My Husband's Regret Came After Seeing My Three Gifts

I hadn’t even spoken when Gwynne grabbed my arm, her look carrying a quiet insult even as she kept a soft smile and said, “Heather, since you’re already here, come in and sit for a while. Ezekiel and the others didn’t intentionally skip the wedding; listen to their explanation.” I shook as I raised my head, staring at Gwynne with a drained face. “Not intentional? After thirty years of marriage, all I wanted was one wedding. My husband chose to help you celebrate your birthday instead. What explanation is left?” My voice sounded painful. A brief amused spark showed in Gwynne’s eyes, and her nails pressed deep into my arm as she murmured, “See the dislike on their faces when they see you, don’t you realize that no one here welcomes you? You should have left long ago!” I suddenly pushed her aside, anger burning in my eyes. But Gwynne followed the strength of my push and fell down. Seeing this, Ezekiel quickly moved forward to hold her, yelling at me angrily. “Heather! What do you even want? It’s only a wedding. Before, you were the one who said it didn’t matter if we didn’t have one, and now you’re causing trouble about having another. Look at yourself, you’re already old and worn out. I didn’t skip it on purpose!” “If you want to let out your anger, let it out at me. Don’t touch Gwynne!” My older brother, Kian Windsleigh, ran over, roughly pushing me aside, and said angrily, “It’s exactly because we knew you would surely make a big scene that we didn’t tell you. And yet you still followed us all the way here.” My second brother, Milo Windsleigh’s face was filled with hatred. “Heather, ever since you were found and brought back, you’ve been going after Gwynne, even making her leave the family. And now you showed up at her birthday party to cause problems. Ezekiel, can you watch her? Don’t let her come out and behave like this!” Everyone there started yelling at me. Not one person felt sorry for lying to me or for leaving me alone at the wedding place. All they had for me was disgust and blame for pushing Gwynne. I was shoved to the ground, stunned, with helplessness washing over me. These were the family members I had spent thirty years with, yet not one of them stood by me. I suddenly remembered something and lifted my head to look at my son. “Jaxon, Mom only wanted a wedding. And just now, she whispered mean things in my ear…” Before I could finish, my son cut me off with an unpleasant look. “That’s enough! Aunt Gwynne would never do something like that. Mom, you’re already older. Is that wedding really worth all this?” “Why did you have to make a scene on such an important day? I really regret being your son, you’ve made me feel ashamed for so long!” When I heard this, my chest throbbed with pain. I stared at my son, unable to believe it, my lips shaking a lot. But he still felt that wasn’t enough; he held my arm and tried to yank me toward the door. As he pulled me out, he said in complete disgust, “Go home now. I don’t want to look at you anymore!” I fought with all my strength, trying to stand on my own. I wanted to tell them I could leave, and I could even end the marriage. What I hoped for wasn’t just a made-up wedding; I wanted the dignity I had missed for thirty years! But my son was far stronger than I. No matter how I struggled, he still pulled me toward the door like a dead dog. Right then, the cancer test paper in my pocket fell to the ground. The black letters on the white sheet, reading “Cancer Confirmed,” immediately drew everyone’s eyes.

