During a white-water rafting trip, my daughter and I were thrown into the rapids. Without hesitation, my husband, Craig, saved her first. At home, I handed him divorce papers. "Just because I saved her first?" he asked, stunned. "Yes," I replied coldly. Our daughter Anna fell to her knees, sobbing. "Mommy, please don’t leave Daddy! It’s my fault!" She banged her head on the floor until she passed out, blood blooming on her forehead. I kicked her aside, disgusted by the dirt on my pants. Craig, enraged, tore up the papers. "Have you no heart?" he shouted before rushing her to the hospital. Unmoved, I called my lawyer. "Mr. Davies, are the documents ready? I want a divorce." 1 Five days later, Craig called. His furious roar filled my ear. "Charlotte, Anna has been in the hospital for days, and you haven't even bothered to visit! And you have the nerve to file for divorce? Do you really think I can't live without you?" I remained silent, offering no response. After a long pause, he took a deep breath, his tone softening. "Charlotte, I know you're just jealous. You love me so much that you can't stand to see me give attention to anyone else, even our daughter. But we're her parents. When a child is in danger, isn't it our first instinct to protect them? Anna is a wreck right now. She's having a complete mental breakdown. You need to come to the hospital, apologize to her sincerely, and make things right." I examined my nails, my voice lazy. "If she's having a mental breakdown, she should be in a psychiatric hospital. I'm not a psychiatrist. Do you want me to send you their number?" He was speechless. After a moment, his voice came again, trembling with rage. "You're a monster. A complete monster. You're not even..." I'd heard enough. I hung up. I finished getting ready, my makeup immaculate, and prepared to head out to a new Cajun restaurant I'd been dying to try. Just as I reached the door, my mother called. Her voice was cold and hard. "You have a good life. Why are you trying to ruin it? Get to the hospital right now, or I swear, we are no longer mother and daughter." Before I could say a word, she hung up. Then, a text from my mother-in-law arrived. "Charlotte, dear, if Craig did something wrong, you tell me, and I'll give him a piece of my mind. But this is a small thing. Is it really worth filing for divorce? Have you forgotten all the sacrifices he's made for you over the years? Anna keeps crying for her mommy. She's terrified you're really going to leave. We're all at the hospital. Please come, and we can talk this through." My good mood evaporated. Fine. They all wanted me at the hospital. How could I possibly disappoint them? 2 When I pushed open the hospital room door, my daughter's eyes lit up for a second, then immediately dimmed. She scrambled off the bed and cautiously wrapped her arms around me. "Mommy, you came to the hospital. Does that mean you forgive me? Please don't divorce Daddy. I don't want to be a child from a broken home." I shoved her away in disgust. She stumbled and fell to the floor. Craig rushed to her side, scooping her up and placing her back on the bed. He looked at the tears welling in her eyes, tears she was clearly fighting to hold back, and his heart broke. He turned to me, his voice thick with accusation. "Charlotte, look what you've done to her. She saves up her own pocket money to buy you vitamins instead of spending it on herself. She's so afraid of waking you that she only lets me put her to bed at night. And every time there's a parent-teacher conference, all she wants is for you to be there, just once. Do you think you deserve a daughter as good as her?" I let out a cold, amused laugh. "You're right. I don't deserve to be her mother. So just agree to the divorce, and we can all move on." His mouth opened, but no words came out. He couldn't understand how I had become so cold, so cruel. My mother stepped forward and slapped me hard across the face. "How could I have given birth to such an ungrateful monster? If you dare to divorce Craig, you will no longer be my daughter." I cradled my stinging cheek, my eyes locked on hers. "Then please, draft the disownment papers immediately. I'll sign them without a moment's hesitation." Her face flushed, then paled. She pointed a trembling finger at me, speechless with rage. My mother-in-law forced a smile and took my hand. "Charlotte, Craig told me what happened. You and Anna both fell in the water. It makes perfect sense that he would save the one who couldn't save herself first. If it had been you and me, I'm sure he would have saved you. You know how he's treated you all these years. You have to be fair." I snatched my hand away and wiped it on my pants as if her touch had contaminated me. "The fact that he didn't save me first proves that I'm less important to him than his little darling. And since he doesn't love me, I'm demanding a divorce. What's the problem?" The smile vanished from my mother-in-law's face. She stepped back, her expression now as cold as mine. Anna struggled out of Craig's arms and knelt before me again, her face a mask of pitiful desperation. "Mommy, if you think Daddy loves me more, I'll punish myself. Please, just give him another chance. It's all my fault..." Without another word, she began slapping herself, hard, across the face. Her cheeks quickly swelled and turned red. Craig grabbed her, pulling her into a tight hug. He roared at me, his voice filled with anguish. "Charlotte, look what you've turned our sweet, innocent daughter into! How long are you going to keep this up?" A crowd had gathered at the door, drawn by the commotion. "My God, what kind of mother gets jealous of her own daughter?" "They say a daughter is her father's lover in a past life. It's only natural for a father to dote on his little girl." "Didn't you hear? The daughter and this bitch both fell in the water, and the father saved the daughter first. Now she's throwing a fit and demanding a divorce." A few new mothers in the crowd, their faces flushed with righteous indignation, stormed into the room. One of them grabbed a fistful of my hair and started hitting me. "You bitch! Do you have any maternal instincts at all? You don't deserve to live!" Seeing that someone had made the first move, others surged forward. Fists and feet rained down on me. I heard the sickening crack of a bone. A sharp, searing pain exploded on my scalp as a chunk of my hair was ripped out. 3 Craig desperately tried to hold back the furious mob. Anna was on the floor, sobbing and banging her head, begging them to let me go. My mother-in-law, snapping out of her daze, ran to the nurses' station for help. Eventually, the chaos was brought under control. But by then, I was a broken, bloody mess. Craig, his face pale with