My husband had an affair with my "best friend" Belle Brown.
To divorce me, he schemed to make me isolated and estranged.
My son, whom I carried for nine months, said he hated me. My parents forbade me from returning to their house, and the neighbors treated me like a rat crossing the street.
I thought I was a complete mess and even considered suicide.
When I finally woke up, I regained the moral high ground and made the bastard and bitch pay the price.
You want to leave with nothing?
I'll never go easy on you.
1
The car behind forcefully cut in, causing me to step on the gas, and my car crashed into the back of another vehicle.
I confronted the driver with the video from my car's recorder and unexpectedly discovered nauseating sounds recorded in the video.
My husband cheated on me with my "best friend" Belle Brown.
At that moment, my scalp went numb, my spine felt cold, and I felt like the world was spinning. I almost fainted.
I met my husband Liam Miller in the first year of high school, and we had been together for seven years.
After six years of marriage, we had always been loving and had a lovely son.
I thought I was the happiest woman in the world.
I never thought that Liam, who was considered a good husband by everyone, would cheat on me.
My car had a flat tire, and I drove Liam's because I was in a hurry to meet a client.
Perhaps they forgot that the driving recorder would not only record images outside the vehicle but also the sound inside the car.
They were not only being intimate in the car but also discussing how to plot against me.
Liam and Belle conspired to divorce me and leave me with nothing after everyone turned against me.
The heart-wrenching pain and the terrifying betrayal lingered in my mind as if I were in the abyss of despair. There was a moment when I thought about ending my life.
"Dad, can you divorce Anna Smith? I want Miss Brown to be my mom."
The voice of my son in the video brought me back to my senses.
My son, whom I carried for nine months, had said more than once that he hated me and wished I were dead.
He was only five years old and didn't know how to lie. Every word came from the bottom of his heart.
Hearing that, I felt despair deep down.
I had doubted myself over and over again, wondering how terrible I must be for my once-dependent son to say such hurtful words.
Because of that, I had spent sleepless nights in sadness.
Every day when I woke up, I thought about my terrible son, my terrible husband, my terrible relatives, as well as my terrible neighbors. I had doubted myself more than once and even thought about suicide.
But Liam told me that it was because I was too busy with work and neglected my son's feelings. He asked me to quit my job and spend some more time with my son.
To regain my son's love for me, I had planned to submit my resignation letter after meeting with the client today.
But unexpectedly, I discovered the conspiracy between Liam and Belle.
With hands covering my face, tears soaked my palms.
I began to reexamine myself. When did my husband start to think I was being unreasonable, when did my son, whom I carried for nine months, say he hated me, when did my parents forbid me from returning to their house, and when did the neighbors treat me like a rat crossing the street?
It seemed to have started three years ago when Belle moved to my residential area. My life and work gradually became a mess.
I didn't even know what I had done wrong. We had been together for 13 years, but Liam hated me to the bone.
Not only did he want to abandon me, but he also wanted to destroy everything I had.
I didn't know how long it took for me to regain my sanity. I wiped away the tears from the corners of my eyes.
At that very moment, I was alone and had no one to rely on but myself.
I could only rely on myself to take back what belonged to me.
Liam, you can hate me, but you must never separate me from my son whom I carried for nine months.
Belle, I am willing to offend the neighbors for you, but you covet my husband and even want to take away my son.
You want me to be isolated and have nothing.
And I want you to reap what you have sown and pay double the price!
Chapter 2 Taking Back My Son2
When I got home, Liam's mother Audrey was there, playing with my son.
Mrs. Lopez, whom I hired to take care of my son, was not there.
When Audrey saw me back home, her face instantly darkened as if I were a jinx.
In the past, she was very satisfied with me as her daughter-in-law. She praised me for being sensible and even urged me to marry Liam.
Since last year, she had been targeting me and finding fault with me everywhere.
Whether there was a conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law depended on whether the son, as the middleman, was competent.
It never occurred to me that my relationship with Audrey was deteriorating because Liam was deliberately causing trouble. I had always trusted him.
"Humph!" My son saw me coming back and threw the ball aside with a little resentment, then hid in the tent to play with building blocks.
Thinking that my son was only five years old but was surrounded by conspiracies and tricks, I felt my heart hurt. It was so painful that I was almost suffocating.
He used to ask me to hug him every day, liked to touch his face against mine, loved to call me "mom" behind my back, and would only fall asleep if he hugged me.
Later, he would rather sleep with Mrs. Lopez than with me.
He no longer called me mom and even called me by my name, Anna Smith.
He was unwilling to get close to me and even spoke harshly to me.
I thought my son was spoiled and pampered, so I thought about having another one.
But I never thought he was deliberately led astray by someone with ulterior motives.
It's my fault. I ignored him.
"I plan to take Lucas back to the countryside for some time," said Audrey in a sarcastic tone.
I knew she wanted to take Lucas away and to make him think that I found him annoying and did not want him, and then when Liam mentioned divorce to me, my son would not choose me anymore.
