Chapter 2: The Indifferent Husband for Ten Years

In order to make it in time for the birthday party, I had no choice but to ask a servant to buy another cake and try to finish preparing the dinner. As it was getting close to the time, I received a call from Leo’s secretary.

I answered the phone and asked cautiously.

“Is something the matter?”

The person on the other end replied with a brief sentence, his attitude showing no respect toward me.

“The boss has an urgent meeting today, so I’m calling to inform you that he won’t be coming home tonight. He also left a message asking you to choose your words carefully when explaining it to the young miss and young master.”

After saying that, he hung up without giving me a chance to ask anything further.

I sighed. He didn’t even want to tell me directly and had to go through his secretary like this?

The birthday party proceeded exactly as I had prepared. The new dress I had custom-made for Lilya, the branded watch from the latest collection for Ryan, I had prepared and sent them through Leo.

I had pleaded with him to give the gifts to the two children and not to say that they were bought by me, because I knew they would not accept them if they found out they were from me.

Looking at Lilya’s splendid appearance in the dress like a little princess, I couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.

“Perhaps when she grows up, she will become an incredibly beautiful girl.”

Lilya and Ryan stood among their friends, shining like a little princess and prince. I knew I was not welcome, so I quietly stood to the side, using my phone to record the happy moments Lilya and Ryan shared with their friends, then sent them to Leo.

The status showed that Leo had seen the message, and only after a while did he reply. I had been eagerly hoping for a word of acknowledgment from him, but in the end, Leo only sent me a single word.

“Good.”

I sighed, then returned to my room in sadness and opened a bottle of wine. Sitting blankly by the window, I once again recalled the days I lived in the orphanage.

Perhaps in a previous life I had committed some terrible sin, so in this life I was destined to always live in unhappiness.

I remembered how, when I was still in the orphanage, I would often sit at night looking at the lit windows and wish that I too had a happy family. The day my biological father appeared to take me to a new home, he embraced me with his large arms and smiled as he said.

“I will love you to make up for the hardships you have endured. My daughter, from now on you will only live in happiness.”

I could not believe it and asked again.

“Really? Are you truly here to take me? This isn’t a mistake, right?”

He nodded and planted a ray of hope in my heart. Then, when I married Leo, I also dreamed of a warm family, because my biological father had spoken to me in a very certain voice.

“He is a wealthy and mature man. He will surely love you and give you a life without want. You will certainly be happy in your own small family.”

I believed his words and accepted this marriage.

But reality always cruelly slapped me hard in the face. Everything I longed for and dreamed of never came true.

I leaned my head against the door and looked into the large mirror in front of me. I noticed faint wrinkles beginning to appear at the corners of my lips.

Time had worn me down without me even realizing it.

I had thought that leaving the Oliver household would bring happiness, but I did not expect that above this hell was another hell. A loveless marriage, a family where I would forever be an extra, I had been buried in this place, waiting day by day in hopelessness.

Lilya and Ryan were two children I loved very much, even though they were not my biological children. I cared for them because I thought they shared a part of the same misfortune as me. I had never dared to think of replacing their biological mother, because I knew that was an utterly absurd and ridiculous idea.

But perhaps even loving them was not allowed. Lilya and Ryan always showed their disgust whenever I said that I wanted to become a new family with them.

I laughed, feeling like I wanted to cry, yet not a single tear could fall.

“Why am I this pathetic?”

The feeling of being unable to cry made me feel even more pitiful.

I had lived diligently out of fear of troubling anyone. I only wished that my efforts would be acknowledged at least once. But it seemed that, to everyone, even that was an overly humble and improper desire.

It seemed that no matter what I did, no one would ever like me.

So where was the place that truly belonged to me?

I did not even know when the birthday party ended. I only knew that I had stayed awake the entire night by the window. Early the next morning, as usual, I prepared the morning routine for the two children before school.

After Lilya and Ryan had left for school, the large house became silent once again. Perhaps the noise and liveliness in this house would never belong to me. This silence was truly the grave meant only for me.

I called the servants and told them to clean up the remnants of last night’s party. Even though they did not regard me as anything, at least they still did what they were told.

I did not expect them to respect me. Even their master treated me like a servant, so how could they possibly respect me?

Every time I thought about this, my heart grew cold. Perhaps I would live like this for the rest of my life.

While lost in my thoughts, the ringing of my phone startled me. I picked it up and saw that it was the homeroom teacher of Lilya and Ryan, so I quickly answered. Lilya did not like telling others that I was her stepmother, so at school, the teacher only knew me as a guardian taking care of the two children.

Leo was always busy with work, so he often could not leave to go to school. Most unexpected situations were handled by me in the role of a caregiver.

I wondered what had happened this time.

“I’m listening, teacher.”

The person on the other end, upon hearing my response, spoke in a very urgent tone.

“Lilya just got into an argument and a fight with a classmate. Please come here quickly to resolve it.”

I was startled, hurriedly asked about the situation of the two children, then prepared to head to the school immediately.