for being incompetent and unable to even watch over a child.

My husband, Troy Anderson, also gave me the cold shoulder every day because I didn't protect our daughter.

Netizens also scolded me for meddling in other people's business and said I deserved it.

I died of depression.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day I opened the door to pick up my daughter.

Helen was about to throw out the trash, gave me a cheeky grin.

"Mind picking up my son on your way back, too?" she asked.

I pointed at the trash can.

"You're useless than that thing."

"Fine! No need to insult me!" she huffed.

Helen flared her nostrils and slammed the lid of the trash can that sat between our houses.

The bag of garbage in her hand was leaking a pungent, sour liquid.

Seeing me staring coldly at the mess on the ground, she reluctantly used her slipper to wipe it up haphazardly.

As I waited for the elevator, she didn't go inside her house.

Instead, she sneered, "Wow, someone's in a bad mood today. Did you and your husband have a fight?"

I could understand why she would say that.

In my past life, when her family ran out of food, she came to borrow some from me, and I gave her half a large plastic bag.

When her heater wasn't working, and she complained in the homeowners' group, my husband and I would go over and help bleed the radiators.

She left smelly shoe racks and garbage in front of our door.

I tolerated all of it.

It was natural for her to be surprised by my sudden change in attitude.

It all stemmed from the time I kindly helped her pick up Kaelan.

Who would have thought that after bringing him home, he would sneak off to the reservoir and drown?

She blamed me for not taking him to my house, claiming it led to Kaelan's death.

She turned around and sued me.

In the end, she didn't get the compensation she wanted and even caused the death of my beloved daughter.

I couldn't understand it.

Elisa was such a sweet child. How could she do that?

Every Christmas, Elisa would burn her little hands, giving a fresh-baked turkey to Helen's family.

She felt sorry for Kaelan because he didn't have a father, and she always invited him over to our house to play.

Even with her last breath, she held my hand and asked if she had done something wrong to upset Helen.

I regretted it.

If I hadn't helped someone like her in the first place, maybe none of this would have happened.

But fate smiled upon me.

I was reborn at this very moment.

As the elevator arrived, I sneered, "Instead of gossiping, you could have gone to pick up your son. He's already home."

Amanda, who was just about to leave, overheard this.

She held the elevator button and bent down slowly to put on her shoes. Her face was full of disdain.

"Just help them out. It's not a big deal."

I pretended to be troubled.

"You're right, Amanda... maybe you should go pick them up? I have some errands to run."

Of course, Amanda didn't agree.

She quickly put on her shoes and rushed into the elevator.

"No way, I still have to go to walk."

"Forget it, I don't need your help, I'll go myself." Helen snorted and went inside.

As the elevator door closed, Amanda started her nagging.

"What errands could you possibly have? They're a single mother and child. Just help them out.

"Don't be so selfish, doing good deeds will bring blessings to your daughter, don't you know?"

Blessings?

In my past life, I helped everyone and put up with everything, but what did I get in the end?

She chattered, and her lips moved up and down.

When Helen came to borrow food, she told me to give her more.

When Helen left her trash in front of the elevator, with leftover soup almost flowing into our apartment, she didn't clean it up.

I complained after cleaning it up, and she told me to be more generous and not to be so picky about my neighbors.

The day Elisha was hit, I cried my heart out.

She coldly told me that I couldn't even take care of a child.

But I hadn't planned on taking Elisha to the courthouse that day.

It was she who insisted on buying new clothes, and she didn't have time to pick Elisha up.

I could just drop it.

After Elisha died, Amanda burned all of her belongings without consulting me.

Even the photos of Elisha and me were burned to ashes.

I cried my heart out, not understanding why she was doing this to me.

She lightly told me. "Those who die unexpectedly bring bad luck."

I was so immersed in grief that I didn't have the energy to argue with her.

The reason I didn't get a divorce was because Troy's dimples looked so much like Elisha's.

I could still see a trace of Elisha in him.

I still remember when Amanda urged me to have a second child, but I refused, and she encouraged Troy to give me the cold shoulder.

Troy actually listened to her.

He wouldn't even smile at me anymore.

This short minute in the elevator was excruciating.

I really admired myself for putting up with it for half my life.

As the elevator reached the first floor, I put on a smile and said, "Amanda, didn't Troy mention wanting to buy another apartment the other day? He said we could get a better deal if we got a fake divorce."

"I agreed."

Amanda looked like she had misheard. Her eyes lit up. "What? You agreed?"

I nodded.

"We're going out to take care of it. We can pick up Elisha and still make it to the courthouse before it closes. The sooner we register, the better."

