“Hey babe, what time will you be home? I made your favorites—spicy pork kidneys and poached fish.”

Lilian Hayes stared at the message, hesitating for quite a while before finally hitting send.

It had already been five days. Every text she sent felt like tossing a pebble into the ocean—no reply. All her calls? Ignored.

Five days ago, he’d asked for a divorce again. She wouldn’t agree. She cried, fell to her knees, begging him not to leave.

In return, he kicked her. Twice. Called her pathetic, said she clung to him like some needy weed, always nagging about what he wanted to eat or wear, as if he couldn’t figure that out himself.

He went on—said she was nothing but a leech sitting around at home, useless, a failure who couldn’t even have a baby.

Those words—every time they replayed in her head, it felt like something heavy pressing down on her chest. The tears just wouldn’t stop.

She honestly wanted to go out and get a job, to have her own thing, look decent.

But straight out of college, she’d married Ethan Morrison.

He’d chased her all four years through university. Because their family backgrounds were worlds apart, she never dared say yes—until she did.Ethan Morrison came from money—his family ran a company. Lilian Hayes, on the other hand, was just a girl from a small town. After her dad passed away, her mom remarried and left. She and her little brother were basically left behind with nothing, scraping by day-to-day. Back then, she didn’t even dare dream about love.

But Ethan won her over—with sincerity, persistence, and a load of sweet talk.

Right after graduating college, she married him. He used to shower her with affection, saying stuff like marrying her was so she could enjoy life as Mrs. Morrison. He insisted she didn’t need to work.

So Lilian settled into her role as a full-time housewife.

That first year, things weren’t perfect—his mom Edith Morrison clearly didn’t like her much. But with Ethan standing up for her then, she still felt pretty happy.

But then, a year into the marriage, her belly stayed flat—no pregnancy news. And just like that, Edith’s complaints and judgments started piling up. Their relationship got more and more tense.

Somewhere along the way, the guy who used to stand by her side started taking his mom’s side instead. He’d nitpick, ignore her, always saying he had meetings or had to travel for work. He grew colder by the day.

The fights became routine. Yelling, sometimes even hitting. He’d always call her clueless and tell her to shut up, suggesting she read more books and educate herself.She threw herself into learning like crazy—nutritionist, counseling, health management, teaching license, even got certified in tea art, tour guiding, and traditional medicine cooking—just hoping to feel useful again, to win her husband back, maybe even earn a bit of respect from her in-laws.

Even tried picking up gaming and learning code, dragged herself through big data courses just so she’d have something to talk about with him.

But when she showed him all those certificates with a bright face, what she got back was a sneer. “So much time and energy wasted,” he said, “can’t believe you wasted your brain on this nonsense.”

She started doubting herself. Was something really wrong with her? Why else couldn’t she have a kid?

She’d tried everything—traditional medicine, moxibustion, even lighting incense at temples and praying like mad. But nothing worked.

The truth was, in all these years, they’d never really had a married life. Ethan Morrison had issues.

Their wedding night, everything was going smoothly… until his mom, Edith Morrison, suddenly kicked the door open. Scared him so bad he never recovered.

After that, whenever she tried to get close, he always had some excuse—“give me time,” he’d say.

That "time" turned into five years.

She hadn’t let herself go—if anything, she looked better than ever. Curvy body, flawless skin, smooth like porcelain.

But Ethan looked at her like she was invisible. Sometimes it even seemed like he was looking right through her, like she wasn’t even there.Just as Lilian Hayes was quietly wiping her tears, her mother-in-law, Edith Morrison, walked in, gave the dishes on the table a quick glance, and snapped, "Same old boring stuff again? You ever think about trying something new?"

Lilian stood up from the couch, head down, and replied softly, "Ethan likes these dishes. He’s coming back from his business trip today… probably will eat at home."

Edith scoffed, full of disdain. "Probably? You don’t even know if your own husband’s coming home? Can’t have kids, can’t keep your man—what’s the point of having a daughter-in-law like you?"

