On the way to my twin boys' parent-teacher conference, I'm informed that my sons, Ricky and Micky Stallone, have already been taken home by their parents.

I'm immediately worried sick about their safety. However, when I look across the road, I suddenly catch sight of a very happy family of four—Ricky, Micky, my husband, Corbin Stallone, and his first love he could never forget, Ingrid Lacelle.

Ricky and Micky both run into Ingrid's arms, cozying up to her and calling her "Mommy".

Meanwhile, Corbin gently kisses Ingrid's forehead with a doting expression on his face.

I join the crowd of envious onlookers, watching the beginning of the end of my marriage.

The door finally opened with a creak after I had reheated the food for the seventh time. Ricky's voice floated into the house.

"Our birthday is so much nicer with Ingy around! I want Ingy to celebrate every birthday with me after this! No, I want her to be with us every day!"

Micky said in a hushed tone, "Shh! Daddy said that it's a secret among the four of us! But Daddy, why can't we let Ingy come home and stay with us? Ricky and I both want Ingy to be our mommy!"

The bowl of mutton stew in my hands slipped to the floor and broke into pieces. That used to be the twins' favorite food I made.

But even though I had spent two hours slaving over it, it somehow seemed to know that it wasn't needed anymore. I crouched down to clean up the mess, but the sharp ceramic cut open the blisters I had gotten on my hand when I was cooking earlier. It hurt so much that I nearly blacked out.

Corbin brought the twins to the kitchen and frowned in disgust. "You clumsy oaf. Stop being so rowdy."

I stood up despite the pain. I hadn't seen the twins all day, and I missed them.

I thought of hugging them, but Ricky pushed me aside while Micky pinched his nose and hurried away.

"Mommy stinks! Mommy stinks like smoke! I don't want Mommy to hug me! Ingy always smells nice. I want Ingy to hug me instead!"

"Me too!" Ricky cried out. "Mommy stinks! But Ingy smells nice!"

They were my twins—my flesh and blood. I had given up everything I had to raise them for five years. I thought that they would be different from Corbin, but I realized then that it was just wishful thinking on my part.

Corbin handed me a paper bag. "Wash these by hand. Return them to their original state."

I opened the bag curiously. It was a snow-white female blazer, the same one that Ingrid had been wearing that morning. There was no mistake about that.

I chuckled bitterly and returned the bag to Corbin. "I can't. Send it to the dry cleaners instead."

Corbin sounded surprised and angry as he replied, "What kind of tantrum are you throwing again? You're just a housewife. It's your duty to cook, clean, and do the laundry! Skylar Greene, you'd better know where you stand in this household!"

I shook slightly. Corbin had always been cold and sarcastic in every interaction with me. I should've been used to it by now. But why did my chest still hurt every time?

Corbin's phone rang. The ringtone was the song Ingrid had sung during our college prom.

The look in Corbin's eyes softened at once, his expression turning gentle.

"What is it, Ingy?"

Ingrid's voice could be heard from the other end of the line. "The hotel here is full. The staff made a mistake and overlooked my booking. Corbin, can you help me find another hotel?"

Corbin immediately looked anxious. "Don't worry, Ingy! I'm coming for you now!"

After ending the call, Corbin cast me a look and said, "You stink. Go shower now!"

Ricky and Micky were both overjoyed when they heard the call. They asked, "Daddy, was that Ingy? Is she coming to our house?"

Corbin couldn't hide the smile on his face. "That's right! I'm going to bring Ingy home so that she can play with you both!"

Ricky and Micky jumped for joy and urged Corbin to hurry up.

"Daddy! Quickly, go and get Ingy! Go and bring Ingy home!"

"Mommy is such a lazy bum! She doesn't do anything at home all day. She doesn't even want to shower or do the laundry! We're going to sleep with Ingy tonight! Yay!"

The people closest to me kept trampling all over my heart. At that moment, I thought everything through. I looked at the twins jumping and shouting happily, as well as Corbin, who was hurriedly putting on his coat.

I clenched my fists and called out to Corbin, "Wait."

Corbin didn't stop whatever he was doing. "What? We can talk again after I'm back. I'm going to get Ingrid now. Don't cause any more trouble for me."

