Before we married, my husband, Caleb Thorne, had a girl who chased him relentlessly for five years. He rejected her because he fell in love with me at first sight. Three years later, that girl returned to the States as an internationally acclaimed photographer. She was radiant, successful, and breathtakingly beautiful. And me? I was a stay-at-home mom, weighing over 180 pounds, with zero achievements to my name. At a party, someone joked with Caleb: "You know, Serena Vance is still saving herself for you..." Caleb immediately snapped, "Don't talk nonsense!" But that night... I found him on the balcony, chain-smoking until dawn. 1 I was changing my daughter's diaper when Caleb dropped the news that Serena was back. My hand froze. "Is she going to be at the party tonight?" Caleb buttoned his cufflink, avoiding my gaze. "Yeah. It's a welcome-back dinner for her, hosted by Ryan, her childhood friend." "Are you coming?" he asked, purely out of habit. Since giving birth, I rarely went out with him. My world had shrunk to the four walls of our nursery. He expected me to say no. But for some reason, the words that came out of my mouth were: "Yes. I'll go." Caleb paused, surprised. But he was a man who prided himself on decorum. He masked his shock quickly. "Okay. I'll wait for you downstairs." When we walked into the private dining room at the upscale bistro, the chatter died instantly. At the center of the room sat a woman with long, flowing hair and an aura of effortless elegance. She tilted her head, her gaze locking onto us. "Caleb. Long time no see." Her voice was bright and melodic. Caleb glanced at her, smiled politely, and placed a protective hand on my shoulder. "Serena. Don't you recognize your sister-in-law?" Serena blinked. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't recognize her at first. Hi, Lily." I nodded with a faint smile. "Hello." Before I could finish, Serena looked away, her eyes slightly red. "Can you blame her?" Ryan, the wealthy heir and Serena's fiercely loyal friend, drawled from the corner. His eyes swept over me with thinly veiled disdain. "Lily has... changed a lot." My face burned. I tugged at the hem of my shirt. Post-pregnancy, I had ballooned from a size 2 to a size 14. My once-slender frame was now heavy, my face round and puffy. It was the reason I hid from the world. "Watch your mouth, Ryan!" Caleb grabbed a lighter from the table and tossed it at his friend. Ryan caught it, smirked at me, and downed his drink. "Fine, fine. My bad. I'll drink to apologize." The conversation quickly shifted back to Serena. Everyone wanted to know about her life abroad. She was now a famous photographer. Her recent portfolio on African wildlife had just won a prestigious international award. "Remember when Serena used to chase Caleb around with a camera?" someone laughed. "Now she's a big-shot artist and an influencer! She just launched her Instagram and already has 100k followers!" "Serena, you look incredible. I almost didn't recognize you. I thought a supermodel had walked in!" Serena soaked up the praise with a graceful smile. She held a slim cigarette between her fingers, her leather jacket draped over her shoulders, revealing a figure that was sharp, sexy, and free. I looked down at myself. Flat shoes. Wide-leg pants. An oversized blazer I had frantically dug out of the back of my closet because nothing else fit. In front of this group of polished, successful young elites, I looked like a joke. 2 My mind drifted back three years. I remembered Serena crying in front of me: "Lily, just let me have him! I loved him first! You have so many guys chasing you, why do you have to take Caleb?" I was soft-hearted by nature. High empathy, low conflict. I hated fighting, especially over a man. I had actually considered breaking up with Caleb. We hadn't been dating long. But Caleb, usually so calm, had turned red with rage. He dragged Serena in front of me and shouted: "I don't love you! I will never love you! I only love Lily! Stop interfering in my life!" Serena had crashed her car that night, distraught. She spent two weeks in the hospital. Ryan had called Caleb, screaming at him, but Caleb never visited her once. Back then, everyone saw me as the winner. The queen of this love triangle. And now? I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles. I wanted to leave, but when I looked at Caleb, his eyes were fixed on Serena. She had taken off her jacket, revealing a toned waist and sculpted arms. She was telling a story about her travels. "On the savannah, I watched a lion take down a gazelle. In that moment, I felt the raw power of life and death." Amidst the gasps of admiration, Caleb spoke suddenly. "Sounds like you didn't waste your time out there." Serena turned to him, her smile radiant. "I didn't." Caleb fell silent, looking down at his drink. I felt suffocated. I excused myself to the restroom. On my way back, I passed the terrace. Caleb was there, smoking with a few of the guys. "Serena is out of our league now," one guy said. "Caleb, be honest. You were so cold to her back then. Do you regret it? Even a little?" Caleb’s voice was flat. "Being cold was the kindest thing I could do. Look at her now. She's successful. I didn't hold her back. So stop talking nonsense." "True. It's all in the past. Besides, Lily keeps you on a tight leash now. She never goes out, but she came tonight? Ha! She's probably terrified you'll cheat." The guys laughed and went back inside, leaving Caleb and Ryan alone. Ryan chuckled darkly. "You know... Serena is still a virgin. She saved herself for you." Silence. "Shut up!" Caleb snapped. 