The day my two daughters-in-law—who on the surface appeared to be pining for my sons' affections but were in reality master shoppers—decided to fake their deaths, I grabbed them and refused to let go. “Not unless you take me with you.” They told me that the woman returning from abroad wasn't just the one true love of my two sons, but also the daughter of my husband's long-lost flame. The three men in my life were about to conspire to have me adopt her. According to them, I wouldn't discover the truth until I was seventy. But I'm only fifty now. "To hell with that," I spat. "Why should I suffer for another twenty years?" I decided to "die" on the very road those three were taking to "rescue" her. Let them live with the guilt forever. In the end, my husband, Howard, lost his mind. My two sons were consumed by regret. And my two daughters-in-law? They took me on the ride of a lifetime, a life of glorious, unapologetic indulgence. Ten handsome young masseurs surrounding us, kneading our shoulders and feeding us fruit. 1 I was fifty years old when I overheard it from my two daughters-in-law. The “one true love” returning to the country, a woman named Sienna Crest, was the daughter of my husband Howard’s old flame, Serena Crest. My daughters-in-law had decided it was time to bolt. My eldest son’s wife, Olivia, was dumping a torrent of diamonds, gold, and precious gems into a suitcase. "I refuse to end up like you, Mom," she said to the other. "I want a divorce. You?" My younger son’s wife, Maya, was tapping away on her phone. "You're leaving, I'm leaving. No way am I having sons who grow up to be obsessed with their father's ex-girlfriend's daughter. Let me just check how much I've managed to siphon off of Jack these last three years… Aha! A cool nine and a half million in my secret account. That should be enough for the two of us to live a little." She looked up. "So, how do we do this? You think Jack and Adrian will just let us divorce them?" Olivia considered this. "If we ask directly, they'll never agree. They'll probably freeze our credit cards. You'd be sitting on a fortune you couldn't spend a dime of. When Dad's old flame, Serena, came back to town years ago, Mom asked for a divorce. He refused and froze all her accounts. She didn't even have enough money for a rental deposit. Then she found out she was pregnant with the twins. For the boys, she had no choice but to stay. "But what she never knew," Olivia continued, her voice dropping, "was that five years later, Howard started taking the boys on 'business trips' abroad. He said it was to 'cultivate their business acumen from a young age.' In reality, he was taking them to play with Serena's daughter. He told our husbands to protect Sienna like she was their own sister. That's why Adrian and Jack have been practically joined at the hip with her since childhood. "And now, according to the script of this ridiculous life, as soon as Sienna returns, the three of them are going to manipulate Mom into adopting her, showering her with affection. Where does that leave us? Our days of lavish spending and carefree living will be over. I say we fake our own deaths." Maya instantly agreed. "I'm with you. I'm going to pack my valuables right now. All the jewelry and designer bags I bought with Jack’s money over the last three years will fetch a pretty penny. We won't starve." She turned to leave Olivia's room and walked straight into me. I had been standing outside the door, listening to every word. Maya’s face went white. "Mom," she stammered. "H-how much did you hear?" A chill ran down my spine, but my chest felt like it was on fire. I was a paradox of ice and flame. I clenched my fists. "Is it true? Everything you said? That girl, Sienna… she’s really Serena's daughter?" Maya looked helpless, glancing back at Olivia. "What do we do now? She's not going to tell Adrian and Jack and ruin our plan, is she?" I grabbed each of them by the arm, my grip like iron. "Oh, I will," I said, my voice low and dangerous. "Unless you take me with you." 2 I thought back to last night, when Howard had wrapped his arm around me. "Darling," he’d murmured, "haven't you always wanted a daughter? A dear friend of mine in Europe passed away, leaving his only daughter all alone. She’s coming back to the States. Why don't we adopt her? She could live with us, be the daughter you never had." My sons, Adrian and Jack, had been there too, chiming in enthusiastically. "Yeah, Mom! Her name is Sienna. She's amazing with adults. You'll love her." Ha. Oh, yes. Wonderful. The three most important men in my life were conspiring to stab me in the back. No wonder my eldest son, Adrian, had stormed home this morning and had a vicious fight with Olivia, grabbing her by the throat, his eyes bloodshot. "Sienna went missing right after her plane landed! Did you have her kidnapped?" I'd rushed in, telling him to let go, asking if there had been some misunderstanding. But Howard had pulled me aside, his anger even greater than our son’s. "What misunderstanding could there be? Olivia, tell us right now! Where did you take Sienna?" It all made sense now. Of course Howard was more frantic than his own son. Sienna was the daughter of his one true love. A flood of memories washed over me. I remembered a conversation between Adrian and Jack when they were five. "Daddy, can Sienna's mommy be our mommy?" "I really want Sienna's mommy to be our mommy." "Then Sienna could be our sister and live with us!" "We want to play with Sienna and protect her forever." I had asked them then, "Who's Sienna?" I remembered Howard's stern face as he reprimanded them. "Don't talk nonsense!" Then he’d turned to me, his voice strained. "Just the daughter of a friend from abroad. She’s adorable, and these two rascals took one look and are already fighting over who gets to be her big brother." I had ignored how his eyes darted away, how his voice was laced with guilt. How utterly laughable. I