Show's Over, Love's Over

On the day I get discharged from the psychiatric hospital, my wife, Lisseth Gabler, speaks up all of a sudden. "When your mom was struck and killed by Donny's car, I was the one who hired a lawyer to defend him." My dad—the most elite doctor in the city—is still driving as he adds coolly, "I was the one who personally forged your mental illness records." Throughout the three-year torture I've received in the psychiatric hospital, I keep recalling the tragic way my mom died when she was struck by Donny Kaufman's car all the time. Meanwhile, my own wife chooses to defend him, whereas my own father has me admitted into a psychiatric hospital. I do my best not to collapse from the sheer shock. In a quivering tone, I ask, "Why?" Dad averts his gaze. Lisseth is the one who answers my question nonchalantly. "It's simple. You have everything. It's pitiful enough for Donny to be labelled as the illegitimate son. Now, I'm giving you two choices. Either patch things up with Donny, or stay in the psychiatric hospital for the rest of your life." Chapter 1 John's POV The truth struck me so suddenly that my head spun. It felt as if something were lodged in my chest. Lisseth Gabler gently wiped away my tears and said, "Actually, when you were injected with the sedative, we took the opportunity to press your fingerprint onto the settlement agreement. "But the dosage was too high, and it left you infertile. We were so busy celebrating with Donny at the time that we forgot to check on you." I still remembered. When Mom was run over and killed by Donny Kaufman, I had run barefoot to the police station. But after they injected me with sedatives, my entire body felt like it was being gnawed at by ants, and I was forced to press my fingerprint onto a piece of paper. But what no one told me was that the piece of paper would grant the murderer, Donny, three years of freedom. My face turned cold, and my eyes became bloodshot. "Why are you only telling me now?" Dad, who was driving, looked at me through the rearview mirror and sighed. "I was afraid you wouldn't be able to truly reflect on yourself in there. Now that you've learned to be obedient, you won't hurt Donny even if you know the truth." Reflect on myself? When I'd learned the truth back then, the only thing I had done was slap Donny across the face once, yet that had earned me three years of imprisonment. The endless rounds of bitter pills made me vomit violently, and the electroshock therapy frequently left me unconscious. And all of that was just their punishment for that one slap. A bitter laugh escaped me as I lunged at Dad, who was behind the wheel, like a madman. The car swerved violently. Lisseth pinned me down forcefully in her arms. "Have you lost your mind, John Kaufman?" "Yes, I've lost my mind," I roared wildly. Mom's body had barely gone cold back then, yet Dad had already promised his mistress a lifetime together. Then, he joined forces with my wife, Lisseth, to allow the person who killed Mom to walk free. I should have lost my mind a long time ago! … When we arrived home, they locked me in the basement. Dad held up a photo of him and his mistress, Emma Flack, and ordered me to call her "Mom". I spat on the floor. "Never." Seeing the stubbornness in my eyes, he answered a phone call instead, looking resigned. Before he left, he warned, "Emma will treat you like her own son. You should learn to respect her." Roaring in rage, I hurled the framed photo at the wall, shattering it into pieces. A flying shard cut a gash across Lisseth's face, and blood welled up. She hadn't dodged. Instead, she just frowned in disgust. "If you still treat Donny the same way you did before, I don't mind sending you back to the psychiatric hospital." Seeing the mixture of blood and tears on my face, she finally crouched down to meet my eyes. "If you can let bygones be bygones and accept Donny and his mother, everything can go back to how it was. Whether you want to return to this family or not is up to you." With that, she stood up and slammed the door shut behind her. But there was something none of them knew. When they signed my discharge papers, hidden among the documents were a divorce agreement and a severance agreement—one that would cut my ties with them. This "family" that only loved the illegitimate son and the mistress? I didn't want it anymore. Chapter 2 John's POV Donny sent me a friend request and allowed me access to his social media feed. I saw that on the day I was sent to the psychiatric hospital, Lisseth had taken him to an auction to pick out antiques. Even now, I still remembered how I had been subjected to inhumane torture on my very first day there. Unable to take it, I did everything I could to hide in the bathroom to call her. The first time, she hung up. The second time, the call rang until it disconnected. The third time, her phone was switched off outright. When they caught me using a phone without permission, what followed immediately was a session of high-intensity electroshock therapy. Later, I finally learned to cooperate with their "treatment". I never tried to escape again. As I continued to scroll down, my eyes burned from what I saw. On the day of Mom's funeral, Dad had dressed up fancily for Emma's birthday party and publicly announced their relationship. They had even set their wedding date for tomorrow—the same day as Donny's birthday and Mom's death anniversary. … That evening, Lisseth brought