After Her Husband Died, His Secret was Revealed

At Richard's memorial,Margaret returned from abroad.

The media quickly caught wind of the return of the memoir's muse,Margaret,and the story gained attraction again.

She stood by Richard’s grave,burning a wedding dress with her own hands.The public couldn’t stop talking about it.While some admired the undying romance she and Richard seemed to have shared,others quickly dug up details about the designer of that wedding dress.

It was from Margaret’s own brand,an independent label she’d started.Without lifting a finger,she had effortlessly catapulted her niche brand into fame.

After doing all that,Margaret showed up at the Richard family mansion.

She wore all black,a white flower pinned to her chest,her eyes swollen like walnuts—she looked more like Richard’s grieving widow than I did.

Through her tears,Margaret begged,"Can I have Richard’s belongings?They’re all we had left of our memories together."

She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue,looking elegant in her grief.Her delicate fingers were pale and smooth,nothing like my rough,work-worn hands.

No wonder Richard pined for her for thirty years.

When I didn’t reply,she pressed on,"You’re right to hate me.It was my fault for being immature back then.I was so stubborn,refusing to let him have children with anyone else.If it weren’t for me,you two would have had your own family by now.I’ve regretted it for so long...the missed chance of a lifetime.You understand that feeling,don’t you,Grace?"

She was asking me to empathize with the love she shared with my husband.

I stared at her quietly before replying,"But why should I pay the price for your regret?"

At my words,Daniel,who stood off to the side,frowned but stayed silent.When he first saw Margaret,a"Mom"had almost slipped from his lips.But remembering I was there,he swallowed the rest.

Margaret wiped her tears,her eyes casting a pleading look at Daniel,who gazed back at her with clear sympathy.

The sight of their tender bond made me feel like an outsider in my own home.

Suddenly,Margaret dropped to her knees in front of me,pleading,"We truly loved each other.I’ll do anything if you just give me his belongings."

I stayed silent.

Disappointed,Daniel looked at me and said,"Mom,Aunt Margaret has gone this far.Why won’t you give in?Is your heart made of stone?"

If my heart were made of stone,I should’ve let him fend for himself years ago instead of raising him with all my love,only to watch him become someone else’s dutiful son.

Suppressing the bitterness rising in my chest,I turned to Margaret."Anything?Then how about trading the shares of Richard’s estate he left you?"

Both Daniel and Margaret stared at each other in shock.They hadn’t expected me to know about the will so soon.

Margaret,visibly flustered,stammered,"What shares?You must be mistaken."

I didn’t care who Richard left his assets to.It was his memoir where he wrote,"She’s an idealist,so pure it hurts."

I wanted to see if she was really that pure.

A little disappointing,wasn’t she?

Daniel rushed to interject,"Those were meant for me.Margaret is just—"

I waved my hand,cutting him off."The belongings are in the first room upstairs.Take everything."

Daniel was stunned,and Margaret forgot to cry in surprise.

As Daniel helped her up the stairs,she glanced back at me several times,doubt etched across her face.

I sat on the sofa,numb,gazing at the furniture and decorations around me.Every single piece had been carefully chosen by me.Richard had only ever nodded in approval.

I thought he loved me,which was why he went along with all my choices.But now I realized—it wasn’t that he loved me.He just didn’t care.

Maybe on the day Margaret left for her studies abroad,Richard’s heart had left with her.

He’d coaxed me into raising Margaret’s child,and even after his death,he publicly declared his love for her.

After all these years,they had found their resolution.I was the only one left in humiliation.

My head spun,and my body ached.These were the consequences of the kidney I’d donated to Daniel when he was a child.Along with the effects of the pills I’d taken not long ago in a failed attempt to end it all,my body had weakened.

As I sat there waiting for them to come back down,I said to Margaret,"Now that you’re here,you should take Daniel back.He’s your son,after all."

Daniel stared at me in shock.His lips quivered for a moment before he said nothing.

I knew he wouldn’t dare refuse.He feared I might change my mind.

After all,what’s better—a famous designer mother with Richard’s company shares,or a sick and powerless woman?Daniel knew which side to choose.

Mr.Chandler,the butler,wiped his tears at the door,heartbroken for me.

Margaret nodded,her face now dry,with freshly applied makeup.Her flawless eyes held a glint of triumph as she said,"This house was left to Daniel by Richard.You’ve lived here for thirty years,so even if you didn’t build it,you at least earned the right to retire here."

Her patronizing tone made me pause.She spoke as if this was her house now,as if I were the intruder.

A strange sense of humiliation washed over me.

So,Richard hadn’t even left me a roof over my head.

Had he simply assumed I’d follow him in death,or had he been so focused on securing Margaret’s future that he forgot all about me?

Probably the latter.Why would Richard care whether I lived or died?

With a bitter smile,I replied,"No need for that.I’ll move out tomorrow."

Margaret could barely contain her joy.

I rose from the sofa,my steps unsteady as I made my way upstairs.Daniel stood beside Margaret,watching me leave with indifference.Each step I took crumbled the pillars of everything I’d once believed in.

It was only today that I truly understood what it meant to"love by association."

Richard loved Margaret,and that’s why he loved her son.He couldn’t wait to leave every good thing for her and their child.

Only now did I accept that Daniel’s name wasn’t a reminder of the bond between me and my husband—it was Richard’s ultimate act of devotion to Margaret.He’d never once forgotten about her,even though she was across the world.

I wanted to hate him,but I was too old.I didn’t have the strength to hold onto that kind of anger anymore.If I could choose,I’d rather owe him nothing in this life and never meet him in the next.

With that thought,I absentmindedly reached the top of the stairs.My foot slipped,and I fell down.

All I could hear were Margaret’s screams and Mr.Chandler sobbing.

When I opened my eyes again,it was the year I had just married Richard…