Years ago, my adopted sister Gwynne stole my identity and became Elmore's first love.

Now she’s back, claiming cancer, taking him and our son again.

They became the perfect family, and I was left on the outside. So I walked away.

Three years later, we met again at the city hall.

My son spotted me, ran over, and threw his arms around my waist.

"Mom, I missed you so much."

I gently eased him back and turned to Elmore with a polite nod. "Getting married to Gwynne? Congrats."

He managed a bitter smile. "No. I'm here to file for divorce. What about you?"

I paused, genuinely surprised, then held up my hand to show the diamond ring on my finger. "I'm here to get married."

*****

I hadn't planned on seeing my ex-husband, Elmore Bernard at the city hall.

He was standing to leave just as I walked in, and we nearly collided.

"Audrina? What are you doing here?" He sounded surprised."How have you been these last few years?"

Elmore looked ready to settle in for a long catch-up, but I just wanted to escape.

"Fine." I replied.

He repeated the word, nodding absently. I turned to go, but he spoke up again.

"I think this is the first time we've seen each other in three years."

It was ironic. The last time we saw each other, we were at the city hall, too.

That was the day we ended our four-year marriage.

I remembered standing at the city hall entrance that day, looking up at the blue sky.

"Do you need to go back and pack?" he asked.

"No need. I've been packing for days; there's nothing important left." I turned to look at him. "What I need is to teach that homewrecker a lesson."

Elmore had reached for his car door, but his hand froze. His voice went cold.

"You're divorcing me because you can't tolerate Gwynne. She has no family, she has cancer, and you are so much better off than she is. Can't you just cut her some slack?"

He looked back at me, his expression heavy with disappointment. "Even Denny knows to be patient with a sick person."

I almost laughed. I was the one who was better off?

I tightened my grip on the divorce papers. "I don't need to cut her any slack now. My family is hers anyway."

Gwynne Herrera was the daughter of the Bernard family's nanny.

When Elmore was eight, he and the nanny were kidnapped.

The kidnappers held Elmore for ransom, but they killed the nanny.

Driven by guilt, the Bernards took the nanny's daughter in and raised her as their own.

Years later, Elmore and Gwynne secretly started dating.

When his parents found out, they sent Gwynne abroad.

At first, they stayed in touch, but a few years later, bad investments ruined the Bernards financially.

The family went into debt, and Elmore lost contact with Gwynne.

That was when I found Elmore on a bridge, ready to jump into the river. I saved him.

I stayed with him through his lowest points, walked down the aisle with him, and gave him a son.

Then, on our fifth anniversary, Gwynne suddenly returned.

She produced her medical records and sobbed, explaining that she had cut off contact because she'd been diagnosed with cancer.

Elmore took her to the hospital for a full check-up. The diagnosis was real.

When I rushed to the hospital, I walked in on Gwynne clinging to him, sobbing brokenly, while Elmore gently rubbed her back.

That image seared itself into my memory.

What happened next was exactly what I expected—Gwynne took everything. The doctor said cancer patients needed family support and care.

"She doesn't have anyone else," Elmore said. "I want to look after her."

"I heard she still has a father." I said.

Elmore hadn't expected me to bring that up. His face darkened instantly.

"Who told you that? Gwynne said he's not a father—he's a deadbeat scumbag she cut ties with years ago."

Seeing how defensive he was, I didn't push it.

Nobody knows Gwynne and her father better than I do.

But he doesn’t need to know any of that.

For the next couple of months, Elmore spent all his time at the hospital with Gwynne.

He rarely came home. I stayed behind to care for our three-year-old son, Dennis Bernard.

He was a perceptive child.

"Mom, everyone says Dad's seeing someone else... Are you going to get divorced?"

I tucked the blanket around him.

"No. We aren't getting divorced."

Dennis took my hand gently. "Mom, hang in there. I love you."

I closed his bedroom door softly and called Elmore.

"Denny is starting to get upset. You need to come home for a few days."

His voice was hushed, likely so he wouldn't disturb Gwynne. "I know."

Neither of us hung up, but we had nothing left to say. The silence stretched between us.

"Elmore Bernard," I called his name.

Years of marriage meant he knew exactly what I meant by calling him like that.

"Rina, I owe it to her mom's memory to look after her."

I leaned back against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor, covering my eyes with my hand.

"Okay." I said. "Just come home soon."

After I hung up, I stayed crouched on the floor for a long time.

