Chapter 4

Walking out of the mall, I saw the three of them waiting for a car.

When they spotted me, Ryan and Lester immediately moved to shield Maria behind them.

I ignored them and walked to the curb to hail a taxi.

"Marta, Ryan called a driver. Why don't we all ride together?" Maria invited with a smile.

"No need."

"Don't be so polite..." Maria pretended to pull me along, but leaned close to my ear and whispered:

"Did you know? Your children have been calling me Mom for a while now."

"You're such a failure. Can't keep your husband, and your children don't even want you. If I were you, I'd be too ashamed to live."

I looked at that young, delicate face and couldn't help but raise my hand.

Back then, I pitied her poor family situation. I often invited her to eat at our house and privately gave her money. I never imagined she'd repay kindness with betrayal.

Now she was even flaunting it in my face.

Before my hand could fall, Ryan grabbed it viciously, his grip nearly crushing my bones.

"You crazy woman, I knew you had bad intentions!"

"Ryan, do you know what she just said to me?"

I straightened my back and looked him in the eyes.

"She said you've both been calling her Mom, and she called me a failure!"

My son froze, his expression flickering with complexity. After a long moment, he said coldly:

"Was she wrong?"

I looked at him in disbelief.

"Maria isn't just young and beautiful—she's a PhD. You're nothing but a maid who can only wash clothes and cook. You're not worthy of being our mother!"

Even though I'd completely lost hope in them, when Ryan spoke his true feelings so plainly, my heart still felt like it had been punched.

Just then, an out-of-control truck came swaying toward us.

In that critical moment, maternal instinct kicked in. I reflexively tried to push Ryan out of the way.

But the siblings rushed toward Maria instead, even pushing me hard into the road because they thought I was in the way.

The moment I hit the ground, I heard panicked voices:

"Mom—"

As my consciousness faded, past memories gradually surfaced in my mind.

Shortly after giving birth, my husband moved to the study under the pretext of needing to prepare lectures.

Back then, he was just an ordinary lecturer.

To become an associate professor as quickly as possible, he'd lock himself in the study the moment he got home, barely coming out except to eat and use the bathroom.

My mother-in-law Rose had poor health and couldn't help, so I had to quit my rising career and raise our two children alone.

Ryan was mischievous as a child. He got into a fight and nearly blinded another student.

To beg for mercy on his behalf, I knelt before the injured student's parents and kowtowed in apology.

As a mother myself, I understood their anger.

So when they came at me to beat me, I just knelt there and let them vent.

I broke three ribs that way, one nearly piercing my internal organs.

But it kept them from pressing charges against Ryan, saving his academic future.

Lester had congenital kidney dysfunction. When she was twelve, the doctor suggested a transplant.

When Marcus heard, he turned and left, saying it wasn't worth it for a girl.

Without hesitation, I donated my own kidney to her.

When they were young, both children were very dependent on me.

But at some point, their hearts gradually shifted toward Marcus and his successful career.

Though it hurt, I never blamed them.

Until one day, I accidentally overheard them talking with Marcus.

"Dad, you've worked so hard, putting up with that freeloader Mom all these years. If it were me, I couldn't have stood it."

"Dad, you deserve better. If you want a divorce, Ryan and I will fully support you."

"I wouldn't recommend divorce though. Without her, who would take care of Dad so wholeheartedly? Besides, maids aren't cheap these days..."

At that moment, my hands and feet went cold, a chill rising from the depths of my heart.

So to them, after raising them with such sacrifice, willing to give up everything for them—I was nothing but a free maid.