3 When we got home, my mother-in-law was holding the baby on the sofa, her face sour. Caleb muttered something about work and went straight to his study. His mother glared at his retreating back, then turned on me. "Lily, you're a mother now. The baby only wants you. Why do you need to go out? Didn't you think about her needing to eat? How can you come home this late?" My sister-in-law, Ava, was lounging on the chaise, playing a mobile game. "God, Lily, that outfit is way too tight. You look like a stuffed sausage," she drawled. Ava prided herself on being "brutally honest." My daughter saw me and immediately started wailing, kicking her legs. "Mommy! Milk! Milk!" I rushed to pick her up and ran upstairs to nurse. As the baby drifted off to sleep, the nanny walked in with a bowl of pigeon soup. Huge chunks of white fat floated on the surface. The smell made me gag. "Take it away. I can't drink it today." The nanny’s face was stone. "Your mother-in-law ordered it. If you don't drink it, I have to tell her." I went silent. My mother-in-law insisted I breastfeed until the baby was two. To "boost supply," she forced me to drink fatty, unseasoned soups every day. I had tried to refuse before, but she would launch into passive-aggressive tirades that gave me migraines. The headache was worse than the soup. I held my nose and chugged the greasy liquid, swallowing the chunks of meat like pills. The nanny took the empty bowl and left. That night, I woke up with stomach cramps. I reached for Caleb, but his side of the bed was empty. I looked out the window. Caleb was on the balcony, smoking. He was staring into the night sky, lost in thought. 4 Life returned to its monotonous rhythm. I spent most of my time on the second floor with the baby, avoiding my mother-in-law’s nagging and Ava’s snide comments. Caring for a child consumed every second of my day. It was repetitive and exhausting, but it was safe. It stopped me from thinking. It stopped me from changing. My only joy was watching my daughter grow. She would be two in a couple of months. One night, Caleb mentioned casually: "The gallery is hosting Serena's photography exhibition. I might be busy for a while." It took me a moment to process. My brain had become slow. If they were hosting the exhibition, that meant they had already met multiple times to plan it. As the gallery director, Caleb must have seen Serena at least ten times. I stayed silent for a long time. But the pressure in my chest finally burst. "Why her? You know how she feels about you. She’s been sending gifts to the house for years. Shouldn't you avoid her?" "Enough!" Caleb barked. "Stop being ridiculous! Serena won an international award. Every gallery in the city wants her! It's just business, Lily. Since when did you become a jealous, irrational housewife?" He looked at me with deep disappointment and coldness. I froze. I caught my reflection in the mirror. Bloated. Tired. There was a yellow stain on my pajama pants—baby poop I hadn't had time to clean. Shame washed over me. I wanted to disappear under the covers. But I stood my ground. I didn't argue about Serena. I asked a different question. "You promised we would move out when the baby turned two. Is that still happening?" Caleb’s brow furrowed. Impatience flashed across his face. "I don't understand you. Why can't you just be happy? My mom, my sister, the nanny—they all help you with the kid. What is so bad about living here?" I shook my head slowly. "The nanny only cooks. Your mom holds the baby for ten minutes when you come home. Your sister hates it when she cries." Caleb’s voice dropped dangerously low. "Lily, are you badmouthing my family? You don't have to work. You just feed the baby and play with her. Isn't that every mother's dream?" I looked at the floor. "It's a dream," I whispered. "But I'm not happy." Caleb ignored me and went into the closet to change. Before we slept, he spoke into the darkness. "You know the deal with Serena. If something was going to happen between us, it would have happened years ago. You wouldn't even be in the picture." "And stop complaining about my family. They don't owe you anything." 