I stopped for a second, just about to explain who the cancer report belonged to. From behind Ezekiel, Gwynne suddenly rushed forward and ripped the paper into pieces. “Older sister, I know you want to win back Ezekiel and Jaxon’s hearts, but making a fake cancer report is really going too far,” Gwynne said with a troubled look. Ezekiel, who had still been stunned, immediately looked disgusted when he heard what Gwynne said. “Heather, do you believe having cancer will make anything different? I’m telling you now, after seeing how jealous and mean you’ve been for so many years, my son and I will never forgive you!” He stared down at me as if he were above me. “Ever since I found out you pushed Gwynne out, there was nothing left between us. The only reason I didn’t get a divorce all this time was that I needed you to stay and care for my son.” “So many years have gone by, and you still go after Gwynne because you’re jealous. And now you even have cancer, an illness like this can’t be healed, you know that. To avoid pulling our son down with you, leave with nothing.” Ezekiel gently pushed all the blame onto me. By the end, his true nature showed completely, and only then did I finally see what kind of man the person beside me for thirty years really was. All of his reasons were only because he knew I had cancer and thought I was no longer useful, so he wanted to push me away! I let out a lonely, broken laugh. Next to me, Kian looked at me with even greater dislike. “Heather, cancer can’t be cured. If you honestly care about Jaxon, then separate from Ezekiel. Don’t pull the entire family down with you.” Milo laughed mockingly. “I saw from her younger days that Heather was never someone who followed the rules, or she wouldn’t have taken Gwynne’s marriage to begin with. Now she’s sick, and she must be planning to make Jaxon pay for everything. She doesn’t care about her own family at all; she’s completely selfish!” When I saw the disgust in their eyes, my blood seemed to rush backward. My mouth moved, but no words were able to come out. I understood that my older brothers looked down on me because of Gwynne. But I always thought that after thirty years of treating them with everything I had, I should have gotten at least a little honesty from them. Ezekiel and my son were still my husband and my nearest family. When I noticed my son hadn’t spoken yet, I couldn’t stop myself from looking at him with hope. My son looked away from me and murmured, “Mom, you should have divorced Dad years ago. Dad always loved Aunt Gwynne. If you hadn’t taken her marriage back then, I would have been Aunt Gwynne’s kid.” As he talked, he even shot me an angry look, “And your illness can’t be cured anyway. You may as well walk away with nothing and help Dad and Aunt Gwynne be happy!” Gwynne dropped her head in a shy way, as though she was already seeing her wedding with Ezekiel. I looked at everything without feeling, my heart aching until it couldn’t feel anything anymore. A single cancer report showed me who they truly were. Maybe none of them had ever loved me at all, from the very beginning. Having fully lost hope, I looked at them calmly. “Alright, I agree to divorce.” Ezekiel ignored everything else I said. As soon as he heard my agreement, he excitedly pulled out a divorce contract he had already made beforehand. This slightly yellow divorce paper was something Ezekiel always kept with him. He had wanted to end our marriage for a long time. Seeing that I still wasn’t signing, Ezekiel urged me with worry. “Heather, you’re not planning to take back your words, right?” I curled my lips slightly and signed my name without stopping. “I won’t go back on it. As long as none of you regret it.” After all, the name written on that cancer report wasn’t mine. Ezekiel snorted, and after seeing my signature, he carefully tucked the divorce papers away. My son, noticing this, grabbed my arm with force and pushed me outward. “Since you’ve already signed everything, Mom, hurry up and leave. No one here wants you. We still need to celebrate Aunt Gwynne’s birthday. You can go home and clean up or do something like that.” Looking at his expression, acting as if I would still give everything just like before, I turned my head aside. The door closed hard behind me. Laughter sounded from inside, and my brothers said happily, “Since Ezekiel and Heather are divorced now, we can really set up a real wedding for Gwynne. I know everyone has been waiting for so long. We need to celebrate it properly!” “But let’s still hold on until the divorce paper comes through. I don’t think Heather will drop this so easily. I know her better than anyone; she sticks like thick glue. The fact that she signed today is already unbelievable. Once she reaches home, she will surely keep holding on.” Ezekiel said arrogantly, “After all, we lived as a married couple for so many years. I won’t be too ruthless. She really is good at looking after others. Just let her stay at home as a house servant. I’ll give her a little money every month, consider it paying for her pain medicine.” Hearing these words, Gwynne began softly praising him. I felt nothing but strong disgust. I didn’t listen any longer and walked back toward the villa.

