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Leon stared at me. Zayn also lifted his chin proudly and said, “Bad woman, if you divorce my daddy, I won’t let you be my mommy anymore!”
Leon seemed confident that I wouldn’t want a divorce because of
Zayn, considering I was an orphan.
Sure enough, Leon said with a hint of pity, “Danna, you know how difficult life is for children without parents. Could you really bear to let Zayn end up like you, without a happy family?”
I pointed at Ariel. “Isn’t there someone right here who’s eager to be his mother?”
Leon froze for a moment, panic flashing in his eyes, before
raising his voice. “This is between us. Why do you keep bringing Ariel into this? Are you jealous?”
I found it amusing. Leon could always easily pin some ridiculous
accusation on me.
“Think whatever you want,” I said, then returned to my room, grabbed some money, and left.
Leon had reminded me that if I wanted to be an interpreter, I needed to buy some proper clothes.
After purchasing fabric, I found my neighbor Nicole and asked
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her to make me some clothes. Nicole was an excellent
seamstress.
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She said, “Danna, I just overheard your argument. Are you really divorcing your husband? He’s a military man, handsome, with a good salary. Are you really willing to leave him?”
I nodded. He didn’t love me, so no matter how excellent he was, it meant nothing to me.
Nicole saw my determination. She looked around and whispered in my car, “But I suspect your husband won’t divorce you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“I heard your husband’s superior hates men who cheat on their wives. So if your husband files for divorce, his career would be over.”
I immediately felt worried.
With complicated thoughts, I returned home. Just as I was about to enter, I heard Ariel crying inside.
“Leon, why won’t Danna give me the job? I’m not trying to steal it from her. I just thought since Zayn is still young, wouldn’t it be more important for her to stay home and take care of him? I’d be willing to give her ten dollars a month from my salary.”
The door was slightly ajar. I saw Leon holding Ariel in his arms,
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tenderly wiping away her tears.
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Leon said, “Ariel, trust me. She will have to give you this job, and you won’t need to pay her anything.”
Then, he handed a packet of powder to Zayn. “Zayn, mix this in water and have your mother drink it.”
Zayn asked curiously, “Daddy, what is this?”
Leon displayed a warm smile, but I found it terrifying.
“This is medicine to make your mother quiet.”
Zayn clapped his little hands, laughing happily. “Great! Mom has become so annoying lately. I don’t want to hear her say those nasty things!”
Zayn couldn’t wait to make me take the powder right away, to silence me forever.
Ariel looked hesitantly at Leon and said, “Leon, isn’t this a bit harsh?”
Leon patted her head. “Only the mute can’t be interpreters. Don’t worry, as long as she behaves herself and takes good care of Zayn from now on, I’ll give her enough to eat. I won’t let her
starve.”
Ariel was deeply moved. “Leon, you’re so kind!”
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Watching their intimate interaction, I felt nothing but disgust.
In my previous life, they treated me like a servant, making me willingly serve as the Christmas family housewife for decades.
In this life, just because I refused to give up my job to Ariel, they forcibly tried to poison me mute, and even thought keeping me as their diligent servant was some kind of reward?
Did I owe these three something in my past life?
I felt sad but looked up, forcing myself to hold back tears.
After quietly leaving the courtyard, I ran to my supervisor Mark Campos’s office.
I asked, “Mr. Campos, if I remember correctly, don’t we still have an overseas assignment position available?”
Mark quickly pulled out a chair and poured me a cup of coffee. “Please, sit down. Weren’t you unwilling to go abroad because of your husband and child?”
I shook my head. “That’s in the past now. To serve my country, I need to sacrifice my family life. Besides, they don’t need me to take care of them anymore, so I want to divorce Leon. That way I can fully devote myself to my work.”
Cold sweat appeared on Mark’s forehead. “Ms. Garner, I’m glad
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you think this way, but if you divorce because of this, it would be my fault. I can’t break up your family.”
I took a sip of coffee and told him about Leon and Ariel’s affair.
Mark looked at me sympathetically. After a long pause, he sighed, “Ms. Garner, I’ll apply to the higher–ups for your divorce. You don’t need to discuss it with Leon. There’s a team heading overseas soon―you can leave with them in two days.”
I bowed deeply. “Mr. Campos, thank you.”
Mark patted my shoulder. “Ms. Garner, you’re the most linguistically gifted person I’ve ever met. You’re truly a genius. Work hard and serve your country well.”
I nodded. “Yes, I will.”
After resolving the divorce matter, I let out a huge sigh of relief.
When I returned home, Zayn ran toward me enthusiastically. “Mom, I got an A on my test today.”
I noticed the obvious signs that the “A” on the test paper had been altered, but I smiled without showing any reaction.
Leon and Ariel were sitting in the living room, appearing normal, but i could sense something was off.
They glanced in my direction, seemingly anticipating something.
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I smiled, bent down, and stroked Zayn’s head. “Well done. What reward would you like?”
Zayn smiled somewhat triumphantly, then ran to the table to fetch a glass of water and brought it to me. “Mom, I don’t want any reward. Our teacher taught us to be considerate. Mom, you must be tired, have some water?”
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