Three years after my husband Garrett's death, I treated my mother-in-law, Martha, who had Alzheimer's, as if she were my own mother, caring for her with complete devotion. Even when she forced me to sleep standing up, drink dirty water from the toilet, and even defecate in my food bowl. This led me to develop severe depression. My mental state deteriorated rapidly, and I attempted suicide several times without success. Just as I reached the depths of despair, early one morning I suddenly heard Martha quietly opening the door to leave. Afraid something might happen, I instinctively followed her out and saw her slip a box into the hands of a pregnant woman. What shocked me even more was that my dead husband's voice came through the phone the pregnant woman was holding! "Martha, did you give Susanna the depression-inducing drugs or not? Why hasn't anything happened to her yet?" Martha replied, "Don't worry! I used a very large dose this time!" Garrett said with disgust: "She can't even give me a son, and she dared to humiliate Renee in public. I'm being more than merciful just drugging her into depression." So the three years of hellish torment... Were all just my mother-in-law pretending to be crazy and senile, performing an act to drive me to death so Garrett could marry this woman called Renee! Then there's no need for me to tell them that this Renee is actually an AIDS-infected pregnant woman my mentor just took on as a patient! And Garrett, who never liked using condoms, most likely won't have much longer to live either.
I whipped around to look at the pregnant woman who had turned to face me, clenching my fists, my face pale as death. The voice on the phone continued. Garrett laughed coldly, his tone contemptuous: "Once Susanna is officially diagnosed with depression, I can bring Renee and my grandson home to see you. After all, who would believe the words of a crazy person like Susanna?" "When the time comes, let her make whatever scene she wants, get her fired from the hospital too — perfect excuse to kick her out and get revenge for Renee!" I nearly lost my footing, my legs going weak as I almost collapsed to the ground. Back then I was still a medical resident, and that pregnant woman was the first patient I ever received. Because she concealed her STD, I came into direct contact with her blood. I cried in the hallway, terrified, and it was Garrett who firmly wiped away the tears on my face. He took me for comprehensive testing, then publicly warned Renee Foster that he'd see her in court. How did this become me humiliating her? I couldn't hear what else was said on the other end. Renee Foster inadvertently turned her head and saw me. Her expression changed instantly. Even my mother-in-law froze for a moment. Seeing my approaching steps, she panicked and tried to stop me. But I shoved her aside and lunged for Renee Foster's phone. At that moment, Renee Foster let out a scream, and tears immediately began streaming down her face: "Don't come near me! My baby! Garrett, help!" And I hadn't even touched her yet. Both Garrett on the other end of the phone and my mother-in-law behind me became frantic. A slap came from behind. I took the full force of my mother-in-law's blow. The hit made everything go black, and I nearly fell to my knees in front of them. But this time I didn't indulge my mother-in-law anymore. I slapped her right back. The old woman looked at me in disbelief, then immediately sat on the ground and began wailing. By now it was fully light out, and many residents in the complex stuck their heads out to see what was happening. But I couldn't care about any of that. I snatched Renee Foster's phone and was just about to speak. When I heard Garrett's furious voice explode from the phone: "Susanna! How dare you touch my mother and Renee! Just you wait!" Even now, caught red-handed by me, he showed not a trace of guilt. His heart was full of concern for others. A heart dies in an instant. I hung up the call and shoved the phone back into Renee Foster's hands. At the same time, before I could even turn around, a tremendous force came from behind — a kick sent me flying. "Susanna! If you're angry, come at me! Why would you hurt a delicate young woman like Renee?" "Bullying the weak, attacking a pregnant woman — have you no shame?" "You lunatic, apologize to Renee and her unborn child right now!" My forehead struck a nearby tree. Blood covered my eyes, but compared to the tearing pain in my chest, it was nothing. Garrett carefully helped Renee Foster to her feet. She collapsed in his arms, crying pitifully: "Garrett, why would Susanna hit me? You two have been separated for years — legally you could already be divorced. I'm not a homewrecker. We're true love!" I laughed bitterly. Perhaps even this little performance was calculated in advance. Paving the way to establish me as a lunatic. Then Garrett could legitimately swap out his wife. He could dream on! The delicate, pitiful young woman in Garrett's eyes had long ago contracted AIDS from years of promiscuity. And now she was pregnant with Garrett's child. Which meant Garrett hadn't used protection. In that instant, I understood what it meant for the person who betrayed and schemed against me to finally reap what they sowed — they should swallow ten thousand needles. I just needed to give things a little push at the right moment.
