My devoted husband, who always revolves around me, suddenly became addicted to night fishing. He would come home every morning with bags all over his body and a bucket full of fish.

Even when his son was sick and hospitalized, he had no time to take care of him:

"The tide waits for no one, my dear, wait for me to return with a full load!"

I couldn't stand it anymore, so I filed for divorce when he followed a Michelin chef and learned how to make a whole fish feast to celebrate his son's recovery.

Friends and relatives accused me of being too dramatic.

Richard Sterling took off his apron and slammed it in my face, furious:

"The fish is already in your stomach, how can you be so confident?"

"If you and your son didn't love fish, would I have gone fishing at night to feed mosquitoes?"

I brushed off my apron, pointed at the mosquito welts around his neck, and smiled faintly:

"You love fishing and you enjoy feeding mosquitoes, don't put the blame on us mother and son. After the divorce, you can fish however you like!"

Richard seemed to have thought of something, raised his hand and scratched the mosquito welts casually, then turned around to coax his son:

"Andy, go get your mosquito spray and apply it to Dad!"

My son ran out of the room with his short legs. Richard stopped pretending and threw a bowl of fish soup directly on my face:

"Evelyn Rossi, you are so unreasonable! If I hadn't been concerned about my son, I would have just wanted to splash you to wake you up!"

"Isn't it just that my son was in the hospital and I didn't keep watch? How could it be so big a deal that you would use a fish as a raft to divorce me?"

I wiped the fish soup off my face. The fishy smell mixed with the greasy feeling of the hot soup stuck to my skin like a layer of shame that could not be removed.

The eyes of people around me stabbed at me like knives, but I no longer cared.

I pulled the document out of my bag and threw it on the table:

"I have prepared the divorce agreement. Please sign it."

My father was the first to react. He bent down to pick up the agreement, and his face suddenly changed after glancing at it.

Richard heard this and snatched the divorce agreement.

After seeing the terms clearly, he looked up suddenly, his eyes full of disbelief:

"Evelyn, are you crazy?"

"What qualifications do you have to snatch my son from me and make me violate the pre-nuptial agreement? Do you really think that because I love you, I can tolerate all your bad tempers?"

"I'm not crazy, you are the crazy one."

I looked him straight in the eye and said word by word:

"You've let Andy and I down. What's the problem with me taking back the property that's rightfully mine?"

"Snap!"

My father slapped me in the face, and the burning pain instantly spread to my ears.

I tilted my head, and amid the buzzing ringing in my ears, I could vaguely hear his furious voice:

"How could I give birth to such an ungrateful daughter like you! Richard works during the day to earn money to support you, and fishes and cooks for you at night. Where can I find such a man?"

"I often go fishing with Richard, sometimes I stay out all night, and your mother doesn't seem to have any complaints. On the contrary, Richard praises you to the sky every day, and you are making a fuss about it!"

"Richard just suddenly developed a hobby. There are so many people who like fishing. How can that be considered as an injustice to you? And can it be a violation of his pre-nuptial agreement?"

I slowly turned my face back, touched my numb cheek with the tip of my tongue, and tasted the taste of rust in my mouth.

In the corner of my eye, Richard was standing aside with a faint smile on his face, as if he was watching a farce that had nothing to do with him.

Everyone thinks he is a perfect man, and marrying him is the blessing I have earned in several lifetimes.

Whenever there was a little conflict, Richard didn't need to say anything, my parents would teach me how to be a wife on his behalf.

He took advantage of the situation to coax me and bought me famous bags and jewelry without paying any money, which made countless people envy me for my good fortune.

But that cabinet full of treasures, like this table full of fish, is a mark of my shame.

"It's my mother's business if she can tolerate it, but I can't."

If it wasn't for the fact that family disgrace should not be made public, I really wanted to turn the whole place upside down.

Richard finally moved.

He tore up the divorce agreement, strode over and grabbed my wrist, questioning me with red eyes:

"Evelyn, you need to explain yourself clearly today! Why do you want a divorce? Do you have someone else outside?"

He actually had the nerve to ask me if there was anyone outside.

The force in his hand was so strong that I couldn't help but gasp.

I broke free from his hand and said coldly:

"Because just looking at you is disgusting! And smelling you is even more disgusting!"

This sentence is like stirring up a hornet's nest.

My grandmother immediately started crying and saying that I didn't know what was good for me. My sister-in-law pointed at my nose and scolded me for being a troublemaker. Even my uncle, who was usually taciturn, shook his head and sighed.

"Marry a virtuous woman. Evelyn, you are really going to ruin your relationship by doing this!"

But they don’t know that my marriage with Richard has been dead in name only since he became addicted to night fishing.

The entire private room was filled with voices accusing me, like countless mosquitoes buzzing in my ears.

I took out another divorce agreement and handed it to Richard:

"If you want to part ways amicably, see you at the civil affairs bureau at 9 a.m. on Wednesday."

My stubborn attitude made Richard shed tears.

He came forward and hugged me tightly:

"Honey, please stop making trouble, okay? It's all my fault. I shouldn't have indulged in night fishing! If you really don't like it, can I stop fishing? I'll be your devoted husband like before, okay?"

