After my husband was punished, he was paid 420 dollars a month. I worked two jobs to support the family and pay off the mortgage, but I found out that his salary slip showed 4,197 dollars a month.

Today was Valentine’s Day and Lionel gave me a good morning kiss as usual. “Wife, the boss said that I have performed well recently and can make up for my mistakes.”

In the evening, his first love posted the property certificate and the river view flat. “Who received the most thoughtful Valentine’s Day gift?”

The floor-to-ceiling window reflected Lionel’s doting face.

That was great, I would like every one of my friends in the future.

I could give blessings, but you couldn’t live in the house for a day.

——

Before washing clothes, I took Lionel’s pocket and found the kind of salary slip that was crumpled into a ball. I stood in front of the basin with gloves on.

Lionel’s salary was 4,197 dollars a month? How is it possible?

I panicked and found the record of the 280 dollars he sent me for living expenses this month.

“Wife, I only need to keep one thousand for myself. It’s all my fault.”

My heart was beating wildly. I read it over and over again in disbelief.

Name: Lionel Cannon

Actual salary: 420 dollars

Five years ago, he came back crying and told me that he made a mistake and was punished by the company and his salary was reduced to 420 dollars.

From 1,399 dollars to 420 dollars, I couldn’t sleep at night to bear this bad news, constantly comforting him and constantly looking for a second job.

I took off my rubber gloves and my rough and wrinkled hands could hardly see the original tenderness.

In the past five years, I had worked two jobs, paid car loans and mortgages and had to support this family.

But now tell me, was it all a scam by my husband?

I dared not think whether this was his surprise or shock.

My phone rang, it was Lionel.

I wiped my tears in a panic, tried my best to restrain the trembling of my voice and answered the phone.

“Wife, I’m here with my boss for a social event today, so I won’t be home for dinner. You know my situation, I have to behave well.” He spoke gently and everything was the same as usual.

Maybe there was some misunderstanding. “Okay.”

I was flustered and didn’t tell him as usual. The other party was stunned for a while before hanging up the phone.

Lionel’s dirty clothes were soaking in the basin. I sat by the bed, just wanting to wait for him to come back and ask him.

But he didn’t come home until late at night.

I took out my phone and saw Elaine’s new Instagram story: [Who received the most thoughtful gift~]

In the photo, she was holding the property certificate in her hand, lying on the sofa of the river view flat, gorgeous and gorgeous.

On the floor-to-ceiling glass, I saw my husband, Lionel, holding the phone and smiling dotingly.

My panicked hands trembled and the phone fell to the ground. The stinging feeling brought by pinching the thigh meat tightly kept reminding me that this was not a dream.

In order to avoid giving me living expenses, Lionel cheated me with fake wages for five years. Now, he used the money to buy a house for his first love, Elaine...

I quickly looked through Elaine’s Instagram story. It turned out that she had openly shown so much love in these years.

When Lionel was on a business trip, Elaine’s boyfriend accompanied her on a trip.

Lionel said that when she was working overtime, Elaine’s boyfriend prepared a candlelight dinner for her.

Even… in the winter, when I was sick and didn’t dare to see a doctor, Elaine showed off her boyfriend’s 20,985 dollars year-end bonus and a full of luxury handbags.

The hand holding the handbag was wearing the watch that Lionel often wore. It was the wedding gift I bought him with the money from working when we got married. How could I have seen it wrong?

I lay on the bed with my whole body cold. The wounds on my hands that had been chapped countless times were itchy and painful and tears slid down my cheeks into my ears. It was just as cold.

In the middle of the night, Lionel came back. It was rare that I didn’t leave the light on for him and lay down facing the wall.

He called me “wife” in a low voice, but I didn’t want to pay attention and I pretended to fall asleep.

Lionel wanted to hug me, but the perfume of lychee rose rushed into my nose, making me feel sick. I pretended to accidentally slap his hand away and “fell asleep” again.

Lionel was stunned for a moment and lay down beside me, but the sound of him tossing and turning never stopped. We couldn’t sleep.

The faint light on the screen lit up and he turned on his phone.

In the past, I came back from two jobs and slept soundly and I couldn’t wake up even if I called. Because of this, he didn’t care about me at all and listened to the voice.

“Lionel, you bought a house for Elaine, damn!”

It was his best friend andrew. My heart was lifted; I listened carefully and confirmed painfully.

“Do you remember you said that your wife manages your money. Where do you get the money?”

