Ten Years of True Love, No Match For Childhood Sweethearts

I left the villa and moved into my mother’s old house.

I decided not to tell Mason about the pregnancy. I would raise the child on my own.

Four days later, I went to bury my mother’s ashes.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw Mason standing there, his face a mask of cold anger. Ziva was nestled next to him, her eyes red and filled with a helpless, pitiable look.

Mason gestured sharply, and two bodyguards stormed into the house, searching it like thieves.

Mason’s gaze was harsh as he stared at me.

“Where’s your mother?”

I glanced at the black-draped urn in my hands and replied hoarsely, “You only just remembered to ask about her? It’s too late now.”

Mason’s face darkened. His voice was low and menacing. “Give her to me!”

“What are you talking about?” I raised an eyebrow at Mason.

Before he could respond, Ziva burst into tears, wailing as if she had lost her own mother. Mason cradled her in his arms, glaring at me with fury.

“Yesterday, your mother killed Riceball with a stick!” Mason’s voice was filled with rage.

“Riceball was just a dog. If you and your mother hate me, why take it out on Riceball?”

Mason’s voice was as cold as ice, like a knife twisting in my heart.

I had thought he was coming here to apologize for my mother’s death, maybe even to express some remorse.

Instead, he was here to accuse me on behalf of Ziva.

It was beyond the pale.

Not only had they been responsible for my mother’s death, but now they were also accusing her of something she didn’t do. It was infuriating.

I stared at Mason, with my voice icy. “My mother had nothing to do with that dog’s death. Don’t make baseless accusations.”

Ziva sobbed quietly, “Riceball was so dear to me, like my own child. I just can’t forgive Mrs. Glass…”

Mason shoved his phone in my face. “Look at this footage from Ziva’s security cameras!”

On the screen, a woman furtively approached Ziva’s villa.

Suddenly, she picked up a wooden stick and struck Riceball, the poodle, over the head. Three blows, each one aimed at a vital spot.

To be honest, watching the video was somewhat satisfying. Riceball had bitten me several times, and my mother’s death was somehow linked to the dog.

The woman in the video looked strikingly similar to my mother, from her clothing and hairstyle, though her face was obscured by sunglasses and a mask.

As the video ended, Ziva’s voice broke into a sob. “Vivian, now you see it, right? It was Mrs. Glass who killed Riceball.”

“I understand your mother didn’t want Mason to be with me,” she continued, her voice dripping with feigned hurt. “You could have just told me, and I wouldn’t have clung to Mason so desperately.”

“But why did she have to be so cruel and take it out on Riceball? It was completely innocent…”

Ziva’s act of helplessness was so transparent.

I knew it was all a ploy to make Mason hate me, even if it meant sacrificing her own dog.

It was ruthless.

“Vivian, hand over your mother. She needs to answer for this,” Mason’s tone was unyielding.

It was clear he was convinced my mother was the culprit.

I looked at him with a heavy heart. “Mason, you know my mother was like a mother to you. Don’t you know who she was? She wouldn’t even kill a chicken, let alone a dog. Do you really believe it was her?”

Mason’s expression didn’t soften. He was resolute, convinced my mother was guilty.

At the right moment, Ziva chimed in, her voice trembling with staged sincerity. “Vivian, I didn’t want to believe it either, but I saw your mother that day. I ran into her near my house, and she was holding that same stick.”

“She glared at me and even cursed me out…”

Ziva’s tears flowed freely as she spoke.

“This is what I witnessed firsthand. How can you cover for her? It just doesn’t add up.”

Her voice was soft and tearful, making her accusations sound almost believable, but they were nothing more than lies.

My mother had been dead for eight days, and her dog was only killed yesterday. How could my mother possibly be involved?

“Hand over your mother. I’m not asking again!”

Mason’s tone was harsh, his anger unmistakable as he shouted at me.

He chose to believe Ziva’s claims over the woman who had cared for him like a son. After all the years of my mother’s devotion and care, it meant nothing compared to Ziva’s fabricated tears. It was a painful realization.

