When my mother, Katherine Case told me that my husband, Trent Keegan had cheated on me, my first thought was that she'd been scammed.

Honestly, I'd rather believe in ghosts than believe Trent was unfaithful.

It was not that I was naive. But I knew for a fact his brain only had room for coding. Even my mother-in-law, Betty Rusell would joke that if it weren't for me, he might just marry his computer.

Mom grabbed my wrist and urged me with a frown. "What are you waiting for? Divorce him now!"

I snapped back to reality and tried to stay calm. "I'll talk to Trent when he gets home from work."

"Talk to him about what?" Mom yanked my ear so hard it stung. "I told you from the start, rich people like him are the least reliable! You're just a dull and ugly-looking community college graduate. How could he ever actually like you? I'm your mother. Do you really think I'd lie to you?"

My ear was on fire, and I was pretty sure she was about to rip it off.

I struggled to pull away from her grip and took a few steps back before saying, "I'm not saying you'd lie to me, but I need to confront Trent myself. If he cheated, I have to protect my rights too. Besides, today's the first day of my art exhibition. I have work to do."

Although I didn't believe Trent had cheated on me, I had to pacify Mom somehow. Otherwise, all my hard work would be ruined if she were to cause a scene at the exhibition.

I thought I'd found a perfect excuse to put the matter off, but to my surprise, Mom was unyielding. She tightened her grip on me, and her face twisted in exasperation.

"Monica, I didn't raise you just so you could turn into some gold-digger, who's out to squeeze money from a man. Have you got no shame? He doesn't even love you, and yet you're clinging to him. Must you throw away your dignity and let others stomp all over it?"

Her voice was so loud that several guests at the exhibition turned to look at me in shock.

My cheeks burned with mortification as I reached out to pull Mom aside. "Mom, they can hear you. If you have something to say, let's talk in private."

However, she shook off my hand and pointed a finger at me as she turned to the guests. "Tell me I'm wrong! Am I being unreasonable? She knows he doesn't love her, yet she's trying to get money from him. That's downright shameless!"

The guests frowned, and their gazes were filled with judgment and disdain.

Mom proceeded to sigh dramatically, then looked at me with disappointment. "Monica, you're a woman, but that doesn't mean you can't be independent. Depending on a man to fund your art exhibition and make money is no different from sleeping around for money.

"I wouldn't be ashamed if you worked as a waitress and scrubbed dishes, because at least you earned the money yourself. But this? No matter how much you make, I feel utterly ashamed! Listen to me, break it off with him now. I'm your mother. I only want the best for you!"

She was incredibly skilled at twisting the truth, making it sound like the art exhibition was built on some man's money. And it was as though that man in question wasn't my husband.

Not knowing the real story, the guests nodded in agreement.

Some grew impatient and chimed in, "Ms. Laurent, I've always thought your art carries positive messages, but what you're doing is the opposite of what you want to convey."

"Everyone makes mistakes, but correcting them in time is what matters most."

"Listen to your mother. She wouldn't steer you wrong."

While they were too polite to openly insult me, their remarks hurt my pride deeply.

I stared at Mom, not missing the flash of satisfaction in her eyes. She'd always been like this, using half-truths to turn people against me and paint me as an ungrateful rebel.

Back then, Mom had changed my high school application behind my back and turned down an offer from the top institution in the city. Instead, she made sure I got into the worst vocational school, despite my ranking third in the entire city.

When I broke down and threw a tantrum, she had cried in front of all our relatives and neighbors, claiming I didn't understand how hard things were for the family and only wanted to go to some elite high school to chase after a boy.

She had even said that educational background wasn't as important because back in her day, vocational students had bright futures too.

Her act had been so convincing that everyone came over to advise me that I could still get into college from a vocational school and that it wouldn't affect my future.

Later, when it was time for me to take the college entrance exam, Mom had torn up my exam docket and caused all my year-long preparations down the drain.

When I angrily confronted her, she had spoken to me in a grave tone, saying that college graduates these days couldn't find jobs anyway. It was better to accept the secure job the school had offered.

No one knew that the so-called "secure job" was working on a production line, screwing bolts all day. And thus, they had obliviously sided with Mom and persuaded me to be realistic.

After my graduation, under the guise of "doing what was best for me," Mom had set me up on a date with a terrible man, insisting that with all her life experience, she knew better.

The man, she had claimed, was dependable and would take good care of me.

Outsiders had simply said I was being rebellious and didn't appreciate Mom's sacrifices.

However, little did they know, the man she had perceived to be caring was a divorcee. To her, the fact that he had a child was even better as I wouldn't have to give birth to one. She had called a poor, unambitious man "dependable" because rich men, in her view, always turned bad.

When I refused to marry the mama's boy she had picked, she had boycotted my wedding with Trent. She had said Trent was merely a spoiled rich kid with no ambition and marrying me was nothing but a game to him.

Unsurprisingly, everyone had sided with her again.

They all had said, "She's your mother. Everything she's doing is for your own good."

Was she really doing it for my good though?

"Monica! Did you even hear what I just said?" Mom became frustrated by my silence. "What are you standing around for? Come with me! You're going to divorce him right now!"

My feet felt like they were rooted to the floor. No matter how hard she tugged, I wouldn't budge.

