1 When Justin’s family went bankrupt, I was the one by his side in a dingy basement apartment, working three jobs a day to pay off his debts. When he rebuilt his empire, he proposed, promising me a real home. Three years into our marriage, I accidentally saw the deed to our house. The owner’s name listed was his first love. He looked at me, his eyes red-rimmed, and choked out, “I owed it to her.” I nodded, then slid a photo across the table—a picture of the mountain of collection notices that had once covered every inch of our tiny desk in that basement. “The house has settled your debt to her. So what about the debt you owe me?” ... I gently pushed the property deed across the coffee table toward Justin. The words “Owner: Amanda Remar” burned into my retinas. The color drained from Justin’s face. He instinctively reached to snatch the paper away, but his hand froze mid-air. “Ella, please, let me explain…” His voice was hoarse, his eyes instantly welling up. It was a look I knew all too well. It was the same guilt-ridden, vulnerable expression he always wore when he knew he’d wronged me. I used to be a complete sucker for it. “Fine,” I said, my voice unnervingly calm as I lifted a glass of water to my lips. “I’m listening.” He stared at me, a flicker of panic in his eyes. My composure was clearly not what he’d expected. “Amanda… she’s not doing well,” he began, the words catching in his throat. “Back then, my parents forced us to break up. It sent her into a severe depression. She had to drop out of college… it completely ruined her life.” “So, this house is… it’s compensation. Ella, I owed her this.” I nodded slowly, feigning understanding. “Then what about what you owe me?” Justin stared, dumbfounded, as if he couldn’t comprehend the question. I broke his gaze, pulled out my phone, and found a photo I’d saved for years. It was taken in the cramped, hundred-square-foot basement we used to rent. A worn-out folding table was buried under a mountain of menacing, red-stamped collection notices. In the corner of the frame, you could just make out the side of his face, gaunt and hollowed by despair. “The house has settled your debt to her,” I repeated, my voice flat. “So what about the debt you owe me?” He looked down at the photo, and his body jolted as if struck. The image seemed to drag him back into the suffocating memory of those years we’d spent clinging to each other in shared misery. To pay off the astronomical debt his family had left behind, I’d quit my stable job to juggle three different ones. For three years, I never slept more than four hours a night. I remember one time, I was burning up with a fever. Too broke to see a doctor, I just buried myself under the blankets, trying to sweat it out, and nearly ended up with pneumonia. Justin had held me, sobbing like a child, swearing he would give me a real home, that he would never let me suffer again. And he had kept his promise. He rose from the ashes and became one of the city’s most formidable new tycoons. And he gave me a home. A home with another woman’s name on the deed. “Ella.” Justin looked up, the guilt in his eyes so thick it was practically overflowing. “I know I’ve failed you more than anyone. But Amanda and I are over. You’re the one I love. You’re the only one who will ever be my wife.” “I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, okay?” he pleaded, reaching for my hand. “Amanda already lost me; she can’t lose everything else. Just… think of the house as me closing that chapter of my life for good.” I gently pulled my hand away. “Alright. I understand.” Seeing that I wasn't screaming or throwing things, he visibly relaxed, assuming I’d bought his pathetic explanation. I simply took out my phone and sent a quiet message to my lawyer, telling her to draft the divorce papers as soon as possible. 2 Justin hesitated before speaking again. “Ella, can I ask you for something?” “It’s just… Amanda’s having some trouble with her landlord. She got kicked out of her place and can’t find a new one on such short notice.” He wouldn't meet my eyes. “Do you think… she could stay with us for a little while? Just until she gets back on her feet.” I almost laughed out loud at the absurdity. Had Justin completely lost his mind? “Do you really think that’s appropriate?” I asked, my voice dripping with ice. “What’s not appropriate about it?” His tone immediately hardened with impatience. “Ella, since when did you become so petty? I told you, she and I are ancient history. You’re the only one I care about.” “She’s a single woman with nowhere to go. What’s wrong with us helping her out?” “Don’t worry,” he added, his voice full of self-righteous conviction. “I would never betray you.” But he already had. He betrayed me the moment he decided to give our home to another woman. “Justin,” I said, enunciating each word with chilling clarity. “What kind of pathetic doormat do you take me for?” “Do you think that just because I went through hell with you, I deserve to be trampled on like this?” He fell silent. After a long moment, he sighed, his voice heavy with exhaustion. “Ella, don't overthink this. I’m just helping a friend. It’s decided. I’m going to go pick her up.” And with that, he walked out. As the front door slammed shut, I closed my eyes, forcing back the stinging tears. He wasn't worth a single one. Just then, my phone rang. It was Justin’s mother. “Ella, dear. It’s the weekend tomorrow. Why don’t you and Justin come back to the family home for dinner?” Justin’s mother had always been kind to me. I couldn’t bring myself to refuse. “Of course, Mom. We’ll be there.” After hanging up, I stared out the window as the sky bled into a cold, dark gray, a perfect mirror of the ice forming in my heart. The next day, I drove to the family home alone. The sprawling estate had been mortgaged