Because You Loved Her Image, You Missed My Truth

The next day, I staggered out holding onto the wall. I was cold and wet and I was in a trance.

Scott ran into my arms, his voice choked with tears.

"Mom, Dad won't ever go back to the way he was, right?"

I gently hugged him tighter, doing my best to keep my voice soft. "No, sweetheart. He won't. Just ten more days and we'll be out of here."

"Really?"

"Really. Just a little longer."

He nodded hard, his small body trembling slightly in my arms.

I kissed the top of his head and only then did he finally calm down. Still holding that little dog we adopted together, he curled up in the corner of the bed, quietly reading his book like a good boy.

My heart ached just looking at him. I knew, ever since the day his beloved father pressed his tiny hand into sulfuric acid, that something inside Scott had broken.

Still, he never said a word about it. Always trying to protect me, never showing it.

All I could do was wait, wait until I could truly leave Kai behind. Only then would I have a chance to help my son heal.

So, I started packing.

I tore down the wind chime we bought during our trip to Hokkaido and threw it straight into the fireplace.

Photos, love letters, souvenirs, everything. I didn't keep a single thing. I tossed them all into the flames.

The fire danced wildly, like it was devouring the naive love I once had.

The next morning, I went out to the backyard.

That was the secret garden that Kai had built for me, a whole field of roses and white tea, which were my favourite flowers.

I carried a can of gasoline and poured it slowly, soaking the entire garden, one circle at a time.

Then, I struck a match and set it all on fire.

Flames shot up instantly and the once-sweet scent of flowers twisted into something sickening in the thick smoke.

While the fire raged behind me, I dug up the "time capsule" we had buried together in that same yard.

My heart skipped a beat when I opened it.

Inside, besides our photos, there was also a bank card.

A note was attached to it:

Carolyn, if I ever betray you, one day, take this card and leave. Don't hesitate. Be good. — Kai.

Tears dropped onto the card, one after another.

I didn't understand how things had ended up this way.

Kai used to love me so much.

I came from an ordinary background. The only reason he even noticed me was probably because my face looked about seventy percent like his late wife's.

Meanwhile, he was the head of the Lockwood family, a ruthless and untamable figure.

One day, after seeing me at his company, he began to pursue me relentlessly.

He spent money and resources just to make me smile.

On my birthday, every screen on the city's main shopping street played his video confession on repeat. He stood on a rooftop, holding a bouquet of roses, shouting my name.

He rented out the entire city's fireworks just to show me how much he loved me.

He said, "I'll never love anyone else but you."

I believed him, thinking that first love in Kai's heart had died and I was now the one he loved most.

He treated me like a queen.

When I had a low fever, he cancelled all his meetings for the entire month just to stay by my side. When I said I loved the smell of old books, he bought out an entire antique library for me.

When I was pregnant, he sat by my hospital bed all night, sleepless, begging experts from three different hospitals to hold a remote consultation.

After our child was born, his eyes were red as he cried and laughed.

Seven years passed and I thought I was no longer just a stand-in lover but the person he truly wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Until that night, when I caught him taking Florence home.

She was young, with clear eyes, looking so much like I did when I first met him, no, even more like his deceased ex-wife when she was young.

Kai told me that Florence was just a plaything and it was normal for people in their circle to have lovers. He told me to relax and that I was his only wife.

For our child, even though my heart was cut by a knife, I endured it.

Now he had hurt our son and I couldn't tolerate it anymore.

I took out that card and threw the time capsule into the fire along with it!

That evening, Kai sent someone to tell me to get ready. There was a "beast arena" event arranged by a business partner and he wanted me to attend.

Thinking it was just another routine social gathering, I changed into an evening gown and went.

But when I stepped into the underground venue, I saw Florence standing beside Kai, also dressed in formal attire.

Kai gave me a half-hearted explanation. "Florence's never seen something like this before. I'm just showing her around."

My fists clenched and I walked inside without a word.

The partners around us were all looking at the three of us with gossipy eyes. I straightened my back, trying hard not to show any emotion.

The so-called "beast arena" wasn't about animals fighting. It was a brutal game where a group of criminals battled bare-chested, betting on who would be the last one standing.

The business partner sipped his wine and laughed. "Would Mrs. Lockwood like to join? Let's see how your luck compares to Miss Yale's?"

I didn't want to play this game, but I had no choice.

Even though I knew these people were just waiting to see the spectacle of "the lawful wife being trampled by the mistress."