Part 1They Thought I Was Alone

My ex-husband Johnson, who I'd been divorced from for five years, sent me a message saying our child missed me and wouldn't stop crying.

In a moment of weakness, I bought a plane ticket and came back. The moment I walked through the door, I found Johnson holding his wife, grinning smugly.

"Marta knows I have an ex-wife. She got jealous and insisted I call you back here to punish you."

Johnson knew full well I was allergic to seafood, yet he had someone place a basin of shrimp in front of me and told me to peel all of it.

My son, whom I hadn't seen in five years, chimed in,

"You may have given birth to me, but Marta is my mom. You're nothing but a nanny."

What the hell were these idiots thinking?

Couldn't they see I was already married?

Seeing me standing there motionless, Marta slammed her knife and fork heavily onto the table.

"Why isn't she moving? Didn't you say your ex-wife was obedient? That she wouldn't dare go west if you told her to go east?"

"Don't be angry, Marta. She's just slow to react, hasn't processed it yet."

Johnson said softly before turning to me.

"Peel the shrimp."

Just like he'd ordered me around five years ago.

The child beside him—my son, whom I'd carried for ten months and struggled to bring into this world—stood on his chair and spoke to me in the same commanding tone as his father.

"Didn't you hear my mom wants to eat shrimp? Hurry up and peel them!"

I couldn't help but find it laughable.

"I never should have come back to see you people. You disgust me so much I want to throw up."

After saying that, I took out my phone to make a call, but a bodyguard nearby snatched it away and threw it on the floor.

In an instant, my phone shattered into pieces.

"What are you doing?!"

I frowned, stunned by this operation.

"Marta said you're staying here for three days to be properly punished until she calms down. Don't contact the outside world for these three days. We'll send you away when the time comes."

Johnson's voice was calm as he placed a peeled shrimp into Marta's mouth.

When it came to matters concerning me, he never asked for my consent—not five years ago, and not now.

"I'm already married, Johnson."

I looked at him, raising my hand to show them the ring on my ring finger.

Under the lights, it sparkled brilliantly—a diamond the size of a pigeon's egg, glittering endlessly.

Johnson stared at my face for a moment, then sneered.

"Don't try to fool me with such a clumsy lie. Everyone knows you're damaged goods that I, Johnson, threw away. Who would want you?"

Marta laughed too.

"Listen, stop trying to fool people with a fake ring, okay? There's only one pink diamond ring this big that I know of, and it was bought by some mysterious tycoon. Are you telling me that mysterious tycoon is you?"

"Not me. My husband."

Marta laughed even louder, pointing at my nose.

"You? Someone would want you? A second marriage? Please, do you even think before you speak? Besides, that mysterious tycoon isn't even in Minnesota."

"Come peel the shrimp. Don't make me say it twice."

Johnson grabbed my wrist and pressed me down into the chair in front of the dining table.

"What if I don't peel them?"

"If you don't make Marta happy, I'll dig up your mother's grave and scatter her ashes."

Johnson looked into my eyes, as if trying to see into my heart.

We hadn't seen each other in five years, yet in those contemptuous eyes, I surprisingly saw a trace of longing.

That longing was as disgusting as he was.

"You're forcing me."

"As a daughter, you didn't fulfill your filial duties while she was alive. Do you want to disturb her peace in death too?"

Johnson asked me, pointing at the basin of shrimp in front of me.

"Peel."