His parents, family and friends all thought highly of him and even I had drowned in his sweet lies.
Three months after the first time we met, we got married in a flash. However, despite everything I did, I never got pregnant.
Mario's mother had been desperate for a grandchild, so to settle things once and for all, Mario decided to go through IVF to have a son.
I could still recall vividly the endless injections, the excruciating pain of egg retrieval as well as the crushing disappointment because of repeated failures and countless emotional breakdowns. I had endured all of it.
However, I had reached the point where I could endure no more.
I walked farther away and took out my cell phone to call Mario. Unsurprisingly, he rejected the call. When I tried again, his phone was already turned off.
Left with no choice, I took my baby home. I never expected to find my house in complete chaos. Mario's five-year-old daughter was there. She was playing with everything she could get her hands on. My clothes, makeup and handbags had all been dumped on the living room floor.
Rage ignited within me and I couldn't hold back my anger. I shouted at the little girl, "Who gave you permission to touch my things?"
The little girl turned around and burst into tears.
"Kelly Taylor, what do you think you’re doing?" a cold voice sounded behind me. When I turned around, I saw Mario and his ex-wife, Lilith Palmer.
Lilith was dressed in a sleek black Chanel-style outfit, her figure curvaceous and flawless. She was nothing like a woman who had given birth.
Mario's words from earlier echoed in my head. My mind raced as I remembered what he had said at that time, about the fact that Lilith refused to have another baby to maintain her figure. My breath stuck in my chest.
Lilith glanced at me indifferently. As she walked past, she deliberately tilted her neck to reveal fresh red kiss marks on her porcelain skin.
I gritted my teeth, my fingers tightened around my baby. My heart filled with all kinds of feelings.
"Tara, don’t cry. Mommy’s here."
"Mommy won’t let anyone bully you."
Lilith, ever the actress, held her daughter close as tears streamed down her face as she said, "Mario, I know that Tara and I have disrupted your life, but our home is under renovation and we truly have nowhere else to go. …"