- 9 hours ago
- #asm
Congratulations, It's A Girl... And A Mistress (33eps) - Short Drama Full HD 720p #ASM
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Short filmTranscript
00:01Daniel, the daughter you hid from me is right here in my arms.
00:09I hadn't seen my husband in person for almost a year.
00:12Right up until the afternoon, I ran into one of his co-workers at the mall.
00:16Hi.
00:21Congratulations, Mrs. Hayes.
00:23Baby number two, and a girl this time.
00:27I froze.
00:28She didn't notice my expression and kept talking.
00:31I'm definitely coming to the Sip and See this weekend.
00:36As she spoke, she waved a gold-foiled invitation in her hand.
00:41They really went all out on this.
00:43It's gorgeous.
00:44I forced a smile, took the invitation, and looked down before she could see anything in my face.
00:50Under father, I saw my husband's name, Daniel Hayes.
00:54Under mother, it said, Olivia Carter.
00:58I had never heard of this woman.
01:00I quietly memorized the hotel address.
01:04I'll see you there this weekend.
01:13That weekend, I went to the hotel listed on the invitation.
01:19The place was lively and crowded.
01:22At the entrance stood a beautiful woman, greeting guests with a newborn baby girl in her arms.
01:38I looked at the baby in her arms.
01:44She was pale and delicate, and in her features I could already see traces of Daniel.
01:49I kept my face blank and asked,
01:53Where's Daniel Hayes?
01:54What I did see were a few familiar faces from Daniel's side of the family.
01:59I had only met his relatives once before, at our wedding seven years ago.
02:04But I had a good memory.
02:05I remembered the older ones with the more distinctive faces.
02:08I hadn't expected Daniel to be bold enough to acknowledge another child this openly in front of family.
02:15He went to pick up my in-laws.
02:16He'll be back soon.
02:22Two days earlier, my in-laws had told me they'd signed up for a senior bus tour.
02:26They said they'd be gone for half a month.
02:29I worried they wouldn't have enough spending money,
02:31so I'd even sent my mother-in-law $8,000 for the trip.
02:35Their health had been bad for years.
02:37They were always on medication, always in and out of doctor's offices.
02:42They had never really traveled before.
02:44They told me they wanted to get out and enjoy life a little, and I supported them.
02:49In front of me and behind my back, they always praised me,
02:53said I was kind, dependable, the kind of daughter-in-law any family would be lucky to have.
02:59All these years, I had treated them like my own parents.
03:02I never imagined they'd been lying to me, too.
03:06Just like Daniel.
03:07Olivia didn't notice the storm building in my face.
03:10She led me over to the section where Daniel's co-workers were sitting.
03:14The second we got close, a middle-aged man said to her,
03:17Daniel's a lucky guy.
03:19Look at you two.
03:21Olivia, you really made the right call.
03:23I was a little worried when you quit your job to stay home.
03:26It's been over six years.
03:28You two still look so happy together.
03:30And now you've got this little girl.
03:32I'm truly happy for you both.
03:34That was when I realized my marriage to Daniel had lasted seven years.
03:39And he had been cheating on me with Olivia for more than six of them.
03:44The cruelest part was that I hadn't known a thing.
03:47A year earlier, he said the out-of-town assignment would increase his monthly salary by $5,000.
03:53We had to think about our son's future.
03:56College, marriage, bride price, and a house.
04:00They all cost money.
04:01He told me he wanted to earn more, save more, and build something solid for our son.
04:07After thinking it through carefully, I agreed to let him take the assignment in a city a thousand miles away.
04:13Now I understood what I had missed.
04:16He had not been sacrificing for us.
04:18He had been building another life in plain sight, and I had never really seen him at all.
04:25Daniel's doing really well for himself.
04:27He's top salesperson every year, isn't he?
04:29The commissions alone must be crazy.
04:31I still remember that beautiful wedding celebration you two had.
04:34Six years later, and you've got a baby.
04:37We're all pretty lucky.
04:40He makes great money, treats his wife right.
04:42You really don't see men like that much anymore.
04:44That was when I realized the number he'd given me had only ever been his base salary.
04:49And his commissions?
04:50Those had been funding the other household.
04:53When Daniel married me, we had a simple reception back in his tiny hometown.
04:58He hadn't invited a single co-worker.
