My new husband always acted like a child.

Before our son turned two, he would grab the boy’s food bowls every single day and refuse to let go.

When our son turned four, he had developed an obsession with planting seeds and watering the little garden in our backyard.

When our son turned five, I ran into my Christian ex-boyfriend after six years apart at a business event.

He looked the same as before and narrowed his eyes at me with cold disdain.

“Didn’t we agree never to see each other again after the breakup?

“How are you still this pathetic after six years? You chased me all the way here?”

In an instant, everyone turned to watch and whispered among themselves, wondering whether I would shamelessly beg him to get back together with me.

After all, back then, I had used every trick I had just to win over William. It was how I had managed to get hold of a man who seemed aloof and almost otherworldly.

No one knew that every time William slept with me, he would go to church and repent in secret before a photo of his foster sister.

He even kicked me out of the Wells family for her sake.

He forced me to donate over a quart of blood to his foster sister when I was hospitalized after a miscarriage.

From that moment on, my heart was numb. I returned to my hometown and married my devoted husband.

I never expected that six years later, I would see him again.

William watched me in silence, then pulled an old diamond ring from his pocket and tossed it at my feet.

“Pick it up, and put it on. I’ll marry you.”

I stared at the diamond ring on the floor. It was the same style I had loved six years ago.

It was also the wedding ring I had begged William for a whole month, but he had never bought it for me.

As I silently studied the ring, William’s expression darkened.

One of his friends, standing nearby, looked frustrated and slapped William on the shoulder.

“You finally ran into Emma, so why are you still being stubborn? Don’t you remember the past six years? You would have lived or died for her!”

He turned quickly to me.

“Emma, when you disappeared without a word back then, William searched for you for six years!

“He renounced his vows and rejected every arranged marriage the Wells family pushed on him.

“He missed you so much he was about to lose his mind. Just agree already and marry him!”

If I had not lived through those pitch-dark days six years ago myself, I might have believed every word.

I touched the ring on my finger and smiled calmly.

“I don’t think so. We broke up six years ago.

“Isn’t that right, Mr. Wells?”

William clenched his rosary so tightly that it snapped. His face darkened.

He had not expected me to refuse him.

After all, I once shamelessly clung to him for three years.

During those three years, I tried every way to make it so that I would bump into him.

Rain or shine, I ran to his place to cook for him.

When he wanted to be intimate at night, I never refused and did everything I could to please him.

But in the eyes of his family and friends, that devotion turned into disgrace and shame.

After countless humiliations, William held my hand and stood before the Wells family.

He said, “Emma is the purest and most virtuous woman I have ever met. I am willing to go against my faith to be with her.”

William was an honest person, and I truly believed him. I thought he had fallen in love with me.

So when, night after night, he went to church to repent afterward, I treated it as proof of his love.

Then, two years into the relationship, one night I followed him with trembling legs when he left me in bed and went to church. I wanted to share the burden of his repentance.

Through the half-open door, I saw him kneeling. He was focused on a photograph of a woman, trying to relieve himself.

The orange candlelight flickered, casting shifting shadows across her face. It was clearly his adopted sister, Stacy Wells.

At that moment, I finally understood. What William was repenting for was not the nights we spent together but the desire for Stacy he could not let go of, despite more than ten years of devotion to his faith.

That night, I held onto my pillow and cried until morning. He stayed in church and did not return to our bedroom.

The next morning, William changed into clean clothes and prepared to head out.

I stood at the doorway with swollen eyes and watched him. When he looked at me, he did not even ask why I was crying.

He adjusted his cuff and spoke casually.

“Stacy’s back, so I’m going to pick her up.

“Clean up the mess at home. She’s not like you and doesn’t adapt to things as easily. She’s very innocent.”

William’s tone held no obvious contempt, but that calmness felt like a hard slap across my face.

I watched him rush out the door without looking back.

At that moment, I wanted to ask him something.

What exactly did I mean to him?

Was I a girlfriend he planned to marry, or a living toy he could summon and discard at will?

But I did not dare ask because I feared the truth, and I feared that I could not bear it.

In the end, I refused to give up.

I refused to believe William felt nothing for me. I believed even less that he could desire someone he did not love.

I waited from morning until afternoon. When he finally returned, it was with Stacy.

She stood at the door and pointed at me.

“I don’t like her. Make her leave.”

In that instant, I finally understood what it meant to be spoiled rotten.

She did not need schemes or tricks.

One sentence was enough for William to throw me out, along with my luggage.

That day, heavy rain flooded Harbor City as I dragged my luggage through the streets, unable to flag down a single cab.

By the time the moon rose, William found me.

He booked a presidential suite for a month and pulled me into his arms without hesitation.

That night, he wanted me again and again. He whispered my name in my ear.

In a daze, I held his shoulder and asked him if he loved me.

William froze and was silent for a long time before he said, “Emma, if I ever get married, the bride will be you.”

I forgave him just like that because I loved him too much.

I loved him enough to accept that I was not the only woman in his life.

I loved him enough that even knowing certain truths, I would still run to him the moment he called, like a dog desperate to please.

