David looked at me like he had expected this all along, as if he thought I was just throwing a tantrum.

David spoke casually, almost amused, "Alright, stop saying things you don’t mean. You’ve been a housewife for ten years. Without the Gunn Family or the Xander Family, how do you expect to survive out there?"

"If it really matters to you, I’ll have my secretary buy you a diamond ring. We’ll have dinner as a family and you’ll be Madam Gunn. But as for making it official in public? Forget it. If Yvonne sees it, what if she doesn’t want to come back?"

And with that, he left, taking my parents and Tyler with him.

He left me with his secretary to handle my medical treatment.

Oh, and the charity ring.

The secretary barely concealed her condescension.

"Miss Nadine, Mr. Gu has approved a budget of one hunded thousand dollar for your ring. So you can choose from pre-made designs. If you don’t know much about jewelry, just pick the most expensive one. Just so you know, jewelry is considered personal property."

David had always assumed I was a gold digger who had schemed my way into his bed.

That’s why, despite our marriage, he only allowed me to withdraw a measly three hundred dollar a month from the housekeeper.

So naturally, his secretary thought a one hundred thousand dollar ring was an extravagant gift, something I should be grateful for.

But today, by accident, I had sat in that chair.

The one custom-made by a master craftsman.

The one designed specifically for Yvonne.

It had cost ten million.

And in that grand master bedroom—where I had never been allowed to step foot—there were billions worth of gifts for her.

I pushed aside the tablet the secretary had handed me to choose a ring design.

"You pick."

It didn’t matter.

That ring would end up destroyed by Tyler anyway.

Just like everything else David had ever given me, even the meaningless some freebies.

And even if it survived, I wouldn’t wear it.

I dismissed the secretary and not long after, Tyler walked back in.

He carried a thermos, opened it and without warning, flung the scalding porridge straight at me.

"You’d better get the hint and leave on your own," he spat. "Next time, it won’t be porridge—it will be sulfuric acid."

His hands weren’t strong enough; most of it landed on the blanket, but some splashed onto my arm.

The burning pain shot through me.

Ironically, I had woken up before dawn yesterday to cook that very porridge for him.

And now, it still burned me to the bone.

Tyler watched as red welts bloomed on my skin. Satisfied, he turned and left.

A nurse rushed in, changed my bedding and carefully applied medicine to my arm.

She hesitated before finally whispering, "Some children… just can't be raised."

I stared at the bandages covering my body. Tears slipped silently down my face.

She was right.

Even an outsider could see it.

Yet I had spent ten years believing that sincerity could win sincerity. But whether it was David—the boy I had once called my childhood sweetheart—or Tyler—the child I had raised since he was small…

The only thing my love had ever earned me was cruelty.

I spent over half a month in the hospital.

None of them came to visit me.

Not once.

When I was finally discharged, I hired a caretaker, sat in my wheelchair and went back to the Gunn Family home to collect my things.

But the moment I stepped inside, I froze.

The very people who had ignored my existence for weeks were now gathered in the living room, laughing, talking, celebrating.

And at the center of it all—

The woman who had disappeared without a trace for ten years.

Yvonne Xander.

Tears glistened in my parents' eyes as they hugged her tightly.

"Yvonne, you’re back. That’s all that matters." as my dad said.

"What do you want to eat? We’ll make anything for you." my mom also welcame her.

Tyler clung to her like a koala.

"Mom, you’re finally home! Now I’ll never have to be alone again!"

Even David, who had always been as cold as ice, was smiling like a fool.

"I knew it, Yvonne. I knew you wouldn’t be able to forget me."

They surrounded her with joy, as if the devastation she had left behind when she abandoned them had never existed.

As if the heartbreak, the desperation, the years of waiting—had all been just a lie.

I remembered how my parents had begged me to stay when I said I was leaving.

My father had collapsed from a heart attack.

My mother had cried until her eyes were nearly blind.

And yet, now— it was as if I had never been there at all.

They used to say Yvonne had no heart.

I helped stabilize the company, defended it against the Gunn Family's suppression.

And when they pushed me onto David’s bed, I knew full well that marrying into the Gunn Family would be like stepping into a pit of fire.

