1 When I married William Lowe, he had nothing but debt. For five years, I worked three jobs to pay it off while raising our son, Aster—never complaining, believing our struggles would lead to happiness. Last week, his company secured massive funding. We celebrated, thinking our good days had arrived. Then I saw him on financial news: dressed in a tailored suit, introduced as the "sole heir to a billion-dollar empire," laughing with his "investor"—socialite Celeste Cheng. The headline read: Lowe Heir Completes Five-Year "Poverty Trial," Proving His Mettle to the Board. At home, Aster played with a limited-edition robot—one I’d designed during sleepless nights for freelance cash. He looked up, his eyes cold. "Daddy told me everything. You failed the test, Mommy. You love money too much." My throat tightened. "Aster… what?" "A noble woman doesn’t count pennies," he recited. "You have a ‘small-minded perspective.’ Your love is cheap." Every sacrifice—the burns from late shifts, the overtime dizziness—meant nothing to them. I reached for him, but he pulled away. "Don’t touch my robot. You can’t afford it." On the table lay a divorce agreement. William's signature was already on it, a flamboyant scrawl, as triumphant as his image on the news. Next to it was a check. My "severance pay" for five years of my youth, three jobs, and countless sleepless nights. The irony was that just last week, we had been celebrating in this very spot. "Anna," he had said, "the hard days are over. I'm going to make you the happiest woman in the world." Looking back, it was just the final line of his script before the test ended. My phone rang, the word "Hubby" flashing on the screen. I answered, numb. "You saw it?" William's voice came through the receiver, devoid of any warmth. "Anna, our 'poverty trial' is over. Congratulations on making it to the end. But unfortunately, you've been eliminated." "…A test?" I finally found my voice, but it was as dry as sandpaper. "Yes, a test," he chuckled, the sound dripping with mockery. "I needed to prove to the board that I could attract a loyal partner and build a business from nothing, even at my lowest point. Celeste is my investor and my real fiancée. You were just a randomly selected 'wife' to complete this social experiment." "So, the tens of millions in debt…" "Oh, that was just another way of saying 'startup capital.' How else could I test someone's character under extreme pressure?" "William," I said, each word precise, my nails digging into my palms, "you're a monster." "Am I? But this 'monster' is now the heir to a multi-billion-dollar fortune. Anna, take the check and leave with some dignity. Don't make me lose the last shred of respect I have for you." He paused, then added a crueler blow. "By the way, Aster isn't your son. He's the product of an IVF procedure between Celeste and me. Your embryo was replaced. You were just an actor playing a role in his 'social upbringing.' Now, the real mistress of the house is coming home. Please move out of this 'Lowe family' house immediately." "You told me the IVF failed because of exhaustion…" I felt as if I’d been plunged into an icy abyss. "Celeste and the Lowe family's legal team will be there in half an hour to handle the handover. Remember, be graceful about it." He wasn't even listening. The line went dead. I held the phone like a red-hot iron. "Social upbringing"… So, even my right to be a mother was something they had given me, and then taken away. 2 I didn't move. I wasn't going to leave just like that. What was mine, I would take back, piece by piece, with my own two hands. The doorbell rang ten minutes earlier than William had said. They were impatient. I opened the door. Standing there was the same smiling socialite from the news, Celeste Cheng. Behind her were two men in suits, presumably from the Lowe family's legal team. "Ms. Stone, hello." Celeste's voice was a velvet-wrapped knife. She didn't act superior; instead, she looked at me with a sort of pity. "It must have been so hard on you these past five years. To be honest, you did a better job than I expected. Your acting was… very convincing." She walked past me into the living room as if she owned the place. "Aster, darling, Mommy Celeste is here." Aster immediately dropped his robot and ran into her arms like a kitten. "Mommy Celeste! You're here!" Celeste expertly pulled a small box of Swiss candies from her Chanel bag, unwrapped one, and popped it into Aster's mouth. "Of course, darling. Mommy Celeste promised you that as soon as Daddy's 'game' was over, I'd come take you home. We're going to Disneyland in Japan this weekend, how does that sound?" "Yay! I love Mommy Celeste the most!" Their intimate, natural interaction made them look like a real family. I was just an extra who had finished her scene and was supposed to exit the stage. My heart was too numb to feel any more pain. Holding Aster, Celeste glanced around the room, her gaze landing on the second-hand fabric sofa I had found at a flea market. She frowned slightly, as if she had seen something dirty. "William is too much. How could he let you live in a place like this, with