But what was the point in continuing this argument?

I tried to walk past them, but Ziva grabbed my sleeve, her desperation evident.

“Vivian, don’t walk away! Your mother killed my dog. You need to give me an explanation!”

I turned to face her, with my expression cold. “Ziva, you know better than anyone whether my mother was responsible.”

“This charade is just so you can stay with Mason. I’m giving you what you want. Here’s the divorce agreement. I’ve already signed it.”

With that, I picked up my mother’s ashes and walked away, not looking back.

Ziva’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw the divorce papers, but even with her apparent victory, she wasn’t done with me.

“Don’t leave, Vivian! You have to make your mother come out and give me an explanation for what happened to my dog. Otherwise, this isn’t over.”

She grabbed my arm roughly and yanked it back.

Caught off guard, I watched in horror as the urn slipped from my grasp and shattered on the ground. My mother’s ashes spilled everywhere, a ghostly white cloud that seemed to burn my eyes.

At that moment, fury erupted within me.

Without a second thought, I slapped Ziva hard across the face.

The sharp crack of the slap echoed like a firecracker in the tense silence.

Ziva’s eyes went wide with shock as she clutched her face, disbelief etched on her features.

But my rage wasn’t appeased. I slapped her again, my voice a harsh, fierce growl as I shouted.

“Ziva, you’re a bitch!”

My mother was murdered by Ziva and Mason. Even in death, they slandered her, and now they desecrated her ashes!

My fury was immense. I wanted nothing more than to see her reduced to nothing.

The stinging pain in my palm from slapping Ziva made her cry out, but I was so enraged that I raised my hand again, only to find that I couldn’t bring it down.

Mason stormed forward, his face flushed with fury, his eyes blazing with rage.

“Are you out of your mind?” he roared. “What are you doing?”

“Mason, she just smashed my mother’s ashes!” I shouted, my voice cracking with raw emotion. “My mother is dead!”

“What?”

Mason’s rage faltered for a moment, replaced by shock. He glanced at the white, powdery remains scattered on the ground. But as he looked back up, his anger reignited. With a bitter, mocking smile, he spat out:

“Vivian, even lies have their limits!”

Disgust and contempt twisted his features.

“I held back before, trying to show you some mercy. But you clearly don’t deserve it.”

“Since Ziva came back from abroad, you’ve been nothing but envious and vindictive, deliberately trying to outshine her. I put up with that, but to think you’d go so far as to use your mother’s memory to cover up your own cruelty!”

“You’re so consumed by jealousy that you’re willing to pit yourself against a dog for attention. Isn’t that pathetic?”

“To hide your own guilt, you’re pretending these are your mother’s ashes. Cursing your own mother’s memory to escape the truth—are you even human?”

His disgust deepened, and he looked at me as if I were the worst kind of villain.

“Mason…”

My heart, numb until now, suddenly felt as if it were being torn apart.

The pain hit me with such intensity that my eyes welled up with tears uncontrollably.

I couldn’t argue anymore. I tried to continue gathering my mother’s ashes from the ground.

Mason watched with cold disdain, while Ziva, clutching her face, leaned on him for support, her eyes full of malice.

My mother had been killed by Ziva and Mason, and even in death, they continued to malign her. Now they had desecrated her ashes. My rage was overwhelming; I wanted to tear Ziva apart. The fiery sting from slapping her made her cry out, but I was so furious that I raised my hand again, unable to bring it down.

I tried to continue gathering my mother’s ashes from the ground, tears streaming uncontrollably. Mason watched with cold disdain, while Ziva, clutching her face, leaned on him for support, her eyes full of malice.

“She’s still playing the victim,” Ziva said through her tears. “If she doesn’t win an Oscar for Best Actress, I’ll be shocked. Mason, my face hurts so much…”

Mason, feigning concern, murmured soothing words to her. “Ziva, don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get justice.”

He turned to me, with his gaze full of superiority.

“Vivian, apologize to Ziva.”

I kept my head bowed, tears mingling with the ashes as I tried to collect them.

