Love's Betrayal: A Journey Through the Dark

Mason held me in his arms and whispered softly and firmly in my ear, "Lillian, I will definitely treat you well in the future! If you are worried, we can get married first."

He and I got married with nothing.

Four years later, Mason applied to pursue a Ph.D. degree.

Mason smiled faintly, "Lillian, this is a society that values diplomas and academic qualifications. I think you should be well aware of this, as I will have a better job in the future if I get a doctorate. If you don't support me, how can your own career develop?"

"So when are we going to have a baby? Tiffany's been urging us all the time."

"Lillian!" He held my hand and shook it gently like a spoiled child. "Our current financial situation doesn't allow for it, so if we have a child now, he will suffer with us. Let's wait until I have a stable job, and then we can have a child. I must give our child the best."

Mason had just started his first year of doctoral studies as Tiffany became paralyzed. I told him to just focus on his studies. So, I gave up my original job which paid more and was more leisurely, found a job as a caregiver in a nursing home, and then moved Tiffany into the nursing home.

This way, I could take care of her without affecting my work, and the employee's relatives could also get discounts.

Another four years passed, and I thought Mason would finally graduate with his Ph.D. degree and I would finally be going to have a stable life.

Over the years, we hadn't bought a house or had children, and my meager salary had been used to support his studies and take care of Tiffany.

Now that Mason was about to obtain his graduation certificate, had secured a job, and had a new goal to pursue, did this mean he would abandon me? Was I just a disposable tool for him, something to be used and flushed down the toilet when he has done with me?

I wanted to see what the girl who wiped out the more than ten years of relationship between Mason and I in just one year looked like.

Although Mason studied in this school for seven years, I came here only a few times, especially during his doctoral studies, because I was always very busy and often so tired at the end of the day that I couldn't even pick up my fork to eat.

Looking at the beautiful laboratory building and the energetic students coming and going here, I couldn't help but feel inferior because of my academic qualifications and my failed life.

The girl's name was Sandra Fisher. Although her facial features were not outstanding, her skin was smooth and delicate, and her facial expression was bold and confident.

I was like a gray rat crawling out of the sewer. My rough skin, eyes deprived of their once radiant glow, and outdated and dull attire all make me stand out in this environment, completely out of place.

Mason was not there, so they asked me to sit aside and wait. The room became quiet, with only the slight sound of the test machine.

Sandra was holding a pen and rocking on the chair, but her eyes were looking back and forth at me.

As Mason came back, he was stunned when he saw me, then he put down the coffee in his hand and rudely and impatiently pulled me out. "What are you doing here? Let's go out and talk!"

"Hey! Mason, is there anything you can't say here?" She came forward playfully to stop him. Mason stretched out her hand with light pink nail polish, picked up the coffee, and took a sip. "Could it be that you and this elder woman have some secret that cannot be told to others?"

"Sandra, you're overthinking." Mason smiled awkwardly and raised his hand to push his glasses, "Did I buy the right coffee? It's supposed to be three parts sugar sweetness, right?"

"Don't interrupt. Who is this elder woman to you?"

Although Sandra spoke to Mason in a coquettish tone, her scrutinizing and provocative eyes never left me. With a woman's natural intuition, she knew that there was something unusual about the relationship between Mason and I.

"She is my relatives."

His words left me disappointed, and they drowned even the last glimmer of hope.

I saw the cup of coffee in her hand. It cost 23 dollars, and I couldn't bear to buy it several times as I passed by.

23 dollars was enough for me to buy groceries and eat for two days.

I lived frugally and used a calculator to deal with various expenses at home, while he bought dozens of dollars of coffee for her. I had never seen a penny of his graduate student allowance in all these years.

Mason didn't speak to me as we walked through the corridor and the long tree-lined avenue. As we were almost at the school gate, he said, "Don't come here again. I'm very busy with experiments and I'm currently revising my thesis."

Perhaps he felt that his tone was not good, so he added, "Didn't you say you were very tired after work? Rest more at home. I see that you have lost weight recently."

I couldn't hold it back. "Why don't you tell your classmates that I'm your wife?"

Mason choked, and after a long while he rolled his eyes and paced irritably. "What is there to say! Look at yourself, what are you wearing? Didn't you even comb your hair before coming here? How can I say anything to them when you look like this?!"

I looked at the figure reflected on the glass curtain wall next to me. I had slightly messy shoulder-length hair, tied back in a simple low ponytail. My face was bare, with a vacant expression in my eyes. The thin windbreaker I was wearing had been with me for several years; it was a cheap item from a wholesale market and had lost its shape after multiple washes.

He looked down on me!

I felt like my ten years of youth had been wasted. With that thought, I turned around and disappeared into the night without looking back.