I gutted fish to pay for his college tuition. After we got married, I poured my entire savings into helping him start his business. He once said to me, “Charity, I owe you a debt I can never repay in this lifetime.”

“You’re my one and only. I’ll never let you down.”

But after he achieved success and fame, he drugged my soup, causing me to miscarry.

Meanwhile, the mistress he secretly kept mocked and humiliated me, ridiculing my humble background at every turn.

Heartbroken and disillusioned, I left a divorce agreement on the table and disappeared from his life. After I left, he went mad searching for me, saying that life without me was meaningless.

***

In a luxurious private hospital room, I lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling as tears streamed down my face.

I had miscarried.

Three months into the pregnancy and with no warning signs, my baby was gone. The weight of the loss crushed me. I couldn’t come to terms with it for a while.

My husband, Tom Webb, sat by the bed, gently holding my hand as he comforted me. “Charity, don’t be sad,” he said tenderly.

“The baby is gone and we have to accept that. Now, focus on getting better. We can always try for another.”

I glanced at him, suppressing the overwhelming anger and sadness within me. Pulling my hand away, I stared at the miscarriage report in my lap, unable to stop the tears.

He wiped them away with false tenderness, offering more meaningless comfort.

If it were in the past, I might have cried in his arms. But now, I couldn’t even stand looking into his face. His full of deceit face.

The truth was, my sudden miscarriage was his doing.

He had drugged the pregnancy soup meant to protect our baby. He poisoned it, ensuring I wouldn’t carry this child to term.

I didn’t know this at first. But last night, as I writhed in unbearable pain and was rushed to the hospital for an induced abortion, I overheard his angry phone call in the hallway.

It was past two in the morning. I had just undergone the procedure when I heard him yelling on the phone in the stairwell outside my hospital room.

He was speaking to Lori Braun, the mistress he had been secretly supporting.

“Didn’t you say that drug would cause Charity to miscarry without her noticing? Then why did she end up in the ER writhing in pain?”

“I swear, Lori, if anything happens to her, I’ll make you pay for it!”

At that moment, it felt like the sky had collapsed. My chest tightened and I nearly blacked out from the rage and betrayal.

I didn’t confront Tom. Instead, I returned to the hospital bed and cried silently. I cried for the baby I couldn’t protect. I cried for all the sacrifices I’d made, sacrifices that now felt meaningless. Tom had betrayed me.

I finally understood what people meant when they said, “When men get rich, they turn bad.”

The Tom I once knew—the man I fell in love with—was gone.

After our wedding, he often stayed out late, claiming he was busy with work. At first, I believed him. I even worried he was overworking himself and reminded him to take care of his health.

It wasn’t until Lori began sending me taunting messages every few days that I realized he was cheating. That was when I first thought about leaving him. But I didn’t. I clung to the love we had shared and the hope of a future with the child I was carrying. So I endured, waiting for the right moment to confront him—after the baby was born.

I never imagined that, only three months into my pregnancy, I’d lose my child because of his treachery. At that moment, all the hope I had for him vanished. As I looked at Tom, still pretending to be the caring husband, his hypocritical face filled me with nothing but disgust. It was then that I made my decision.

“Tom, let’s get a divorce,” I said coldly.

Tom and I grew up in the same orphanage—we were childhood sweethearts.

From a young age, we experienced the harshness of the world, learning that we could only rely on each other.

His grades were much better than mine. After middle school, I took up odd jobs at the market, earning money to pay for his tuition.

There were times when he wanted to quit school, unwilling to watch me struggle. He’d say he wanted to take me to the city so we could work in factories and earn money together.

I slapped him hard, leaving him stunned.

Gritting my teeth, I told him, “Tom, listen to me. Even if it kills me, I’ll make sure you graduate from college. I’ll always be by your side, waiting for the day you get a good job, rise through the ranks and eventually marry me in a beautiful wedding.

“Don’t worry about what people say. I don’t mind working as a fish cleaner, as long as you can finish college. So why should you?

“We’ve both had tough lives. It’s always been you and I, so let’s rely on one another. If you ever say you want to quit school again, I swear I’ll slap you twice as hard as this. You hear me, Tom?”

From that day forward, Tom never talked about giving up. He studied hard, achieving top grades. Whenever he had free time, he would come to the fish stall to help me gut fish.

When the elderly woman who owned the stall next to mine heard our story, she gave me a piece of advice.

“What if your boyfriend dumps you after graduating college?” she asked. “They say men change once they get the wealth they desire. They’ll leave the woman who supported them for a younger, prettier girl. Be careful, okay?”

