"Eugene." Tommy's expression suddenly turned cold. "I don't like it when you act this way."

After speaking, he let out a heavy sigh and gently took Eugene's hand in his, "Be good. Go back home, okay?"

Eugene wanted to refuse. She desperately wanted to confront this woman named Francine, to see what spell she had cast over this man and his son.

But the thought of doing so suddenly felt pointless. It was already over. Dwelling on such meaningless matters would only add to her frustration.

Just as she began to withdraw her hand, Tommy grabbed her wrist tightly, "Eugene, where's our wedding ring?"

Eugene flinched slightly, suddenly remembering that she had already sold it. She responded flatly, "I left it at home."

Tommy frowned, as if he wanted to asked her further. But his phone rang again, the insistent vibration signaling Francine's urgency. This time, he let it slide, brushing off his curiosity.

Before leaving, he reminded her to wear her wedding ring and drove her home, only to rush off again in his car. Watching his taillights disappear, Eugene's gaze dimmed.

That night, Tommy and Casey didn't come home. Eugene didn't care where they went or what they did.

Instead, she spent the evening quietly sorting through the belongings in the house, separating out her own things.

She contacted a real estate agent she had previously reached out to and purchased an apartment in a small town far away from where they currently lived.

Slowly, she began moving her things out. Fearful that Tommy might notice, she deliberately left some items behind.

Despite everything, a decade of shared life had left a complicated tangle of emotions between them. She knew Tommy's possessiveness all too well. If he discovered her plan to leave, he might just have a change of heart and try to stop her.

The very thought sent shivers down her spine. But it wasn't Tommy's actions that broke her heart the most. What truly left her disillusioned was the behavior of her only child, her son.

The boy she had carried in her womb for ten months was the sole result of her and Tommy's union. Back when she was pregnant, Tommy was in the middle of building his career.

Accompanying him to endless business events, she unexpectedly began feeling sick and found out she was already two months along.

The doctor warned her that due to her weak constitution and frequent drinking during early pregnancy, there was a risk of preterm labor.

Tommy, concerned, had even suggested they terminate the pregnancy. But Eugene insisted on keeping the child.

The doctor's predictions were correct, Casey was born prematurely, frail and frequently ill. To take better care of him, Eugene gave up her career and became a full-time mother. She spent every day researching ways to strengthen his body, treating him as the center of her world and protecting him as he grew up.

But all it took was one meeting with Francine for Casey to change completely. The boy who had once clung to her began rejecting her entirely. He scorned her rules, spoke to her with contempt and insulted her at every turn.

Time and again, Eugene convinced herself to be patient. This was her child, after all and she believed a mother's love should be unconditional. But no matter how much tolerance and leniency she offered, the father and son duo only became more unkind, more unreasonable.

The more she thought about it, the more disappointed she became. Her life was an utter failure. A cheating husband and a son who no longer loved her, what reason was there to stay in such a household?

Finally, Eugene contacted her lawyer to draft a divorce agreement, granting custody of Casey to Tommy. She instructed the lawyer to deliver the documents as soon as she completed her hypnosis treatment.

With all these arrangements made, Eugene finally enjoyed her first peaceful sleep in a long time.

For the next few days, Tommy remained occupied, keeping Casey with him constantly.

It's heard that Francine has started her own business and Tommy was helping her find connections. Eugene couldn't help but admire Tommy, thinking he was truly a good person.

However, this whole matter with the three of them has nothing to do with her anymore.

As her first hypnotherapy session approached, the therapist told her to spend more time with the person she wanted to forget, visiting places they used to go together and experiencing what they had experienced before. This would help with the hypnosis.

Eugene called Tommy several times. It was only after some time that he finally picked up, perhaps because he realized he had indeed been neglecting Eugene lately.

Tommy promised to spend the weekend with her, but then he was suddenly called to a reunion by a college friend.

Eugene thought about it for a moment and decided that this was as the doctor had said. The location was at a luxury hotel in the city center.

Tommy held her hand with one and held Casey's hand with the other as they walked into the private room. Inside, the atmosphere was lively and upon hearing the noise, everyone turned to look.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bolton has arrived," several familiar friends stood up to greet them.

Tommy was the successful representative of his college, so everyone wanted to take the opportunity to get closer to him.

It was at that moment Eugene noticed a sharp gaze on her. Turning her head, she saw it was Francine. She was wearing a white dress today. She looked intelligent and generous. Next to her sat one of Tommy's college roommates.

Seeing Eugene's curiosity, a person beside her whispered an introduction, "That is his friend, isn't she beautiful? Honestly, you two look somewhat alike."

Not just alike. Eugene had seen Francine's photo on Tommy's phone before.