05:02I stood there in the middle of the crowd, listening quietly to all the parts of my husband's life I
05:08had never been allowed to know.
05:09Olivia, seriously, teach me your ways.
05:13How do you get Daniel to listen to you like that?
05:15He treats you so well.
05:18Daniel's just a good man.
05:19I'm the luckiest one.
05:21Then she laughed a little.
05:22Couples need to understand each other.
05:24But if you're worried about him straying, just keep a tight grip on the money.
05:29Marriage is then methled.
05:30Daniel gives his entire paycheck to me, only keeping 1k dollars for his cigarettes.
05:36How his bonus always turns into jewelry.
05:38Like they say, a man's heart is wherever his money is.
05:42That hit harder than I expected.
05:44His bonuses bought Olivia necklaces?
05:47Then what had he bought me?
05:49Nausea rose so fast I nearly choked on it.
05:52They kept chatting, laughing, tossing comments back and forth.
05:55And no one noticed I was standing there like a block of ice.
05:59Silent.
06:00Stiff.
06:01Completely out of place.
06:03Then Olivia's phone rang.
06:07Um...
06:07Daniel.
06:10Can you hold her for a second?
06:12More than once that day, I had come within seconds of falling apart.
06:16But with this tiny, soft little thing in my arms, I forced it all back down.
06:22She looked up at me with huge, shiny eyes.
06:25She didn't cry.
06:26Didn't fuss.
06:28Okay.
06:28Dear, you just had the baby.
06:30Take it easy.
06:31I've got mom and dad with me.
06:33Traffic's awful, but we're almost there.
06:34Don't stress.
06:35I'm okay.
06:36Drive safe and don't rush on my account.
06:38I had always thought Daniel cared about me deeply.
06:41He called every day.
06:43He texted every day.
06:44The calls were short, usually under a minute.
06:47But I had never doubted him.
06:49Work, home, our son.
06:51Every small thing in my life filled up every corner of my time.
06:55His job was demanding too.
06:57That was what I told myself.
06:59That was why his calls were always so short.
07:02I never imagined he was saving the real details of his day for another woman.
07:07I carried the baby to an empty seat and sat down.
07:11That was when I noticed the bracelet on her wrist.
07:15I recognized it instantly.
07:17Seven years earlier, when I found out I was carrying twins, a boy and a girl, my mother
07:23had a jeweler make a matching keepsake bracelet set for the babies.
07:27She even took them to the little chapel she loved and had them blessed before the babies
07:32were born.
07:33But we never got that one.
07:35Something went wrong during delivery.
07:38Only my son made it.
07:41The girl did not survive.
07:43The loss nearly broke me, and the complications left me unable to have another child.
07:49My son's bracelet had been packed away with his baby keepsakes years ago.
07:54The one meant for my daughter was different.
07:57I kept that one locked in the safe at home.
08:00Whenever I missed the baby girl I never got to bring home, I would take it out, hold it
08:05in my palm, and cry until I couldn't breathe.
08:09Joy.
08:10That was the name I had chosen for our unborn daughter, after months of flipping through
08:15baby name books.
08:17My daughter's name is Joy.
08:19Daniel picked it, and he had it made just for her.
08:24He takes good care of you.
08:26You must be pretty new at the company, right?
08:29I used to know everyone there.
08:30Now half these people look new to me.
08:33Yeah.
08:34The company's great.
08:35He used to travel all the time.
08:37It's only recently that he's been home more.
08:39Before that, he was gone all the time.
08:41Some months, we barely saw each other.
08:44I'm just glad we made it through that stretch.
08:48Yeah.
08:49I bet.
08:50Before that one-year regional assignment, Daniel had spent at least half of every month traveling
08:57for work.
08:58I used to feel bad for him.
08:59I thought he was worn out from bouncing between cities, so I handled everything at home without
09:05bothering him.
09:05bills, our son Noah, his parents.
09:09And the little bear said,
09:10I love you to the moon and back.
09:35I never asked him to step in.
09:38Maybe it's because I have a child, too.
09:40I've had practice.
09:43She smiled and slipped back into the crowd without a second thought.
09:46Would you mind holding her a little longer?
09:48I still need to make the rounds.
09:59I looked up then and saw the large welcome sign displayed across the room.
10:03It read,
10:05Welcome to the baby celebration for Joy Hayes, Daniel Hayes, and Olivia Carter.
