

Chapter 1 of Love and Hate Fell Apart When Death Apart Us
At twenty-five, I finally married my childhood sweetheart whom I had secretly loved for fifteen years.
After our marriage, she gave birth to a pair of adorable boy-girl twins and I helped her become a rising star in Paradise Hill's business world.
But on the day before the children's third birthday, just because they were too excited and stayed up half an hour late, she punished them by making them crouching outside all night in the freezing cold.
I stood in front of her, pleading bitterly, "The kids are still young. It's over twenty degrees below zero in Paradise Hill's winter. They'll freeze to death. I failed to teach them properly. If you must punish someone, punish me …"
She instead locked me in the basement and looked down at me, "Ten years ago, if it weren't for your parents, how would my dad have died so young? How would my mom have ended up a widow for so many years?"
She continued, "Five years ago, when my company was on the verge of bankruptcy, your parents used funding to manipulate me, forcing me to marry the son of their enemy! Now this is just karma. Sending the grandchildren down to accompany him, my dad would be very happy, wouldn't he?"
The next day, I was released by my mother-in-law, who came in a hurry, only to face the children's cold, stiff and bruised corpses.
I stared blankly at my mother-in-law, "Martha, the kids are gone. I don't want to live either."
——
I sat numbly at the morgue's entrance, not even having the courage to take a step inside.
Martha wept in large tears, trembling as she reached out to me, "Hendry … Helen surely didn't mean it. Don't worry, Grandpa and I are on your side. I will teach her a lesson …" Her voice grew fainter and fainter, buzzing in my ears, so much that I could barely hear her.
In my mind, the morning scene kept flashing. A thin layer of frost covered my children's faces, their lips black and purple and they wore strange smiles.
My son's arm was wrapped around his sister. Even in their final moment, my son had protected his sister, who was three minutes younger.
I slowly looked up at my mother-in-law and spoke word by word through gritted teeth, "Helen is a murderer. She killed my children. I want to call the police!" My voice was cold and terrifying.
Martha's face turned pale in fear, but she still choked back sobs, "Hendry, I know. I know everything. It's all Helen's fault, but I beg you … for her grandfather's sake, give her a break, just this once, please?"
"For the sake of her father saving your parents, spare her just this once, alright? She surely didn't do it on purpose. Don't worry, I will make her come and apologize to you …" Martha pleaded.
I shut my eyes tightly. My heart felt like it was being torn apart by a rusty blade. The pain made it hard to breathe. I couldn't say another word.
Seeing my expression soften, Martha quickly pulled out her phone, "I will call Helen now. I'll make her come and apologize …"
But the moment she said I was with her at the hospital, Helen's voice turned ice-cold, "I'm pregnant. It's Mateo's baby. Mateo is taking care of me now. Stop pestering me with that loser Hendry!"
Mateo Stoner was the man Helen kept outside.
Hearing this, I completely collapsed. My last bit of strength drained away and I fainted.
When I woke up, I was home. As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Helen walking into the room. She walked straight to me and began undressing at the bedside.

















