Because there was no money, our wedding had been a modest affair—just a few tables at a small banquet.
I'd long since cut ties with my family, so every guest there was a friend of Edmund's.
Audrey had come too.
She'd lifted her chin and spoken to me in a tone that was less request than command.
"You'd better take good care of our Edmund and little Felix from now on."
At the time, I'd told myself that a sister-in-law was still family. Even though her words left a sour taste in my mouth, I said nothing.
Now, looking back, the arrogance in her eyes was unmistakable. She'd looked at me the way a lady of the house looks at the hired help.
I stumbled home in a daze and found the front door slightly ajar.
Edmund sat on the couch. A man in a tailored suit stood beside him, his tone deferential.
"Mr. Mason, Miss Pruitt has been taken home safely."
"It's just... yesterday was your anniversary with Louisa, after all. Are you sure you don't want to give her something a little more... substantial? You bought Miss Pruitt a luxury condo for her birthday."
Edmund shook his head, indifferent.
"No need. Louisa's the type of woman who crawled out of some backwater nowhere. If she ever found out there was money, she'd get greedy—start bleeding me dry, funneling cash back to her family."
"The only reason I picked her in the first place was because she had experience with kids, no connections, no background. Easy to manage. And she wouldn't mistreat Felix."
"As long as Louisa stays in line and raises Felix to adulthood, I'll consider giving her some kind of settlement."
"As for Audrey—I made a promise to her sister that I'd take care of her. I can't let her suffer. Besides, spending money on Audrey keeps it in the family."
Edmund and I had met by accident.
That year, my father and stepmother had tracked me down, trying to drag me back to the countryside to marry me off. They wanted to use the dowry to build a house for my younger brother.
The groom they'd picked was a man pushing sixty.
I fought with everything I had. In my darkest moment of desperation, Edmund happened to pass by and saved me.
He'd put himself between me and them, staring coldly at my father and stepmother as they writhed on the ground.
"She's a person. Not a tool for satisfying your selfish desires."
His first wife had just passed away. He'd been drowning in grief, with no idea how to care for a two-year-old on his own.
So he started asking me for advice—me, with my background in early childhood education.
I'd been forced to raise my younger brother since I was a child. As a way of repaying Edmund's kindness, I often helped him look after Felix.
My stepmother's cruelty. My father's neglect.
They had carved something deep into me—a desperate hunger for love and a bone-deep belief that I didn't deserve it.
And Edmund was the first person who had ever shown me respect. The first person who had ever protected me.
Even knowing he was millions of dollars in debt, even knowing his heart still belonged to his dead wife, I said yes when he asked me to marry him.
I even quit the job I loved so I could take better care of Felix.
But I never imagined that five years of devotion and sacrifice would amount to this.
In his eyes, I was nothing more than a free nanny.
In his heart, I didn't even rank as high as his dead wife's sister.
I was just an outsider.
While I stood there, frozen, Edmund's startled voice cut through the silence.
"Louisa—when did you get back?"
He shot the man a look, signaling him to leave.
There was a thin thread of guilt woven into his voice.
"Louisa, that's a buddy of mine from the taxi company. We just finished a night shift together, came back for some tea."
I didn't say a word. The whole thing was almost laughable.
What kind of cab driver wore a designer suit fresh off a department store rack?
I moved toward the bedroom, but a bolt of pain shot through my knee. My leg buckled, and I nearly hit the floor.
Edmund caught me and guided me to the couch. He looked at my swollen, bruised knee with what was meant to pass for concern.
"How did it get this bad? Did that manager give you trouble again?"
He set a container of cheap takeout in front of me, his expression heavy with guilt.
"I'm sorry, Louisa. This is all my fault."
"You never let yourself splurge on this place. Think of it as my anniversary gift to you. Once I've paid off the debt, I'll make it up to you properly."
