Eloise's pov

Julian was my senior, two years ahead of me. I fell in love at first sight with him when I caught a glimpse of him during freshman registration.

When I first met him, he was wearing a white shirt and black casual trousers. He was tall, slender and upright, like a poplar tree. He walked from under the lush camphor trees planted along the campus path, the bright and dappled sunlight falling on him. He waved to me from afar, smiling with bright eyes and white teeth.

It was hard not to be tempted.

After we got together, I found out that he was from the business school and I was from the foreign language school. On the day of the orientation, he mistook me for a freshman from the business school and helped me carry my luggage to my dormitory.

He said that when he dropped me off at my dorm, he realized I wasn't a junior in his department, but because he fell in love with me at first sight, he gritted his teeth and went along with it.

He said that the moment he saw me, he had a feeling that if he missed me, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

When he was pursuing me, he was very proactive and romantic.

In the dead of winter, I usually lingered in bed. To ensure I could eat a hot mushroom and vegetable bun from the cafeteria. He had gone out early in the morning to queue up, bought some, and kept them tucked inside his coat to warm me up.

He stood waiting for me as I slowly came downstairs from the girls' dormitory. When I finally ate them, the buns were still warm.

When we went hiking or sightseeing, he tirelessly carried a bag of snacks and fruit, a pot of cold water, and a pot of hot water, saying that no matter what I wanted to drink, hot or cold, he would bring it to me immediately.

I was a pampered little princess, and all he could give me was gentle companionship and tender care throughout the long years.

After we got together, he remained as considerate and attentive to me as ever, always doing what I wanted.

Julian was born in a remote rural area. His father died early, and he had three older sisters who were all married with children. His mother raised him alone when he was young, and the family was very poor.

I was reminded of a quote: People who grow up in hardship often develop abnormal deviations due to psychological shadows.

Some people grow up bitter, distrustful, and greedy, while those who face hardships with wisdom often become kind, generous, and understanding of life's ups and downs.

At that time, I thought Julian was the latter, and I was proud of him.

The summer, he was a second-year graduate student, he wore a heavy mascot costume and handed out flyers in the square to buy me a necklace as a birthday present. When I brought him lunch, he was soaked in sweat, but he still told me that he wasn't hot at all.

"Lo, although I'm not well-off and can't afford expensive gifts, believe me, I will work hard in the future to give you a better life." He said.

He proposed to me, promising to stay with me forever.

That day, I took him home for dinner and told my parents that we were getting married, hoping to receive their blessings.

That was the first time he met my parents.

At the dinner table, Julian seemed a little uneasy. The usually confident and spirited student council president showed nervousness for the first time.

He quietly pulled me onto the balcony and asked me rather reservedly, "Lo, why didn't you tell me that your father is the dean of our business school?"

"If I told you my dad is your hospital director, would you still pursue me?" I teased as I hugged him.

He said with a serious face. "Go for it! Of course I'll go for it! I like you, not because your dad is the dean!"

I nestled happily in his arms. "That's settled then. Anyway, we're together, so it doesn't matter who my dad is."

Later, after he returned home, my father called me into his study for a heart-to-heart talk.

He advised me to seriously consider marrying Julian, saying that our families were not a good match and that marriage was not a trivial matter that required careful consideration.

I thought my dad looked down on Julian's background and family conditions.

My dad shook his head. "Eloise, marriage can't be decided on a whim. Do you really know the man you're going to spend the rest of your life with?"

My parents advised me not to impulsively get married to Julian. At that time, I had just been accepted into a graduate program and was worried about the heavy workload after starting graduate school, so I told him that we would get married after I graduated from graduate school.

He was so clever. He knew my parents probably wouldn't approve of the marriage, so he hugged me and said, "Okay, Lo, I also need some time to prove to your parents that I'm worthy of your entrusting your life to me."

But the following summer, my parents were in a car accident and passed away before they could see me one last time.

During that time, I was depressed all the time and cried constantly.

Julian had stayed by my side every day, holding me and comforting me again and again. Three months later, Julian and I got our marriage certificate.

Because we were still in mourning, we did not hold a wedding ceremony; we only knelt and paid our respects at our parents' graves. He had knelt before my parents' graves and kneeled, promising to take care of me for the rest of my life.

However, ridiculous vows of eternal love can never withstand the test of time.

He cheated on me in the second year of our marriage.

It happened during my pregnancy.

Eloise's pov

I leaned against the headboard and cried all night.

I didn't know how to face this dirty marriage.

A cheating man is like money that fell into a toilet- you don't want to waste him, but it's disgusting to pick him up.

If I didn't have children, I could easily choose to divorce Julian. I, Eloise, was not the kind of person who can't let go of things easily. If we could make it work, we could part ways easily!

But the baby was about to be born... what should I do?

Perhaps sensing my emotional fluctuations, the baby frequently kicked my belly and rolled around inside, as if trying to soothe me.

The more the baby kicked me, the more emotional I became, and tears streamed down my face like a broken water pipe.

Divorce and then abort the child – that was impossible.

I believed that every mother in the world, after feeling her baby's movements, would never want to let go.

