My husband, who was a drug enforcement police officer, personally got me into rehab.

My son was cheering on the side, saying that he no longer had to see me under the influence for a long time.

After I was discharged, I discovered my husband moved in with his lover and our son.

I begged him to come back and told him that someone would kill me.

He did not believe me. Instead, he said coldly, “If you die, you better end up in a trash can. Otherwise, I’d have to deal with your body.”

My son cheered at the side. “Mommy is finally gone!”

After a week, I was dismembered. My body parts were found in multiple trash cans.

He was the police in charge of the case.

........

“Daddy, can we not see that woman?” My son, Jack Damon, was frowning and pouting. He appeared extremely annoyed. “Every time I visit her, she asks me so many questions! It’s as if she’s a complete lunatic.”

He got more agitated as he spoke and stomped his foot in frustration.

My soul was hovering mid-air. I was upset when I saw his frown.

We only met once a month. I would prepare a few days in advance before he visited me. I made small treats and prepared the best trips possible.

I just wanted him to be happy.

I did not expect him to be the happiest at not having to see me.

My husband, Brandon Damon, calmly dressed Jack up. He only frowned when he heard Jack mentioning me.

“You only see her once a month. It’s your grandmother’s request. Just bear with it.

“Don’t upset her, otherwise, we have to see her again. You get me?”

After he said that, he ruffled Jack’s hair and sighed deeply.

I grimaced. I felt bitter about it. I knew that Brandon did not love me, but it still upset me to hear his words.

“Jack, be good when you see your mother! When you’re back, I’ll make some good food for you.”

A familiar voice pulled me back to reality. I saw my husband’s lover, Olivia Smith, pull Jack into an embrace. Jack threw his arms around her and planted a kiss on her cheek.

“I love you the most, Olivia! I’ll listen to you. Whenever that woman asks me anything, I’ll be good and answer.”

As he said that, he leaned against Brandon’s ear and whispered, “When are you going to marry Olivia and make her my mother?”

After Jack said that, Brandon’s expression changed slightly. Brandon cleared his throat and pretended to be stern with Jack. “Jack! Don’t tease Olivia!”

Olivia’s face slowly turned red in embarrassment.

“You should take care of your own son. I don’t want to take care of him anymore!”

Brandon gestured at her with a smile on his face. He stared lovingly at Olivia.

I froze mid-air and hid behind the closet while watching this loving scene.

I had once imagined this scene for myself. I used to imagine Brandon by my side as Jack lay in my embrace at home while sweetly calling me “mommy”.

Brandon would look at us with a smile on his face.

But that only existed in my imagination.

I felt the cold wind coming from the window. It did not make me shiver, but my heart turned cold like the wind.

“Brandon, come over!” Someone yelled through Brandon’s phone and snapped me out of my thoughts.

I shook my head and sighed. I bet it was a case related to drugs. Brandon… had another excuse not to see me.

At the same time, I felt pity for the drug offender.

Once Brandon was on the case, the offender never stood a chance.

The other person continued on the phone, “Brandon, we found a dismembered and minced-up arm in one of the trash cans on First Avenue! After some tests, they detected a lot of drugs in the deceased’s bloodstream.

“You should come over now!”

Brandon replied, “Alright.” He quickly ended the phone call and picked up his jacket before leaving. He said to Jack, “We won’t go today. I’ll explain to your mother later.”

When the door was closed, I heard Jack cheer, “Yay! I don’t have to see that druggie!”

Right. He did not have to see me… anymore.

I followed Brandon to the crime scene. The familiar place triggered the memories in my brain.

I suddenly recalled the dismembered arm… It was mine.

“Brandon, how much hatred do you think there is to dismember and mince up someone’s arm?!” As Nate Thurman, Brandon’s colleague, spoke, he was holding his arm against his nose to block the smell. He pointed at the disfigured arm to show Brandon.

Brandon indifferently put on his gloves and rummaged around the trash can to find the remainder of the arm. The trash can reeked of rotten flesh and blood. Flies were swarming around it.

Nate continued, “Brandon, I heard things are a bit weird around here recently. At the start of the month, people were saying that someone was screaming nearby.

“They wanted to lodge a police report, but the noise stopped the second day.”

Nate then glanced at the nearby neighborhood.

“Brandon, do you think… you want to inform Wren Burr?”

When Brandon heard that, he glanced at Nate and then looked over to the neighborhood that I was staying in. He said coldly, “I think she’s the safest person around here.

“She’ll survive. There’s nothing to be afraid of if she’s already daring enough to take drugs!”

Even though it was a sunny day, I felt extremely cold.

I looked at Nate’s awkward expression as he made a gesture of zipping his mouth. Tears immediately welled up in my eyes.

I wanted to tell Nate that he no longer had to bring me up. I was the person who was screaming at the start of the month.

The disembodied arm also belonged to me.

They no longer had to be scolded by Brandon because of me.

On the way home, Brandon gave Olivia a call.

“Some crimes are happening these few days. You should be careful. Don’t bring Jack out if possible.”

Even though he was scaring Olivia, it sounded like he was flirting with her. Olivia replied playfully, “Alright, alright. I know! Focus on your case, Officer Damon!”

Brandon’s frown disappeared after hearing Olivia’s sweet promises. The frown returned when he drove past where I stayed.

Brandon opened up our text conversation. The last text message came from me asking him what Jack’s recent favorite food was.

But Brandon did not reply.

He opened the phone record.

Our last call was at the beginning of the month.

He answered the call but hung up on me after three minutes.