Amanda couldn't hide the joy in her eyes. She even showed rare concern for me.

"Alright, alright. Be careful on the road."

I smiled.

Away from you people, I would be safe wherever I go.

As for the fact that they were buying the wrong investment property, that was none of my business anymore.

At the school gate...

The moment I saw Elisha, it felt like ages had passed.

I rushed over and held her tightly in my arms.

Her chubby little hands wiped my tears as concern filled her tender face.

"Mommy, what's wrong? Did Grandma scold you again?"

Ever since giving birth to her, Amanda had never shown us any kindness.

It had made Elisha incredibly sensitive.

I quickly shook my head, unable to cherish her enough.

"No, honey, Mommy just missed you."

She pressed her lips, revealing adorable dimples that had been absent for too long.

Her smile brought tears to my eyes again.

Tilting her head, she hugged my neck. "Mommy, even though it's only been a day, I missed you too."

As she spoke, she planted a kiss on my cheek.

At that moment, I stood crying in the crowd like a fool.

After calming down, I held her hand tightly.

Don't worry.

In this life, I would do anything to spare you from even a hint of suffering.

I brought Elisha to a restaurant for lunch.

I hesitated but decided to ask her.

"Elisa, Mom wants to ask you something. If I and your dad...  "

"Mom, I choose you."

Her words cut me off.

She pulled the uneaten burger from her mouth and looked at me calmly.

I just wanted to test the waters to see if she would be upset about me divorcing her dad.

But I never expected her to step ahead of my question.

At nine years old, her gaze was as firm as a wise little adult.

She grabbed a fry, dipped it in ketchup, and handed it to me.

"Mom, every day when I come home from school, you don't seem very happy.

"I love it when you smile, just like me now."

Her dimples appeared on her face again.

"If separating from Dad makes you smile, then Elisa will be happy, too."

Pathetic, tears welled up in my eyes again.

I endured for so long, all in the hope that Elisha would be healthy and happy.

But today, I realized that her hopes were just the same.

After leaving them, we will definitely be better off.

I took Elisa to my mother's place.

My mom adored her granddaughter, and Elisha loved going to stay with her, too.

It was just that in the past, I took Elisha home too often, and Troy would hint that it was laughable to visit my mom so frequently.

I knew it was Amanda's words.

At this moment, all I wanted to say was...

"Fuck you all!"

Once I settled Elisa, I went to Troy's office to find him.

I couldn't wait a moment longer for the divorce.

I rarely visited his investment consultancy firm.

People there didn't recognize me, thinking I was there for a job interview.

I must have interrupted the young receptionist playing video games.

She handed me a cup of water with a paper cup, head down, clearly annoyed.

"Mr. Anderson is busy with business; you'll have to wait."

I didn't respond; I just sent Troy a text.

He asked me to wait for ten minutes.

I had barely sat down when a few salespeople behind me started whispering.

Apparently, one of them took a two-hour leave, and Troy docked him a day's pay.

"Troy is just a big-shot nobody. Without his wife's father, Mr. Oscar Finch, he's nothing."

"His wife must be blind to marry such a loser."

The group was furiously venting when the receptionist, who had just joined in, quickly silenced them.

"Stop, stop, he's coming out."

The door opened, and Troy scanned the room, his gaze finally resting on me.

"Honey, come on in."

As I got up, the people behind murmured, "It's over, we're doomed."

Once the door closed.

Troy was over the moon about a deal my dad had introduced.

Hearing I was there to discuss a divorce only added to his joy, his fists clenched in barely concealed excitement.

Leaving, the salespeople looked at me dejectedly.

I smiled slightly and shook my head gently at them.

They smiled back, understanding the gesture.

After all, they weren't wrong. Troy really was a fool.

In my past life, I loved him for his good temper and the way his smile lit up like sunshine.

So I didn't mind that he wasn't well-off.

But as time went on, I realized that his easygoing nature didn't mean he was easy to communicate with.

Sometimes, when we disagreed, he'd shut down, his indifference more painful than any harsh words could be.

And you could never expect him to empathize with you.

The day Helen sued me, he was out dining with clients.

When our daughter was pushed in front of a truck, the police took Helen away.

I thought, as a father, he'd at least offer some words of comfort.

But to my utter despair, ignoring my heart-wrenching sobs, he just mused.

"Helen is suffering from losing her son, too."

So yes, I was truly blind.

What were the two biggest regrets of my past life?

One was picking up Helen's child.

The other was not divorcing him sooner.

But I had come to realize things weren't as simple as they seemed.

The 30-day cooling-off period for the divorce was ticking down.

I couldn't just move all my stuff out at once.

I was afraid it might make them suspicious and cause them to have second thoughts.