"Mom, I’ll go to the airport to meet him," Lilian mumbled, turning to leave.

"Wait. Take your medicine first."

Edith's eyes had caught the half-full herbal concoction on the coffee table, and she immediately called her back.

No one really knew where this herbal stuff came from—some recommendation, supposedly magical. Rumor had it another family’s daughter-in-law got pregnant right after drinking just one dose.

Lilian hated the taste. It was bitter beyond words, and every time she drank it, her stomach twisted in pain after.

"Why are you still standing there? Drink it up. If you can’t get pregnant soon, just get out of this house," Edith barked.

Biting her lip, Lilian picked up the bowl, held her breath, and downed it in one go.

She gulped it so fast she nearly threw it back up. Her stomach churned, and tears welled up in her eyes from the force of holding it in."Get out of my sight!" Edith Morrison snapped, fuming at the sight of her.

Lilian Hayes didn’t say a word. She just turned around silently to grab her coat and purse—she had to get to the airport.

No matter what happened today, she was bringing him back. This marriage couldn’t end. If she lost him, what else was left?

It was dusk now. The streetlights in the neighborhood had flickered on, and the wind rustled through the lush plants. The air felt cool and fresh.

"This place is amazing. Even the air smells nice," came a sweet voice from a girl not far off.

Lilian kept her head low, caught in her thoughts, but she agreed silently. That wasn’t an exaggeration—this was a top-tier luxury estate. Price per square meter? Sky-high. Twelve or thirteen million per unit was normal here. Only the rich could afford it.

Her mother-in-law had thrown plenty of shade over the years. If it weren’t for her precious son insisting on marrying Lilian, she wouldn’t have stepped one foot into such a fancy place.

Lilian gave a bitter smile, brushing away the tears at the corners of her eyes.

Just then, from the corner of her eye, she spotted a familiar figure.

Wait... wasn’t that Ethan Morrison?

Standing right next to him was a young woman in a white dress, hair down, pretty and glowing."Ethan, can you pick that flower for me? I can’t reach it," the woman said, clinging to his arm with a sweet, whiny tone.

Lilian Hayes froze when she caught a clear look at the woman’s face—her heart skipped a beat. That girl... she looked way too much like her.

A terrible thought slid into her mind. Wait… was she some kind of stand-in?

Lilian felt her chest tighten, her head spinning as her stomach dropped.

Right in front of her, Ethan gently tucked the flower into the woman’s hair, and she blushed, smiling like a lovesick teenager. The next second, they were in each other’s arms and kissing by the roadside like no one was watching.

That scene burned into Lilian’s eyes. Her chest heaved painfully from the anger.

So that’s why he wanted a divorce—he'd already found someone new.

No. No way. She couldn’t accept it. How could he just fall for someone else?

Panic set in. Terrified of being abandoned, Lilian darted across the street, rushed up to Ethan and lost it, sobbing and shouting like her world was collapsing.

"Ethan Morrison, you’re dumping me for this woman, aren’t you? How could you do this to me? I'm not agreeing to this divorce! Please, don’t leave me!" she cried hysterically, gripping his arm like a lifeline, refusing to let go.

Ethan jumped, clearly embarrassed as people started to notice. “Let go, Lilian. Stop making a scene,” he muttered, trying to pull his arm free."Lilian Hayes, let go of Mr. Morrison, right now! You're making a scene, crying like this." Alvina Morrison looked around nervously, glad the street wasn't crowded.

"Ethan Morrison, you can't leave me! I'm your wife! I won’t let you divorce me!" Lilian screamed, nearly hysterical.

She was terrified of being abandoned. Her dad died when she was ten, and then her mom dumped her and her little brother.

Now even her husband wanted to leave her. If she got ditched again, she’d rather die.

Yeah. If he really walked away, she'd end it.

Suddenly, Lilian darted into the middle of the road and shouted, "Ethan Morrison, if you leave me, I'll end it right here!"

The next moment, a car came speeding down. She was hit and thrown through the air...