After the Eight Years of Love I Gave Up
Chapter 13

Book 2 - Chapter 3

"What?" I suddenly stood up, thinking I had misheard.

"How can the marriage certificate be fake? Look at it carefully again!"

The lawyer adjusted his glasses and examined it closely.

"I'm very sorry, Ms. Shen, but this marriage certificate is indeed fake."

"Ha." I laughed, but tears fell uncontrollably.

Seven years, two thousand five hundred and fifty-five days, I asked myself hundreds of times every day. Why did I believe Louis?

Why did I agree to marry him?

Marrying into the Wood family, this cold-blooded, heartless monster's den.

It took me seven years to face reality, six years to gather the courage to divorce.

But now, the lawyer actually tells me.

Louis and I were never really married.

No wonder the Wood family called me a "cheap woman", it turns out...

I really am no different from those women outside...

Wiping away my tears, I thanked this kind lawyer.

Since we were never married, separation would be much simpler.

Only, I still couldn't let go of Edwin.

Edwin is my child with Louis, he's five years old this year.

When I gave birth to him, I had a difficult labor with severe bleeding, almost dying on the operating table.

In my hazy consciousness, I heard the doctor ask Louis whether to save the mother or the child.

Louis didn't hesitate.

"Save the child."

The cold words jolted me from my confusion, and I kept telling myself.

Eliza, you can't die, Edwin can't be without a mother.

Because of this thought, I crawled back from the brink of death.

You could say that Edwin is the most important reason for me to live in this world.

But less than two days after giving birth, Louis's mother forcefully took him away. She said:

"Eliza, not letting you raise the child is for his own good."

"Don't forget, you're just a cheap woman who crawled out of a poor mountain village."

"If the child stays with you, he'll only be looked down upon like you."

Despite all my reluctance, for Edwin to have a better life, I still endured it.

Only how many times did I wake up from dreams, holding clothes and toys I had specially prepared for Edwin, crying uncontrollably. Louis would occasionally be woken up by me and would send me a video of Edwin.

Relying on these videos, I endured for three years.

Until that time when I mustered the courage to propose divorce, Louis's mother finally agreed to let me see Edwin once a week. Today is the agreed meeting day.

Arriving at the old mansion, it was very quiet.

I stood outside the door calling for more than ten minutes, but no one came to open it.

Yes, after being Mrs. Wood for seven years, I still didn't have the right to freely enter and exit the Wood family's old mansion.

A passing servant, out of pity, told me that Edwin had been taken away by Louis early in the morning.

I smiled bitterly, understanding in my heart that this was Louis's punishment for me.

Over the years, whenever I showed even a bit of disobedience, he wouldn't let me see Edwin.

And each time, I was forced to bow my head, exchanging my dignity for the right to see my child once.

Taking a deep breath, for Edwin's sake, I still called Louis.

"Hello? Mom!" A familiar child's voice came through, it was Edwin.

My eyes instantly reddened, my heart softening.

This is my child.

"Edwin, when are you coming back? Mom misses you."

The voice on the other end was a bit noisy, like they were at an amusement park.

But I still precisely captured Edwin's voice.

"But I don't want to see mom."

The tears in my eyes instantly froze, I asked in disbelief:

"Edwin, what did you say?"

Edwin's voice was as clear as ever, hitting hard on my heart.

"I said, I don't want to see mom."

The hand holding the phone unconsciously tightened, I took a deep breath.

"Mom knows you're having a lot of fun right now. You play first, and when you're done, come see mom, okay?"

"No matter how long, mom can wait for you."

Edwin didn't hesitate, showing the same coldness as Louis.

"No, dad said you made him angry, you're a bad mom!"

"Edwin doesn't want to see you, and you shouldn't look for Edwin anymore."

"Edwin doesn't like you as a mom!"

The call ended, and my heart died completely.

It turns out, my child, like his father, doesn't love me.

Well, I can finally leave without any lingering attachments.