and auctioned off when the family went bankrupt. After Justin made his comeback, he’d tried to buy back the house that held all his childhood memories, but the new owner, a notoriously eccentric retired professor, refused to sell. It was me who had shown up at the professor’s door, time and time again, armed with gifts and endless patience. It took me three months of chipping away at his defenses before he finally agreed to sell it back to us at the original price. When Justin’s mother saw me arrive alone, her brow furrowed. “Where’s Justin? Off chasing some nonsense again?” “He had an emergency meeting at the office. He’ll be here later,” I lied, covering for him out of habit. She took my hand, led me to the sofa, and sighed. “Ella, don’t lie to protect him. I’ve heard about what he’s been up to.” A chill went down my spine. “He’s not mixed up with that Amanda girl again, is he?” Her gaze sharpened. “I warned him. I told him that woman is a conniving, restless soul and that he needed to stay far away from her!” I lowered my head, saying nothing. She patted the back of my hand, her voice softening with sympathy. “You poor girl. You’ve been through too much. Don’t you worry. You are the only daughter-in-law the Peterson family will ever recognize. If he dares to do anything to hurt you, I’ll be the first one to break his legs!” A small warmth spread through my chest, and I managed a weak smile. “It’s okay, Mom.” Just as we were speaking, Justin arrived. The moment he saw me, his face darkened, clearly annoyed that I had arrived before him. “Mom, did you call Ella over to tattle on me again?” he snapped, his words laced with venom. His mother, furious, grabbed a throw pillow and hurled it at him. “You ungrateful brat, what did you just say? Do you think Ella is that kind of person? If she had breathed a single bad word about you to me, I wouldn’t have let you set foot in this house today!” “Then what’s this about?” Justin grumbled, loosening his tie impatiently. “If she didn’t say anything, how would you know about Amanda?” “You think I needed her to tell me?” his mother scoffed. “You made the woman your personal assistant and paraded her around the office. You might as well have taken out a billboard announcing your affair. Did you think I was blind?” A bitter smile touched my lips. 3 Shortly after he’d stormed out of our house that day, he had, without an ounce of shame, moved Amanda in. Then, he’d given her a position at his company, right by his side. His excuse, delivered with false sincerity, was, “Amanda’s new to the corporate world. It’ll be faster if I’m there to guide her.” Justin’s face flushed, a mixture of green and white. He took a deep breath, apparently deciding it wasn't worth the fight, and changed the subject. “Amanda is outside. I had her come drop off an urgent file.” Before either of us could react, he turned and opened the front door. Amanda trailed in behind him, dressed in a pristine white dress, the picture of delicate innocence. When she saw Justin’s mother, she flinched like a startled deer and instinctively hid behind him. Justin immediately shielded her. “She’s just here to drop off a file, Mom. Stop looking at her like you want to eat her alive. You’re scaring her.” I stared at him like he was a complete moron. Amanda, for her part, whispered in a voice barely audible, “Mr. Peterson, this is a family dinner. It’s… it’s not right for me to be here. I should probably go.” Her feet, however, remained rooted to the spot. “You must be tired after rushing over. Stay and have dinner with us,” Justin insisted, pulling her into the empty seat beside him. The seat that had been meant for me. The atmosphere at the dinner table plunged into an icy silence. Justin’s mother watched Amanda’s frail, damsel-in-distress act with a smirk of pure disdain. “Miss Remar,” she said, setting down her chopsticks, her voice cutting through the tension. “We’re all women here. You can drop the act.” “The calculations running behind those pretty eyes of yours are as clear as day to me.” Amanda’s face went sheet-white, tears instantly welling. “Mrs. Peterson, I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “You don’t?” Justin’s mother let out a dry laugh. “I remember the first time Justin brought you home from college. The moment you walked through that door, your eyes practically devoured the decor. The second you heard the scale of our family business, the greed and ambition were practically written on your face.” Amanda trembled, biting her lip as if trying to hold back a torrent of emotion. That was all it took for Justin. He slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet. “That’s enough!” He glared at his mother, his face contorted with rage. “It’s been years, and you’re still like this! You don’t care about what’s best for me; you just want to control my life!” “You forced us to break up, and it drove Amanda into a crippling depression! Don’t you feel an ounce of guilt? She’s finally getting her life back, and you feel the need to attack her with your vicious words?” “I control you?” His mother was shaking with anger. “If I wanted to control you, I would have never let Ella suffer with you when you lost everything! You ungrateful child, have you forgotten who was there to pull you out of hell?” “I haven’t forgotten!” Justin roared, his eyes bloodshot. “I’ll spend my life repaying my debt to Ella! But that has nothing to do with me making things right with Amanda!” With that, he grabbed the still-trembling Amanda by the arm and stormed toward the door. “Where are you going?” his mother yelled after him. “I can’t stand being in this house another second!” He dragged Amanda out with him, disappearing into the night. He never once looked back at me. It never even crossed his mind to take me with him. “Ella, let him go. Just