The woman had the same phoenix eyes as hers and especially the mole at the corner of her eye was identical.

No wonder Tommy had relentlessly pursued her for two years back then. It turned out to be because of this face.

Eugene didn't speak, her eyes scanning the pair who sat close together. How could Francine be with Tommy's college roommate?

Suddenly, Tommy, who was standing beside Francine, spoke coldly, "How come you're here?"

"If you can come, can't I come?" Francine rolled her eyes, then sweetly leaned toward the man beside her and asked him to feed her.

Eugene could clearly feel Tommy's growing anger. In the next moment, he stepped forward and dragged Francine out of the room without explanation.

The private room fell into eerie silence and all eyes turned to Eugene. Some looked on in amusement, while others sympathized.

Eugene's face darkened slightly as she bit her lip, "I'm going out to see." Leaving the private room, she just happened to see Tommy standing dejectedly at the door.

When he saw Eugene, he looked like he had found a savior, "Eugene, hurry and check how Francine is in the restroom!" He didn't even realize how inappropriate this request was.

Eugene gave him a look, then silently walked into the restroom. Inside, Francine wasn't crying as Tommy had feared. Instead, she was leisurely touching up her lipstick.

Seeing Eugene enter, Francine sneered, "So, Mrs. Bolton has fallen to become a tool for others?"

Eugene didn't reply. She didn't know what had just happened between the two of them. But to her, she just didn't want to make a scene and let others enjoy the spectacle.

It was just Francine feeling jealous and trying to seduce Tommy's roommate. Then Tommy, in turn, got jealous and took her away, right? Francine's trick was just to make Tommy stay away from Eugene.

Eugene remained expressionless, "Are you done playing? If you are, get out. He's waiting for you."

Francine looked incredulous, "Aren't you angry? He's jealous because of me!"

Angry? What good would being angry do? What doesn't belong to you will never belong to you.

"I understand now, you're pretending to be dignified, right? You think if you do that, he'll change his mind? Dream on!" Francine sneered and then suddenly slapped herself hard, yelling out.

Eugene, puzzled, was about to speak when a huge force from behind shoved her forcefully. She lost her balance and fell heavily to the ground. The pain was so intense that she almost passed out.

Tommy asked, "Francine, what happened!"

Francine covered her face, crying uncontrollably, "Tommy, Eugene doesn't like me. She told me to stay away from you, sob sob ... I said we were just friends and she called me a whore."

Tommy's eyes widened, his face dark as he looked at Eugene, "Did you hit her?"

Eugene was about to speak when, suddenly, Tommy slapped her hard across the face. The slap made her back and head hit the door handle of the restroom.

Blood began to flow from the back of her head. The chattering outside almost swallowed up all her rationality.

"I didn't ..." Before she could finish, she collapsed heavily.

When she awoke, Eugene found herself in a hospital. The first thing she did upon opening her eyes was to reach for her phone and dial the hypnotherapy institution, "Can the procedure be done earlier? I can't wait any longer."

She had had enough of this torment and didn't want to continue any longer!

At that moment, the door to the room opened. Tommy frowned and asked, "Eugene, what procedure did you say you needed?"

Eugene was so frightened that she immediately hid the phone behind her, "It's nothing, just asking if I need to have surgery for the scar on my back."

When Tommy pushed her at the restroom, the long scar on her back was formed, looking ugly and terrifying. She hadn't wanted to bring it up, but to avoid suspicion from Tommy, she had to mention it.

Tommy frowned as if pondering. "Really? But I clearly just heard you talking about a hypnotherapy procedure. Eugene, what did you do behind my back?"

The questioning look from the man made her shiver. Could he be on to her? Eugene felt an overwhelming panic.

Luckily, it wasn't just Tommy who entered, Francine and Casey came too.

She walked up and grabbed Tommy's arm, coquettishly saying, "Tommy, don't be so fierce, your wife just woke up. There must be some misunderstanding."

Casey also spoke with disdain, "What can mom do behind your back? She's dying to stick with you all day. She's just clueless."

Upon hearing this, Tommy agreed. They had been married for over ten years and Eugene truly had no activities outside of being by his side.

Thinking about this, a trace of tenderness flashed in the man's eyes. He put aside his suspicion and gently sat beside Eugene.

He diligently fed her fruit, gently comforting her, "I was too emotional. I'm sorry, Eugene, I was just thinking too much. I didn't want you to get into trouble at the reunion. So I accidentally pushed you. Don't be mad, honey."

Listening to his apology, there was no stir in Eugene's heart. Instead, she felt incredibly repulsed and disgusted.

She said, "Tommy, do you even believe what you're saying?" When he rushed over to hug Francine, shoving her aside, when she was in so much pain she fainted …