When I was tormented by depression to the point of slashing my wrists, my CEO husband was holding a "wedding of the century" with the woman who used to bully me. In my final moments of clarity, I spread the evidence of my bullying all over the internet and confronted my husband with red eyes in front of everyone. He blamed me for making a fuss over nothing, causing his "white moonlight"—the love of his life—to fail her studies. To please her, he locked me in a mental hospital and accompanied her back to college to finish her degree. Three years later, the woman, who was in the same major as me, needed a graduation thesis. Only then did my husband mercifully remember me and call the mental hospital. The staff looked confused: "Miss Lowe left three years ago after a depressive episode and hasn't returned." Furious, blaming me for being insensible, he called my number. His biological mother answered the phone. Hearing my name, my mother-in-law choked up: "Young man, my daughter-in-law passed away three years ago." 1 Ethan Ford rushed to the countryside overnight and kicked down the dilapidated front door. Hearing the commotion, my mother-in-law limped out on crutches. It had been too long. Not only did she not recognize her son, but Ethan also didn't recognize his mother. He roared: "Where is Lauren? Where is she? Tell her to get out here! Chloe needs to submit her thesis soon. If she delays Chloe's graduation, I'll make her pay!" My mother-in-law trembled at the shout, her voice shaking. "Young man, my daughter-in-law has passed away." Ethan froze, scanning her aged face, failing to recognize the eyes that were identical to his own. "Who cares if your daughter-in-law is dead? I want Lauren! Hurry up, don't waste my time!" "Lauren is my daughter-in-law." My mother-in-law pointed to my black-and-white photo on the wall, tears welling up in her eyes. "She passed away three years ago..." Ethan's gaze fell on my photo. At twenty-five, I should have been sunny and bright, but depression had made me gaunt and gloomy. "Lauren is really dead?" Ethan snatched the photo, not waiting for an answer, and smashed the frame on the ground, roaring. "How could Lauren die? A woman who didn't die after three years of bullying, how could she be dead? I know, she's hiding because she doesn't want to write Chloe's thesis, so she used this photo to scare me!" Ethan stomped viciously on my photo. I instinctively tried to stop my mother-in-law from lunging forward, but my hand passed straight through her withered body. Yes, I'm dead. I died three years ago... My mother-in-law grabbed Ethan's leg, her palm pressing onto the sharp glass shards. "Don't touch my daughter-in-law!" 2 Ethan stomped on her hand along with the shards, blood spreading instantly. Watching my mother-in-law scream my name heart-wrenchingly, anger burned in Ethan's eyes. "Is Lauren really your daughter-in-law?" She nodded repeatedly, trying to pull my photo from under his shoe. But Ethan kicked her in the chin, leaving a long bloody streak as she fell backward. "Great! Lauren has some nerve! Not only did she sneak out of the mental hospital behind my back and make me worry, but she also married another man!" "Speak! Where are your son and Lauren now? Daring to steal my woman, you and your son must have a death wish!" No! When Ethan sent me to the mental hospital, I discovered that his mother wasn't dead. His father had an affair and locked his mother, who had just given birth, in the mental hospital. When I was humiliated by people arranged by Chloe, it was my mother-in-law who stepped up to protect me. Later, when I escaped from the hospital to return to my hometown, I decisively took her with me. Not long after, I jumped off a building. Ethan kicked my mother-in-law, each blow more vicious than the last. She curled up amidst the glass shards, wailing in pain, her clothes gradually soaked in blood. In that year of depending on each other, I had long treated her as my own mother. My heart twisted in pain as I tried desperately to pry Ethan's leg away. "Ethan, stop! This is your biological mother!!" However, Ethan's shoe passed through my soul, kicking her aged body again and again. "Where is Lauren? Tell her and that wild man to get out here! Even my mom didn't get to call her daughter-in-law, what right do you have, you old hag!" I could only watch helplessly as she was beaten. My heart felt like it was being torn in two. Ethan, this is your mother! And I died long ago! Driven to death by you and Chloe three years ago! 3 Before I died, I was powerless to change our fates. After death, I could only kneel on the ground, begging Ethan to spare her. In my deepest despair, my brother, just off his night shift, rushed in, limping on one leg to shield my mother-in-law. "You animal! Isn't killing Lauren enough? You want to kill your own mother too?!" "My mother?" Ethan kicked my brother hard. "My mom died when I was born! How could this filthy, stinking old hag who looks like a beggar be my mom?" "Lauren ran off with a wild man, so she left you and this old hag here as a cover, right?" "You better tell her to get back here right now and write that thesis for Chloe, or I'll pay back the pain she inflicted on Chloe a thousand times over!" Wasn't it he and Chloe who inflicted the pain? Back then, Chloe appeared at our wedding, pretending to kneel and beg for forgiveness. Ethan helped her up with heartache, scolding me for making a mountain out of a molehill, causing Chloe to fail her studies. He demanded I publicly clear Chloe's name. When I refused, he started giving me the cold shoulder to accompany Chloe, calling me petty. When my depression relapsed, he forcibly sent me to a mental hospital. Facing the doctor's advice, he sneered. "Depression? It's just a tactic for attention. Chloe would never be unreasonable like you." Then he used his money and power to get Chloe