10:11My arms went stiff around the baby, and I had to force myself to loosen them.
10:16My son never had a baby celebration.
10:20Back then, all of us were drowning in the grief of losing the other baby.
10:25Daniel had been the one who said we shouldn't do it, said he was too heartbroken over losing
10:30our daughter.
10:31And now?
10:33Now that he had a daughter, he could throw a joyful party for her.
10:37I was the only one who still remembered the little girl I never got to bring home.
10:43Then, out of nowhere, my mother-in-law called.
10:47Grace, I texted you.
10:49Didn't you see it?
10:50No.
10:51Where are you?
10:52I can't hear a thing.
10:53I already sent you what I need.
10:54Go check your phone and text me back.
10:56Don't make me ask twice.
10:58I opened my phone and saw the message she had sent 20 minutes earlier.
11:03Grace, your cousin just had her baby.
11:05The family is splitting the cost of the nursery furniture.
11:08I'm short on my share.
11:10Send me $20,000 today.
11:13We're not going to look bad over this.
11:15For years, his whole family had played me for a fool.
11:19And now Margaret wanted me to help pay for a gift for the child Daniel had built with someone else?
11:26A laugh left me before I could stop it.
11:29I didn't reply.
11:30A second message came in right away.
11:34Send it now.
11:35We are not going to look cheap over this.
11:38Don't make me ask again.
11:40I still didn't answer.
11:42I wanted her to come say it to my face.
11:44A few minutes later, another text lit up my screen.
11:48I always thought you were the sensible one.
11:51Didn't expect this from you.
11:53Forget it.
11:54If you won't send it, I'll figure something out myself.
11:58Every word of it had been a joke.
12:01Baby, Mom picked up another gold bracelet for our little girl.
12:04She doesn't need another one.
12:06Joy already has so much jewelry.
12:08No, this one's different.
12:10It has a little lion charm.
12:11And Mom had it blessed.
12:13It's special, Liv.
12:14It's not just jewelry.
12:16Oh, that's so sweet of her.
12:18Tell her I said thank you.
12:21Oh, honey, that's just what grandmothers do.
12:24You gave this family such a beautiful little girl.
12:27We ought to be thanking you.
12:29We're almost there, so just keep things moving till we get in.
12:33Two days ago, before my son left for summer camp, my mother-in-law told him to take the
12:38gold bracelet off so he wouldn't lose it.
12:41Noah had handed it over without thinking anything of it.
12:44Now I knew exactly why.
12:47She'd been planning to give my son's blessed bracelet to Daniel's other daughter.
12:53As soon as the call ended, Olivia reached for the baby, then spotted another group of guests
12:58coming in across the room and turned to greet them instead, leaving Daniel's other daughter
13:03in my arms.
13:05They're not going to forget this day.
13:10A few minutes later, through the hum of the room, I heard Daniel's family arrive.
13:15I walked toward the stage with the baby still in my arms.
13:19Then I heard Daniel ask Olivia,
13:21Baby, where's our little girl?
13:23I picked up the microphone.
13:24The feedback shrieked, silencing the entire room.
13:31Daniel, the daughter you hid from me is right here in my arms.
13:38Daniel, the daughter you hid from me is right here in my arms.
13:44Then the room erupted.
13:47Whispers, gasps, chairs shifting, voices rising all at once.
13:51Daniel looked like all the blood had drained from his body, staring up at me from below the stage.
13:58My in-laws looked even worse.
14:00Olivia just stood there, stunned, like the sky had caved in over her.
14:05But instinct made her look to Daniel first.
14:08She hurried over to me, trying hard to stay calm, and asked softly,
14:13I'm sorry, who are you? I thought you were one of Daniel's co-workers.
14:18There has to be some mistake.
14:22Whatever this is, we can sort it out. Please give me my baby.
14:25My face must have frightened her.
14:27The look in my eyes definitely did.
14:30She reached for the baby carefully, cautiously, terrified I might lose control and hurt her child.
14:36I didn't give her back.
14:38I looked straight at her and said,
14:41I'm Daniel's wife. We've been married for seven years. We have a six-year-old son.
14:47Then I let the words sit between us.
14:49So tell me, do I look like I came here for no reason?
14:55Olivia's face drained white.
14:56She staggered back half a step, her knees almost giving out.
15:00Disbelief and terror hit her at once.