Then, it wouldn't be something that could be resolved happily in just 30 days.

I took an extended leave from work.

Besides picking up Elisa every day, I secretly consulted a lawyer about the division of assets and custody issues.

Sometimes, I'd bring some of my things back home.

The rest of the time, I interacted with them just like before.

Though it was a struggle, this kind of endurance was hopeful compared to my past life.

Interestingly, from the moment I agreed to the divorce, Amanda and Troy started treating me with a strange politeness.

Probably, they were afraid I'd change my mind.

There was only one week left until the divorce was finalized.

I went to pick up Elisa from school.

On the way back, she pouted, visibly upset, occasionally reaching back to touch her spine.

I thought she had a backache. It scared me.

She pinched her little nose.

"Don't worry, Mom, it's not pain.

"It's Kaelan sitting behind me. His ballpoint pen got my clothes all dirty."

Kaelan was Helen's son, and the two kids were classmates.

Unexpectedly, the seat switching brought them together.

She took off her school uniform and handed it to me. A few blue ink lines were not deep but as messy as a ball of yarn.

They looked tough to wash, but as long as it wasn't Elisha feeling unwell, everything else was manageable.

Helen might be awful, but her child wasn't necessarily to blame.

Little boys could be naughty. Perhaps he didn't do it on purpose.

But Elisa said that when her class monitor went to the podium to answer a question, Kaelan stuck out his leg and tripped him on the way back to his seat.

Luckily, Elisa caught him.

"Mommy, if I hadn't caught him, he would have gotten hurt badly."

Hearing Elisa say that it was hard for me not to suspect that Kaelan held a grudge against her.

"Mommy will talk to the teacher about this."

But Elisha stopped me.

"Mom, nobody wanted to sit in front of him, and I felt sorry for him because he doesn't have a dad, so I volunteered to the teacher.

"Maybe he didn't do it on purpose. Let's give him a chance. If it happens again, I'll tell the teacher."

Seeing that she had her way of handling the situation, I decided to wait and see.

Elisa told Troy about the incident, and unexpectedly, he put on his clothes and headed straight for Helen's door.

"I'm going to ask her how she's raising her kid," he said.

It took me by surprise.

Was he suddenly brave enough to confront her, just to make sure I wouldn't reconsider the divorce?

But Helen wasn't exactly a pushover.

In the middle of the night...

I was half asleep when the sound of a child's agonizing cries reached me from the hallway.

The sharp scolding was Helen's.

I glanced at the clock.

It was 12:08 a.m.

It seemed extreme, disciplining a child in the hallway at this hour.

"You had to meddle, didn't you? Now her dad's come knocking at our door. Let's see if you dare do it again.

"If there's a next time, I swear I'll chop your hands off!"

I opened the door.

Kaelan's eyes were bright as he looked up at me.

His face was swollen, his hands covering his backside, his sleeve wiping his face.

His snot was smeared all over.

Seeing me open the door, Helen stopped in her tracks.

Troy quickly stepped forward to shield the boy.

"It's just a small matter. A little scolding should do, right? Is all this necessary?"

I thought she was just putting on an act.

But Helen looked genuinely furious, not like she was faking it.

Were they deliberately trying to keep us awake by coming here?

But was it worth it to harm themselves just to hurt me?

At that moment, several neighbors from downstairs came up as well.

With a face full of grievance, she pointed at me.

"My son and her daughter are classmates. Today, my son accidentally drew on her daughter's school uniform, and she had her husband find me about it.

"Kids don't do these things on purpose, you know? I think she's just taking advantage of the fact that I'm a widow with no one to rely on."

As she spoke, she dabbed at her tears, looking pitiful and helpless.

"It's not a big deal."

"But she was just talking, she didn't really bully you or anything."

"Besides, even if you're upset, you can just say a few words. Scolding your child at this hour is disturbing everyone."

She wasn't satisfied that no one was criticizing me, so she continued to sob.

Finally, a burly guy couldn't take it anymore and said impatiently, "Listen, stop making noise. I have to get up early tomorrow. If you keep it up, I'm calling the police."

Helen, seeing the guy's imposing figure, seemed to get scared.

She wiped away her tears and stopped crying.

She glared at Troy, then grabbed Kaelan from his arms and went back inside.

I thought that was the end of it.

But I was wrong.

The next day, when I opened my door, it was stuck.

I pushed to create a small gap and looked down.

Great, the doorway was covered in trash.

Rotten vegetable leaves and leftover food are scattered everywhere.

The carpet was stained with oil.

And the garbage bag I had tied up and placed at the door the day before.

Now, lay beside it, empty.