back into college to finish her degree. When I jumped in despair, he was locking down an amusement park to cheer Chloe up, spending the whole night with her. My brother blocked him from my mother-in-law. "Ethan, I beg you, go check the hospital records, okay? Lauren is really dead." Ethan scoffed. "You think I'd believe your nonsense? The staff at the mental hospital already confessed to me. Lauren was flirting with other men while hospitalized. Who knows, maybe this old hag's son is the one she hooked up with back then!" There was none! It was clearly the people Chloe arranged to bully me! A simple check of the surveillance would have revealed the truth, but Ethan refused to look even once. Clearly, I was his wife, but he preferred to believe staff he'd barely met. My brother hugged Ethan's leg, begging. "Ethan, after Lauren brought your mom home, her condition worsened. We emptied our savings to treat her, but it didn't work. Not wanting to be a burden, she jumped from the hospital building. She's really dead!" "Shut up! One more word about this old hag being related to me, and I won't spare you!" "Besides, I gave your family a huge compensation. How could you have no money? Lauren must have given it all to that wild man, right?" 4 "Lauren came back penniless! There was no compensation!" Ethan stepped on my brother's good leg. "Still lying? What benefits did Lauren give you and this old hag to protect her like this?" At Ethan's signal, bodyguards entered and started beating my brother and mother-in-law. My brother had only one leg, and my mother-in-law was too old. They couldn't run. They could only curl up on the ground, screaming. I spread my arms, throwing myself over them, trying to block the rain of punches and kicks, but I only saw their bruised and swollen faces. I stood up and pounded on Ethan, wishing I could cut him into a thousand pieces. But I couldn't attract his attention for even a moment. "Stop hitting them! Ethan, please stop! This is your birth mother! I only have this one brother left! I really am dead..." My mother-in-law was beaten to the brink of death. My brother propped himself up, roaring in anger. "Ethan, this is your biological mother! Aren't you afraid of divine retribution?!" Ethan kicked my brother in the jaw, sneering. "Just as fearless of death as Lauren. My mom died long ago! What does this old hag's son have over me that Lauren dared to cheat on me with him?" "Don't forget how you lost your leg and your dad. Tell Lauren to bring that wild man back and kowtow to me in apology. For the sake of our marriage, as long as she promises to be obedient from now on, I can forgive her!" Back then, Chloe's single "I didn't mean to" lightly erased three years of her bullying me. Ethan saw my scarred body with his own eyes, yet firmly believed I was exaggerating, causing Chloe to suffer cyberbullying for years and fail her studies. When I refused to admit it, he threatened me with my family. My brother was the most popular dancer in his troupe, but Ethan spread rumors that he bullied others, leading to cyberbullying and him losing his job. My dad was a rideshare driver. People arranged by Ethan staged accidents, saddling him with huge debts. After selling everything to pay the debts, my brother and dad huddled in a basement, eating steamed buns dipped in water to save money. Even then, Ethan wasn't satisfied. He sent debt collectors, forcing them into a corner. 5 At that time, newly pregnant, I knelt in the rain begging Ethan to spare my family, promising to help clear Chloe's name. Only after I miscarried did he relent and let my family go. Afterward, when my brother and dad came to the hospital, Chloe set a trap to let us escape, whispering poison in Ethan's ear. Ethan intercepted us. My brother's right leg was forcibly cut off, and my dad was thrown into the sea by Ethan. Three years ago, I knelt desperately before Ethan, swearing to be obedient, begging him to retrieve my dad's body. He said my dad didn't deserve it. Three years later, I could still only watch helplessly as he hurt the people I loved. Just then, Ethan's personal assistant walked into the room. "Mr. Ford, Miss Chloe's bodyguard says her puppy is missing, and she went out barefoot to look for it." At the mention of Chloe, the anger on Ethan's face vanished instantly. He frowned helplessly. "Nonsense. In this weather, how could they let her go out barefoot? What if she catches a cold? I'm going back to find her." As he was leaving, a bodyguard asked, "Mr. Ford, what about these two?" Ethan said impatiently, "Keep beating them. Beat them until they give up Lauren's location." I looked at the bright sun outside, feeling a wave of bitterness. In Ethan's heart, Chloe's affairs were always number one. No matter how heinous her actions, a single tear could resolve everything. But clearly, I was his wife! My soul followed Ethan back to the home now occupied by Chloe. I watched him take off his shoes, carefully wipe Chloe's feet clean, and put them on her. He scolded her for risking herself for a dog, yet ignored his bespoke suit to dive into thorny bushes to find the puppy for her. Finally, he gently placed the puppy in her arms and walked her home with his arm around her. On the way, Chloe said hypocritically, "Ethan, how about I go with you to find Lauren tomorrow? She must still be mad at me." Chloe's high-sounding words made me sick. If not for her fanning the flames and fabricating lies in front of Ethan, how could I have become a corpse! Ethan didn't hear the falseness in her words at all, scoffing. "What right does she have to be mad? You didn't do it on purpose back then. She's just petty, holding a grudge for so many years?" "I haven't even gotten angry about her running off with a wild man, leaving an old hag calling her daughter-in-law. It disgusts me!"
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