Six Years of Unrequited Foolishness

On my sixth wedding anniversary with Bella, she vanished with our son, Leo.

My mother and I frantically searched everywhere for them. Just as we were about to call the police, my mother received a call from Bella.

"Get down on your knees to beg me, or you'll never see your son again."

I recognized the voice as Sebastian, Bella's secretary, but my mother thought something had happened to Leo and was so frightened that she had a heart attack and passed away.

After dealing with my mother's funeral, I sent Bella a divorce agreement.

Sebastian, with a tearful voice, said, "Ethan, we were just playing a prank. We young folks do this kind of thing all the time."

Bella comforted him with a pained expression but only replied to me, "Whatever."

I left quietly, and it wasn't until half a month later that I met her again.

"Can you imagine how disgusting the scar on his stomach is? It makes me sick just to look at it."

I froze with my suitcase in hand as Bella's voice reached me from the other side of the door.

The scar on my stomach was from when I was injured in saving her from thugs.

Sebastian then laughed. "Bella, I know you like a sixpack, so I've been working out just for you. Want to feel it?"

As I entered, Bella's hand was on Sebastian's abs.

And Sebastian, wearing my shirt, was sitting on my sofa, nestled in my wife's arms.

Seeing me come back, they both hastily got up.

Sebastian quickly said, "Ethan, my clothes got wet while I was cooking."

Bella tried to explain, but when she saw my suitcase, she snorted coldly.

"Ethan, you have the nerve to come back? You're in your thirties and still throwing a tantrum by running away from home. You haven't been fulfilling your duties as a husband! It's been Sebastian who's been taking care of me during this time. You should thank him."

I was busy with my mother's funeral, but Bella thought I was just being petulant.

For Bella, as a husband dependent on her family, I was only responsible for the housework and giving her everything unconditionally, even though she never wanted to eat the meals I made. I couldn't even raise my child by my side.

I didn't say a word and went into the bedroom to pack my luggage.

Sebastian chased after me. "Ethan, don't be angry. I didn't know that day was your anniversary. I just thought Bella was under a lot of pressure recently, so I organized a party to help her relax."

"Sebastian, there's no need to talk to him. A man like him, living off her, wouldn't understand the pressures we have at work..."

As she spoke, Bella threw a box at me.

"You just want money, don't you? Here, a gift for our anniversary."

I didn't catch it, and the box fell to the ground, revealing an old watch inside.

Coincidentally, it was the same model as the watch Sebastian was wearing, just a freebie.

My emotions boiled over. "Why did you take Leo away? Do you have any idea how much my mom wanted to see him?"

Bella had coaxed me to quit my job when she said she wanted a child, making me take all sorts of supplements to strengthen my body.

Too many mixed medications caused my old injuries to flare up, even affecting my physical functions.

Since then, Bella had begun to avoid sharing a bed with me, staying out all night.

And my son, taken away by her mother, Matilda, when he was only a month old.

They said that as the heir to their family, Leo needed to be well trained and couldn't be influenced by my poverty.

They also said that my mom's luck was incompatible with Leo's, and she would hinder their family's fortune.

We hardly saw Leo a few times a year, and my mom missed him dearly. She finally waited for Bella to agree to let her see Leo, wanting to come and spend a lively anniversary with us.

Unexpectedly...

"I've said it's for the good of both families that Grace doesn't see Leo. If she affected our family's fortune, would you still have the good life you have now? Don't forget that your whole family is living off me."

Bella didn't remember the promise she casually made, and her tone became even more impatient when she recalled it.

Seeing us about to argue again, Sebastian smiled and played the peacemaker.

"It's natural for a grandma to miss her grandson. How about I don't go to the ancestral worship with you guys? Let Ethan and his mom go."

For six years, Bella's family didn't allow me and my mom to appear at any of their public events except for the worship.

It was a tough job. We had to prepare offerings without eating or drinking and even a moment's rest for a whole day.

No one in Bella's family was willing to endure this hardship, so the task naturally fell on my mom and me.

Every time we worked hard for a day, we were sent away without even some water to drink.

Mom was willing to endure such grievance just to catch a glimpse of Leo during the ancestral worship.

Thinking of this, I was overwhelmed by distress.

"No need," I said coldly. "My mom has passed away."

My mom had a heart condition, and her health had been getting worse over the years.

Afraid she couldn't bear it, I never dared to tell her about the changes in my marriage with Bella. I just said that everything was fine.

She was getting older, and the clock was ticking on her life. She just wanted to see Leo more in her remaining time.

A month ago, on our anniversary, my mom struggled to make a table full of dishes, eagerly waiting for us to come home.

But she waited until the dishes were cold, and Bella didn't come back with Leo.

I searched everywhere and made countless calls to her, but no one answered.

My mom sweat from anxiety and was about to call the police.

Just then, I received a call from Sebastian through Bella's phone.

His one threat took away my mom's life, as well as the last bit of affection I had for Bella.

I no longer needed to continue this marriage that was falling apart.

"Ethan, you're really bold. You can tell any lie to get my attention."

Bella got up impatiently. "I've said I've been under a lot of work pressure recently. Can you stop causing me trouble?"

When we first got married, I was in the ascendant phase of my career.