15:03That's not possible.
15:06Daniel, look at me.
15:08How long have you been lying to me?
15:11I had thrown the question at Daniel on purpose.
15:13And when I said wife, I made sure the word came out sharp enough to draw blood.
15:19The whole room stared at Daniel like he was standing under a spotlight.
15:23His face turned red all the way down his neck.
15:27And he just stood there, rooted to the floor.
15:30Guilty. Exposed. Useless.
15:33I thought Daniel was divorced.
15:35Wait. So he was never divorced at all?
15:38Then who's his actual wife? How does a man end up with two wives?
15:42I knew something felt off.
15:43That woman on stage hadn't said a word all night.
15:46I noticed her earlier.
15:48Voices kept breaking loose from the crowd.
15:51Then I turned and looked straight at my in-laws,
15:54who seemed like they wanted the floor to swallow them whole.
15:57I asked deliberately,
15:59Margaret. Robert.
16:01Why don't you tell them?
16:03Which one of us is your daughter-in-law?
16:09Olivia stared at them too.
16:11Then at Daniel.
16:13My in-laws lowered their heads.
16:15Neither of them answered.
16:16Daniel finally started toward the stage like someone had a knife at his throat.
16:21Step by step.
16:23Slow and painful.
16:24Olivia grabbed his arm, crying now, and demanded.
16:28Say something!
16:30What the hell is this?
16:32Then her voice cracked.
16:34Which one of us did you lie to first?
16:37Daniel tried to calm her, shame written all over his face.
16:41Please, just calm down.
16:43I'll explain everything.
16:44Just slowly.
16:45Olivia snapped back at once.
16:47You explain it now.
16:49She raised her left hand, the one with the wedding ring.
16:52She showed up.
16:53Then her voice shook.
16:55At our baby celebration in front of everyone.
16:59She showed up.
17:00At our baby celebration in front of everyone.
17:05You are going to answer this right here.
17:09Right here.
17:10Right now.
17:11Then her voice shook.
17:13She looked from me to him.
17:14I don't care whether I'm the other woman or she is.
17:18No.
17:19Forget that.
17:20You lied to both of us.
17:24I recognized the ring on her finger.
17:27It was the exact design I had fallen in love with when Daniel and I got married.
17:31But it was $18,000.
17:33And I told myself I couldn't justify it.
17:36So I'd settled for a plain gold band that cost $1.8,000.
17:41Back then, Daniel's eyes had turned red when he watched me put the expensive one back.
17:46He had taken my hand and promised that one day, when he could afford it, he'd buy me the real
17:52one.
17:53Turns out, he could afford it.
17:55He had just put it on another woman's hand.
17:58Daniel finally looked up at me.
18:00His eyes were full of everything at once.
18:02Guilt.
18:03Panic.
18:04Shame.
18:05Helplessness.
18:05His lips moved with effort.
18:08Then, so quietly, only the three of us could hear it.
18:11I'm sorry.
18:13Please.
18:15Not here.
18:16Can we go home and talk?
18:19I hated him so much, my teeth hurt.
18:22So I lifted the microphone and said, on purpose.
18:27What was that, Daniel?
18:32Did you say go home?
18:34Which one?
18:35Mine or hers?
18:38My voice boomed through the speakers for the whole room to hear.
18:42I stared at him.
18:44I tilted my head.
18:45He looked even more ashamed, like he couldn't bear to meet my eyes.
18:50Then he stepped forward and reached for the microphone in my hand.
18:57I stepped back and pulled my arm out of his reach.
19:00I didn't let him take the microphone.
19:03Answer me, Daniel.
19:05How many homes do you have?
19:06Who is your wife?
19:07What game are you playing?
19:09Olivia rushed forward, grabbed his arm, and all but shouted in his face.
19:14Say it!
19:17Daniel had nowhere left to hide.
19:20At last, he looked at me and said the truth.
19:22You're my wife.
19:24I'm sorry.
19:25I never should have cheated.
19:27The room erupted.
19:29She clutched his arm tighter and stared up at him, refusing to believe the fake marriage.
19:35Olivia broke down on the spot, sobbing as she hit him again.
19:39Then what am I?
19:40How could you do this to me?
19:47We had a ceremony.
19:48We signed papers.
19:50The ceremony was real.
19:52The marriage wasn't.