“These days, temptation is everywhere. Are you sure he’ll never leave you? Save some money for yourself. Never pin all of your life on a man.”

But I brushed them off.

I trusted Tom and he trusted me. Ours was a bond forged by hardship, unshakable and strong.

When Tom graduated, he proposed to me.

At our wedding, his classmates and friends came to celebrate.

Some looked down on me—a mere fish seller with average looks—thinking I wasn’t good enough for Tom. Others, upon learning how I’d supported him through school, were full of admiration.

That was the first time I met Lori.

She was Tom’s college classmate, someone who shared his interests and had been close to him on campus. She’d even chased after Tom, though he had turned her down.

From the moment we met, I could tell Lori didn’t like me. Her disdainful gaze and mocking tone said it all. But I didn’t care.

Tom was exceptional and it was natural for women to admire him. Yet his heart belonged to me and that was enough.

After the wedding, Tom turned down offers to work at large companies. Instead, he used what he’d learned in college to capitalize on the live-streaming boom.

I gave him all my savings to help him start his own studio.

Before long, he made a name for himself in the livestream sales industry, earning a fortune. His studio quickly grew into a media company. With success came more women throwing themselves at him.

Some warned me to keep an eye on Tom, saying men change when they get rich. But I still trusted him. Until one day, Lori appeared at Tom’s office as his secretary. That was when my trust in him began to waver. My instincts told me something wasn’t right.

Women were known for having sharp intuition. It was just when I found out I was pregnant that Lori started sending me taunting messages. Sometimes, it was intimate photos of her with Tom, other times it was explicit screenshots of their conversations. She even had the audacity to taunt me:

[You don’t deserve Tom, you know?]

[You’re not as pretty as me. You don’t have a decent background like mine, your education doesn’t compare and you have no idea how to behave in social settings.]

[You being with Tom is just holding him back. You’re no help to him at all.]

[I’m the perfect match for Tom. If you’re smart, you’d leave him. Before he dumps you and makes yourself a fool.]

I was livid, but there was nothing I could do about it.

If it were any other woman, she’d probably throw a fit—cry, scream and threaten to do something drastic. But not me. Growing up in an orphanage, I’d matured far earlier than other people my age.  If I were to leave Tom, it wouldn’t be because I wasn’t good enough for him. It’d be the other way around. He wasn’t good enough for me.

My heart has always been strong and if it weren’t for that, I would have crumbled long ago under the weight of the gossip and whispers I endured while working at the fish market. I loved Tom, but my love was only ever true if it was met with the same sincerity and loyalty in return. Now that he had betrayed me and I had lost my child because of his actions, the love I once had for him had faded, no longer holding the intensity it once did.

When I asked for a divorce in that hospital room, Tom froze. I saw the panic flash across his face, his eyes wide with fear.

He quickly said, “Why are you suddenly asking for divorce?”

“No, it’s okay. I’m sure you are just confused. Are you feeling sick? I’ll go get the doctor.”

I shook my head, speaking quietly, “I’m fine, Tom. And I know what I’m asking.”

“Lori’s right. We’re not right for each other,” I went on.

“I don’t have a high education, I’m not particularly smart and I don’t know how to behave in circles of intelligent people. I can’t even help you with your work. So, it’s probably better if…”

“I’m going to tear that bitch’s mouth off!” Before I could finish, he snapped.

“Everything she said is a lie. She’s just jealous of you. Charity, you always told me not to care about what people say. Then why are you letting her words affect you now? Didn’t I tell you that you’re my one and only? There’s no one who could ever replace you in my heart, okay? I swear, I’ll never leave you.”

Before I could say anything, Tom hurriedly added, “Just rest, okay? And get that nonsense out of your head. Tomorrow, I’ll bring Lori here to apologize to you.”

With that, he stormed out of the room, dialing his phone in a fury, no doubt to confront Lori.

I lay in that hospital bed, staring at the miscarriage report in my hands. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

Softly, I whispered, “I’m so sorry, baby. I couldn’t save you. I was too stupid and too naive.”

“Would you come back to me if there’s another life? I promise, I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

I cried myself to sleep, the weight of everything too much to bear.

By morning, the sun was already shining brightly through the window.

The chair beside my bed was empty. Tom was gone and I had no idea where he’d gone. But honestly, I didn’t care anymore. I got out of bed, ready to handle my discharge on my own.

That’s when my phone vibrated. It was a message from Lori. She had sent me a video. The timestamp showed it was recorded at three in the morning in her apartment.