I felt as if my heart had been torn in two.

"It won't happen anymore, forever. Let's get a divorce, Corbin Stallone."

Micky immediately clapped his hands in glee. "That's great! If Daddy divorces Mommy, that means Daddy can marry Ingy! And Ingy can be our real mommy! Daddy! Mommy! Can you get divorced now? Please?"

Corbin was rooted to his spot for a few seconds in shock. Then, he burst out laughing and asked, "Oh, is this a new tactic of yours? Do you really think that you'll be able to survive on your own without the Stallone family's support? That's enough nonsense from you, Skylar Greene!"

Corbin then slammed the door behind him on the way out, leaving me behind with the twins.

Ricky and Micky sat on the couch, munching on chips and watching TV while excitedly talking about how much they liked Ingrid and how nice it would be if she were really their mom.

I stopped myself from wishing them a happy birthday and went into the bedroom by myself. I had drafted out a divorce agreement long ago and hidden it underneath the bedside table.

Corbin, Ingrid, and I used to be classmates in college. Everyone had thought that Corbin and Ingrid were made for each other, and many of them had even bet that Corbin would confess his feelings to Ingrid during graduation.

Six years ago, on the day we graduated from college, Corbin got deadass drunk and thought that I was Ingrid. And it was that very night when I got pregnant with his children. Yet, the only person he had ever wanted to marry was Ingrid.

Our marriage had been a mistake from the start. However, I forced myself to compromise and put up with it for the sake of my sons' happiness because I wanted them to have a complete family.

I even thought that they could be the bridge between me and Corbin, mending our relationship so that I would eventually be closer to him.

But now, I realized that everything had just been a figment of my imagination.

I suddenly heard the twins whooping in glee. "Welcome home, Ingy!"

"You can be our mommy, Ingy!"

I opened the door, went out, nodded at Ingrid in greeting, and handed Corbin the divorce papers.

"Here, sign them. I'll leave at once."

Ingrid panicked when she saw the divorce papers. "Wait, Skylar! Don't misunderstand us! I only called Corbin because the hotel said they didn't have a room for me. I'm only here because he said that there's an empty room I can use! Believe me, Skylar, I have absolutely no intentions of breaking up your family!"

I smiled. Ingrid was still as elegant and beautiful as I remembered her to be—maybe even more than when we were in college. No wonder Corbin simply couldn't forget about her.

"You're not breaking up anything. Everything here should've belonged to you anyway."

Corbin snatched the papers from me and threw them onto the table. "Are you done, Skylar? Ingrid has always been so busy at work, and it's not often she gets to come back to Novington like now! Why must you make things so awkward for her as soon as you meet?"

I was calm as I answered, "I'm not. I just want to divorce you, as you wished. That way, you both can get together."

"Why? Because we didn't celebrate the twins' birthday with you? Because I told you to wash a single clothing item? Or because I told you that Ingy is coming home to spend the night?

"Skylar Greene! Ingy is a world-famous designer, so it's not surprising that her clothes are all expensive. You should feel honored to wash her clothes for her! Why are you being so petty with her? Why must you threaten me with divorce just because you feel like it?"

Every single word Corbin spewed at me was meant to embarrass and humiliate me. I opened my mouth, but I couldn't find a single word to say to defend myself.

I was even more determined to get a divorce now.

Ingrid was a well-respected, successful designer. Meanwhile, I was a mere housewife who couldn't even keep up with the times and kept getting looked down on by others.

I wanted to be more like Ingrid. I wanted to be passionate about what I did. I wanted to be in charge of the trajectory of my own life.

Ingrid nudged Corbin. "Hey, I think you're the one who lost your mind. How could you talk about your wife like that?"

She then turned to me and said, "Skylar, it's been years, and you know how Corbin is. He's just tough on the outside but a softie at heart. He'd never dream of getting a divorce from you!"

Normally, Corbin hated it the most whenever anyone touched him. But this time, he pretended to stagger when she pushed him. His lips curled into a smile as he looked at her with loving eyes. "No need to be in such a rush. Look, your face is turning all red from speaking so much all at once."

Micky saw Ingrid nudging Corbin and thought that I was the one who had caused them to fight. He immediately ran over to me and purposely shoved me.

