**4**
58%
Even more impactful than the changing environment was the change in the people around me. I knew all of Julian’s buddies, the ones he’d struggled with.
Back then, when they were so broke they couldn’t even eat, I’d gather discarded cabbage leaves and rotten winter melons from the market and make them a big pot of stew. His buddies used to affectionately call me “sister–in–law.”
When Caleb and I came back from the construction site, they’d see us and their eyes would well up with sympathy.
But now, no one called me “sister–in–law” anymore. They all called me “Madam CEO.” I was dusty and disheveled, a complete mismatch for them.
They were awkward, and so was I. All sorts of eyes in the company swept over me. I wasn’t particularly smart, but that day, I understood in an instant. This place didn’t belong to
- me.
Powerful people were everywhere in Grandview City, and glamorous socialites were a
dime a dozen.
New money like Julian, with no connections and easily manipulated, everyone wanted to
court him.
When they found out I was his wife, their faces first showed disdain, then they started plotting. I felt like I was a step below them.
I had been exposed to wind and sun, my skin was dark and cracked, my hands covered in layers of scars, working harder than their household staff.
The second person to change was Julian. Not long after arriving here, I sensed it. The
only thing I asked for here was a wedding. Though I wasn’t smart, I could tell many people
coveted my position. He hesitated but still agreed. However, after that, he stopped going
along with me so easily.
“Initially, the company could only get started thanks to Celeste’s father’s help.”
“Now, they just want me to spend more time with Celeste. It’s a profitable deal.”
I felt a pang of panic, but I still blurted out, “Jules, back where I came from, that kind of behavior could get you ostracized…”
“You already have me. How can you go looking for other women…”
He erupted like a lion whose tail had been stepped on, covering his insecurity with rage. “Mia! Everyone here is like this!”
“Do you know how much effort I put into fitting in here?!”
“Now, it’s just a small sacrifice for you, and you’re so unwilling?!”
It was the first time I’d seen him so furious. I took a few steps back and looked at him. That familiar face looked more and more unfamiliar. I asked one last question, “Celeste, is she pretty?”
Julian seemed to calm down a little, and he lightly tapped my nose. “No one’s prettier than Mia.”
He lied. Celeste was much prettier than me, and several years younger.
Her playfully whining mannerisms, I’d seen them so many times, yet I could never learn them. Whenever things didn’t go her way, she’d look at Julian with tearful eyes and pout sweetly.
At first, Julian would come back and complain to me, saying he couldn’t handle such a delicate, demanding socialite.
But then, he started going to Celeste’s place more and more often. Later, he’d be called away for various holidays, sometimes even taking Caleb with him behind my back.
But truthfully, if it were just that, I wouldn’t have sent that message to that person. What truly broke my heart was Caleb’s repeated hurtful actions.
I once thought that no matter what grievances I suffered, I would never leave. Not this man, full of lies, nor the child I bore with so much difficulty.
In the days Julian was absent, Caleb would snuggle up to me, looking at me with clear eyes. The people at the company might look down on me, but they didn’t dare look down on Caleb. Whenever I was bullied, Caleb would always step forward to confront them, then
turn around and hug me.
When did it change? Probably when he started elementary school. Julian said Caleb needed to act like a young gentleman now, with private cars for pickup and drop–off. And then, without my knowing, he started taking my child to see Celeste.
I could barely read, so I couldn’t help him with his studies, or understand the articles he was praised for, or his perfectly answered math problems.
Caleb would say, “Dad’s at Aunt Celeste’s house, so I’m going to find Dad.” But later, he started calling Celeste “Mom.”
I didn’t mind him getting close to Celeste at first. He would eventually inherit the company, and he would eventually have to deal with Celeste’s powerful family. But that day, I just couldn’t take it anymore.
It was snowing that day, and Caleb had left too quickly without his jacket. I worried there might not be a jacket in the car, so I rushed out after him, calling his name. But he didn’t seem to hear me, running excitedly, directly into Celeste’s arms in front of the car.
“Mommy-”
My blood seemed to freeze. I watched them, trembling. Julian stepped out of the car, smiling as he looked at them.
I hid in the shadows, like an ugly bug. I remembered those three days I gave birth to him, the freezing cold, my vision blurred, all I saw was blood and red.
But how could he call another woman “Mommy“?
