Chapter 3

Hearing the word "Mom" made me freeze in my tracks.

I turned around and saw my well-dressed husband, Jeremy Moran, walking in arm-in-arm with an elegant, beautiful woman. They looked like the perfect couple as they smiled and waved at the guests around them.

"Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy schedules to attend Brandon's wedding. Thank you so much," Jeremy said.

"Mom, you look so beautiful today. If you stood next to Angela, everyone would think you were sisters."

Brandon walked over with a bright smile and warmly called the middle-aged woman "Mom" over and over again. He had never acted that obediently or affectionate in front of me.

I recognized the woman as Emma Griffin. She had grown up with Jeremy and had also been his first love.

Years ago, she had left Jeremy and moved overseas to build her career. She had become very successful, and I had heard that she now owned a company and was extremely wealthy.

Many people had directly or indirectly suggested that Jeremy had married the wrong woman, saying he would have been rich long ago if he had married Emma instead.

The three of them looked so close that they truly seemed like a real family.

Just then, Angela walked out in her wedding dress. Brandon took her hand, and the two of them bowed deeply to Emma in front of all the guests. "Mom, you've worked so hard all these years. Angela and I will take good care of you from now on."

Emma wiped the tears from her eyes, while Jeremy, standing beside her, gently brushed the tears from her face with a helpless yet doting look. "Come on. Why are you crying? This is such a happy occasion," he said.

The guests around us all smiled warmly. I even heard many of them praising how beautiful and youthful the groom's mother looked, which made my throat tighten.

At that moment, the wedding emcee stepped forward and said with a smile, "The groom really wasn't exaggerating. His mom really is beautiful and young. No wonder he kept talking about how amazing she is."

I couldn't listen any longer and rushed out in anger. I shouted furiously, "Who said both sets of parents were here? My son is getting married. How could I, his own mom, know nothing about it?"

My sudden outburst interrupted the ceremony. Everyone turned to stare at me in shock.

The hotel's bright lights shone down on me. I was still wearing the standard hotel cleaning uniform, and I hadn't even had time to take off my dishwashing gloves. I looked worn out and old, standing in sharp contrast to the glamorous Emma.

The guests all looked at me with displeasure and began complaining.

"Who is she? Why would she have so little tact as to come barging in like this? She is just like those terrible people online who deliberately ruin weddings."

"I'm definitely filing a complaint with hotel management later. A cleaner with this little sense needs to be fired."

"Did you hear what she just said? She said she's the groom's mom. What's going on here? Didn't the groom's mom already arrive?"

Up on the stage, Brandon's expression changed drastically the instant he saw me.

Angela, standing beside him, was the first to react. She shouted angrily, "Who let you, a cleaner, in here? How dare you shamelessly claim you're my husband's mom? Take a look at my husband, then look at yourself. How dare someone as poor and wretched as you come here to scam us?

"Where's security? Is this the kind of service your hotel provides? Get this old woman out of here right now. Don't let her disrupt the wedding."

The two security guards knew me. Sweating profusely, they immediately rushed over to drag me away.

Shocked, I shouted angrily at Brandon on the stage, "Brandon Harrell, are you really going to stand there and watch them drag me away? You ungrateful son! You didn't even tell me you were getting married!"

One of the guards said in a low voice, "Nancy, what are you causing a scene for? How could the groom possibly be your son? Do you know his mom spent several million dollars on this wedding? If he were really your son, why would you still be working here as a cleaner?"

Emma must have been the one who paid for everything. I felt both furious and heartbroken. So Brandon had abandoned his own mother for money.

Brandon was the only child I ever had. Ever since he was little, I had done my best to give him whatever he wanted, as long as it was within my means.

Jeremy had never been responsible for or taken care of Brandon. I had raised Brandon by myself. I had even ignored everyone's objections and given him my last name.

I had already retired, but Brandon told me that he still wanted to buy a car and a house. "Mom, everyone else has parents backing them up. You can't just leave me to fend for myself.

"You're not even 60 years old yet. You can't just give up and rest now. Work a few more years and at least help me buy a house and a car."

Because of what he said, I quietly put away my latest medical report, endured my health problems, and went looking for grueling, backbreaking work to keep earning money.