But in the face of their desperate pleas, I still walked in.

After Yvonne left, David fell apart. He drowned himself in alcohol, shut himself away from the world.

I stayed by his side, holding Tyler, never leaving for a second. I helped him through the worst of it, helped him climb out of his misery.

He swore to me—so earnestly—that from now on, we would live a good life together to the future.

And Tyler… When he finally understood that Yvonne had abandoned him, he was devastated. He cried day and night, inconsolable.

It was only after I promised him, over and over, that I would never leave him—that I would always be there—that he finally learned to smile again.

But ten years of devotion meant nothing in the face of Yvonne’s return.

The sound of my wheelchair rolling through the doorway caught their attention.

My parents’ faces stiffened in embarrassment.

"Nadine, you’re back. Why didn’t you tell us beforehand?"

Their expressions made it clear—I had interrupted their perfect family reunion.

I withdrew my gaze and motioned for the caretaker to push me upstairs.

"I couldn’t reach you. How was I supposed to?"

During my hospital stay, there were forms that required a family member’s signature.

I called them hundreds of times.

Not one was answered.

There was also the issue of living arrangements for Tyler and David after I left.

No one ever responded.

But now? Now, they had the nerve to blame me for not giving them a heads-up.

David’s expression darkened slightly.

"Alright, it was just a slip-up. That’s all."

Then David talk to me, "You should go rest. You just got back, don’t overexert yourself."

When had he ever cared about me resting?

This was nothing but a polite way of telling me to get lost—so I wouldn’t ruin his time with Yvonne.

But none of this concerned me anymore.

Behind me, Tyler’s voice was full of mockery.

"Just get lost! My mom is back now! You are just a gisgudting woman! You’re nothing compared to her—not even worth a single finger!"

Yvonne stood nearby, looking glamorous, her makeup flawless down to every strand of hair. Her nails were long, polished to perfection.

Compared to me—bare-faced, dressed in a simple hoodie—she was stunning.

Of course, I hadn’t always been this way.

But after taking care of Tyler for so many years, I had stopped dressing up.

Not just because I didn’t have time.

But because I worried that long hair might tangle around his tiny fingers.

That manicured nails might scratch his delicate face.

That perfume and makeup might be too harsh for him to breathe in.

But none of that mattered to him now.

I ignored him and went straight upstairs.

My phone rang—it was my professor, checking in about my previous plans.

And then, hesitating, he asked, "Nadine… Are you really sure about this? After all, you raised that child for ten years."

"And David Gunn, your chilldhood friens. You two grew up together. Ten years past will only deepen with time."

But so what?

The moment Yvonne appeared, there was no place left for me here.

I answered firmly, "Professor Zane, I’ve made up my mind. I don’t belong here."

After I hung up, I sat in silence for a long time.

And when I turned around—I saw him.

David Gunn.

I didn’t know how long he had been standing there.

He must have seen my startled expression because he let out a derisive laugh.

"Enough. Drop the act already."

"You think I wouldn’t notice how loudly you came upstairs? And then sitting there, pretending to be deep in some dramatic phone call?"

"You saw Yvonne was back and decided to throw a tantrum, huh? Playing the I’m-running-away-from-home game?"

His eyes were full of the same disdain as always.

A complicated feeling stirred inside me.

Maybe because I was leaving.

Maybe because I couldn’t help but think about the past.

David wasn’t always like this.

Back then, he had trusted me without hesitation. He had followed me around everywhere.

Even when our parents sent me away to a boarding school a thousand kilometers from home—so they could keep Yvonne close.

Even then, he never let me go.

David went on a hunger strike for three days. He risked losing his inheritance, fought his family tooth and nail, all to force them into sending him to my school.

Back then, I thought—just like in fairy tales—that we could be happy together forever.

Even though I longed for my parents’ love, I still fought desperately for the sake of my engagement with him. But when I finally managed to escape from the basement where they had locked me up, the first thing I saw was him, in a grand, beautifully decorated wedding hall, sliding a ring onto Yvonne’s finger.

My parents told me that I would never measure up to her.

That once David realized it too, he chose her without hesitation.