Yes, five years ago, I asked him to give me 1,119 dollars a month, because the mortgage and car loan required 979 dollars. He paid 139 dollars for living expenses and I made up the rest.

But he became more and more impatient and even had a big fight with me.

That month, he didn’t say anything when he took the money. I thought he finally understood and sympathized with my hard work. But the next month, he told me that his salary was only 420 dollars.

“Thanks to your idea, I lied to my wife and said that I was punished and only had 420 dollars a month. I wanted to give her 349 dollars, but she felt sorry for me and only wanted 280 dollars! Later, my money was finally under my control, so I could spend it however I wanted.”

The voice on the other end was full of envy. “What about Elaine’s apartment?”

“It took two years to save it. She was dumped by her stupid ex-husband and came to me crying. You know, the person I love most is her and I can’t bear to see her being wronged.”

Andrew replied quickly, “What about your wife?”

“Oh, she is willing to support me, let her continue to dream. She can’t leave me, so keep it a secret for now.”

I could no longer hear what they were saying. My eyes were completely blurred, my heart was beating so fast. It seemed that my eardrums were beating.

Was the person you loved the most Elaine? What about me? Had you stopped loving her a long time ago, or had you never loved her?

I pressed my chest hard, breathing heavily, but I dared not make any sound. Yes, when Lionel and I met, he was in love with Elaine.

When I transferred to No. 1 Middle School, the whole campus knew the story between the top student Lionel and the school belle, Elaine.

I just didn’t know when it started, but there was a rumor that I was the real school belle.

For two whole years, I was isolated by the girls in my grade. The vicious rumors stabbed me like sharp knives, making me spend the infinitely dark years of my life.

After the college entrance examination, Elaine was sent abroad and they broke up. But I went to the same university with Lionel. He was decadent and I was depressed.

We were like two animals licking each other’s wounds, carefully avoiding each other’s wounds and hugging each other gently.

Lionel transferred his love for Elaine to me. He accompanied me to find a psychological teacher, took me to travel and see the scenery and always gave me affirmation and warmth.

Lionel was a light in my heart, so I fell in love with him wholeheartedly.

We got married after graduation. I didn’t want a penny of his gift and bought him a watch with my part-time job.

At that time, my wedding ring was just a silver ring worth less than 14 dollars. We bought a house and a car.

I quit my job to take care of his food and daily life and often went to take care of my parents-in-law.

I was immersed in the eternal love he had woven for me and I firmly believed that life would get better and better and I would not leave him alone in his difficult days.

But in the end, he said that I was immersed in the dream of raising him and I was just a dodder who could not leave him.

The so-called love and the so-called hardship were all a scam. Where could there be eternity? Five years had almost worn me out.

His face was rosy and he had a beautiful woman in his arms.

In those places, I couldn’t see he lived a life of luxury. Had he ever thought about me, who didn’t even have time to wipe the sweat?

I should have understood earlier that only I could continue to save myself. I could also give myself the love and life he was unwilling to give me.

I turned off the alarm clock at five o’clock in the morning. Lionel was still sleeping soundly in bed. At this time in the past, I would have prepared breakfast, heated it in the pot and gone out to do housework.

But today, I didn’t go into the kitchen, but washed and dressed myself seriously.

The woman in the mirror was only 28 years old, but the fine lines at the corners of my eyes and the rough skin made me look more than 10 years older.

Because of fatigue and malnutrition, my body became shriveled.

Lionel walked to the bathroom with sleepy eyes and was surprised when he saw me. “Wife, are you still out?”

Time left no traces, but it didn’t favor me. Lionel still looked like he was 18 years old, with an upright posture and handsome and elegant appearance.

I understood that it was not that time did not favor me, but that Lionel did not favor me.

“No work today.” I stubbornly applied skin care water on my face, but Lionel sneered behind me.

“Okay, you can’t go back to 18 years old even if you apply that skincare.” There was disdain and sneer in his eyes, but no heartache.

Of course, I couldn’t go back. Elaine used skin care products that cost thousands of dollars a bottle and how could my toner, which cost 1.40 dollars a bottle, compare with it?

I was too lazy to answer him, so I turned around and walked out.

Lionel was still muttering behind me, “You are ugly and have a bad temper. You are no fun.”

I went out for a morning run of three kilometers and then walked to the company panting.

“Emma, are you not coming on time today?” I happened to meet my boss in the tearoom and she asked me jokingly.