"Don't you dare bully Daddy or Ingy! Stupid Mommy! Don't make Ingy sad!"

I stood still while Micky bounced off me and stumbled toward the corner of the table.

Seeing that he was about to crash his head against the sharp edge, I quickly bent over to hug him. However, he just shoved me away even harder.

This time, I lost my balance and crashed into the corner of the table, losing consciousness immediately.

The first thing that greeted me after I woke up was a tight slap to the cheek.

Mom then yelled at me in disappointment, "You idiot! How dare you ask for a divorce from the Stallones? Don't you know that our family business relies heavily on the partnership with them? It's your honor to be able to marry someone of status!

"I swear to god, if you ever dare to bring up divorce again, I'll break both your legs so that you'll never be able to leave!"

The pain in my cheek spread like fire. However, the tears that dropped from my eyes were as cold as ice. I glared at the woman who had given birth to me and felt the fury boiling in my chest.

"I will divorce him."

Mom was stunned. Then, she grabbed her purse and started hitting me even harder than before.

"You stubborn bitch! You're so useless that you can't even stop Corbin from going back to that bitch, Ingrid! It's already good enough that he was willing to marry you in the first place! How dare you still want to divorce him? How dare you? How could you!"

I felt my body growing numb. I just grabbed onto the sheets even harder.

I had always sought my parents' validation ever since I was little. If I did things the way they wanted me to, then I would get praised for a short while. However, if I did something wrong in their eyes, then they would berate me and beat me up.

Gradually, I realized that in their eyes, I was nothing but a tool for them to gain benefits for the family. I would never have married Corbin if I hadn't listened to them in the first place.

I didn't want Ricky or Micky to end up being like me. That was why I held myself back and made compromises in all the years of my marriage to Corbin.

But now, I was done with it. I didn't want to do that anymore.

I gritted my teeth and didn't make another sound. I told myself that I didn't care who tried to stop me—I was determined to divorce Corbin and leave this place behind for good.

Corbin brought the twins into my ward and stood at the foot of my bed, looking cold and distant. Then, his parents, Tyson Stallone and Patricia Waters, followed him in.

Mom immediately went up to them and started buttering them up, promising them that I would never bring up the topic of divorce ever again.

Tyson and Patricia just made a few perfunctory remarks, telling me to stop acting up and to always look at the bigger picture, before leaving.

Ricky and Micky then each grabbed a marker and started doodling all over my face and body.

Ricky said, "You made Ingy sad! She won't even come and play with us anymore! You're horrible! Do you really think you're that great? I only want Daddy to kiss Ingy! We'll be a happy family without you!"

Micky then said, "I'm going to draw ugly poop on your face to punish you! You ruined Daddy and Ingy's relationship! I hate you! You're a poopy Mommy!

"You don't even know how much Daddy loves Ingy now. His phone is full of Ingy's photos! And he'll always cook for her when she's hungry, massage her shoulders when she's tired, and cheer her up when she's sad!

"Mommy is the worst! Get out of the way! You made us unable to see Ingy anymore!"

I didn't even need a mirror to know how terrible I looked.

Meanwhile, Corbin seemed to have known all along that things would end up like this. He was unexceptionally calm when he finally spoke.

"This is fun, isn't it? You finally look as ridiculous as you behave. Oh, do you regret it now? If you really divorce me, your family will fall into ruin. So, stop acting like a clown and—"

"I'm divorcing you." I didn't have any energy in my limbs, and the back of my head was still throbbing in pain, but my voice was firm and steady. "I swear that I'll divorce you, Corbin Stallone."

Corbin just scoffed mockingly and pinched my swollen red cheek. "Are you fucking done yet? Consider this a warning. Don't act all stubborn just for the sake of your dignity. You want a divorce from me? Over my fucking dead body!"

I bit into his wrist, forcing him to release me. He hissed aloud in pain. "Skylar Greene! I'm going to bankrupt your family before the end of tomorrow!"

I didn't back down and fought back. "Do it! But I'll still go through with the divorce!"

Corbin couldn't care less. He just said, "I'm looking forward to it."

Then, he left with the twins.