let the bastard go,” his mother said, her chest heaving with rage. She took my hand. “You’re staying here tonight. I’ll keep you company.” I shook my head and stood up. “Mom, I should go back.” This was between Justin and me. I couldn’t let her burn the bridge with her only son because of me. In the driveway, Justin’s car was still there. He was leaning against the driver’s side door, impatiently scrolling through his phone. He was waiting for me. So, he did remember he’d left me behind. I walked slowly toward him. The streetlights stretched my shadow long and thin across the pavement, making me look desolate and utterly alone. Justin heard my footsteps and looked up. The impatience on his face intensified when he saw it was me. “What took you so long? Let’s go,” he snapped, getting into the driver’s seat. I walked to the passenger side, but before I could open the door, I heard a pained whimper from the back seat. 4 “Justin… I don’t feel so good… I can’t… breathe…” Justin’s expression changed instantly. He twisted around to check on her. “Amanda, what’s wrong?” “I… I think… I’m having an allergic reaction… to peanuts…” she gasped, her voice ragged with pain. Justin’s head whipped back toward me, his eyes blazing with accusation. “Ella! You knew Amanda was allergic to peanuts! Why didn’t you tell the kitchen staff?” His question stunned me into silence. When had I ever known Amanda was allergic to peanuts? Why on earth would I, a guest myself, be responsible for instructing my mother-in-law’s cook about another guest’s dietary needs? Besides, dinner was already on the table when we arrived. “I didn’t know she had a peanut allergy,” I replied coldly. “You didn’t know?” Justin’s voice shot up an octave. “You did this on purpose! You just can’t stand her, can you?” I laughed, a sharp, bitter sound. “So? What are you going to do about it? Are you saying I’m responsible for her allergy attack?” “We’ll let it go this time!” Justin bit out through clenched teeth. “But she’s going to be living with us from now on, so you’d better pay more attention when you’re cooking! I don’t want this happening again!” He expected me to be her personal chef now? I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How shameless could this man possibly be? Before I could respond, Amanda let out another agonized groan from the back seat. That sound shattered what little reason Justin had left. “That’s it, we’re going to the hospital!” He started the car, then turned to me, his voice frantic. “Get out!” I stood frozen, staring at him. “You want me to walk home?” We were in a wealthy suburban enclave, miles from the city center. Public transport was nonexistent, and catching a cab at this hour would be impossible. Justin slammed his fist on the steering wheel in frustration. “The hospital is in the opposite direction from our house! I don’t have time to drop you off, Amanda is in a real emergency! Figure it out yourself. It’ll be an inconvenience, I know!” With that, he floored the accelerator, leaving me standing alone in a cloud of acrid exhaust. I stood on the deserted road as a biting night wind swept over me, chilling me to the bone. He’d said it so casually. An inconvenience. Yes. My entire life for the past few years had been one giant inconvenience. I pulled out my phone and dialed the number for his personal driver. “Mark, could you please come pick me up from the family estate?” Ten minutes later, Mark’s car pulled up. He looked surprised to see me alone. “Mrs. Peterson, where’s the boss? I thought you two were having dinner here tonight.” I got in the car, my voice flat. “He had an urgent matter at the office and had to leave early.” Yes, I thought with a cold, internal laugh, an urgent matter involving his little mistress. Not long after I got home, my phone buzzed with a notification. I opened it, and my pupils contracted. It was a photo. Justin was asleep on a hotel bed, shirtless. His tanned skin was covered in the tell-tale red marks of passion, sprawling from his neck down to his chest. Beneath the photo was a taunting message: “Ella, Justin’s not coming home tonight. He said he can only truly relax when he’s with me.” So, the “allergic reaction” and the trip to the hospital were just a cover for them to get a hotel room. Justin. You are truly something else. Expressionless, I screenshotted the photo and the message and sent the entire package to my lawyer. Then, I forwarded it to Justin with a single line of text: [Guess the house wasn’t enough. You had to throw yourself into the deal, too?]. He must have broken the sound barrier getting home. When he burst through the door, his face was a mask of panic and guilt. “Ella, listen to me, it’s not what you think. Amanda and I…” “Shut up,” I cut him off coldly. I had no interest in hearing his pathetic, recycled excuses. He tried to take my hand. “Come on, don’t be like this. It was nothing.” I wrenched my hand away in disgust and stormed into the study, returning with a thick stack of old papers. The debt collection notices. “Justin, look at these!” I pointed at the stack, my voice trembling with suppressed fury. “Do you remember? When your family went bankrupt, I was the one who moved into that sunless basement with you, the one who survived on a single meal a day right alongside you!” “To pay back those millions in debt, I sold every piece of jewelry I owned! I worked in an office during the day and waited tables at night! When you passed out drunk on the street, who carried you home? When your old ‘friends’ humiliated you, who stood in front of you and fought for your dignity? Where was Amanda then?!” By the end, I was screaming through my tears, and I hurled the stack of bills right at his face. “So what are you going to do to repay this debt?!”
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