19:53Daniel lowered his head and forced the truth out about the fake marriage.
19:57Olivia's legs gave out.
19:59She collapsed to the floor, crying so hard the sound seemed to tear through the room.
20:06What do you mean it wasn't?
20:08You took my money, stood up there, and let me believe all of it was real.
20:18Now we have a daughter, and you're telling me none of it was real?
20:22Daniel Hayes, how could you do this to me?
20:26Daniel stood between us, trapped, guilty, and useless, unable to move toward either of us.
20:37He treated you better than he ever treated me.
20:40He made me think I knew what he earned.
20:42I didn't.
20:43What he told me was just his base.
20:46The commission money was going to you.
20:49The necklace he bought for you was real.
20:51The ones he gave me were fake.
20:54And that so-called one-year assignment?
20:56That was a lie, too.
20:58He was living with you the whole time, playing house in another city.
21:03I exposed the truth about his salary, commissions, fake jewelry, and the one-year assignment lie.
21:10I lifted her daughter's little hand and shook the bracelet at her wrist.
21:16Do you know where this bracelet came from?
21:22Seven years ago, I was pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl.
21:27My mother had a jeweler make a matching set for the babies.
21:31She had my daughter's name engraved on the back, and then she took both bracelets to a chapel to be
21:36blessed.
21:37I told her the truth about the twins, the blessed bracelets, and the name Joy I chose for my lost
21:44daughter.
21:45And the name your daughter is carrying?
21:51I chose it for the little girl I never got to hold.
21:55I never imagined he'd take something meant for my daughter and put it on yours.
22:01I looked at the bracelet again.
22:03My voice caught more than once.
22:05Even then, just thinking about the child I had lost, the pain still went straight through me.
22:12Then I turned and looked at my in-laws, standing in the middle of the crowd.
22:16And my wonderful mother-in-law?
22:19She was about to give this baby my son's bracelet.
22:24She took it from him herself, said she wanted to have it cleaned and the clasp checked.
22:29My mother-in-law stole my son's blessed bracelet to give to your baby!
22:33I exposed that my mother-in-law stole my son's blessed bracelet for the bastard daughter.
22:40The cold inside me spread inch by inch.
22:45Everything I had given that family over the last seven years.
22:49And this was how they had paid me back.
22:52In seven years, when did I ever fail this family?
22:55You kept saying you treated me like family.
22:56Is this what that looked like?
22:58Whenever one of you got sick, who showed up?
23:00Who took you to your appointments?
23:01Who sat with you in hospitals?
23:03So how did you treat me back?
23:05How did you treat your only grandson?
23:07It felt like a hand closing around my throat.
23:10Like they had taken half my life and crushed it.
23:14For seven years, I even hand-washed your underwear and socks.
23:18Ever since I married into this family, I've been the one holding everything together.
23:22Two days ago, you told me you were leaving on a trip and I sent you 8K dollars.
23:27I treated you like my own parents.
23:30I yelled out all I had done for the family and the 8K dollars I sent for the fake trip.
23:36Margaret looked like she wanted the floor to split open and swallow her whole.
23:40The guests around them didn't hold back.
23:42Their whispers cut harder than knives.
23:44So Daniel's trash and his parents helped cover for him?
23:48Like parents like son, that whole family's rotten.
23:52She gave them everything and they still played her like that?
23:55Makes me sick to even look at them.
23:57Daniel came toward me again.
23:58His eyes rimmed red, then pulled me into a hard, desperate embrace.
24:03He held me and cried.
24:05And all I could do was let out a thin, bitter laugh.
24:11Grace, I'm sorry.
24:12I was a coward.
24:13I did something unforgivable.
24:15You've been through enough because of me.
24:17I swear to God I'll spend the rest of my life making this right.
24:20Just give me one chance to fix this.
24:22Olivia watched him hold me and beg for forgiveness.
24:25And through her tears, a bitter laugh slipped out of her too.
24:29She pushed herself up off the floor, grabbed Daniel by the arm and yanked him away from me.
24:35Then she slapped him with everything she had.
24:38She nearly went down again.
24:40Her whole body was shaking and she swayed where she stood.
24:43Her makeup streaked with tears.
24:46I'm sorry, Olivia.
24:47You will meet someone better.
24:49Not a piece of trash like me.
24:51No!
24:52Say it right!
24:53Trash!
