At that moment, I felt like I'd been struck by lightning. I didn't know when they got together. I had no idea how I'd raised such an ungrateful child.

In the years I'd cared for him, I'd been tireless. When he said he missed home and couldn't sleep, I stayed with him night after night. When he said he was bullied at school, I stood up for him. He said Rachel seemed to dislike him, so I encouraged Rachel to spend more time with him. Unexpectedly, the kind of liking he spoke of was sexual intimacy.

I was so angry that I fainted. My child's condition dropped rapidly without my care. During my hospitalization, Thomas kept sending provocative messages.

He sent me videos of the two of them together. He sent me Rachel's sweet words of love and vows. He sent me a divorce agreement that Rachel had already prepared. When I saw that thick stack of videotapes, I vomited for three days and three nights.

I just couldn't connect this heartless bastard in front of me with the timid little girl I first met. During that time, I almost cried my eyes out. Rachel never visited me once.

When I returned home from the hospital, I saw her directing people to move my belongings. In front of the enormous wedding photo, Rachel tightly gripped Thomas's hand.

"Steven, you didn’t understand, you'll never understand. Thomas is the rose I raised myself, my confidant, my soulmate. He's different from you. He's thoughtful, profound, someone I can discuss life with!" As she spoke, her gaze swept disdainfully over my designer clothes.

She coldly uttered, "Vulgar."

Those words shattered the last shred of my defenses. I didn't know how Thomas, who hadn't even finished high school, could discuss the length of life with her.

I only knew that back then, to be with Rachel, I gave almost everything. I almost broke with my family for Rachel. I drank myself into a hemorrhage countless times at the dinner table for Rachel. But they, just when I thought my suffering was over, dealt me ​​a fatal blow.

I remembered the traces they left all over the house. I remembered Thomas's parting words, "So what if you're rich and have everything in life? You don't know, do you? While you were working hard to earn money, Rachel was lying beneath me, moaning. From now on, this is my home. Your woman, everything you've worked so hard to earn, is mine."

My anger reached its peak. In a fit of rage, I set fire to the villa. The fire wasn't big and was quickly extinguished.

But Rachel filed a lawsuit against me for this crime. She gave me two choices: Divorce or go to jail. I also gave her two choices: Die or face complete disgrace.

She was a law professor who had lived a life of aloofness. What she couldn’t let go of most was her scholarly integrity. I could accept her leaving me because of incompatibility. But I couldn’t tolerate her using my money to support a gigolo.

We were arguing so badly that both of our parents came to mediate. When the elderly women, tears streaming down their faces, asked me why, I couldn’t even answer.

How could I begin? The child I raised had become a homewrecker. And my wife of many years, whom I’d loved for years, wanted a divorce for this bastard.

I couldn't utter a single word. Just thinking about it made me feel nauseous.

Finally, my mother gleaned a clue from Rachel and Thomas's intimate behavior. She threatened the Godman Family with an explanation, or she would withdraw all investments and cancel all cooperation.

The Godman Family elders panicked and apologized to me. They said Rachel had only been confused for a moment, unable to judge people and had been misled by Thomas. They advised me to give Rachel another chance for the sake of the child.

"You know, Rachel isn't a bad person, she's just been too protected by her family since childhood, making her a bit naive. For our sake, forgive her this once."

Keeping mistresses and having extramarital affairs wasn’t something new in their circle. But someone like Rachel, who disregards ethics and shame, was the first. Rachel’s parents couldn’t afford to lose face. I couldn’t swallow this insult either.

At the same time, they also knew. The Godman Family was just a newly rich family. To put it bluntly, their whole family depended on me for support. Over the years, I've managed almost everything in the family, big and small.

The Godman Family's business, with over a hundred employees, also relied entirely on my family's financial support. Whether from a status, emotional, or financial perspective, they didn’t want Thomas to replace me as the head of the Godman Family.

But no matter how much the family tried to persuade her, Rachel seemed possessed, determined to be with Thomas. She smashed the furniture in the house. She crashed the decorations we bought for our wedding. She broke everything connected to us.

She yelled at me in front of the mediator, "You don't understand, you understand nothing! All you people see is money, how can you understand the chemistry between Thomas and my soul? Heaven brought us together and I will overcome all difficulties to be with him. Age, status and interests cannot stop our love!"

Rachel became the romantic poet in her own defend. She became Romeo and Juliet, recklessly devoted to love. She regained her lost youth, regained the thrill of her youth. She completely forgot the husband who had supported her all along, working hard to earn money to support the family.

To express her determination for Thomas, Rachel moved out of her home. She took my money and bought Thomas a luxurious villa, naming it True Love. The two of them lived together openly like this.