had sacrificed my career, my ambitions, everything, for these three men. And this was how they repaid me? I felt as if all the strength had been drained from my body. I swayed on my feet. I looked at my two daughters-in-law, who saw the world with such brutal clarity. When your man loves you, you shop. When he doesn't, you pack your bags and go. In that moment, I felt like the biggest fool in the world. Fearing they would think I was too old and refuse to take me, I made a decision. "Howard has a safe in his study," I said, my voice firm. "Inside, there are one hundred 500-gram gold bars. If you take me with you, I'll go empty it right now. From now on, whatever you want to eat, drink, or buy, it's on me." 3 Their eyes lit up. They looked like they wanted to kiss my feet. Olivia spoke first. "Mom, honestly, we've wanted to team up with you and burn this whole script to the ground for ages. The truth is, we’re not from this world. Three years ago, my best friend and I were in a car crash and woke up here, married into the Hawthorne family. Some 'system' told me my mission was to win over the CEO brother, while she had to be the devoted fangirl to the surgeon brother. "But the story dictates that as soon as the real heroine, Sienna, returns, your sons will go completely insane for her. They'll even convince you to adopt her. You've always dreamed of having a daughter, and Sienna is meant to fill that void. You'd spoil her rotten, buy her anything she wants. You wouldn't find out who she really is until you're seventy, and then you’d divorce him in a rage. But that's no way to live. It's better to wake up now and get the hell out." Maya gritted her teeth. "She's right, Mom. If you want daughters, let us be your daughters. We'll show you how to live. With your money, we can find any young, handsome boy toy we want. The other day, Olivia and I went to a spa and hired ten gorgeous male therapists to wait on us. It was divine. We’ll take you next time. Isn't that better than waiting on a stuffy old man?" She had a point. Good men were a dime a dozen. Why was I wasting my life on those three ungrateful wolves? My heart was a wasteland of ashes, but I managed a tearful smile. "Alright. I'm going to go clean out their secret stashes right now. And then, we're faking our deaths." 4 I went to the master bedroom to raid Howard's safe. One hundred gold bars. I stuffed every last one into a large suitcase. As I grabbed the final bar, my fingers brushed against a hidden button. A secret compartment clicked open. Inside was an old photograph. The background was a breathtaking ski resort. There were five people in the photo. Two young boys were teaching a little girl how to ski. The two adults with them were a younger Howard and Serena Crest. In the photo, Howard was dashing, and Serena was young and vibrant, her long hair blowing in the wind. It was a candid shot. They looked like a perfect, happy family of five. I clutched the photograph, my world shaking, my hands trembling uncontrollably. This was worse, so much worse, than what my daughters-in-law had told me. A sharper, more vicious blow to the heart. So it was all true. I wanted to storm up to Howard, throw the picture in his face, and demand to know why. Why had he done this to me? It wasn't me who had refused the divorce all those years ago. Why cling to me with one hand while secretly taking our sons on dates with his old flame? And turning my own sons against me, making them worship her daughter? It was disgusting. I felt sick. Suddenly, a low voice came from behind me. "What are you doing in my safe? Why are all the gold bars out?" 5 It was Howard. A jolt went through me. I couldn't let him find out my plan. Before he could ask another question, I went on the offensive. I threw the photo at him, my eyes welling with tears. "What is this? Explain this to me! Howard Hawthorne, how could you do this to me?" His eyes flickered with guilt for a split second before his usual calm, authoritative mask settled back into place. "It's just an old photograph, Eleanor. Don't make a scene. It's ancient history. Not worth mentioning." Seeing my tear-filled eyes, he softened his tone. "If you must have an explanation, fine. Serena's daughter had a rare form of autism back then. Her therapist said that interacting with her peers could help. I only took the boys to go skiing with them because I felt sorry for the child. That's all. There was nothing between Serena and me." He was still lying to me. If there was nothing between them, why hide the photo in a secret compartment of his safe? A sharp pain lanced through my heart. I fought back the tears. "I want a divorce." Howard's eyes widened in shock. "What did you say?" I zipped up the suitcase, my heart cold and empty. "I said, a divorce. I'll take the gold bars, you can have everything else. It's a fair deal." He was so angry he used my full name. "Eleanor Hawthorne, have you lost your mind? I'm giving you one more chance. Take back what you just said." No more chances. I laughed, a hollow, bitter sound. "I'm not the crazy one here. That missing girl you're all so frantically searching for, that's the girl in the picture, isn't it? And you wanted me to adopt her? Howard, what is wrong with you? Are you even human? Since you want her as a daughter so badly, I'll step aside. I'll make way for her. Isn't that what you want?" He panicked, grabbing me in a fierce, possessive embrace, just like when we were young. He snatched the photo from my hand, threw it on the floor, and ground it under his heel, as if that would prove his point. "See? I don't care about this old picture. Stop this nonsense, Eleanor. Be good." I shoved him away with all my might and slapped him across the face, hard. I was done being good. "Eleanor, get back here!" I dragged the suitcase filled with one hundred gold bars and ran like my life depended on it.
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