24:54What about me?
24:56What the hell are you going to say to me after what you did?
24:59A short, humorless laugh slipped out of me.
25:02So he knew exactly what he was.
25:05I murmured.
25:08Daniel barely looked at her.
25:09His eyes found mine again, already red.
25:12I looked down at the baby girl in my arms,
25:14who had started fussing in thin, hungry cries.
25:19Grace, can we please just go home?
25:22And what about her?
25:26What exactly were you planning to do with her?
25:28You always wanted a little girl.
25:31He answered without hesitation.
25:33If you're willing, we could raise her ourselves.
25:36The pain hit Olivia so hard, she could barely stay on her feet.
25:40By the time she stumbled in front of me, she was already on her knees.
25:44Her eyes, once bright and open, were now overflowing with tears.
25:49She was so panicked, she could barely get the words out.
25:52She held her hands out carefully, terrified of setting me off, terrified I might hurt her child.
25:59She was crying so hard, she could barely breathe.
26:02She was a victim too.
26:04I had never blamed her.
26:06And seeing her on her knees for her child, I felt it with the kind of clarity only a mother
26:12can.
26:14I reached for the bracelet on the baby's wrist.
26:17Olivia tensed instantly.
26:19She wanted to tell me to be careful, afraid I'd hurt the baby.
26:23But she was too scared to say it.
26:25As I spoke,
26:26I won't hurt her.
26:27I slipped the bracelet off the baby's wrist.
26:30The baby whimpered softly, probably hungry.
26:34Olivia looked wrecked.
26:36She's hungry, I need to feed her.
26:38Please, can I have her back?
26:40I need answers first.
26:42She nodded immediately, like she was ready to tell me anything she knew.
26:46Don't worry, I'm not taking your child.
26:49I already have my own.
26:50From the day you got together, including the wedding money, the ceremony, all of it,
26:56how much did Daniel give you?
26:57Looking me straight in the eye, she answered.
26:59He gave $180K for the bride price, and the jewelry alone was another $150K.
27:05After that, he was giving me somewhere between $30K and $50K a month,
27:10and every year he used his bonus to buy me bracelets.
27:13By now, it was probably around 2.3 million total.
27:20Plus another $300 or so in jewelry.
27:25I quit my job after we got married.
27:28Her voice cracked.
27:30I really didn't know he was already married.
27:34I know you'll probably go after every dollar he spent on me.
27:36Then she swallowed and finished quietly.
27:38So I'm not gonna lie to you.
27:43I was calmer now, so I asked her.
27:45If I asked for it back, would you return it?
27:48If I asked for it back, would you return it?
27:52Yes.
27:53Send me the account info, and I'll send it right now.
27:56She nodded without hesitation.
27:57I was genuinely surprised she agreed that fast.
28:00I pulled out my phone and showed her the account.
28:03Olivia didn't hesitate for even a second.
28:05She took out her phone and made the transfer on the spot.
28:08Less than a minute later, $2.6 million landed in my account.
28:13She looked at me and said, her voice shook.
28:17The money's yours, and you can have the man too.
28:21I just want my child.
28:23Please.
28:23Please.
28:25Can I have her back now?
28:27For the first time, I let myself see her clearly.
28:31She was just like me, broken by the same man.
28:36I walked over, helped her to her feet, and gently placed the baby in her arms.
28:41She held the baby tight, like she was still afraid someone might tear her away.
28:45Then finally, she let out one long, shaking breath.
28:50She's your daughter.
28:51No one's taking her from you.
28:54I'll take the money.
28:56Him?
28:57I don't want him.
28:58She froze for a second, stunned.
29:00Then I turned and walked straight out.
29:03Daniel didn't hesitate.
29:05He came after me immediately.
29:12When we got back to the house we had lived in for seven years, the family portrait was
29:16still hanging on the living room wall.
29:18I used to come home from work, look at that picture, and feel warm all over.
29:24Now I couldn't look at it without feeling sick.
29:28Daniel came toward me, reached for me, and tried to pull me into his arms while apologizing.
29:33It won't happen again.
29:34It was a mistake.
29:35Just this once.
29:36I shoved his arm off me on instinct.
29:38Don't touch me!
29:40I yelled so hard my head hurt and my throat burned.
29:43Ever since I found out he'd been living a double life for more than six years, I couldn't
29:48even look at him without feeling sick.
