Chapter 1

On Christmas Eve, my husband threw me out of the house. I begged and cried at the doors of my three children, but none of them opened.

I froze to death in the snow that night.

I knew they hated me. They hated that I was an uneducated country woman who embarrassed them.

My husband hated me too. He hated that I married him when he was at his lowest, seeing me as a stain on his life.

My in-laws hated me most of all. They blamed me for staying in the marriage and preventing their son from reuniting with his high school sweetheart.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in my youth.

I said, "I agree to the divorce. Let Suri be the wife and mother this time."

1

I was reborn on the day Liam Lennox asked for a divorce.

He said, "I am grateful for what you did, but you are no longer a match for me. I've been promoted to the city office, and the bosses adore me. How can I have an illiterate farm girl by my side?"

"Besides, Suri and I are soulmates. She is beautiful, elegant, and sophisticated. We are a match made in heaven. True love is never a mistake. In this relationship, you are the intruder."

He claimed that while I had sacrificed a lot, I did it willingly. He felt he owed me nothing.

To him, I was the biggest shame of his life.

Liam was a famous intellectual in the city, handsome and talented. But years ago, he had been sent to the countryside to work on a pig farm.

Under the pressure of reality, he married me, a girl who grew up in the dirt.

While he looked down on me, he still had three children with me and let me suffer through four miscarriages.

While he looked down on me, he let me slave away for him and his parents.

While he looked down on me, he let me take the heat when he was being criticized by the village leaders.

Thinking back to my past life, I remember how I desperately refused to divorce.

What a joke. I didn't leave him when he was shoveling manure. I stayed by his side when he was being publicly shamed. Now that he was successful, he wanted to kick me to the curb?

The world doesn't work that way.

Back then, I was also worried our three children would have no one to care for them.

He hated me so much that he openly paraded Suri Rivers around.

However, when he and Suri were caught at a motel during a police raid, they both lost their jobs.

My in-laws died of pure rage.

They were convinced I was the one who reported them.

The children were manipulated too. They blamed my "extreme behavior" for their father losing his job and ruining their chance at a wealthy life.

I pushed them to study and put all three through college during the hardest years. I made sure they were successful.

Yet, they hated me for being too strict. They claimed I stole their beautiful childhoods.

In the end, when I was old and helpless, they wouldn't even let me inside to stay warm. They let me freeze to death on Christmas Eve.

The memory ended, and my heart felt like ice.

In front of me, my three children were all taking Liam's side.

My eldest son, David, said, "Just think about us for once. Having a biological mother like you is honestly embarrassing."

My second son, Eric, huffed, "All you do is work for money or force us to study. You aren't kind and gentle like Mom Suri. She supports everything I want to do."

My youngest daughter, Jade, chipped in, "Yeah! You forced me to break up with Hunter. I'll never forgive you! You're just an ignorant village woman. You have no idea how beautiful pure love is. You're just jealous of Suri and me because people actually love us!"

I let out a cold laugh.

"Divorce? I agree."

Their faces lit up with joy, but I added one more thing.

"But I have conditions."

My condition was simple: we would divorce only after I got into a university. Until then, Liam had to cover all my living expenses.

I wasn't taking advantage of him. Back in the village, I did all his hard labor. When he was bullied, I was the one who stood in front of him.

Liam frowned. "You? University? Can you even pass the exams? Besides, what's the point? You were born to be a farm wife. A place like a university isn't for people like you."

I felt a surge of anger.

Back in the day, I was at the top of my class in high school.

My family was one of the best in the village. My parents only had me, and they gave me everything they could.

I only dropped out because Liam kept coming to my house to confess his love. He said he adored my "purity."

After a few times, rumors started spreading. I had no choice but to drop out and marry him.

My mother cried for days. "My beautiful daughter, why did you marry a man like that? You're going to suffer so much!"

Using my parents' connections, he avoided a lot of trouble. During the lean years, it was my parents who fed his entire family.

I gripped my fingers tight, my heart full of rage.

"Either you pay for my studies, or I will never sign those papers. I'd love to see if your precious Suri is willing to be a mistress in the shadows forever!"

Liam had no choice but to agree.

From what I heard, Suri threw several tantrums.

She only calmed down when I promised to let her move in. I told her she could take over all the household management.

My in-laws were thrilled with her. They pressured me to move into the small storage room immediately to make space for her.