All Chapters of A Handful of Broken Promises: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

The live call was still connected, and Gary Litt's familiar voice kept going, "You're the mother of a three-year-old. Come on, sweetheart, stop acting like a child."I rested a hand on my slightly rounded belly, my heart turning ice-cold.For a while, Gary had kept telling me how busy he was: busy saving up for our wedding fund, busy trying to buy a car and a house.Once, during a phone call, I heard a small child crying and fussing near him and asked about it offhandedly.He explained right away, "It's a coworker's kid. I can't wait for the day you give me a baby of our own. I bet they'll be just as adorable as you."So I stopped doubting him. I tried hard to get pregnant with this child, wanting to surprise him.I never imagined he'd already had a child with another woman and built a family with her.A woman's coy, whining voice came through the computer, "I'm not imagining things! Then tell me, who's this woman sending you money?"A few seconds of silence followed, and my he

The blood in my veins ran cold."Mom... let me explain..."Before I could say anything more, her crying abruptly stopped.By the time I rushed to the hospital, my mom was barely hanging on and wouldn't even look at me."The patient is having a sudden heart attack. We need to start emergency treatment right away!"Watching my mother get wheeled into the operating room, I collapsed onto a bench, drained of all strength.My phone wouldn't stop buzzing.It turned out Lena had posted her and Gary's marriage certificate online.[And to think I sent her over a hundred thousand dollars in gifts! Turns out she's the mistress who's been clinging to my husband all along. You really never know what's in someone's heart!]The female clients who'd once requested live calls with me chimed in one after another.[Exactly! She tried to seduce my husband too. She even set up an in-person meetup with him!][She got the money AND the men. Absolutely shameless!]The endless stream of words on th

Thick smoke was billowing from the window of one of the hospital rooms, and flames were shooting into the sky.Gary's heart gave a jolt.He was about to go see what was happening when Lena grabbed his arm. "Honey, the nanny says our son bumped his head. We need to get home and check on him."Gary hesitated for two seconds. He took one last look at the fire above, then climbed into the car.On the drive home, Gary brought it up again. "Since our marriage is an arranged one, and you already know Judy exists, don't give her any trouble from now on. I'll have her live somewhere you won't have to see her."At those words, Lena's hands balled into fists, but she forced a smile. "Of course. I understand. But honey, you wouldn't let our baby grow up without a daddy, would you?"Gary smiled in satisfaction and took her hand. "As long as you stay this understanding, I promise I'll treat you the same as always."Inwardly, he let out a sigh of relief.Judy had been through so much these pa

In the end, I made it out of the fire after all.I had started that fire because I couldn't bear to see the despair in my mother's eyes anymore.She'd been deceived for so long, just like me.But in the middle of the blaze, I stroked her face and told her that neither of us would ever look back.I left that heartbreaking city behind and set off alone with my savings, traveling from place to place to clear my head.All these years, I'd worried about marriage, about our future, about love. The one thing I'd never cared about was how I felt.It was as if my sadness, my loneliness, and my longing had all been ranked behind Gary.But from now on, I wouldn't be that foolish anymore.Living on my own, with no one and nothing tying me down, I felt a freedom I'd never known before. Even the lies I'd been fed felt as though they'd never happened.I checked my phone again. The media all suspected that I had died in the fire.Then came the apologies.[Looks like we all misjudged her. We