29:50He disgusted me.
29:52He felt filthy to me now, like something I wanted scrubbed out of my life.
29:57Daniel didn't dare touch me again.
29:59He just kept pleading.
30:01Grace, I'm sorry.
30:02I swear, I lost my head.
30:04I'll end it with her.
30:05We can still fix this.
30:06We can raise no one together.
30:07Then my in-laws came in.
30:09She sighed like she was the one carrying the burden.
30:13Grace, I know this hurt you, but what's done is done.
30:16That little girl is Daniel's daughter too.
30:18You can't stay stuck in this forever.
30:20Life goes on.
30:21Then Robert spoke, flat and cold.
30:24It's already public.
30:25There's no point making it worse.
30:27Move on and live your life.
30:28They said it so lightly, as if my refusal to forgive any of this was somehow the real problem.
30:33This marriage is over.
30:35Daniel Hayes, you are nothing but a fraud.
30:38His eyes reddened again, helpless and frantic.
30:42Then tell me what it would take for you to forgive me.
30:44Anything I can do, I'll do.
30:47Then go to hell.
30:49Go drop dead.
30:51Then go to hell.
30:53Go drop dead.
30:54The hatred in me surged up so fast I couldn't stop it.
30:59My voice shook, but I didn't look away.
31:02Daniel went still.
31:03In my eyes, he finally saw it clearly.
31:08Disgust.
31:09Hatred.
31:10And at last, he understood.
31:13I was never going to forgive him.
31:16I went back to the bedroom and locked the door behind me.
31:20Leaning against it, I looked up and saw the wedding photo on the wall.
31:24Daniel smiling behind me, his arms around me, like any of it had ever been real.
31:30I couldn't stand the sight of it for one more second.
31:33I climbed onto the bed with my shoes still on, yanked the frame off the wall, and grabbed
31:39a pair of scissors.
31:40I stabbed hole after hole straight through Daniel's smiling face.
31:45When my hands finally stopped shaking, I pulled out my phone.
31:58When I left the Hayes house, I made Margaret give me back my son's bracelet.
32:03Give me my son's bracelet back.
32:12Daniel didn't stop me, but just as I reached the door, he suddenly dropped to his knees
32:17in front of me.
32:18He grabbed my hand and begged, like getting on his knees could still fix any of this.
32:23I know I was wrong.
32:25I know that.
32:26Please.
32:27For Noah's sake.
32:30Give me one last chance.
32:34Noah's...
32:35Give me one last chance.
32:36I'm begging you.
32:39I yanked my hand away.
32:43I'm done standing in the way of the life you already built.
32:46That should be good news for you.
32:47At least you won't have to keep sneaking back and forth between two homes.
32:51He reached for my hand again, his eyes bloodshot, full of fake remorse.
32:56A mocking laugh slipped out of me.
32:58I don't want to lose this family.
33:00I don't want to lose you.
33:01You matter to me.
33:02I'll cut her off.
33:03I swear.
33:04I tore my hand free and slapped him hard across the face.
33:08Daniel Haley's, you make me sick.
33:11When you really love someone, you don't wreck their life.
33:14The mark of my hand bloomed across his face.
33:18He just stood there, stunned.
33:20Then I slammed the door behind me and left.
33:29I went to the other house.
33:31We had bought that place after we got married.
33:34I had barely touched the money Daniel gave me over the years.
33:37I'd saved almost all of it.
33:39With what I'd saved and what I earned working in the school office, we bought the house a few years
33:45earlier and paid it off last year.
33:47We'd planned to leave it to Noah someday.
33:50Now it had become the home my son and I would live in.
33:55The next day, I realized I'd left my work laptop at the old house.
34:00When I went back to get it, I stopped outside the door after I heard Margaret talking to Daniel inside.
34:07Grace isn't coming back.
34:08If she wants the divorce, let her have it.
34:10Olivia's easier than Grace and she doesn't have parents anymore.
34:13She's sitting on a fortune.
34:15Her parents probably left her millions, settlement money, property, all of it.
34:19If you marry her, sooner or later that money becomes yours too.
34:22Grace doesn't make much and she's too hard-headed anyway.
34:26If you end up with Olivia, you're marrying money.
34:31If Grace is set on divorcing me, then I guess I don't have much choice.
34:38Then I guess I don't have much choice.