Inside the villa, I gathered up everything that belonged to me, which was only a small bundle. Ezekiel had never given me many items, only a few, and I tossed every one of them into the trash. Right as I prepared to leave, my son’s girlfriend, Eulalie Collins suddenly messaged me. [Aunt, remember to come to my wedding with Jaxon tomorrow. I heard from Jaxon that your family is very rich, so I believe the gift you bring me tomorrow won’t let me down.] After seeing this message, I froze completely. Jaxon’s getting married tomorrow? My son was getting married tomorrow, and I only learned it today. Thinking about it, I opened Gwynne’s Instagram story, and there I saw an invitation in my son’s handwriting, just as I expected.* So he had no intention of telling me from the beginning! As I thought of this, my eyes grew hot, and it felt like part of my heart had been roughly torn away. Unable to help myself, I searched the closet and took out a wedding dress, quietly looking at it for a long time. This wedding dress wasn’t very beautiful, slightly yellow in color, with outdated sewing and patterns. But it was the most treasured gift I had ever gotten. This was the wedding dress my mother sewed for me herself. She thought I would wear it at the wedding thirty years ago and then enjoy a lifetime of happiness. Unfortunately, that wedding never came true. My hands shook uncontrollably. Everything I discovered today had already gone far past what I could bear. The betrayal from my closest family, the coldness from my own child, my husband’s disgust, everything pressed on me with unbearable pain. Right when I was about to put the wedding dress back, a hand suddenly appeared next to me. She grabbed the dress in an instant, staring at me with a mocking expression. “Heather,” she dragged out her tone, “this wedding dress is outdated. Want me to help you change it? Even though you probably won’t ever get to wear it, hahahaha.” She burst into a sharp laugh. “Give it back to me!” My anger rose, and I grabbed the bottom of the wedding dress, trying hard to pull it back. But Gwynne refused to release it. During the struggle, she somehow pulled out a pair of scissors and, with just a few quick moves, completely chopped my wedding dress apart. “No!” Looking at the broken pieces scattered on the floor, tears streamed down my cheeks like rain. I knelt down, trying to gather and fit them back together. But Gwynne smiled proudly beside me. “Heather, you should be thankful to me. You wouldn’t be able to use it anyway. This wedding dress is nothing but trash to you. I helped you throw out the garbage. I did you a big favor.” Seeing me worryingly gathering the torn pieces on the floor, she cruelly stepped on my hand, the sharp heel of her high heels stabbing straight into the back of my hand. I screamed from the pain and struggled, causing Gwynne to lose her footing and fall backward. “Heather! What are you doing?!” Ezekiel showed up at the doorway, shouting in worry. He kicked me aside and gently helped Gwynne stand up. “Ezekiel, don’t blame Heather. I just didn’t stand steady. I only wanted to help my sister pick up the wedding dress. I didn’t mean to ruin it,” Gwynne cried to Ezekiel at once. With only a few words, she placed all the blame on me. Ezekiel’s gaze turned cold as ice. “Heather, you really are heartless!” he shouted. “Gwynne was only being nice, and you knocked her over. No wonder you ended up with cancer!” I was kicked straight into the corner of the wall, and the old wound I got from saving Ezekiel years ago suddenly hurt again, making cold sweat break out from the pain. Seeing that I didn’t answer, Ezekiel stepped forward once more and kicked the old wound again. He even dug his heel into it harshly. “What are you pretending about? Still trying to use that old help from years ago to make me soft toward you?” “I’ve endured you for all these years. If you hadn’t gone after Gwynne, maybe I would’ve allowed you to stay. But now, someone as harsh as you should get out of my home sooner!” After speaking, he took the divorce certificate from his pocket and threw it onto my face, as though expecting me to kneel and ask for forgiveness. I gripped the divorce certificate firmly, not saying a single word. Seeing this, Ezekiel said coldly, “You have no right to stay here anymore. Leave tomorrow!” After he finished talking, he lifted Gwynne up and turned around to leave. I sat on the floor, the old injury from saving Ezekiel still aching deeply. Thirty years had passed, long enough for Ezekiel to forget that this villa did not belong to him. It belonged to me. But very soon, he would realize that I was the only person who had the right to send them away, not them pushing me out.

The next day, I put on a neat dress, getting ready to leave this place. The real estate agency had already given me a clear answer. In three more days, this villa would be completely handed over to someone else. I took hold of my suitcase, raised my head, and prepared to leave. But my son’s girlfriend, Eulalie, suddenly showed up, looking at me with clear displeasure. “Aunt, the wedding is about to begin. Why are you still here? Is the gift ready? I’m going to open it right there later.” While she talked, she ignored my struggles and dragged me straight to the wedding area. When I saw the seat arranged for me at the wedding site, and Eulalie’s expression that allowed no refusal, I fought against it again and again, but in the end, I still remained. After today, I would never see Jaxon again. A mother not missing her child’s wedding might have been the last gift I could give him. With this thought, I began searching for a wedding gift I could hand to them. Just then, a pair of hands suddenly pulled me up. “What are you doing here?” I jolted, and when I looked up, it was my son’s angry face. He dragged me away from the seat and shouted, “This seat wasn’t set