In my moment of distraction, hearing my scornful laughter, Garrett's face flooded with extreme mockery: "All these years, you never learned how to soften toward me." "Your cold face won't attract my attention — it only makes me think you're ungrateful and even more disgusting!" As he spoke, he straightened up and asked Renee Foster in a gentle, caring voice: "Where did she touch you? Let me help you get even, okay?" At that moment, my mother-in-law, who had been wailing and complaining to neighbors about how I abused her, finally found her opportunity. No longer pretending to be demented, she grabbed my hair in one swift motion. And slammed it hard against the tree trunk! Searing pain overwhelmed my consciousness. A bloody wound quickly appeared on my head. I instinctively looked around for help. But Garrett just held Renee Foster and watched coldly. My consciousness gradually faded. Garrett only cared about Renee Foster's unharmed belly. He couldn't be bothered to care about me, who was nearly dying. The difference between Garrett's love and lack of love was too obvious. We met at the hospital. I was a resident doctor with no rights, and he was a low-level pharmaceutical rep. When my attending physician made me cry, when I couldn't answer questions during rounds, when I'd been working for twenty-four hours straight without sleep — It was him. Despite his own exhaustion and countless rejections, he persisted. He saw my abilities and my worth. He never stopped encouraging me, comforting me, coaxing me to dry my tears. He even transferred a major deal he'd worked hard to secure into my name so I could successfully convert to a permanent position. Back then, watching him always standing by my side, shielding me from trouble... My young heart couldn't help but fall in love with him. Many people gossiped behind my back, saying I'd sold myself just to stay at the hospital. He felt terrible for me then, and in a rare moment of fury for my sake, he checked surveillance footage and tracked down the rumors. In front of everyone, he proved my innocence and affirmed my medical skills. Then he knelt before me and proposed, swearing he would only love me for the rest of his life. Garrett gave me the most grand and brilliant love in this world. Unfortunately, love is fleeting. After I gave birth to our daughter Lily, my mother-in-law gradually began showing symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. I was as busy as a spinning top, so naturally I refused Garrett's demand for a second child. After he brought it up several times and I still wouldn't budge, his attitude gradually grew cold. Even worse, when Lily cried at night and disturbed his sleep, he changed like a different person, roaring that he wanted to kill her. Though we still slept in the same bed, we gradually went from sleeping in each other's arms to maintaining strict boundaries. Until I caught him in bed with a new medical resident. Garrett ground my face under his foot. In the middle of the night, I could never understand why he had changed this way. Fortunately, after I made a scene, he seemed to restrain himself. He started coming home on time and stopped demanding a second child. Except for still not liking our daughter, everything seemed to return to normal. Until a car accident completely shattered the peace I'd worked so hard to maintain. But today I learned that all of it was just an act Garrett put on to get rid of me! At this thought, grievance wrapped around my neck like a rope, tightening relentlessly. The sourness in my chest wouldn't stop. I could never continue living with such a rotten person after suffering such grievances. And I absolutely couldn't let my daughter follow in my footsteps with such a rotten father! I don't know how long passed. I was woken by someone patting me.
