Love Story5 Chapter 1
Isabelle, where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”
“Get lost!”
4 hung up Steven Bryant’s call, holding my daughter’s ashes as I slowly made my way up the mountain. My heart had already turned cold toward Steven, despite how deeply I once loved him.
From a young age, I was like his shadow, following him everywhere, trying to keep up with his pace. My love for him in my youth was pure but cautious. I feared that if I confessed, we might not even remain friends, so I never did. Instead, I helped him pursue Lily Green Watching them together was painful, but I forced myself to smile.
en one day, Lily vanished, blocking all of Steven’s contacts. I seized the opportunity and confessed. Steven agreed. After three years of dating, we got married; after eight years of marriage, we had a lovely daughter named Nora.
I loved with great caution, afraid that Steven would leave me. He was busy with work, so I tried not to be a burden. Even when I was sick, I never told him, and when I gave birth, I didn’t dare ask him to be by my side at the hospital. He often had late–night social events, and I would wait for him, making him a hot cup of coffee and massaging his feet when he returned. I learned to cook his favorite dishes.
I loved too naively, thinking that if I gave enough, Steven would love me more. But I only managed to move myself. To Steven, I was nothing more than a well–behaved, obedient substitute, a temporary comfort. When Lily reappeared, he became infatuated again, hiring her as his secretary. A mere mug was more important to him than Nora and me.
Steven left us in the care of Lily’s cousin, John. He refused to give Nora water when she was thirsty and slapped her when she cried, forcing her to wat raw mushrooms he dug up. I tried my best to stop him, but he unleashed his rage on me, tying me up and tormenting me. At night, he only allowed us a bit of rice soup. Eventually, Nora fell ill. I even knelt to beg John, but he refused to let her see a doctor.
For seven days, Nora grew weaker in my arms. Finally, I found a chance to escape when John got drunk, but it was too late–Nora passed away halfway down the mountain. I held her lifeless body and cried to the sky.
I hated John. I hated Lily. I hated Steven.
I reached the wishing tree at the mountaintop, and when I looked up, I saw Lily holding Steven’s arm at the entrance.
“Steven, I heard this wishing tree is very powerful. Our little girl should receive blessings and be happy, right?” Lily was referring to her pet hamster, which Steven adored as well.
“feah, she will be.” Steven responded softly. Then, spotting me, his gentle expression turned cold, as if he were facing an enemy.
“So, you’ve finally stopped being unreasonable,” he said, narrowing his eyes with a hint of arrogance, thinking I was still the spineless, submissive woman he used to know, assuming I had climbed the mountain to beg for his forgiveness.
“Get lost!” I responded, my tone still cold. Even looking at Steven for another second made me feel nauseous.
“Hey!” Lily quickly
let go
of Steven’s arm, pretending to be a good person as she approached me. “My little girl passed away, and you know I have depression, so Steven came to keep me company. Don’t overthink it.” But her tone was laced with provocation, as if subtly hinting that I wasn’t as important to Steven as she was.
“I hope when you die, he’ll stay with you too,” I retorted coldly.
“What are you saying!” Steven’s face darkened. “Isabelle, can you stop being unreasonable? Lily’s already in pain, and you’re deliberately saying these things. Apologize to her!”
I muttered, calling them scumbags, then pushed past Steven and continued toward the wishing tree. I needed to place the urn there before noon for the wish to come true. I had no time to argue with Steven. I also believed the police would soon be knocking on Steven and Lily’s doors.
Maybe Steven had never seen me act this way before. He stood there, dumbfounded. After all, I used to be so submissive, bowing my head and sobbing but never daring to show my anger.
Steven finally caught up with me. “Is it really worth getting so mad over something so small? I did it for Nora’s own good. Otherwise, she’d become too spoiled.”
Clearly, he was just trying to please Lily but claimed it was for Nora’s sake. Such hypocrisy.
14:21
Butchered by Love
42.4%
Love Storys Chapter 1
I ignored him and kept walking, though my fists clenched, Steven seemed startled, finally lowering his tone slightly, speaking softly, “I promise Pit never send you and Nora to the mountains again. Whatever you want, I’ll buy it for you. Nora likes that limited edition mermaid doll, right? I’ll get it right away and make sure she’s happy.”
Hearing this, my heart sank. If Steven had even a bit of concern for Nora and me, he would have noticed something was wrong. Why was I alone, carrying an urn? Why wasn’t I with Nora? Why was I holding an urn with SpongeBob on it, Nora’s favorite character? Steven noticed none of this. All he could see was Lily. He was madly in love with her.
“It’s too late. Everything is too late. You have no right to mention Nora, and you certainly have no right to be my husband. Find time to sign the divorce papers,” I replied coldly, eyes red as I bowed deeply before the wishing tree,
Nora’s death was Steven’s doing. How could I ever forgive him?
“Isabelle…” Steven frowned, seemingly acting for my sake, as he made a call right there. “John, buy that limited mermaid doll and bring my daughter