aside for you! How can you sit wherever you like? Why are you here? I don’t remember inviting you to my wedding!” “I…” My voice quivered as I pointed at the card on the table that read “Mother.” “Isn’t this seat for me? Am I not your mother?” My son released a cold, sharp laugh. “You already divorced my dad. This seat is for Aunt Gwynne. My mother now is, of course, Aunt Gwynne!” I felt my whole body freeze. “I took care of you for more than twenty years,” I said in a soft, strained voice. “But you divorced my dad,” he said again, as if the moment I ended things with Ezekiel, I lost the right to call myself his mother. “I was the one who raised you, I was the one who gave birth to you!” I yelled without thinking, my body shaking all over. My son stared at me like I was acting out for no reason. Then I heard footsteps behind him as Ezekiel came closer with Gwynne holding a bunch of gifts. “Heather? What are you doing here?” Ezekiel frowned. “Forget it. Since she’s here, son, give her a seat. That spot over there is fine.” Ezekiel motioned toward a corner chair like he was offering me a leftover place. Gwynne nodded as well, as though she thought this was some sort of big honor for me. “The wedding is starting soon,” she said gently, “older sister, don’t create trouble at a time like this.” When I looked at all of them, my heart went entirely cold. “No need,” I replied evenly. “I’m not so sad that I must attend a wedding where no one welcomes me.” After speaking, I pushed my numb legs forward and tried to leave. But Gwynne held onto me without stopping. She pulled at my clothes with force while frowning. “Heather, stop now. I’ll hand you my seat.” I tried with all the strength I had, but my power wasn’t equal to hers. In our struggle, the dress I wore made a loud tearing noise. The next moment, the dress ripped open fully, leaving me exposed in front of everyone. “Ah!” I screamed, covering myself. But Gwynne acted guilty and said, “Heather, I didn’t mean to.” Ezekiel and my son looked at me with disgust, and at that moment, my older brothers rushed over. “Enough! Heather, are you trying to ruin your son’s wedding completely? Get out right now!” Ezekiel seized my arm with clear dislike, as though seeing me would infect him, and he tossed me out. People around started pointing at me. Ezekiel and my son even slammed the wedding doors shut, just to make sure I could not enter again. It felt like my feet were on knives as I walked back to the villa, dazed.

Sunk in pain and shame, I did not pull myself together until the sky turned dark. Just as I was about to walk away, Gwynne once again stopped in front of me. Wearing a lazy smile, she looked at me with cold amusement. “Heather, you’re still as useless as ever.” “Thirty years ago, I left on purpose so I wouldn’t have to marry Ezekiel, and I didn’t expect the Beaumont family to rise again so fast, so I had to make up some excuses.” “I never thought they would accept it so easily. Even your son believes he came into this world for me. They all support me. If I were you, I would have died already.” Gripping the handle of my luggage, I stayed silent and tried to walk away. But Gwynne refused to move and stepped right toward me. “Heather, I really do admire how much you’ve put into Ezekiel and his son all these years. Now I don’t even need to give birth, and I still have a child who will honor me. Your husband treats me with endless gentleness. Since you have cancer and are nearing the end, I can tell you something true.” She gave me a pitying look and dragged out her voice. “At that time, when your oldest daughter had that car accident, I was the one who told Ezekiel not to save her. Since she couldn’t be raised to obey, no matter how well we treated her, she still only saw you as her mother, so I had Ezekiel switch her out.” Hearing this, my eyes went wide in shock, and tears pushed out all at once. Before I had my son, I had a little daughter who was three years old, and she loved me the most and clung to me every single day. But once, when Ezekiel took her out to play, an accident happened, and my daughter died right away. I had thought it was an accident, but it was all planned by Gwynne. Since she couldn’t take my daughter for herself, she simply worked with Ezekiel to get rid of her. “Ah!!!” I yelled loudly. The next moment, I threw myself at Gwynne and knocked her straight to the ground. I struck her face over and over, each one rough. In just a short time, Gwynne’s face puffed up. “Crazy woman, Heather, you insane woman!” Finally understanding what happened, Gwynne held her swollen face and yelled. She stared at me in wild anger and made a phone call. Very soon, I was surrounded by a group of people, held down harshly on the ground. Gwynne pushed herself up and kicked me hard. I suddenly threw up a mouthful of blood, but she was still not done, kicking my stomach again and again, her look twisted. She glared at me with hate. “Heather, you have cancer. I first wanted to let you go, but you dared to hit me! And you hit my face!” “I will never let this go! I will make you truly hurt, I will take everything from you, and I will make sure you die with no place to be buried!” The next moment, I was beaten until I passed out. ..... As soon as I woke again, Gwynne and I were tied close together, hanging far above a cliff. Two ropes separately held each one of us up. Gwynne coldly smiled. “Heather, guess how many of them, Ezekiel, Jaxon, and your brothers, will choose to help you?” Right after her words ended, they reached the place. The people she had called earlier suddenly acted like kidnappers and broke into loud laughs. “President Beaumont, the two hanging here, one is the mother of your son, and the other is your newly married wife. Who will you choose? Of course, your son should choose his own mother, right?” “I hope you make a choice fast, or I’ll cut both ropes.”