such cheap furniture? This stuff is beneath him." She turned to the lawyer behind her. "Mr. Lee, take a note. Have a cleaning company come later and throw all of this out. Nothing cheap belongs in William's home." "Of course, Ms. Cheng." Every word she spoke was a precise negation of my entire five years of effort. I had scrimped and saved for our shared "future." In her eyes, it was all just "cheap junk" that sullied her fiancé's noble status. The lawyer, Mr. Lee, stepped forward and handed me a pen. "Ms. Stone, please sign the divorce agreement. A compensation of five million is the highest industry standard for a five-year 'role-playing' project. Mr. Lowe and Ms. Cheng are being very generous." "Highest industry standard?" I repeated the words, the absurdity of it all hitting me. They had turned my life into a business transaction with a price tag. "Yes," Mr. Lee said, pushing up his glasses. "Also, Ms. Cheng, in her kindness, has advised me to remind you not to cause any trouble. Any entanglement will be viewed by our legal department as a malicious provocation against the entire Lowe family. I trust you wouldn't want to see those consequences." His words were an undisguised threat. Celeste walked over, still holding Aster, a perfect smile on her face. "Ms. Stone, don't misunderstand. We're not threatening you. You're a smart woman. You know how to make the right choice, don't you?" She looked down at Aster. "Sweetheart, say goodbye to this… auntie. She's leaving our home now." Aster peeked out from her embrace. The eyes that once looked at me with such dependence were now filled with impatience and a chilling distance. "Mommy Celeste, can we go now? I don't want to see her. Daddy says her poor-person smell will rub off on me." Poor-person smell. Those words shattered the last shred of warmth in my heart. I looked at them, and suddenly, I laughed. 3 My laughter startled Celeste and Mr. Lee. They had probably expected tears, screams, hysterical curses, or pathetic begging. They had not expected laughter. "What are you laughing at?" Celeste's brow furrowed again. "Nothing," I said, my laughter dying down, my face as still as a stagnant pond. "I was just thinking, you two are very good actors as well." I turned and went into the bedroom, pulling several storage boxes out from under the bed. I had bought them a few days ago, planning to organize our clothes for the new season, to welcome our "new life" after the hardship. "Well, well. Finally came to your senses? Ready to pack up and get out?" Celeste leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed, her voice dripping with scorn. I ignored her. Systematically, one by one, I began to organize my "evidence" from the past five years. Every bank statement from my three jobs over five years, printed out. My own credit card bills, and every single transaction detail from William's "debt-ridden" supplementary card. Celeste's expression shifted from mockery to confusion, and then to a sliver of alarm. "Anna, what on earth are you doing? You can't possibly think you can extort more money with this pile of scrap paper? Let me tell you, it's useless. We have the best legal team in the country." I still said nothing. From a separate folder, I took out a thick stack of receipts. Then, I took out the final item: the purchase record and invoice for Aster's limited-edition robot. The invoice was in my name. The payment was from my salary card. I placed the invoice gently on top of all the other evidence, like a final, damning seal on my five years of absurdity. When I was done, I closed the lids on the boxes. Three large boxes in total. There wasn't a single piece of clothing, a single pair of shoes, or a single bottle of makeup inside. Only five years of my blood, sweat, time, and a life that had been trampled into worthlessness. I looked up at Celeste and Mr. Lee. "I'm taking these with me." Mr. Lee clearly found my behavior incomprehensible. "Ms. Stone, these are records of shared household expenses. You have no right to take them unilaterally. And they cannot be used as a basis for demanding more compensation." "Who said I was demanding more compensation?" I retorted. I looked at Celeste. She was staring at me as if I were insane, her lips curled in an undisguised sneer. "Incorrigible. Still only care about money. Anna, you're a lost cause." "Yes," I nodded, admitting it frankly. "I am incorrigible. I do only care about money." Because in this world, only money would never betray me. I dragged the heavy boxes of "scrap paper" to the entryway and put on my shoes. From beginning to end, I never looked at Aster again. I only took my ID, passport, bank cards, and these boxes, which were now more important to me than my own life. As I opened the door, ready to leave the "home" I had poured five years of my heart into, Celeste's voice, not loud but clear enough for me to hear, drifted from behind me. "See, sweetheart? Mommy Celeste was right. A woman like that is not fit to be your mother. Her world revolves around money." The moment the door closed, I heard their laughter.
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