food down to the basement. Just like before, she tried to feed me with a spoon, but I turned my head away. She looked surprised at first, then her expression darkened with displeasure. "You're still throwing a tantrum?" I had only survived the three years in the psychiatric hospital by constantly fantasizing about her treating me gently. But now, my heart, which once longed for warmth, had completely turned cold. The tension between us, which had only just started to ease, froze over again. Lisseth angrily threw the bowl and utensils down. "We only discharged you because we thought you had finally learned your lesson. I didn't think you'd still be so stubborn! "What happened back then wasn't Donny's fault at all! Your mother was the one who kept calling him a homewrecker and stirring up trouble! She brought it on herself!" My heart sank. I still remembered Donny driving his car over Mom again and again, a cruel smile on his face. The blood that had splashed onto my feet had still been warm. When I rushed over, Lisseth swiftly restrained me, soothing me over and over again. "The ambulance is on its way. Don't be scared." So, right in that moment, she'd likely been thinking that Mom had deserved it. I let out a self-deprecating scoff and threw the divorce agreement that bore both of our signatures at her. "But he is a homewrecker, isn't he? I want a divorce!" She froze for a moment, then flashed a cold smirk that I couldn't understand. "Divorce? You know the thing I hate the most is people threatening me. But I need to tell you something. Right now? You're the homewrecker." The moment she finished speaking, a marriage certificate bearing an official embossed seal was hurled at me. And on it, the person who was listed as her spouse wasn't me. It was Donny Kaufman. Even though I had already decided to leave her, I still couldn't stop myself from clenching my fists. So all of it—from the very beginning—had been a lie. The divorce agreement looked like an absolute joke now. I wanted to cry, but no tears came. Lisseth, thinking I was regretting my choice now, offered a rare explanation. "This was your father's idea. After all, you already have everything, while Donny and his mother have suffered their whole lives. Besides, a marriage certificate doesn't mean much. "Just behave. As long as you accept Donny, I can give you an official, legitimate place beside me in the future." With that, she answered a call from Donny and left the basement. She didn't come back. That very night, she accompanied Donny overseas to choose his birthday present. They sat together by the ocean waiting for the sunrise, playing the piano piece that had once marked the beginning of our relationship. The tenderness and affection that I had once known so well were now directed at another man. Something inside my heart felt like it was collapsing. When Donny posted the photos online, people in the comments called him "Lisseth's hubby" while also insulting me. "A woman's love is wherever her money is. Not kicking the psycho out is already generous enough." "Both you and your mom got to where you are by climbing into other people's beds, didn't you? No wonder nobody cared when one of you died, and the other went nuts." Lisseth chose to do nothing. I knew she was trying to prove a point to me—if I didn't behave, I could only spy on their happiness from the shadows, like a rat in the sewer. She wanted me to take back my decision to leave her. But I never would again. Chapter 3 John's POV Early the next morning, I was woken up by a sudden blast of loud music outside the door. Finding the basement door unlocked, I stepped out and found that all Mom's photos and belongings had been entirely removed and replaced with festive decorations. When I emerged, looking disheveled and unkempt, the crowd immediately shot me strange looks. "Isn't that the lunatic? How did he get out of the psychiatric hospital?" "His father is getting married, and his brother is celebrating his birthday. It's a double celebration, so of course he has to make an appearance!" "Isn't he worried about embarrassing Ms. Gabler? Looks like the Gabler family is about to have a new Mr. Gabler." Just then, Donny walked over wearing a tailored suit, his arm wrapped around Lisseth's slender waist. "You've been through a lot, John. Even though you never liked my mother or me, we're family now. Let's get along peacefully from now on." On his finger was the Gabler family's family ring. Only the legitimate son-in-law of the Gabler family was ever qualified to wear it. So Lisseth had given him the ring long ago. He wore a friendly smile on his face, but his hand clamped tightly around my wrist. I pulled away in pain. "Congratulations. I'm going to pay respects to my mother." I'd barely taken a step when Dad's furious roar sounded behind me. "Stop right there! From now on, you're not allowed to mention her in front of them!" Lisseth grabbed my arm, her impatience visibly growing. "Today is a day of celebration. Don't make a scene." But today was also Mom's death anniversary. I insisted on leaving, but in the blink of an eye, I found myself swarmed by a group of reporters. Donny ran over and dropped to his knees in front of me, his eyes full of sadness and sorrow. "John, I understand you're feeling sad for your deceased mother, but you can't deny that she was mentally unstable when she was alive. That was why she deliberately threw herself in front of my car to yell at