After two years of marriage, my husband and I had three people living in our marital home. Me, him, and his "stepmother" Fang. Li Gang said that his mother died young and his father became seriously ill in his later years, thanks to his stepmother's filial piety at the bedside. Before his death, his father took his hand and told him: Aunt Fang has no relatives, you must take good care of her for me. His eyes were red when he said this, and his hand holding mine was trembling slightly. I believed it. So Chen Fang stayed. She gets up at six o'clock every day, mops the floor, does laundry, makes millet porridge, and takes good care of me. Neighbors all say that I have a good life. I am married to a capable husband and a diligent mother-in-law. But something slowly became not quite right. Li Gang began to work overtime frequently, go on business trips, and was away from home three or four nights a week. When I was alone in the empty room, the person who accompanied me was not my husband, but the "mother-in-law" who collected the soles of my shoes in the next room. In the kitchen late at night, I caught them talking in a low voice, and immediately changed the subject when they found me coming out. At the dinner table, she acted so naturally when picking up vegetables for him. When he served her soup, his fingers lightly touched the back of her hand. On the day of our wedding anniversary, I got off work early, cooked a table of dishes, and hid the pregnancy test form under the dining table, hoping to surprise him. He didn't come back. The bedroom door was locked from the inside. Until a strange phone call came in. The old woman on the other end of the phone said anxiously: "Afang, Niuniu has a high fever and is clamoring for her mother." Niuniu. Ten years old. He was raised by Chen Fang's mother in his hometown. And I never knew that Chen Fang had a daughter. The pearl earring found in his trouser pocket had two letters engraved on the back: C. F.—Her initials. The photo found in the old house had "Happy Wedding, 1994" written on the back. At that time, it was still more than twenty years before I got married to him. It turns out she is not his stepmother. It turns out they were never separated. It turns out that in this wedding room, I was the one who finally knew the truth.
Purpose: To tell that softness and kindness are not a weakness that can be manipulated by anyone. In a marriage full of lies and plots, women must stop losses in time, awaken themselves, and break free from the shackles of false emotions.