Chapter 1

“Sign these divorce papers,” he roared as he gestured for her to sign. “Be aware because you are not going to get any property from me.” His words stabbed her chest like a hot knife. Before she could even process the words again, a blazing slap landed on her cheek. It was her mother-in-law,Jude. The slap burned her cheek red, and her ear was ringing. She then grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up.

“Do you think a girl from the dustbin became the lady of the mansion?” she snapped. “Kris, tell your stupid, illiterate wife to sign and leave this mansion,” her mother-in-law barked as she left the living room. Suzan forced herself to calm down and breathe, though she felt a stone choking her throat. 

“I warned Kris against marrying you because you had no class, no education, and, to make matters worse, you were an orphan.” “Kris, tell this bitch to sign and leave this house,” she bitterly uttered as she went upstairs. The divorce papers lay on the expensive glass table, right next to her wedding photo. 

Her fingers were so cold that she could barely hold the gold pen. Suzan held the pen with her shaking hands and tried to sign, though her tears were pooling on the papers. “Enough of your crocodile tears. Hurry up and sign.

 Don't make a scene,” Kris' mistress, Angela, scornfully uttered. “Merely seeing you in this house reminds me of dustbins on the streets.”

Suzan wanted to scream that she cleaned their toilets, ironed their clothes, and cooked while they slept, but the words died in her throat. The stone in her throat grew bigger. She finished signing. “Hahaha…….” Angela laughed loudly as she clapped childishly. Kris pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.

 “Darling, we are finally free!” “Of course, the curse that has been holding our love back is finally broken. And of course, we have to throw you a party to officially welcome you, babe, to the Norman mansion.”

Angela turned to Suzan. “Oh, we didn't want to bother you, Suzan. So, your suitcase is outside the mansion gate.” “You should be thankful because you never came with a thing,” Kris coldly said. Angela added, “Yeah, you are at least going to leave with fancy clothes and a Gucci suitcase.”

 Suzan felt like bursting into loud cries, but she had to hold on. Why would she cry in front of a jerk like Kris? Her eyes felt itchy due to the tears that she held back.

She remembered those times when she first saw Kris. Though she was an orphan, Kris had promised her a life in paradise.

 Only to marry him and be treated like a servant. 

After her mother-in-law came to know that she was a poor orphan, she fired all the maids in the house and instructed her to do all the house chores. Her mother-in-law said that her heart had no place for orphans like her.

Since Suzan was used to intense work at the orphanage, she didn't care much about it because she naively thought it was the only way her mother-in-law could love her. Every morning, she cooked breakfast for her mother-in-law. 

Every morning, her mother-in-law threw water on her, saying the food had no salt, no taste, just like a poor orphan.

Suzan was an orphan; she didn't know how to cook food for rich people. At the orphanage, she only fed on packed food.

She didn't complain when her husband came back late while drunk, having lipstick on his cheeks. 

She didn't fight when her husband talked with women at night on his phone. 

She didn't complain when she read the flirty messages that girls sent, which appeared at the top of the screen when he was having a shower.

 Even when her mother-in-law openly told him to get a better-looking wife, she didn't think much of it. But now she was thrown out of the house. 

The only thing that kept her in this marriage was her discovering that she had a child in her womb. 

Today was the day she was going to tell him the good news, but look what happened. She headed to the door, then turned back. They all waved at her mockingly. Angela even blew her a kiss.

Suzan keenly looked at Kris for a moment. Was this the man I loved? Why did he change so much? 

Her legs barely supported her as she moved closer to the door. A confused laugh escaped her lips. 

“I once came into this house as a bride, but now, I am leaving it as a stupid person in front of everyone.” 

She remembered the rehearsals she made in the bathroom last night of how she was going to tell him that they were going to be parents.

 Maybe this child could have saved their marriage. She touched her belly as she promised her child to calm down. 

She finally understood why those monsters didn't deserve a chance at having an innocent soul in their house. “Baby, don't worry. One day, they will all regret this.” She had nowhere to go. 

At the orphanage, she ignored Sister's warnings about rich men. Love was blind. At that time, she only saw the good side of Kris.

 The last time she talked to Sister, they had an unsettled argument which ended when Suzan blamed Sister for being selfish. Suzan had never talked to Sister again ever since her ridiculous marriage.

Outside the house, rain had started. She held her belly tighter. A sharp cramp shot through her stomach. She had not eaten since morning. 

The stress, the slap, and the rain—it was too much for her baby. “Please, baby, stay strong,” she whispered, tears mixing with rain on her face.

 “Mama has no one but you.” Her cheap black suitcase was lying on its side, open and spilling her belongings into the mud. The Gucci suitcase Angela mentioned wasn't hers. 

It was Angela's—she had thrown out Suzan's things like trash. She knelt down to pick up her only clothes, soaked in mud.

A black fancy car appeared in front of her as she rose up.