I opened my eyes groggily. The wound on my head felt like it was tearing me apart. Renee Foster's cloying voice kept drilling into my ears: "Garrett, you know a pure girl like me never wanted to be the other woman. The son I'm carrying is your family's eldest grandson." Garrett laughed softly: "She's just a jealous shrew throwing a tantrum, playing hard to get. You just got caught in the crossfire this time." "Susanna loves me so much — she's endured even my mother treating her that way. How could she bear to be angry with me?" I snapped fully awake, nausea surging to my throat. I almost vomited right there on the spot. Feeling utterly disgusted, I finally saw clearly that the person who'd been patting me was actually my four-year-old daughter Lily. In the freezing winter, my four-year-old child wore only pajamas, shivering from the cold. Tears and snot stuck to her face. Seeing me wake up, she burst into loud sobs. And her biological father Garrett stood behind her, watching her tears with cold eyes. I struggled to raise my arms and pulled her into my embrace. Renee Foster saw this and covered her nose with contempt, fanning the air in front of her. She turned her head and whined coquettishly to Garrett: "Garrett, what's that smell? Even our dog wouldn't pee randomly like that. My morning sickness is coming back — it's so disgusting!" Garrett's expression darkened, but he said to me: "Since you're awake, why are you curled up there playing dead? Getting hit twice and you can't even hold your bladder, making such a mess on the ground." "Hurry up and clean the floor. It's disgusting." "Don't cause trouble for the property management." His disgust was completely unconcealed. But I was already dizzy from the pain, with no strength left to curse at them. Seeing me ignore them, Garrett walked over and dragged Lily out of my arms: "Susanna, this is just a small punishment. If you hadn't dared to hit Renee, you could still be taking care of my mother!" I couldn't help but laugh mockingly. What royal throne was their family inheriting that serving the old lady was some kind of honor bestowed upon me? I shakily stood up, shielding my daughter behind me, glaring at them with hatred: "Garrett, you show no remorse! How could you use depression drugs to harm me?" "If you want a new wife, you could've just told me directly. We could divorce!" "Better than going through all this trouble, even faking your death to deceive me!" Garrett's eyebrows twitched. He couldn't help but look at my tear-stained face. Renee Foster immediately noticed his hesitation and nestled fearfully into his arms: "Susanna, what are you talking about? You're the one who's been badmouthing the child's father all this time. How can you blame us?" "We're willing to raise her. Why don't we let the child choose who she wants to be with!" The moment of softness Garrett had inadvertently shown vanished completely. He gritted his teeth and forced my daughter to choose. Lily became even more frightened, cowering behind me, not daring to move. Garrett's iron grip was about to close around Lily's neck. I blocked her, but he didn't reduce his force. "Susanna, is this how you raise a child? She won't even acknowledge her own father!" With that, he completely tore away my last shred of dignity. I couldn't hear his words anymore. I just felt a chill all over my body and instinctively tried to cover myself, but it was all in vain. More and more eyes fixed on me, making me feel utterly humiliated. I wanted to crouch down and curl up. Renee Foster suddenly screamed: "Susanna! There's a child here! Even if you want to seize this opportunity to seduce men, you can't just lie down like that!" "You don't care about your daughter's upbringing, but I have to think about my son's prenatal education!"
I stared at her in disbelief. Like a madwoman, I tried to struggle up from the ground, but blood loss and the depression drugs made my vision go black. I had no strength in my limbs. Then I heard Renee Foster continue saying to Garrett: "Garrett, you should stay back. The neighborhood bus won't wait — out in public with no clothes on!" Garrett's merciless gaze reflected in my eyes. His contemptuous voice rang out: "Susanna, you stand on your high horse judging me for having an affair, but aren't you out there messing around too?" Renee Foster walked to his side, giggling: "Who would take damaged goods with baggage? There must be other conditions." "Susanna, you didn't agree to give away such a young child too, did you?" "Garrett, what kind of good child could a mother like that raise? Why not send her to my relatives in the countryside?" "Their son happens to be simple-minded. They're looking for a child bride to grow up with him. Perfect — we can exchange her for some startup capital for our son!" I don't know where the strength came from, but I lunged forward recklessly and grabbed her throat. "You're a slut yourself, so you think everyone else is as filthy as you?" "If you dare sell my daughter as a child bride... I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!" Garrett quickly reacted and shoved me away. "Susanna! You dare hit someone right in front of me?" "What did Renee say that was wrong? You did it but won't own up to it — have you no shame?" Blood covered my eyes. I stared at them both with blood-red eyes filled with hatred. Under my gaze, Garrett frowned deeply, his eyes surging with stormy rage, absolutely furious. "In that case, we'll do as Renee says! Give me the child!" I watched Garrett's condescending attitude and knew he was truly capable of this. Sure enough, a van soon pulled up behind us. Several burly men got out and asked directly: "Which little girl are you selling? We need to inspect the goods!" Following Renee Foster's pointing finger, their gazes locked onto my daughter behind me. I tried my best to block them, but my strength was nothing compared to theirs. I glared at Garrett with blood-red eyes: "You're not human! Garrett, you bastard!" "Do you think you've found true love?" "A cheap whore with AIDS and an idiot too stupid for words — a perfect match made in hell!" A bloody tear rolled down my cheek: "Garrett, if you sell my child, you'll never have a second healthy child." "Because you won't live that long. You deserve this. This is exactly what you deserve." No matter how I struggled, I couldn't pull away the hands on my daughter. I could only watch helplessly as she was tied up with rope and gagged! Just as she was about to be dragged into the pitch-black van! Garrett, whom I'd knocked against the tree, initially looked furious. But soon he clutched his chest. "Pfft — " He spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground!
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