5 After that fight, Caleb bought me diamond earrings and wired $30,000 to my parents. That was his way. Hurt me with words, heal me with money. "Lily, I know my mom can be intense. But I'm the one living with you. Just tolerate it for me, okay?" He kissed me tenderly. My mom called, overjoyed about the money. "You're so lucky, Lily! You married a good man. Keep him happy. You were always the obedient one, not like your useless brother." At the playground, the other moms envied me. "Husband with a great job, rich in-laws, a nanny... you're living the dream." I started eating uncontrollably. Sweet, salty, soft, hard—I stuffed everything into my mouth. Not because I was hungry, but because I needed to feel full. While I breastfed in my oversized pajamas, Ava sneered at me while on the phone with her boyfriend. "I'll never be a useless trophy wife. I'm going to be an independent woman!" I didn't want to be home. I took the baby to the mall every day just to escape. One afternoon, I saw Caleb and Serena. They were doing a promotional interview for the exhibition in the mall atrium. I stood at the back of the crowd with the stroller. On stage, they sat close, knees almost touching. Caleb looked dapper in a suit. Serena wore a black off-shoulder dress, looking like a movie star. "What is your most unforgettable memory? No lying!" the interviewer asked. Serena smiled. "When I was in a war zone, risking my life for a shot, I got a text from someone. He told me to stay safe. That text made me move locations, and I missed an airstrike by minutes." The crowd applauded. It was Caleb’s turn. He paused, then said: "The day before my wedding." The reporter laughed. "Cold feet? You must have a happy marriage!" Serena turned and stared at Caleb, her eyes shimmering with emotion. My eyes fell on her neck. She was wearing a dazzling diamond necklace. The center stone matched my new earrings perfectly. I couldn't breathe. I turned the stroller around and walked away fast. Ryan stepped in front of me, blocking my path. "Leaving without saying hi?" I forced a smile. "Baby needs a nap. Excuse me, Ryan." He didn't move. He scoffed. "Uncomfortable seeing them together? They look good, don't they? If you go up there now—" He stopped. His face changed. "Why are you crying?" "I... just dust in my eye." I wiped my face and hurried away. I felt a gaze burning into my back as I left. 6 That night, Caleb came home tipsy. When he tried to kiss me, I turned away and noticed a small cut on his upper lip. "What happened to your lip?" "Oh, bit it while eating." "You bit your upper lip while eating?" I leaned back against the headboard, watching him. His face darkened. "Lily, stop overanalyzing everything. I'm exhausted. I met a lot of people today. I don't have the energy to baby you." "..." "Go sleep in the guest room," I said quietly. He frowned. "What?" For two years, his mother had tried to separate us at night so the baby wouldn't disturb his sleep. I had always refused. It was the one boundary I kept. Now, I looked at the duvet cover and said calmly: "The baby is teething and fussy. You need your rest. Sleep in the guest room." "Fine." He laughed coldly. "Honestly, with the way you look now, it's a struggle for me anyway. Thanks for understanding." The door slammed. Silence. I picked up my phone. On the screen was the brand website for the diamond necklace. In the corner, a small graphic read: Gift with Purchase: Matching Diamond Earrings. I closed the tab and opened a livestream app. "Serena's World" was live. Serena was on camera, cheeks flushed, eyes glassy with drink. Comments: [You look happy! New romance?] Serena giggled. "Not yet. But I got what I wanted today." [Spill the tea!] "Okay, okay! You know I'm wild. The craziest thing I ever did was offer myself to the man I loved... the night before his wedding." [OMG!] [Did you do it?] Serena stroked her hair. "He rejected me then. He chose someone else. But today... he showed me he regrets it. He regrets it so much." She ran a finger over her red lips. [It's not too late! Go get him!] [But he's married...] Serena rolled her eyes. "The woman he's with? I used to think she was okay. Now? She's beneath me. And don't worry, I won't be the 'other woman'." [So you're giving up?] "Never. I don't give up." She narrowed her eyes, smiling like a cat. "Stealing is boring. I want him to beg. I want him to crawl to me. That's a real woman's power." ... I stared into the mirror at the bloated, tired woman reflected there. Outside, thunder rumbled. The first autumn rain was coming. The nanny barged in without knocking. "Lily, drink your soup." I didn't move. "Come on! I want to watch my show!" she snapped. I turned slowly. "I'm not drinking it." Her eyebrows shot up. "Then I'm telling your mother-in-law!" I smiled. My voice was soft as velvet. "Go ahead, you old hag. Go tell her." Her jaw dropped. "Oh, and next time you enter without knocking, I'll report you to the police for stealing the old lady's gold earrings. Your son is applying for a government job, right? A criminal record in the family would be... unfortunate." Her eyes bulged. She stared at me for a few seconds, then scrambled out of the room. She closed the door very gently behind her.
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