But I felt sour in my heart. It was not easy to find a job I liked, but in order to make money, I exhausted myself and couldn’t do what I wanted to do most. In the end, it was all in vain.

“I won’t do that again. I will work hard.”

She was slightly startled and patted my shoulder with a smile. As a result, I just sat down at my workstation when I received a call from Lionel.

“Emma, why is my shirt still soaking in the water? Didn’t I say I would wear it to the meeting today?” It turned out that it was just slightly not to his liking and it would be exposed.

“Why don't you wash it if you want to wear it?” I hung up the phone and just wanted to work hard.

I worked overtime for two hours before I got off work. When I was going home, I passed by a shopping mall that I hadn’t walked into for five years. Holding the phone tightly, I walked in slowly.

I chose a set of skin care products that suited me and asked the clerk to try makeup on me. I looked at the strange and distant self in the mirror. It turned out that I didn’t need to polish it and it turned out that I could be so beautiful.

“Miss, you have a good skin. Girls should be nicer to themselves. Look, how beautiful you are.”

Listening to her lovely words, my eyes were hot and I bought a whole set of cosmetics to go home.

She wanted to help me remove my makeup, but I smiled and refused. When I got home, Lionel saw me and acted as if he didn’t recognize me. But soon, there was anger in his eyes.

“Emma! You dress like this to do housework; who are you trying to seduce? I called you so many times, why didn’t you answer? Who did you meet out there?”

“Of course, I can’t answer the phone while I’m working.”

I took the things I bought, put them in the guest bedroom and put my things there as well.

“Emma, how can we live like this? What is the financial situation of our family? Why did you buy these useless things? Who are you trying to scare by putting on all kinds of colorful things?” He picked up the skin care products I bought and scolded loudly.

I put down my bedding and clothes and snatched the things from his hands.

“What? Can’t I dress myself up? How many ties and suits did you buy and how much did you spend?” I pushed him out the door, not wanting to tolerate his double standards.

“I was doing that for socializing, you know, I made a mistake and needed an opportunity…”

I slammed the door shut, really not wanting to listen to his lies anymore.

“Emma!”

Soon, there was a door slamming outside, it should be that he was going to have a cold war with me.

Every time he thought I was being unreasonable, he would have a cold war with me and when he made a mistake, he would shamelessly blackmail me morally.

It was so childish, so childish that it made me sick. It was just right that he left. I spent the next half month in great comfort.

I ate well, slept well, worked efficiently and my whole state became better as if I had been reborn. It turned out that confidence and a good attitude were really the best cosmetic surgery for women.

This weekend, I was alone at home, applying a facial mask and reading a book, when suddenly there was a knock on the door.

I opened the door and it turned out to be Elaine, whom I hadn’t seen for a long time. She even came to my house.

Elaine took off her sunglasses and looked at me in loose pajamas. “It’s Emma, right? I heard from my classmates that you haven’t been doing well in the past few years, so I came here to care about you.”

She was carrying a box of Sunshine Roses in her hand and the bag she was carrying was tens of thousands of dollars, which was also given by her “boyfriend”.

Before I could say anything, she had already walked in and began to look around the whole house.

“Emma, I heard that you have been working two jobs recently. You have to be careful that you will age quickly.”

I tore off the mask and watched her act like a demon.

But when she saw that my skin was plump, although not delicate, but obviously rosy, she looked a little jealous.

Elaine lowered her mouth and laughed awkwardly. “You secretly went for cosmetic surgery, right?”

I could see the jealousy flashing in her eyes. “No, I’m in good shape recently and I feel relaxed, so I look younger. What about you, Elaine? I heard that you married a British executive after going abroad and your life must be better than mine.”

I picked her soft spot to poke. The executive was a domestic abuser. Not only did he cheat her money, he also beat her often, so she fled back to Aglary to find Lionel.

That was, Lionel, who rushed to recycle the garbage that others didn’t want at the meeting. Emma’s eyes pierced fiercely and the expression on her face was ferocious for a moment.

But she smiled soon. “People still have to look to the future. Look at your house, the lighting is not good, the location is not good and the area is not large. Do you know? My boyfriend bought me a new house, a 150-square-meter river view house and invites you to see it someday.”

I thought I was strong enough, but her words were like a sharp knife, cutting my wounds again and again..

“Really?” I smiled bitterly.

Elaine was even prouder. “You also know my boyfriend, we are old classmates. Look, he’s back.”

The door was opened and Lionel walked into the house as usual.