If he had listened attentively, he would have heard my cries and screams. I was being pinned against the ground by the drug dealer as he injected drugs into me.

But Brandon did not care. He only cared if Olivia wanted to have some dessert.

Brandon stared at the messaging app and typed a few words before deleting them again. He kept tapping on the phone screen and suddenly tossed it aside in frustration.

He suddenly felt as if something was wrong.

“Nate, go and check if there are any missing person reports recently around this area,” Brandon said as he stared at the neighborhood through his car window.

Nate sat in the passenger seat and said carefully, “A few days ago, your parents came over and reported that she had gone missing.”

Brandon only sneered after hearing that.

Tension rose in the car.

I knew that he thought that it was one of my tricks to get his parents’ help so that he would meet me.

After they returned to the police station, Brandon immediately started to work on the case. He contacted a forensic doctor to run a DNA test and checked on the recent activities and areas where the drug dealers were active.

Eventually, his parents gave him a call.

“Brandon, have you visited Wren?

“She usually would visit us once every two weeks, but she didn’t show up the last time. She would also call if she’s caught up with something, but we’re unable to reach her at all.”

As they spoke, they slowly lowered their voices as they were afraid to anger Brandon.

“Wren said she would love to see you and Jack. Can you bring Jack to visit her and tell her that I miss her too? Is that alright?”

Even though it was just a simple request to look for a person, Brandon was immediately furious.

“Mom! How many times do I have to tell you that I’m a policeman! It’s not my duty to look for any random person without an official report!

“Besides, doesn’t she have legs? If she can’t walk, she should just chop them off!”

He suddenly realized he had sounded too harsh. He sighed and toned down his speech. “Mom, you know…”

She knew. Everyone knew.

Brandon hated and despised nothing more than me.

Everyone in our immediate circle knew that.

However, when I was a teenage girl, I fell in love with him. To me, he was as bright as the stars.

It just so happened that he was in love with someone else.

When his parents disapproved of his relationship with Olivia, he got into a fight with his parents for the first time ever.

It was my first time seeing Brandon like that. The light was slowly dimming in his eyes, and he looked extremely defeated.

My heart ached at the sight, so I stole his passport for him and gave him all the money I had saved just so he could escape to see Olivia.

As he left through the window, his eyes were sparkling like stars in the sky. He thanked me and promised to bring me to have dessert at Southern Memories.

That was our very last friendly exchange.

He did not manage to find Olivia.

He lost his spark after he came back. He spent his days drunk in his room.

When he was at his drunkest, he thought that I was Olivia.

That was the first time I ever had him.

After his parents discovered what he had done, they forced him to marry me. I agreed.

His eyes were red when he grabbed my shoulders and demanded an answer.

I told him I was pregnant and wanted to give him a family.

He started to smash everything around him, including his eighteenth birthday present from me in anger.

When he had worn himself out, he leaned against the wall and stared blankly at me. He said, “Wren, you’re shameless.”

I knew Brandon had loved Olivia for five years.

But I had loved him for ten years.

I wanted to get closer to him, but he pushed me away. Shards of glass dug into my palm and blood oozed out.

The blood reminded me of his rage-filled eyes as he questioned me why.

…

“Brandon, come over at once! We found another leg at a different place!” Nate’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

Brandon immediately ended the call even though his mother had something else to say.

Brandon only said, “She has legs! If you care so much about her, remember to chop her legs off next time! Don’t bother me with her nonsense!”

I looked in the direction that Brandon was heading.

Oh, there was no need to chop off my legs.

Someone had already done so.

“Brandon, the leg belonged to the same person as the dismembered arm.” Nate was examining the leg that they had just retrieved from the underground sewer with his gloves on.

The leg was already swollen from soaking in the dirty water. The dirt had gotten into the opened wound, and it smelled absolutely horrible. No one dared to get close to it when it was first retrieved.

“Are the DNA results of that arm out?” Brandon frowned as he said while he stared at the leg.

“The preliminary result suggested that it belonged to the Burr family of Doe City.”

Brandon was stunned. The familiar place and last name got to him.

After the Damon family took me in, I never got the chance to visit my parents’ grave.

When I was younger, I kept crying as I wanted to look for my parents. Brandon would comfort me and say, “Don’t be afraid. When you’re older, I’ll bring you to visit them.”

When we grew up, he had forgotten his promise.

I had once begged him when we got married. “Can you accompany me to visit my parents? Please?

He only frowned and complained that I was being annoying. He said that I did not deserve to visit my parents.

Thinking about it, my father’s nameless grave must be overgrown with weed.

…

“I’ll go to Doe City in a few days’ time. You should look into the recent drug cases.”

Nate nodded and asked hesitantly, “Brandon, are you really not going to look for Wren? After all, she has treated us…”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Brandon’s phone ringtone.

“Brandon, I can’t find the necklace that I just bought. Can you come back home and help me look for it?”

After Olivia had said that, Brandon’s frown immediately disappeared. He chuckled. “You’re so forgetful, Olivia. Don’t worry, I’ll head back soon.”

His face looked so warm and tender.

After he ended the call, Nate still wanted to say something, but Brandon cut him off.

“Nate, I told you, I don’t want to hear that name ever again!

“Besides, I’ll divorce her soon.”

…

Even though I had heard that statement several times before and had already mentally prepared myself for a divorce, I still felt upset when I heard it directly from the person I loved the most.

I looked at Nate as he hung his head low. He was staring innocently at his phone.

Silly boy. I only made him a meal when he was hungry. Why did he remember it for so long?