After ten years of dating, I finally gained the acceptance of my boyfriend Nolan Birch's parents through our child.

On the day we went to get the marriage license, I waited outside the city hall all day. When I finally got through to him on the phone, he distractedly muttered, "Sorry, I forgot."

At the same time, his stepsister, Aria Birch, tagged me in a social media post: [My cat is sick, I'm so upset, but luckily Nolan has been with me all day.]

Accompanying the text was a photo of their hands tightly intertwined.

Ridiculously, Nolan even liked the post.

Faced with this provocation, I calmly replied, "Trashy man and bitch, a match made in heaven."

***

When Nolan came home that evening, I had just finished dinner.

He frowned at the empty plates. "Why didn't you save some food for me?"

I stood up to clear the table, not even looking up. "I thought you'd stay with Aria tonight and not come back."

Nolan paused, then followed me into the kitchen and hugged me from behind, dangling a gold-diamond heart-shaped necklace in front of me.

"It's for you, do you like it?"

Lately, every time he came back from seeing Aria, he would bring me a gift. Sometimes, it was a necklace, a ring, or a bracelet.

But without exception, they were all styles that Aria liked.

I didn't take it. I pushed him away and started washing the dishes.

Nolan's expression darkened. "Are you still mad about the marriage license?

"That cat is significant to Aria. She's devastated because it's sick. I'm afraid she might do something foolish.

"Let's deal with it tomorrow. The marriage license can wait another day or two."

My heart fluttered, and my hands trembled, causing the dish to slip and shatter.

In a panic, I reached to pick up the pieces and cut my hand, blood gushing out.

He quickly pulled out a tissue to help stop the bleeding.

Just then, my phone rang with a ringtone specially made for Aria.

His attention shifted immediately, tossing the tissue to me. "Hurry up and clean this, get a bandage. I need to take this call."

As he left the kitchen, his voice filled with concern still carried through.

"Aria, how is the cat doing now..."

I let out a sarcastic laugh. So, in Nolan's heart, even Aria's cat was more important than me.

Aria was Nolan's non-biological stepsister, but they were very close.

When I fainted during a prenatal checkup, he was with her getting her hair done.

When I had severe bleeding during childbirth, he was with her, buying cat food.

When his parents kicked me out of the house in the middle of the night, he was at a club dancing with her.

He rushed over in the rain, promising it would never happen again.

I loved him and didn't want to give up on our relationship, so I kept making compromises and telling myself that everything would be better after we got married.

But after ten years, on the very day we were finally supposed to get our marriage license, he stood me up for Aria's cat.

I didn't want to wait anymore, not even for a second.

When he came back after taking the call, I calmly said, "Nolan, let's break up."

Nolan was taken aback, displeasure flashing in his eyes. "Don't be silly. Didn't we already agree to get the marriage license tomorrow?"

He assumed I was just messing with him and reached for my injured hand.

I dodged his touch and said thoughtfully, "I'm not joking, Nolan. I don't want to marry you anymore."

He let out a sneer and suddenly asked, "And you don't want Aiden anymore either?"

My heart tightened. I never imagined he would use Aiden to threaten me.

I had my son, Aiden Birch, out of wedlock with Nolan when I was just a teenager. He was four years old and had been raised by the Birch family since birth.

The Birches were a wealthy family, while I was just the daughter of a lowly housekeeper.

They wouldn't allow me to raise my child, claiming someone of my status couldn't provide for a child of noble blood.

Even though I'm Aiden's mother, I barely get to see him.

Nolan knew Aiden was my weakness, and I couldn't put up much of a fight.

He reached for my hand again to examine the wound, saying, "You should visit Aiden more often. He's even calling Aria 'Mommy' now."

I knew he was implying I wasn't caring enough for our son.

It was not that I didn't want to see him, but I was restricted to seeing Aiden only once a month.

When his parents made that decision, he was right there, but he didn't say a word in my defense.

I pulled my hand back and continued packing up the first-aid kit, saying indifferently, "Then let Aria be his mom. She's eager for it anyway."

Nolan snatched the disinfectant bottle from my hand and smashed it on the floor, his face livid. "Scarlett, haven't you had enough? Why do you always have to compete with Aria? What's wrong with her being good to Aiden?"

His words brought back a memory from last month when I went to see Aiden. I accidentally overheard Aria coaxing him with lollipops.

"Sweetheart," she said. "When your mommy comes to see you, throw rotten eggs at her. Then let Aunt Aria be your mommy, okay?"

The four-year-old didn't know any better. He called her "Mommy" and threw rotten eggs at me, clapping his hands in delight.

I was a mess, but she was smug. Nolan's parents, Amanda and Oscar Birch, rushed over and simply said the child was too young to understand, while Nolan chose to stand by and watch.

That day, I fled the Birch Estate, only to be accused of being petty.

Some feelings, once they fade, become like a festering wound. No matter what you do, it's wrong.

"She did nothing wrong," I said sarcastically. "It's all my fault. Are you happy now?" I pushed him away and walked out.

Perhaps my coldness provoked him because he flew into a rage. "Why have you become so unreasonable? The gentle and kind Scarlett I once loved is dead."

Yes, the Scarlett of the past was dead. But hadn't the Nolan who once loved her deeply also died in the memories?

Nolan was the heir to a wealthy family, and I was the daughter of his family's housekeeper.

We were worlds apart, him in the skies and me on the ground; by all accounts, we shouldn't have crossed paths.

Yet, the impossible happened.

We attended the same school but not the same class. I was a top student, excelling in my studies, while he was known for smoking, skipping classes, and getting into fights.

We should have never interacted, but then he had a seizure while alone, and I happened upon his secret.

In the sports equipment room, he lay on the ground, foaming at the mouth.

Fearing he might bite his tongue, I reached into his mouth only to be bitten so severely that I still bear the scars.

After that incident, Nolan clung to me, fearing I would reveal his secret.

On the way to school, he'd block my path with his motorcycle, insisting on giving me a ride.

After school, he'd wait outside my classroom and snatch my backpack to carry it on his shoulder.

When I fainted during morning exercises, he rushed me to the school clinic.

For me, he quit smoking, stopped skipping classes, and no longer fought.

The day we went to the mountain to watch the sunset, he confessed his feelings.

Yelling into the valley, he shouted, "Scarlett Haven, I like you!"

Eventually, his parents found out about us and vehemently opposed our relationship.

He was locked up, and my mother was fired under the false accusation of stealing Aria's necklace.

Unable to bear the injustice, my mother jumped off the rooftop.

In the pouring rain, I held my mother's body and cried until I passed out; Nolan sneaked out to help me handle her funeral.

Outside the funeral home, I overheard Nolan arguing with his parents, threatening to sever ties.

At that moment, I resolved to love him for a lifetime.

Later, as an exchange student, I went abroad to study, and Nolan, abandoning everything, came with me.

He found a job there, and the wealthy heir became a laborer in a foreign land.

Seeing his struggles, I secretly took a part-time job to help out, balancing work and study.

Life was tough, but being together with the one you love is the greatest happiness.

I thought we would be happy forever until that incident made Nolan decide to return home.

But after returning, everything changed.