Love is Deep and Shallow, But My Marriage's Love is A Fantasy

"Alright, alright, you’re injured now, we won’t make you apologize to Tyler this time. If you just admit you were wrong, we’ll give you the house keys back. You can come home anytime you want."

When I married into the Gunn Family and became a stepmother, they took away my keys.

They even warned the security guards and drivers: unless I was with Tyler, I wasn’t allowed inside.

"Nadine, only when you have no home to return to—no way out—will you truly see the Gunn Family as your own. Only then will you treat Tyler as your real son."

Even when David threw me out in a fit of rage, even when I stood outside in the freezing rain all night begging to be let in, they never opened the door.

Now, seeing my silence, David assumed I was tempted by their offer.

He acted like he was doing me a favor.

"Alright, it’s not like you’re that badly injured. Stop being so stubborn. Once you recover, I’ll take you to get wedding photos done."

After all these years, we had never taken a single picture together.

Even at gatherings, if someone accidentally captured us in the same frame, he would lose his temper and scold me for hours.

But now?

Now, I didn’t want his love. I didn’t want this family. I didn’t want any of it.

I spoke calmly.

"That won’t be necessary. I’m leaving next month."

The hospital room fell into a suffocating silence.

Then, as expected, the anger came out.

From my parents. From David.

"What kind of nonsense are you saying, Nadine?!"

David blamed me, "Tyler’s Olympiad competition is in a month! If you leave, who will take care of him? Who will teach him?"

"You’re his mother! How can you be so heartless, throwing away your child just to make a point?" My parents said.

Mother?

I turned to look at Tyler.

His eyes burned with hatred.

For ten years, he had never once called me ‘Mom.’

At first, he called me ‘Auntie Nadine.’

But in the past two years, he stopped calling me anything at all.

Now, I was just 'that disgusting woman.'

Yet I still remembered the first time he ever called me ‘Mom.’

He was just a toddler then, barely able to string words together.

I had been overjoyed.

But the moment David heard it, he flew into a rage.

He ripped the child away from me, shoved me out the door and spat, "Don’t waste your time. Tyler will only ever have one mother."

Even though Yvonne abandoned him, even though she had vanished without a trace, she was the only one that mattered to him.

From then on, every time Tyler called me ‘Mom,’ David would scold him until he cried.

And just like that, I was demoted from mother to nanny.

But soon, it would all be over.

I turned back to face my parents and David.

"You were the ones who said I only had ten years in this position. The ten years are up. So I’m leaving."

My parents looked furious, as if I had personally betrayed them.

"No one is kicking you out! Why are you bringing this up?!"

As always, their only concern was maintaining ties with the Gunn Family—keeping their business interests intact.

But what surprised me was David.

He didn’t look relieved.

Instead, he frowned, his irritation deepening.

"That’s ridiculous! If you’d just beg me, do you really think I’d throw you out?"

He scoffed.

"Fine, if you’re worried about what people will say, I’ll make a post right now. I’ll tell the world you’re officially Madam Gunn from this day forward."

Funny.

When I was forced into this marriage, he never even held a wedding for me.

Whenever his business partners or friends visited, he never introduced me as his wife—just as a woman who ‘takes care of the kid and keeps the bed warm.’

Everyone knew the truth.

I was just a caged bird, allowed to enjoy a comfortable life for ten years before being discarded.

But I had never cared about a title.

And I certainly didn’t care now.

I smiled faintly.

"The doctor said I might be permanently disabled from this fall. A crippled woman isn’t fit to be Madam Gunn. And she certainly isn’t fit to raise the future heir of the Gunn Family."

For the first time that night, David exhaled in relief.

"Why are you even worried about that?" he said lightly. "With the Gunn Family’s money, we can get you the best doctors."