“Are you deaf? I said apologize! Apologize now!”

Mason’s voice thundered as he leaned in, shouting.

I remained silent, my hands trembling as I worked to finish collecting the ashes.

“Still putting on an act, huh? Using your mother’s ashes as props? I’ll make sure you get what’s coming to you!”

In a fit of rage, Mason kicked the ashes across the floor, grabbing the box and dumping its contents into the pond outside.

My mother’s ashes floated away, scattering on the water.

“Stop…”

My vision was clouded by fury. I lunged toward him, desperate to retrieve the box.

“Stop, please…”

I tried to grab the box, but Mason’s bodyguards held me back. As he continued to scatter the ashes, my pleas became desperate cries.

“Please, that’s my mother’s ashes. Don’t do this, Mason. Please, just stop…”

I was in agonizing despair, crying out to the heavens and begging him to stop.

Desperate to save my mother’s ashes, I called out his name, abandoning all my dignity in the hope of preserving what was left of her.

But Mason, like a heartless predator, tore apart every shred of hope I had left.

“Look at that, there are even bones in here. You really do go all out for the show,” he sneered, as he watched the shattered remains tumble from the ashes box.

His face twisted into a cruel mask as he pulled a hammer from his car’s trunk and smashed the remnants with brutal force, turning them into dust and throwing them into the pond.

Bone fragments were scattered into the water.

My mother had been destroyed, both in life and in death.

All my rage and hatred surged forth in that moment. I wanted nothing more than to wrench the hammer from his hands and crush his skull with it.

“Mom…”

With a sickening splash, Mason tossed the ashes box into the pond. I felt like my entire world had shattered.

I couldn’t even protect my mother’s remains.

“Is this still not enough of a show for you?”

Mason looked at me with disdain and cold cruelty as I, disheveled and broken, struggled to compose myself.

In a fit of fury, I lunged at him like a wild animal.

“Mason, you’re nothing but a monster!”

I raked my nails across his face, slicing through his skin and leaving deep bleeding scratches.

Mason’s fury ignited instantly. He kicked me hard in the stomach, sending me sprawling several feet away.

The pain jolted me to full awareness. I was still pregnant.

But Mason didn’t stop. With his face marked by my scratches, he looked even more menacing. His sharp-toed dress shoes hammered down on me.

“I’m pregnant. It’s your child!” I shouted, desperate for him to hear me.

“Pregnant?”

Mason blinked, momentarily stunned, but then his face twisted into a sneer.

“First, it’s your mother’s ashes, now it’s pregnant. Vivian, you really outdo yourself!”

“You’ll never carry a baby to term!”

His anger exploded into a blind rage.

The mention of a baby seemed to reopen a deep wound inside him, and he lost all reason.

He kicked me repeatedly, his strikes falling like a relentless storm.

I clenched my teeth, remaining silent and staring at him with defiant eyes.

Soon, I felt a hot trickle between my legs.

Blood began to seep through my dress, turning it a deep, tragic red, a vivid flare of color in Mason’s eyes.

Finally, he stopped, staring at the bloodied dress with a look of shock and confusion.

“What…what’s going on?” Mason’s voice trembled, panic flashing in his eyes.

As I lay there in pain, too exhausted to argue, Ziva walked over with a mocking laugh. “You even went so far as to fake the blood. Vivian, you’re quite the actress.”

The sharp pain in my abdomen and legs left me powerless, and the fear of losing my baby clenched at my throat.

I gasped for breath and my eyes wide with terror.

“Please... get me to the hospital... my baby...”

I pleaded with Mason, my gaze desperate and filled with fear.

Even though the baby was Mason’s, it was still the innocent, my long-awaited child. But Mason merely sneered, “Vivian, you’re losing it over this baby.”

“Are you trying to scare me with fake blood? How pathetic.”

He wrapped his arm around Ziva’s waist and walked away without another glance.

“Ziva, I’ve done what you wanted. Is your face still sore?” His tone was surprisingly gentle, as if speaking to someone dear to him.

I lay there, utterly defeated and in despair.