These years of hard work had already taken a toll on my health. This shitty affair further worsen my condition.

When Luke was four months old, we were both hospitalized. My parents were so worried about me that they couldn't eat or sleep. They stood firmly by my side.

They declared that no matter the outcome, both of our families would be lifelong enemies. That divorce match turned into a huge mess.

The entire business world was shaken. New money fought with old money families. The wife fought the mistress. But just when the drama reached its peak, it suddenly ended.

My parents were in a car accident. The person in charge of the case said it was caused by fatigue driving and no one could be held responsible. But someone else told me that Rachel had deliberately hired someone to kill them so she could be with Thomas.

I didn’t know what the so-called truth was. I only remember being overwhelmed by anger and grief. Looking at my unconscious parents, watching Thomas’s constant provocations. I held a knife, intending to take this scumbag and his slut down with me.

Unexpectedly, I couldn't even get through the Godman Family's gate. The Godman Family elders, who had been begging me to forgive Rachel just a while ago, now had completely changed their tune. They grabbed Thomas's hand and slipped their family heirloom watch onto his wrist.

"This is the rightful son-in-law of our Godman Family. A piece of trash like you shouldn't be sitting in this position."

Thomas was indeed cunning. He had long ago conspired with Rachel to gradually seize the Portman Family's wealth. My youthful affection had led me to place 100% trust in Rachel in this marriage. I completely forgot what it meant to be ruthless.

While I was hospitalized, while I was caring for my parents and child, Rachel, along with her industry peers, ruthlessly destroyed my family. Company executives were watching hungrily, waiting to take over. The pillar industry was crumbling. I had long since lost my usefulness. Just like that, I was kicked out of the Godman Family.

At that time, Rachel still had some affection for me. She agreed to pay me compensation, a clean break.

"I know you like children and I know your health isn't good, so it will be difficult for you to have your own children in the future. But you can't take Luke with you with this condition. Consider this money my compensation. Don't contact me again."

I should have stabbed Rachel to death. But I still had kindness within me. I told myself, there was always tomorrow, I had to survive first. But Thomas still wouldn't let me go. He orchestrated a whole drama, breaking his leg and framing me. His tears washed away the last shred of affection Rachel had for me.

In our eighth year of marriage, on that winter night that could freeze tears into ice, Rachel personally sent me to prison. I was sentenced to three years in prison for intentional assault.

In the first year, Rachel filed for divorce. She stripped me of custody and visitation rights for Luke.

The second year, the company went bankrupt. My parents died tragically in the hospital because no one could pay their medical bills; I couldn't even see them one last time.

In the third year, I was released early for good behavior. With all my savings, I buried my family together. That day was the winter solstice and snow was falling heavily.

Rachel lit fireworks to propose to Thomas. In that noisy night, I felt utterly alone. I stood by the river, wanting to jump in. Until the fireworks illuminated my face. I finally remembered I had a child. I wanted to see him one last time.

But when I arrived at Rachel’s house, I saw Luke kneeling on the ground, searching for food from garbage. A two- or three-year-old child, as thin as a little monkey. He couldn't even speak, only knew how to lie on the ground and bark like a dog.

Seeing me arrive, a group of people eagerly tossed him to me like trash. They couldn't tolerate an ex-husband who was of no use to them. They also disliked a child born weak and sickly.

Thus, this burden who cared for the family became my only one. My son and I depended on each other for survival. I poured all my strength into raising Luke until he was eight years old.

Finally, last year, I buried this little life with my own hands. Fate kissed me with pain and I could only endure it. Between love and hate. Between life and death. I was forced to reconcile with myself and opened this steamed bun shop.

The cigarette burned out and I casually flicked the ash, my tone flat, "Luke's ashes are buried next to my parents, but you have no right to see them."

Rachel remained silent for a long time.

After a moment of silence, she finally gathered the courage to step forward. But as she turned, she knocked my phone off the table.

The screen lit up and Thomas's voice poured out from the video.

"Yes, what happened back then was a setup I deliberately made things up. Happiness is something you have to fight for. How could I possibly genuinely like an old woman? She's so old, her skin is all wrinkled. Every time I sleep with her, I feel disgusted. But there's no other way. I'll just have to endure a few more years until I've made enough money, then life will be comfortable."

Rachel's hand clenched again. How ridiculous. The love she received after abandoning her husband and children didn't even love her. The young man she considered a soulmate didn't understand her. But she did it all for such a man. She caused her husband, who truly loved her, to lose his family. She caused her own flesh and blood to die with regrets.

I watched Rachel's eyes shift from shock to despair. I watched her expression change from pain to distortion. She hesitated several times, unable to speak, her courage failing her. But when she finally mustered the courage to step forward, a familiar voice came from outside.