panic, rushed me to the emergency room. Someone had filmed the entire incident and posted it online. I woke up in a regular hospital room after surgery and checked my phone. The top trending topic: "Mom and Daughter Fall in Water, Dad Saves Daughter, Mom Files for Divorce." A related topic was number two: "Your Wife and Your Mom Fall in the Water. Who Do You Save First?" I calmly clicked on the first link. There were already hundreds of thousands of comments, all of them cursing me. "She doesn't deserve to be a mother. Go to hell." "Not this again. Last time, a mother buried her daughter alive in a flour bin because her husband bought the girl a roasted duck. I hope this father learns from that and protects his child." "Seconded. And that other mother who threw her daughter in the river because she was jealous. The father in this story needs to watch his kid like a hawk." "She sees her daughter as a rival, a competitor. People like that are incredibly selfish. She should be sterilized." "What is there to even think about? Divorce her immediately before she becomes an even bigger problem." "If it were me, I'd rather my daughter have no mother than a mother like that. Get as far away from her as possible." My hospital room was surrounded by reporters and angry netizens. I could hear Craig's patient, defensive voice on the other side of the door. "My wife wasn't always like this. She used to love our daughter more than I did. I don't know what's happened to her. Maybe I spoiled her too much. She can't handle me being nice to any other female, even if it's our own daughter. Thank you all for your concern. I love my wife very much. I won't be divorcing her." Gritting my teeth against the pain, I got out of bed and slowly opened the door. "Craig, you can stop the act. This divorce is happening." He turned, his voice low and pleading. "Honey, I promise I'll love you even more from now on. Please, don't be like this. If you're really that upset about Anna, I'll send her to live with my mom for a while." I was unmoved. "The divorce is non-negotiable. And not only am I divorcing you, I'm taking everything. You will leave with nothing." Craig's face darkened. The crowd of onlookers could no longer contain their outrage. They surged forward, wanting to attack me again, but the reporters blocked their path. "You psycho bitch, why don't you just die?" "Any real man would divorce her. After she's gone, let's see who would ever want a monster like her." "You better pray you never get out of this hospital. If you do, I hope you trip and break your neck." The reporters shoved their microphones in my face. "Ms. Hayes, is it true what they're saying online? Are you divorcing your husband because he saved your daughter first?" "Will you regret giving up such a loving husband and a wonderful daughter?" "Is there another reason? Perhaps you're seriously ill and don't want to be a burden to your family?" I spoke calmly. "Yes, it's because he saved our daughter first. No, I'm not seriously ill. If I'm sick with anything, it's from being beaten by these ignorant fools. And after the divorce is finalized, I will be filing lawsuits against every single person who assaulted me." 4 My words ignited the fury of the crowd once more. They spat at me. "The whole country wants you dead, you pervert, and you're talking about lawsuits? Who are you trying to scare? You think you can sue all of us?" "Go ahead! Remember my face! My name is Lee Carter! Sue me too!" "You bitch! I'm a famous influencer! I'm going to post this video of your ugly face all over the internet!" I calmly weathered their abuse, then stepped back and closed the door. Two weeks later, the divorce hearing began. Because the case had become a national sensation, the gallery was packed with people from all walks of life. With my permission, the entire proceeding was being live-streamed. Craig looked at me with a pained expression. "Charlotte, does it have to be like this? Ten years together... does it all mean nothing? Drop the suit. Come home with me." His words stirred a flicker of something within me. He was right. It hadn't been easy for us. After college, we both started as interns at the same company. When our relationship was discovered, he willingly gave up his career to become a stay-at-home husband so I could advance mine. My mother had been vehemently opposed to our marriage. "A man with no ambition, what kind of future can he give you?" Even after he knelt outside our family home for three days and three nights, she refused to budge. I had to steal the household registration book to marry him. When we couldn't conceive, we adopted Anna from an orphanage two years ago, when she was already ten. All my friends envied me. The perfect career, a devoted husband, a well-behaved daughter. My life seemed perfect. I blinked, shaking myself from the memories. I sighed. "Craig, I'm trying to give you an out. Leave with nothing, and I'll drop everything else." My mother-in-law, who had always been so supportive of me, shot to her feet. "Charlotte, on what grounds do you demand my son leave with nothing? Even if he doesn't have a job, he's spent years taking care of this family, raising a child, and waiting on you hand and foot! He even washes your underwear! Do you have a conscience?" She turned to her son. "Craig, divorce her! We'll split the assets fifty-fifty." Craig frowned. "Mom, be quiet. I'm not divorcing Charlotte." He then looked at me, his eyes full of love. "Charlotte, if you think I've done something wrong, just say it. I have nothing to hide. You don't need to protect my reputation." Anna was sobbing, her tear-filled eyes fixed on me. "Mommy, if this is because of me, just send me back to the orphanage. The two years of love you gave me are more than I ever could have asked for." A man in the gallery stood up, his face red with anger. "So this is what happens when a man sacrifices his career for a woman? He gets thrown out with nothing? I bet this bitch found someone else and is just looking for an excuse." "If the court rules in her favor, what man will ever dare to be a stay-at-home husband again?" The live-stream chat was scrolling at lightning speed. "Sweetie, don't beg her. She doesn't deserve to be your mother. Come live with me. I'll adopt you." "That poor child. Of course, she's not her real mother. A real mother would never be so cruel." I sighed again. "Craig, since you don't want me to spare your feelings... Mr. Davies, please give your file to the judge. I'm confident that once he sees it, he will grant me a fair and just ruling." All eyes turned to the file in my lawyer's hand. Craig, who had seemed so confident just a moment before, now had a flicker of panic in his eyes.
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