Even if I worked overtime until ten o'clock every night, I would still prepare breakfast for Bella the next day.

When she was asleep, I would put soundproofing cotton under the cutting board.

So, Bella's excuse was really too poor.

"Sign the divorce agreement. I won't trouble you anymore."

"You're just making Bella hate you more with such unreasonable fuss." Sebastian deliberately added fuel to the fire.

Realizing that it was useless to talk with them, I directly picked up my luggage and prepared to leave.

Bella was furious. "Don't ever come back if you leave today!"

I didn't look back.

The moment I closed the door, I heard Bella comforting Sebastian again.

"Even if his mother really died, it's none of your business. Besides, it's good if she's dead. She won't affect my family's fortune anymore. As for him, he's already homeless. He'll slink back once he cools down."

Yes, every time we quarreled before, I was always the one to apologize, no matter who was wrong.

But this time, Bella would never be able to wait for me to return.

I left that socalled home, and tears streamed down my face.

In six years of marriage, I had wasted my prime on such a woman.

It was truly not worth it.

I couldn't help but think how different things might have been if I hadn't accepted the candy Bella offered that year.

I had just graduated from university and was new to the workforce, clueless about everything.

Once, my boss made me stay late to revise a project.

After I finished it, it was already past eleven. In the pouring rain, hailing a cab was difficult, so I just squatted at the entrance, lost in thought. Bella pulled over and handed me an umbrella and a piece of candy.

"We've met before. I'm the person in charge of the project you're working on. I have a deep impression of you. Your business skills are excellent."

Bella invited me into her car and offered me a ride home.

She adjusted the air conditioning carefully to a comfortable temperature, praised my strong work ethic, and said I was shining. We exchanged contact information.

I knew there was a massive gap between our social statuses and didn't dare to entertain any romantic thoughts about her.

Even though there was a small expectation in my heart, I remained rational.

But Bella started to appear in front of me frequently. She would come to our company under the pretext of discussing work and specifically ask for me to report.

She also occasionally treated the whole company to coffee. Everyone else got the same, but mine was always perfectly tailored to my taste.

After a while, my colleagues started gossiping about us.

I was at a loss for words, but Bella came from behind and hugged my arm.

"I'm pursuing Ethan. He's so outstanding. If I don't put in extra effort, how can I stand out among the many admirers?"

From then on, Bella became bolder—sending flowers and gifts, driving me to and from work, and preparing surprises every now and then.

How could I not be moved by such gestures from a powerful businesswoman?

So, I accepted her pursuit.

That day, she gave me a ring and put a piece of candy in my mouth.

"I may not be romantic, but I can make money. From now on, I will make your life as sweet as this candy."

Naively, I believed her and let Bella trick me with a piece of candy to give her my youth.

Then, after being drained of my worth, she gave her candy to a younger, more handsome man.

When we first got married, I worked tirelessly to gain the approval of Bella's family.

I accompanied Bella to social events. Even when I had stomach bleeding from drinking too much, I would force myself to prepare a hangover cure for her before collapsing.

Bella, concerned for me, persuaded me to quit my job, promising to support me for life.

So, I resigned and started living off her, wasting time on everyday trivialities.

I witnessed our love consumed by the daily grind until now, when I had lost my family and everything else.

I felt a deep sorrow, but there was no one around to confide in.

After much thought, I decided to buy some flowers from a florist and talk to my mother at her grave.

I chose some tulips, my mother's favorite flowers. As I handed them to the florist to be wrapped, I suddenly heard Sebastian's cheerful voice.

"Men also like to receive flowers. You promised to give me ten thousand roses, and not a single one can be missing."

Bella's smiling face immediately darkened when she saw me.

"Why are you here? Spying on me?"

I didn't respond and just prepared to leave with my tulips.

"The tulips are so beautiful. I've changed my mind. I don't want roses. I want ten thousand tulips."

The florist was a bit embarrassed, saying tulips were understocked. Sebastian blurted out that I should give him the ones I had.

"Give them to him! Sebastian's dog died. I promised to give him flowers to cheer him up."

"These are for my mother."

Bella frowned, "Didn't you say Grace was dead? You lied. Ethan, how have you become like this!"

"It's not a perfect lie, but Ethan has put in the effort. Look, he even has an urn in his bag. I haven't buried my little dog yet. Why don't you give me this urn to hold my dog's ashes?"

Bella, fearing that men would become unfaithful when they had money, always limited my spending. I had no money, so I handled my mother's funeral simply.

I felt guilty and used the money from selling the wedding ring to buy this urn.

She cared most about Leo in her life, so I wanted to take her to see Leo one last time before resting in peace.

I didn't expect Sebastian to ask for this from me.

I couldn't take it anymore and slapped the tulips in his face.

"Here you go. You're so used to being a homewrecker, always grabbing everything. Why don't you grab death instead?"

Bella slapped me.

"Ethan, why have you become so unreasonable? Apologize to Sebastian right now! Otherwise, you'll never see Leo again."

I shook off Bella's hand in disgust. "Get out of my way. Don't block my way home."

The home I wanted to return to wasn't the house defiled by Sebastian but the one my mother left me, a place to shelter from the storm.