I would roll over, wag my tail, do anything just to earn his favor.

After that, William and I seemed to silently agree that marriage was inevitable.

I began looking at wedding venues, dresses, and rings.

I sent him what I chose, and he replied while accompanying Stacy.

Most of the time, his responses were short.

[Whatever you like is fine]

[I’m good with anything.]

Other times, he did not even reply.

Stacy would take his phone and curse at me. She always accused me of being shameless.

Then, William would take the phone back and send me a cold voice message.

“She’s still young. Don’t take it to heart.”

I found that funny, but I agreed that I was indeed shameless.

And yet, I enjoyed it.

A few days later, William suddenly suggested we go look at rings.

Stacy came along.

I picked out more than ten designs. Stacy rejected every single one, always with some absurd excuse.

“This ring brings bad luck to the husband, so we can’t take it.”

“This ring makes me uncomfortable, so it won’t work.”

Even the sales assistant could not take it anymore and asked us who was getting married and who was actually buying the ring.

Stacy’s pride was bruised, and she curled up in William’s arms, crying softly.

“William, I don’t want you to get married! If you marry, you won’t care about me anymore, and then anyone can mistreat me. You can’t get married!”

William’s eyes reddened.

He restrained himself, and his voice trembled.

“How could I not care about you? I’ve always been your… brother…”

“That’s not true!” Stacy shouted. “Ever since Emma showed up, you sent me abroad and wouldn’t let me come back!

“It’s all Emma’s fault. It’s all her fault! If she disappears, will you treat me like before?”

She suddenly looked at me, and madness flashed in her eyes.

She grabbed my head and slammed it hard against the counter.

The sound of shattering glass exploded in my ears, and blood blurred my vision.

But Stacy was not satisfied.

She lifted her four-inch heels and drove them into my abdomen. Pain exploded through me.

I lay on the floor like a discarded rag doll.

Before my consciousness faded, the last thing I saw was William clutching Stacy’s hand in panic.

“Stacy, are you hurt anywhere? Don’t ever scare me like that again…”

When I woke up, I was lying on a hospital bed.

William was gone. Only a nurse moved busily around the room.

“The head wound required twelve stitches,” she said gently. “It’s no longer serious.

“But the baby…

“The pregnancy was still very early. We did everything we could.”

My mind went completely blank at the nurse’s words.

I stared at my abdomen and reached out to touch it.

So… there had been a child in there.

And by the time I knew, the child was already gone.

Tears streamed silently down my face. The nurse hurried to comfort me.

“You’re still young. You can have another child. Call the baby’s father first.”

‘The child’s father…’ I thought.

When I remembered the way William had looked at Stacy before I passed out, my tears would not stop.

If I had not been so stubborn and obsessed with him, maybe my child would not have ended up like this.

It was all my fault.

I should have left long ago.

I blocked William’s contact and stayed in the hospital to recover in peace.

I did not expect him to burst into the ward the very next day.

He grabbed my hand and spoke in a mix of urgency and anger.

“Why didn’t you answer my calls? Do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for you?”

I was not foolish enough to believe that he was worried about me.

Sure enough, William pulled out my IV and dragged me out of the ward.

“Stacy was in a car accident. She urgently needs a blood transfusion. You’re the only one with the same blood type—”

I struggled with all my strength.

“Let go! Let go of me! William, I just had surgery too, and I don’t want to…”

He did not let me finish. He looked at me with open disgust.

“Emma, haven’t you always wanted to marry me? Save Stacy, and I’ll marry you.”

William pushed me into the operating room and pleaded with the doctor behind him.

“Please, doctor, you must save Stacy!”

“Stacy?” The doctor flipped through the chart and frowned slightly.

“But the name written here is Emily Langley…”

William froze.

He instinctively glanced at me, and his eyes shone guiltily.

After a brief silence, he nodded slowly.

“Yes, Stacy… is Emily Langley.”

Emily…

It suddenly hit me.

Before the Wells Family adopted Stacy, her name had been Emily Langley.

All those times he had whispered Emily’s name in moments of passion and promised to marry her had not been for me.

From beginning to end, I was nothing more than a substitute.

William had never loved me!

At that moment, my heart was numb, and my consciousness sank into darkness under the influence of the cold anesthesia.

When I woke up again, I bought a plane ticket and returned to my hometown.

Before boarding, I used a public phone at the airport to call William.

“William, I don’t love you anymore. We’re done.”

I never expected that six years later, we would meet again.

I gave William a brief nod before turning to leave.

William suddenly grabbed me. His grip was so tight that my wrist reddened at once.

He picked up the diamond ring from the ground and held it out in front of me.

“Emma, did I ever agree to a break-up? Put it on now, and don’t make me angry!”

William pried my hand open and tried to force the ring onto my finger.

But the instant my fingers spread, he froze.

His eyes locked onto the massive diamond already on my ring finger.

“That’s not possible…”

He was about to say more when a sturdy little boy suddenly rushed over.

He planted himself between us and wrapped his arms tightly around my leg.

“Hey, let go of my mommy!”