"What are you doing?" She hadn't expected me to be so stubborn, and her eyes blazed with anger. "Are you going to turn against your mother for a man?"

The onlookers started commenting again.

"That's right. You shouldn't hurt your mother over some man and money."

"Parents always look out for their children. Besides, your mother is doing this for your well-being."

"Ms. Laurent, it's never too late to make the right choice."

I caught the disappointed, judgmental looks of the guests, and my heart went cold.

Without a doubt, my art exhibition—three years in the making—was about to be ruined. All the guests I had painstakingly invited would leave because of Mom.

Every step I had taken to get here had been soaked in sweat and blood. And now, with just a few casual words, she was going to erase all of it.

Why?

My head snapped up, and I looked Mom right in the eyes. I uttered loudly, "Mother, I've already told you! Even if Trent did cheat on me, I'm going to confront him myself and hear what he has to say!

"Even a condemned criminal gets a chance to speak before their sentence. I'm not going to convict him of cheating based on one side of the story. That wouldn't be fair!"

My words echoed through the hall, and for a moment, all the guests were stunned.

"Wait a second, are we talking about a married couple here?"

"From the way her mother was talking, I thought Ms. Laurent was the homewrecker."

"Well, a mother gets anxious; it's understandable…"

Upon hearing their comments, I secretly let out a sigh of relief. At least I wouldn't be labeled a homewrecker or a gold digger. My reputation and career were barely intact at this point.

Mom hadn't expected me to defy her publicly. She stood there stunned for a moment, and then, tears abruptly started streaming down her face.

"Monica, you really disappoint me! I saw with my own eyes he entered a hotel with another woman. What more proof do you want? I'm your mother. Why would I lie to you?

"The truth is, you just want to use this as an excuse to get money out of him! Oh, how did I end up raising such an immoral, money-grubbing daughter?"

She collapsed onto the floor, pointing at me in anguish. "If you don't go divorce him today, don't ever call me your mother again!"

Then, clutching her chest, she whimpered weakly, "Ouch… You're going to be the death of me…"

Her performance was flawless as if she had rehearsed it a hundred times. It didn't take her a second to gain the crowd's sympathy.

In reality, Mom was healthy as a horse. She didn't have a heart condition; in fact, she was in such good shape she could probably wrestle a tiger if she had to.

I watched her with great disappointment. This was the "good mother" who claimed everything she did was for my own sake, faking illness just to make me submit.

While I knew her health was perfect, no one else did.

A concerned guest came forward to help her and kindly advised, "Ma'am, don't get so worked up. Let me take you to the hospital."

"No! I'm not going anywhere!"

Mom became even more animated. "Monica, I'm not going to the hospital unless you divorce Trent right away! Let me die right here so I can finally have some peace!"

My head throbbed. "You had a full medical check-up last month. You're not sick—"

"Gosh, I can't live like this anymore!" Mom started slapping her thighs and wailing.

"Your father died young, and I've had to raise you all by myself. You started dating in high school and demanded to go to some expensive private school just to be with a boy. When I couldn't afford the tuition, you threw a fit!"

She continued, "Then you grew up and rejected a stable government job to study art. When I tried to talk sense into you, you ran away from home! I even found you a good, honest husband, but you refused to marry him. Instead, you insisted on marrying for money!

"And now, even after your husband's cheated, you still want to squeeze money out of him… How am I supposed to face your father? I've failed him!"

She cried with such sincerity that everyone saw her as a long-suffering, selfless mother. And in the process, she had turned me into a heartless, money-hungry daughter.

"My God, how can someone treat their mother like that? This is outrageous."

"I wouldn't have wasted my time coming here if I had known she was such a vile person."

"Ma'am, please get up. Your health is more important. Let me take you to the hospital."

"Yeah, don't get worked up over an ungrateful child. It's not worth it."

Even the most well-mannered guests couldn't help but jeer at me.

Some went as far as tearing up my invitation cards and throwing them in the trash, acting as though standing here in this art exhibition would dirty their shoes.

Just then, Mom broke free from the guest's grasp and rushed toward one of my paintings. She pulled out a box cutter and slashed a long gash across the canvas.

"It's these stupid paintings! They're what's ruined my daughter! I'm going to destroy every single one of them!"

She went wild as she cut through my artwork one after another, and all the pieces I had spent years perfecting for this exhibition were ruined just like that.

Not only that, but some people were even cheering her on and saying things like, "That's how you teach your unruly kids a lesson!"

Meanwhile, I stood frozen, shocked by what I was witnessing.

"No! Stop it!" I let out a desperate cry, lunging to grab the box cutter from her hand.

Those paintings were my pride and joy, and each of them was carefully selected for this exhibition. As the canvas tore apart, it felt like my heart was being shredded into pieces as well.

I wrestled the box cutter from Mom's grip, not even noticing the sharp blade had sliced my hand open.

"What do you want from me? Will you only stop if I get a divorce? Will you keep tormenting me until I give in?" I screamed, feeling on the verge of losing my mind.

Blood was dripping from my fingers, but I didn't even feel the pain as I gripped the blade.

Mom didn't even glance at my injury. She nodded firmly. "Yes!"