34:42Robert chimed in right away.
34:44Daniel sounded exhausted.
34:46A dry laugh caught in my throat.
34:48By then, my heart was frozen solid.
34:51I barely felt anything anymore.
34:57I had my lawyer handle the divorce terms with Daniel.
35:01Two houses.
35:02He kept one.
35:03I kept the other.
35:05Noah stayed with me.
35:06The rest of the marital assets went to me too.
35:09Daniel sent me endless messages trying to make peace.
35:13I ignored every one.
35:15Once he realized I wasn't wavering, he agreed to the divorce.
35:19About a month later, we signed the divorce papers.
35:22Not long after that, the divorce was finalized.
35:31The next day, Olivia came to see me.
35:34She looked just like I did.
35:37In a month, both of us had lost weight.
35:39The whole thing had worn us down.
35:42Sitting across from me, she still held herself carefully, cautiously.
35:47Like she wasn't sure she had the right to be there.
35:50She had been lied to just like I had.
35:54Daniel said the divorce went through.
35:56It did.
35:58Noah's with me.
35:59You didn't deserve any of this.
36:01This isn't yours to carry.
36:03Daniel did this, not you.
36:05What happens next is up to you, but don't let him make you carry what he did.
36:08I let the silence sit for a second.
36:10Then I looked at her and said,
36:12There's something you deserve to hear.
36:15It's about what they were saying after I left.
36:18I unlocked my phone, tapped the recording, and set it in front of her.
36:22Grace isn't coming back.
36:23If she wants the divorce, let her have it.
36:25Olivia's easier than Grace, and she doesn't have parents anymore.
36:29She's sitting on a fortune.
36:31When the recording ended, I took my phone back.
36:39So I was just his foul-bauch option.
36:42That whole family is nothing but scum.
36:45We are both victims.
36:49I've pulled myself out of the mud, and I don't want you to sink into it.
36:55Take care of yourself from now on.
36:58Really, thank you so much.
37:00You deserve someone so much better.
37:02Daniel doesn't deserve you, and of course, he doesn't deserve me either.
37:07A touch of genuine emotion softened Olivia's eyes.
37:11I held her gaze.
37:12In each other's eyes, I saw the same thing.
37:17Not weakness.
37:19Then let me start over.
37:20I'm Olivia Carter.
37:21Grace Linford.
37:22Not shame.
37:23Just clarity.
37:25Two women who had finally seen the truth for what it was.
37:29In that whole twisted mess, neither of us chose to tear the other apart over one worthless man.
37:36I heard Daniel kept chasing after Olivia, begging her to take him back like he could still talk his way
37:42out of what he'd done.
37:43He chased her for two months.
37:45She didn't waver once.
37:48If anything, every call and every message only made her see him more clearly.
37:55Daniel didn't just lose both women.
37:57His career took a hit, too.
37:59He had spent years building the image of the perfect husband, the good man, the guy every co-worker respected.
38:07When that image collapsed overnight, he couldn't handle the looks, the whispers, or the silence that followed him around the
38:15office.
38:16Before long, he quit.
38:18He found another job after that, but the pay was cut in half.
38:23When he got nowhere with Olivia, he came crawling back to me.
38:27Every time he used Noah as an excuse, but ever since Noah found out his father had cheated and had
38:35another daughter, something in him changed completely.
38:39Most of the time, Noah refused to see him.
39:04Most of the time, Noah refused to see him.
39:08After I left, no one was there to cook for them, clean for them, or keep their lives running.
39:14When they got sick, no one took them to the doctor.
39:17They were too cheap to hire help.
39:19Two hundred dollars a week?
39:26That was when they finally understood what I had been to them.
39:31What you want is your unpaid maid back.
39:32You don't miss me.
39:34You miss what I did for you.
39:37Later on, Olivia and I stayed in touch.
39:40We saw each other now and then, sometimes for coffee, sometimes with the kids.
39:46Somehow, Noah and Joy got along with a start.
39:49They were too young to care how any of it had started.
39:53Maybe that was the one good thing we managed to say from all of it.
39:58As for Olivia and me, we didn't become sisters overnight.
40:02And we didn't pretend none of it had happened.
40:04But we were honest with each other.
40:07We showed up.
40:08And little by little, life stopped feeling like something that had been done to us.
40:14It became ours again.
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