Shattered Dreams: Moving On From an Ex's Betrayal

Kenny turned his head away, saying nothing. His silence was answer enough.

A cold laugh bubbled up inside me.

I never imagined they would twist my father's sacrifice and the shattering of my family into some sort of scheme. I never thought Kenny would think I deserved this!

In a frenzy, I lunged at Kenny, slapping him hard across the face several times.

"Get out!

"Both of you, get the hell out of here!"

Serena defiantly stepped in front of me, her posture triumphant.

"It's you who should leave. Kenny and I are married now. This house is ours!"

I've encountered shameless people before, but never anyone as vile and disgusting as this!

"Kenny, do you think the same way?"

Kenny, his face marked by the scratches I had left, avoided my gaze.

"Well, we are married now. I can't just let Serena keep living in a rented place..." he mumbled.

Hearing his words, all hope I had left vanished.

I turned and walked to the toolshed, grabbed a hammer, and started smashing everything in the house I had carefully decorated.

Even though my parents had passed away early, my grandmother always taught me not to rely on others' favors and to be self-sufficient.

After the engagement, Kenny bought a house, and my grandmother took out all her life savings for me to decorate it.

I had transformed this house, bit by bit, from an empty shell into the home of my dreams.

I thought to myself, "If I can't have it, no one will."

Serena shrieked in terror, covering her head. Kenny tried to stop me, attempting to wrest the hammer from my hands.

I raised the hammer high, sneering at him. "If you come any closer, I'll smash you along with it!

"Kenny, think carefully. I have nothing left to lose, so I'm not afraid of you!

"Try me if you dare!"

Clearly, Kenny didn't have the guts. He dragged Serena out, cursing me as he slammed the door behind them.

I blocked Kenny's number, packed my things, and took my grandmother's portrait with me as I returned to her small home.

When I walked in, I instinctively called out, "Grandma?"

Only when I remembered that she would never again greet me with her warm smile, did I realize she was truly gone, never to return.

The house was as she had left it, except that a fine layer of dust now covered the once spotless furniture.

To the left of the entrance was a small table with two cute porcelain dolls on it.

My grandmother had been heartbroken over my parents' deaths.

She poured all her love into me, praying every day for my safety and well-being.

After Kenny and I became serious, her prayers included him as well.

She had bought the two porcelain dolls, saying they would bring us good luck.

These dolls were supposed to be taken to our new home, but Kenny dismissed my grandmother's beliefs as superstition.

"My fate is in my own hands!" he had stubbornly insisted.

I couldn't bear to tell my grandmother the truth, so I lied, saying we were too busy with work and didn't want the housekeeper to accidentally break them.

Hearing that, my grandmother kept the dolls for herself. She prayed for us every day, hoping we would be happy together.

But now, the person who loved me most was gone, and my relationship with Kenny was over.

And Kenny, who thought my grandmother was superstitious, had previously hung a charm on his phone.

"Serena gave it to me. She said it'd bring me good luck if I kept it for a month."

I thought to myself, "So, he doesn't completely disbelieve in these things. He just didn't believe in my grandmother.

Or, more precisely, he didn't believe in me."

The next morning, before dawn had even broken, someone pounded on my door.

When I opened it, I was shoved roughly to the ground.

Kenny didn't even look at me. His face was dark as he stormed into the house, kicking open every door as if searching for something.

After tearing through the place, he grabbed me by the collar and demanded, "Where's your grandmother?"