So, divorce and raise the child alone?

In today's world, single mothers are very common, and women could raise their children to adulthood on their own!

But I kept picturing my baby a few years later, staring at me with those big, innocent, bright eyes, asking, "Mommy, why do other kids have dads, but I don't? Where's my dad?"

What should I say then?

I touched my swollen belly, tears streaming down my face. "Baby, what should Mommy do?"

I didn't sleep a wink all night.

Around six in the morning, my mother-in-law pushed open the door and stormed in angrily.

"Eloise, it's past six o'clock, and you're still lying in bed not getting up to cook. Do you want me to starve to death?"

Previously, I would get up at six o'clock every morning to cook breakfast for my mother-in-law and then wake her up.

Even though I was extremely heavy and clumsy during my late pregnancy.

I was in a terrible mood because I hadn't slept all night, so I didn't pay attention to this.

I rubbed my red and swollen eyes. "Mom, I'm not feeling well. Could you make yourself something to eat today?"

"Don't take advantage of your pregnancy to be lazy and disrespectful to your elders. I was working in the fields on the day I gave birth to your husband! What's wrong with asking you to make breakfast?" Bree said.

Six months ago, when I was three months pregnant, Julian had brought Bree from the countryside to come and take care of me.

My mother-in-law was overjoyed when she came. She even went to the trouble of bringing two old hens from the countryside, saying she wanted to make soup for me to nourish my body.

During that time, I was basically waited on hand and foot, living the legendary life of a queen.

If I did any housework, my mother-in-law sees me and immediately rushes over to do it herself, showing great concern.

I felt so lucky to have such a wonderful husband and such an easy-going mother-in-law.

Dad, Mom, you can be rest assured in heaven.

But after two or three months, my mother-in-law's attitude towards me suddenly changed. Not only did she not cook or do housework, but she also expected me to cook for her while I was pregnant. She even demanded that I hand-wash her own dirty clothes and forbade me to use the washing machine, saying that it was a waste of electricity and that clothes washed in the washing machine were not clean.

I was utterly shocked and couldn't understand why my mother-in-law had suddenly become a different person.

Did I do something to upset her?

When my parents were alive, I was their precious daughter. I never did any housework, not even washing a dish. That's why Julian called me a pampered little princess.

During that time, I started trying to learn how to do housework, but I had severe morning sickness and couldn't stand the smell of cooking oil. As my belly grew bigger, it became harder to sweep and mop the floor.

I discussed hiring a part-time helper with Bree, and she immediately mocked me.

"Oh my, you city girls are so pampered! You're lazy and good-for-nothing all day long. If you don't do some work to get some exercise, how will you give birth? I'm doing this for your own good!"

I opened my mouth, wanting to argue a little more, but my she interrupted, "Besides, hiring a nanny doesn't cost money, does it? Men work their butts off outside to earn money, and you just waste it like this at home?"

I felt a little uncomfortable and explained. "The money I spent was all earned by me."

Yes, we have always managed our income separately after we got married, but the house and the start-up capital for the company were inheritances left to me by my parents.

I grew up in a family with relatively good financial conditions, and my parents never made things difficult for me financially, so I didn't really have a strong concept of money.

My mother-in-law slammed her chopsticks on the table and asked me angrily. "You're married to Julian, why are you still distinguishing between yours and his? Aren't you family?"

When I heard this, I felt something was wrong. Wasn't my mother-in-law being hypocritical? How come Julian's money wasn't mine, but my money was his?

When things were tense, Julian tried to appease me, criticized his mother, and promised me that he wouldn't wait until I gave birth before sending her back to the countryside and hiring a nanny to take care of us.

He said that it would be difficult for two people with such different lifestyles, upbringing, and education to live happily together.

Indeed, ever since my mother-in-law came to live with us, she has been educating and demanding things of me with her fixed lifestyle and way of thinking, many of which are unacceptable to me.

Julian also felt ashamed. "My father died early, and my mother raised the four of us siblings all by herself. She had no money, no men, and no relatives to help her. You can imagine how difficult it was... Her selfishness and petty mentality were not formed overnight. I am ashamed and heartbroken." he had explained.

I replied, " "Honey, I know you care about your mother, but this isn't the right way to show it."

Julian sighed helplessly, his face full of shame, "Baby, I'm sorry, I'm in a difficult position too."

I felt sorry for Julian, caught between me and his mother like a rat in a bellows, torn between two difficult choices; yet I also thought of how my parents taught me from a young age that care for parents is the most important virtue and that one should be tolerant of others.

After my parents passed away, I had few relatives and friends to rely on. The only aunt who treated me like her own daughter was far away in Canada. I had married Julian, and his mother was my family.

I think I should be tolerant, yielding, and filial.

But I'm really not feeling well today.

Before I could explain, my mother-in-law dragged me out of bed. "You'd better go cook, or when your husband comes back, I'll have him beat you to death, you lazy good-for-nothing!"

I couldn't resist my mother-in-law's strength and was pulled up. However, as soon as I got out of bed, I felt a warm flow running down my legs.

I burst into tears, my voice trembling, "Mom, my water broke!"