Right after he spoke, he picked up the pointed blade and ran it across the two ropes. Gwynne and I at once started to swing. Staring at the deep valley below, my face went very pale. “Gwynne, you really are out of your mind! Aren’t you scared you might really fall?” Gwynne let out a cold, small laugh. “They choose me.” Down below, when Ezekiel and the others noticed the ropes moving, their faces all showed fear. With wet eyes, Gwynne looked toward them and acted as she spoke in a soft, sad way, “Ezekiel, brothers, don’t help me, I'll be okay. Older sister only had me tied up because she wanted to see how much she mattered in your hearts. I'm okay. Pick older sister.” With only that line, Gwynne pushed all blame for the kidnapping onto me. She purposely turned her puffed face toward Ezekiel and the others, hinting that she was the one hurt. Ezekiel at once felt a deep ache in his heart that showed on his face. My son and my brothers also stared at me with hurt in their eyes. The kidnapper acted like he had been caught and hit Gwynne hard, yelling, “What nonsense are you saying?! I have nothing linked to Mrs. Windsleigh! You should make your pick fast, or I'll cut the ropes!” Ezekiel looked at me with let-down eyes. “Heather, I never expected you to do a thing like this. I do not pick you. You can get down by yourself.” “Ezekiel, Gwynne is the true one at fault. She paid the kidnappers. The reason I hit her was that she told me that before...” I tried to speak. But before I could finish, Ezekiel cut me off right away. “Stop! You say you hit Gwynne, right? I pick Gwynne. For Heather, do whatever you want with her. I will not give a single cent.” He spoke this to the kidnapper, his face showing a cold lack of care. “If Heather dies, then let her death be the cost for what she did!” My son and my brothers stared at me with even more anger. “If you want to die, then die by yourself. Why drag Aunt Gwynne with you? Anyway, if you have cancer, you will not live long. You'd better die early and reincarnate early.” I stared at my son in shock, not thinking he would say something so harsh. Seeing his pulled-tight face, old moments rushed back to me. How he rested in my arms when he was small, how he turned red with joy while cheering for my birthday. Each memory broke apart, replaced by the person standing in front of me now. My brothers stared at Gwynne’s wounds with deep hurt, anger showing in their eyes. “Heather, from the day you were found and brought home, you began fighting with Gwynne. She already left the Windsleigh family and gave Ezekiel to you. You still were not happy. Even when dying, you want to take her down with you!” I stood and heard all their blame, and something in my heart stopped for good. When he saw how I looked, Ezekiel paused for a short moment, as if he wanted to step closer. Right then, the kidnapper cut the rope holding Gwynne and let her down. Gwynne fell to the ground, crying in a helpless way, her cared-for face looking soft and sad. Ezekiel could think of nothing else at that moment. They all ran to gather around Gwynne, completely ignoring whether I lived or died. The kidnapper looked at me and smiled mockingly. Right at the right time, Gwynne passed out. They grew scared and quickly carried her to the hospital, and not one person turned back to me. Only I stayed hanging above the cliff. The sky turned dimmer, and the mountain wind turned stronger, making the rope swing hard. All I could do was watch the rope slowly wear against the cliff, knowing it would not last long. Just as I got ready to shut my eyes and accept dying, a pair of strong hands pulled me upward. A known voice spoke close to my ear, “Heather, I’m sorry, I'm late.” Hearing this, I finally couldn’t stop my tears. After I got saved, I didn’t pick to go to the hospital first, but walked back toward the villa. Before leaving, I needed to give Ezekiel and the others three big gifts. The first gift, I set the cancer report on the coffee table in the villa, making sure they would see it as soon as they came back. The second gift, I put it in Ezekiel’s study, the note saying the house would be sold, telling them to move out in one week. The third gift, I told the company to pull back its funds in one week, and at the same time, send Ezekiel the audio of the truth Gwynne told earlier. I wanted them to hurt, to fall into hell! After I finished all of it, I grabbed my suitcase and left the villa, not turning around even once.