I tried to convince myself it wasn’t true, but the way he smiled at Yvonne—that tenderness in his eyes—it wasn’t a lie.

Later, my parents came to me, begging me to go to the Gunn Family’s home and clean up the mess Yvonne had left behind. And in that moment, when I agreed, there was a part of me that still hoped. Hoped that maybe, just maybe, David and I could go back to how we used to be. But ten years of cold disdain and cutting remarks made it clear.

In David’s world, there was only Yvonne.

***

“Dad, what’s taking you so long? You went upstairs to call that stinky woman to cook and now Mom’s still waiting for her food!”

Tyler’s shrill voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

David cast a glance at me.

“Enough with the mind games. Go make Yvonne’s dinner. She specifically asked for your cooking. If you behave well, I might consider letting you stay here a little longer.”

My fingers curled tightly around the armrest of my wheelchair, suppressing the anger boiling inside me.

“I’m in this condition… and you still want me to cook for Yvonne?”

Tyler let out a dramatic scream.

“You’re stinky woman! It’s just a little injury and you’re acting like you’re dying so pitiful!”

A little injury?

The doctors said that if I had been brought in just half an hour later, I would’ve been permanently disabled. But to Tyler, it was nothing more than a scratch.

I looked at the boy I had raised for ten years. A boy who once clung to me, soft and sweet, calling me Auntie Nadine with adoration in his eyes. A boy who used to say that heaven must have made a mistake—because the mother he chose should have been me. A boy who once told me that fate had finally corrected itself by bringing me into his life.

And now? Now he looked at me like I was his worst enemy. But none of it mattered anymore. It was almost over.

I swallowed back my emotions. The two of them stood there, waiting, making it clear that if I refused to cook, they wouldn’t let it go.

Bitterness rose in my throat, but I forced a laugh, “At least push me downstairs first.”

David let out a cold chuckle and waved over a servant.

“Don’t use this as an excuse to get close to me.”

***

In the kitchen, Yvonne strolled in casually, acting like she owned the place.

“Thanks for looking after my home, sis,” she said, flashing a saccharine smile.

“When you leave, I’ll tell David to give you some extra money.”

She flicked her fingers toward the menu as if she were placing an order at a high-end restaurant.

“Keep it simple, okay? You know my tastes—blood bird’s nest porridge, braised sea cucumber, king crab. Nothing too complicated.”

A nearby maid hesitated before speaking.

“But, Miss Xander… those dishes take hours to prepare. Just handling the ingredients alone will take at least four or five hours. And you don’t allow us to help—”

Yvonne arched a perfectly sculpted brow.

“So what you’re saying is… I don’t deserve to eat them?”

Outside, my parents’ voices cut through the air.

“Nadine! Your sister just got back and you can’t even do this one little thing for her?!”

I told myself it didn’t matter. I told myself over and over again.

But standing there, in the face of their blatant favoritism, my heart still ached.

'However, this is the last time.' I thought.

I looked straight into Yvonne’s eyes. “I’m leaving tomorrow. You don’t need to waste any more time trying to make me suffer.”

Yvonne’s eyes lit up with joy.

“You said it yourself—I never forced you to leave.”

She clapped her hands together, feigning generosity. “Fine, I’ll let the maids help you this time.”

With that, she strolled away, her entourage eagerly calling after her.

I turned back to the kitchen, where the staff watched me with a mix of pity and hesitation.

Even with their help in preparing the ingredients, cooking from a wheelchair was a struggle.

I lost track of time. My legs started aching again, a dull, persistent pain that refused to fade.

By the time I finally finished the dishes, a full table’s worth of food, the villa was eerily silent.

The housekeeper approached me, looking troubled.

“Three hours ago, Miss Yvonne wanted some snacks, so Mr. Gunn and the others all left.”

Not a single flicker of surprise crossed my face.

I merely hummed in acknowledgment and asked a maid to push me upstairs so I could pack my things.

***

At dawn, the car arrived to pick me up.

Just as the driver started the engine, he suddenly gasped, “Who's the kid?!”

I looked up—Tyler stood in front of the car, blocking the path.