me… "My mother was kind and generous her whole life, only to be framed as a mistress by your dead mother…" As he spoke, a psychiatric evaluation certificate "accidentally" fell from his pocket. Mom's name was printed clearly on it. A collective gasp rippled through the guests. "I didn't expect both mother and son to be mentally ill. To think they abused Donny and Emma!" With just a few sentences, everyone turned Mom and me into the villains who had bullied the other mother-and-son pair. Seeing Donny's pitiful and wronged expression, Lisseth's face instantly darkened. "John, I didn't realize you had teamed up with your mother to bully them so early on. How could you do this?" Dad's face turned crimson as he jabbed his finger at me. "You ungrateful bastard!" Everything around me distorted into a grotesque blur as my mind spun. "No, that's not true. Mom was perfectly normal—" Before I could finish, my weak, exhausted body collapsed into Lisseth's arms. Her cruel voice sounded right next to my ear. "The deed to your mother's family home is in my hands. Tell the cameras that Emma never came between your family. Come on, behave." Her voice was incredibly gentle, but it was so cold it made my entire body shudder uncontrollably. Before her death, Mom had fought with everything she had to protect that family home, so I would be left with some sense of security. It was also the only tangible thing I had left of her. Using every last bit of strength I had, I hissed out, "You're despicable!" The moment the words left my mouth, countless notifications flooded everyone's phones like a virus. "Breaking news! The estate under the late Mrs. Kaufman's name is now being listed at Corelle's Auction House at a ridiculously low price!" Meeting my terror-stricken gaze, Lisseth calmly—and confidently—stroked my head. "Decide for yourself what's more important—a dead person's reputation, or her last remaining belongings." Chapter 4 John's POV Tears spilled from my eyes, and a laugh nearly escaped me. The face of the woman in front of me, looking ever so menacing, could no longer overlap with the Lisseth Gabler I once knew. A flicker of resignation flashed through her eyes, as if she had suddenly remembered how hard I had cried the day I lost Mom. "As long as you clear things up, I'll divorce Donny and marry you." But that was never what I cared about, Lisseth. I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling utterly despairing. Stumbling, I pushed her away and faced the cameras. "Emma, Donny's mother, wasn't a homewrecker. My mother had mental issues and falsely accused them. I'm sorry…" Almost instantly, the internet exploded. Mom and I were pinned to a pillar of shame, and she was branded as the "crazy lady" on the very day of her death anniversary. Lisseth remained indifferent, while Dad, who had his arm wrapped around Emma, finally let out a sigh of relief. All of a sudden, Donny cried out in shock as he waved the phone in his hand. "John, how can you have people throw feces and garbage all over my mother's new house?" In the video, the once magnificent house that was slated to be Dad and Emma's newlywed home had been completely destroyed. I'd barely taken a good look when a sudden slap landed hard across my face. Lisseth's eyes were bloodshot. "John! Do you know I was about to marry you? And yet you just had to take things this far just because of one clarification? If that's the case…" She turned to look at Dad. After seeing his expression, her resolve instantly hardened. "…then there's no need to keep that family home!" The disgust in her eyes deepened as she called the auction house. "Auction it off for 100 dollars! First come, first served!" "No!" I screamed hysterically, while she ordered people to hold me down. "I won't marry you anymore, Lisseth! Just give the family home back to me!" Disbelief colored her face as she froze momentarily. "Our relationship is worth that little to you? Can you stop threatening me with your childish tantrums?" "Think whatever you want!" I yelled. With bloodshot eyes, I grabbed a set of car keys and bolted out the door without looking back. Lisseth stared intently at my retreating figure, only snapping out of it when she heard Donny gently calling her name. … By the time I arrived at the family home, Mom's memorial display had been trashed. Flowers, candles, and keepsakes were scattered across the floor, while her framed portrait had been splashed with red paint and covered with hateful insults. "Stop! All of you—" But before I could finish, Mom's porcelain urn crashed to the ground and shattered into pieces. "Mr. Donny Kaufman specifically ordered us to make sure you and your mother truly become one!" With that, the thugs swarmed me, pinned me to the ground, and forced the ashes into my mouth. "Let go of me!" I sputtered. My desperate struggles were entirely futile. Tears streamed down my face and the ashes filled my throat, choking me. After they left, I coughed violently and spat out a mouthful of blood. Something inside me died right then. Numbly, I lit a match and threw it onto the pile of firewood, watching silently as the fire roared upward toward the sky. "May we never meet again, Lisseth Gabler," I murmured. … Three hours later, when Lisseth and Dad arrived at the family home carrying flowers to pay their respects to Mom, a neighbour rushed out in a panic. "The old house suddenly caught fire," they screamed. "I think someone burned to death inside!"