His affectionate look caused everyone to look at me with reproach again.

Vanessa Moreau, my best friend who arrived at some point, also spoke up:

"Evelyn, it's not good for a woman to be too bossy! Richard is willing to give up night fishing for you, so you should stop while you're ahead. Otherwise, you'll end up getting divorced. How can you, a second-married woman with nothing to ask for, find a husband who loves you so much?"

No matter what they say, I'm going to get a divorce anyway.

I grabbed my bag and turned to leave.

But he saw Andy standing at the door with a pale face.

I don't know how much Andy heard and how much he understood, so I took his hand and said:

"Baby, come home with mommy."

Andy shrank back suddenly and shook his head desperately:

"No! I don't want my parents to get divorced! I don't want to be a child that is laughed at by others!"

He looked at my mother for help, and then I realized that she had just sneaked out to brainwash Andy and brought him in.

"Evelyn, you are a mother now. You should always consider your children. Don't be so selfish."

My mother's words hit my heart like a heavy hammer, making my already broken heart bleed again.

She is free to turn a blind eye.

I don't want to live this kind of self-deceiving life anymore, and it's my freedom.

I squatted down and tried to pick up Andy, but he scratched and bit me like a frightened little animal:

"You're a bad mom! The worst mom!"

"Evelyn, enough is enough."

My best friend Vanessa suddenly interrupted and pulled my arm hypocritically:

"How many people envy you for having a husband like Richard? Why are you so unsatisfied? Is that man so good that you give up Richard?"

Her words were like water dropped into a frying pan, making everyone in the private room extremely angry.

"Oh my god, after all this time of getting a divorce, I'm actually cheating on Richard! How shameless!"

"Richard, this marriage must be divorced! She has taken advantage of your love for her and has already ridden on you and pissed on you. Don't be soft-hearted anymore!"

Richard didn't say anything, but just stared at me with his scarlet eyes, as if he was really hurt.

"Honey, is everything Vanessa said true?"

"Call him over, I'll help you check him out. As long as he passes my test and is truly good to you, I'll help you get married! But our son is the fruit of our love, I absolutely don't agree to you taking him away!"

He immediately picked up his son and burst into tears with him.

Anyone who sees this should scold me.

Vanessa's eyes flashed with pride, and she came closer to me again and said:

"Evelyn, break up with that guy! Living a good life with Richard is better than anything else!"

"roll!"

I shook her hand off, and the anger that had been pent up for a long time finally erupted:

"Vanessa, don't you think I don't know what you've been doing behind my back?"

I was so impatient that I kicked her in the calf:

"If you dare to meddle in my family affairs again, I will make you pay for it!"

Vanessa stumbled back and fell into the fish feast, instantly becoming a mess.

Richard didn't even bother to wipe his tears, his face turned completely gloomy.

He grabbed my collar and said through gritted teeth:

"Apologize."

"dream."

Andy suddenly rushed over and clumsily helped Vanessa wipe her skirt:

"Vanessa, don't cry. Andy will blow the air for you..."

Andy looked so attentive, as if Vanessa was his real mother.

Richard let go of me and went to help Vanessa clean the dirt off her body.

He turned around and sneered at me:

"Okay, very good! Evelyn, since you insist on getting a divorce, then get one! But remember, it's all your fault that we have to get to this point!"

I ignored him, walked over to Andy, and asked him one last time:

"Andy, are you going with Mom?"

He hugged Vanessa's neck and shook his head vigorously:

"You are a bad woman! I don't want to go with you! You will only make Daddy sad!"

It turned out that the child I had raised carefully for five years had already had his heart wandering to another woman.

I took one last look at Richard and said calmly:

"You win, the son is yours."

The red marks on the neck of this man who made me risk my life to marry him were particularly glaring under the light.

That wasn't a mosquito bite at all, but a kiss mark left by passionate intercourse with a woman.

As she turned to leave, grandma's proud voice echoed throughout the hotel:

"My son is so outstanding, are you afraid that you can't find someone better? Some people, older, second-married women, who would want you if you leave my son?"

"Even your son doesn't want you, you are destined to live out your life alone!"

My parents' voices echoing the apology were even more piercing:

"My dear relatives, it's all our fault for not raising our daughter well. If she wants a divorce, we will just pretend we never gave birth to her! From now on, we will only recognize Richard as our son!"

The night breeze was cool and couldn’t blow away the burning sensation on my face.

The residual pain from that slap is still there, but compared to the pain in my heart, it is nothing.

When I got to the entrance of Maplewood Estates, the security guard stopped me:

"Mrs. Sterling, no, Ms. Rossi, I'm sorry, Mr. Sterling has told you not to go in."

I was stunned:

"What do you mean? I'm going back to my own house, why can't I go in?"

The security guard said disdainfully:

"Mr. Sterling said that he has divorced you and you have no right to return to his house. As for your luggage, he will have someone pack it up and take it to your parents' house."

No need to think about it, this is another way my parents came up with for Richard to force me to surrender.