"No need. I plan to take Lucas to Disneyland tomorrow."
Hearing my words, Lucas, who was playing with building blocks, looked at me in surprise, but soon he made a long face and complained, "Huh, liar, always telling lies!"
Seeing my son's reaction, I was stunned. I blamed myself for not fulfilling my promises to him in the past because of work, which allowed others to take advantage of the situation.
I walked over, but he hid inside.
I wanted to touch his little head, but he pushed my hand away with disgust and crawled out to Audrey.
I tried to go there and pull him over to talk to him.
Audrey held him in her arms and looked at me, saying, "He doesn't like you. Don't force him to do things he doesn't want."
If it were before, I would have blamed Lucas for being unreasonable.
Well, that was the case. That was why he was misled and thought that his mother disliked him and didn't want him, so he didn't want his mother either.
"Mommy won't lie anymore starting today. I quit my job and can play with you every day from now on."
As I said that, I deliberately took out my phone and showed him the photo of the resignation letter on the desk.
There was a strange look in Audrey's eyes. She hugged Lucas tightly, not allowing him to see it, and said, "Lucas, your mom lied again. Let's ignore her. Lucas, go live with Grandma in the countryside, okay?"
I had wanted to leave Audrey some dignity, but now in her eyes, I was just a wicked woman, so I fulfilled her wish and snatched my son from her arms.
My son was scared and cried loudly, shouting for Grandma.
I directly kicked Audrey out of the house, locked the door, and let her curse outside.
My son cried for a long time, his voice grew hoarse, and he kept saying that he hated me.
It took him an hour to fall asleep.
I stroked his red eyes with guilt and silently vowed in my heart: Lucas, from now on, Mom will never let anyone hurt you again.
Chapter 3 Not Divorcing for Now3
When Liam came back from work in the evening, he started scolding me right away.
He accused me of scaring our son and locked his mother outside the door.
He said I was unreasonable.
Huh, aren't it you who made me unreasonable?
I used to be understanding and compassionate.
Later, life became a mess, and I turned into someone short-fused, arguing with anyone I met.
"Did you quit your job?" he asked.
"Hmm." I nodded.
Of course, I didn't submit the resignation letter. I just took an annual leave.
If I quit and lost my job, it would be more advantageous for him to fight for custody of our son.
I checked the bag he had put in the entrance cabinet when he came back while he was taking a shower.
That was where he put his shoes, so I usually wouldn't touch it.
The bag contained a divorce agreement, saying he would only give me 30,000 dollars while the house, car, and custody of our son all belonged to him.
I quietly put the agreement back in place, and when he finished showering and came out, I pretended to have a discussion with him. "My parents' old house was demolished, and they received 6 million dollars in compensation. They plan to give me 2 million dollars. Should we buy a house in a good school district or get a new car?"
Liam looked at me in surprise and almost blurted out, "Your parents are willing to give you 2 million dollars?"
What surprised him was that I had already cut off ties with my family, but my parents were still willing to give me 2 million dollars.
The demolition was true, but for now, they wouldn't give me anything, as if I were no longer their daughter.
I just used the matter to delay the divorce.
Sure enough, when Liam learned that I could get 2 million dollars for the demolition of my parents' house, he didn't mention the divorce that night, nor did he blame me for kicking his mother out of the house. He just advised me not to continue to conflict with his mother.
As my relationship with Liam's parents deteriorated, Liam always went to my parents' place to complain, and he exaggerated the situation.
At first, my parents believed me, but after seeing me arguing with Audrey several times, they began to doubt me and thought I had learned to be sophistical.
I thought it was a coincidence that they saw us arguing every time we had conflicts, but I finally realized that it was all schemed by Liam.
Once, I stayed at my parents' house for some time, and coincidentally, my cousin whom I didn't get along with since childhood came to visit. Liam asked me to reconcile with her, so I cooked for her myself.
As a result, my cousin accidentally ate peanuts and had an allergic reaction, so she was hospitalized.
I knew she was allergic to peanuts, so I didn't put anything with peanuts in the dishes.
I never had a dark thought that my family member would frame me and cause a rift between me and her.
My cousin thought I hated her and deliberately harmed her.
I refused to admit it, so everyone thought I was sophistical and accused me.
Audrey came hypocritically, pretending to defend me, but actually adding fuel to the fire.
My cousin said she would sue me, and it was only after my parents persuaded her that the matter was settled.
But I insisted on finding out the truth, and I argued with my parents about it.
I blamed them for not believing me, and I didn't go back home for the holidays.
Later, as trivial matters of discord accumulated, my father directly threatened me, saying that I was no longer his daughter and told me not to go back.
I was really stupid, falling into other people's traps step by step, and blocking my way out.
That night, I called my father, but he immediately hung up the phone.
He probably thought I knew about the demolition and called him for money.
I called my mother again and left a message on her voicemail.
In their hearts, I had become the wicked and disobedient daughter.
I cried for a long time, crying out all the grievances I had suffered inexplicably over the years.