Love and Betrayal in Ten Years of Marriage

It was kind of ironic. My wife was a billionaire, yet my mom died because she couldn't afford surgery.

My parents were harsh to my sisters. After my dad passed away, all five of my sisters ran off and cut ties with us.

When mom got sick, I was the only one who took care of her.

I may have married into wealth and power, but every penny I spent had to be approved in advance.

The day my mom suddenly fell ill, I called Eleanor countless times.

The only call that went through, I didn't hear Eleanor's voice, just deafening music.

She claimed to be too busy with work to visit my dying mom, yet she had time to go to concerts with her young man.

After hearing my words, Eleanor's brow furrowed.

"Look at you now, just like your mom."

She impatiently retreated to the bedroom as if afraid I'd dwell on it.

In the past, no matter who was wrong, as long as Eleanor ignored me, I'd make her seafood noodles to apologize.

She eating the noodles meant we made up.

But this time, when Eleanor returned to the living room, she wouldn't find steaming noodles waiting. There would be just an empty room.

The suitcase was right next to me, and I didn't hesitate any longer.

Outside the car window, the twinkling lights flew by like my once dazzling youth.

Eleanor and I were each other's first loves, from school uniforms to wedding gowns.

I once asked Eleanor why she liked me.

She said, "Because you're different from everyone else."

She was a privileged princess. Everything in the world was within her reach, except for me.

After she was held back due to illness, my name always topped hers on the report card.

My honors easily overshadowed her brilliance.

So Eleanor began to pursue me wildly, even confessing to me publicly at an awards ceremony.

When she found out I was from a poor family, she convinced the principal to set up a scholarship just for me.

She gradually filled my life.

She was bold and flamboyant, yet always respected my dignity.

If it had just been that, I could have suppressed my budding feelings with reason.

I completely let down my guard the day my parents divorced.

My family was large, and we lived hand to mouth.

I found a puppy outside and didn't dare bring it home, so Eleanor and I secretly raised it in the woods nearby.

But my dad, in a fit of anger, killed the puppy right in front of me. He skinned it and threatened my mom not to divorce him.

I cried my heart out, ready to take my dad down with me.

Eleanor arrived just in time, leaving a stack of money for my dad. She took me away, saving my future.

A man doesn't easily shed tears unless he's in deep pain.

That day, I broke down my tough exterior and poured out years of bitterness.

I said I'd never raise a dog again. It was a pain I'd never shake off.

I vowed to study and work hard, never to live a life where I was manipulated and had no control.

Eleanor held my hand, gentle yet firm. "I'll be with you."

That was her promise at eighteen, but after so many years, it had expired.

Eleanor turned my most shameful past into a joke for Daniel to laugh at.

The salvation I thought I had was actually another abyss.