When I finally tried to stand, my vision went black, and I collapsed.

I got sick at the worst possible time.

It wasn't life-threatening—just serious enough to require observation—but it landed me in the same hospital as Gwynne, sharing the same attending physician.

The only difference was that Gwynne had a VIP suite, while I was stuck in a standard single room.

Most people assumed Gwynne was Elmore's wife, not me.

When Elmore finally came to see me, he sounded vaguely apologetic.

"Babe, you don't mind, do you? The VIP suites are full, and since it's a minor issue, you won't be here long anyway."

"It's okay," I said.

Before I married Elmore, I was just an average person with simple needs. I didn't ask for much.

Hearing I'd been admitted, Gwynne visited with a small basket of tangerines. When the doctor saw her, he naturally brought up her condition, and Elmore drifted over to join the conversation.

They discussed treatment plans, and when Gwynne complained that chemo would make her lose her hair, Elmore promised to buy her hats.

The mood was almost cheerful.

I lay propped up in bed, holding a tangerine, watching them calmly.

It didn't feel like I was looking at my own husband.

Before leaving, a young intern took the tangerine from my hand and set it on the nightstand.

"You can't eat that," he said, his voice cold.

Once everyone else had gone, Elmore sat back down and casually started peeling the fruit for me.

He held a slice to my lips, still eager to chat.

"Honey, is losing your hair really that terrible for a woman?"

I turned my face away to avoid his hand. "The doctor said I'm on a liquid diet. Did you forget?"

Elmore's hand froze in mid-air. He gave an awkward laugh. "I didn't think that included fruit."

His excuse was weak, but I didn't have the energy to argue.

"What were you asking me just now? About what being terrible?" I said.

Elmore paused. "Nothing. Just making conversation."

I turned my head to look out the window.

The view outside was bleak, and I felt completely cold inside.

After I was admitted, Dennis came to see me every day.

I told the nanny not to bring him—children have weak immune systems and shouldn't hang around hospitals—but she said Dennis insisted.

At first, I was touched.

But as it turned out, Dennis only came to find his father. He would pop into my room for a moment, then run off to Gwynne's suite.

I assumed he was just being a child and didn't know better, so I tried hinting that he should stay away from there, but it didn't work.

Then, I accidentally overheard him talking to the nanny.

"If Dad marries Gwyn later, I definitely have to stay with Dad. Mom doesn't have the money to raise me. So I need to get on Gwyn's good side. As for Mom, she gave birth to me, so she won't stay mad at me."

It turned out Dennis was far more pragmatic than I realized.

As Gwynne was losing her hair from chemotherapy, she had to shave her head. Dennis shaved his head, too, to keep her company.

The three of them sat on her hospital bed, taking selfies to support Gwynne in her battle against the illness.

Gwynne forwarded the photo to me with a message.

[Did you think that just because you don't make a scene, I can't take him away?]

I held the phone, staring at the photo. I sat quietly in my hospital bed from evening until dawn.

Finally, I realized something—I shouldn't interfere with the paths others have chosen. Before I was even discharged, something happened to Gwynne. Her father sneaked into the VIP suite and caused a scene.

Elmore investigated and found records of me transferring money to the man several times beforehand. He threw a stack of evidence at me.

"I never planned to divorce you, but did you really have to be so hard on Gwyn?"

I didn’t bother defending myself. I just slid the divorce papers across the table—I’d had them ready for a long time. "I've thought about it, and I've made up my mind. Elmore, let's get a divorce."

Three years later, the city hall lobby was crowded.

Elmore stood across from me. "I actually looked for you after our divorce."

By the time he thought of me, I was already gone from his world, while he remained blind to mine.

"You looked for me?"

Elmore gazed at me, then slowly lowered his eyes and pressed his lips together.

"It was because of Denny. He was sick all the time back then, and he kept asking for you."

"Well, kids get sick easily anyway.," I said.

I checked the time on my phone; the person I was waiting for should be arriving soon.

"I have things to do, so I'll just..."

Before I could finish, a small figure rushed over and hugged me tightly around the waist.

"Mom, you're here! I missed you so much."

It was Dennis, now six years old.

I looked down, stroked his hair for a moment, and then slowly pushed him away.

Gwynne stood nearby, her face even paler than it had been three years ago.

"So you're back? Let me guess—you've caught wind of what's going on with me and Elmore?"

Seeing the family of three at the city hall, I assumed they were there to get married.

Judging by their reactions, they seemed to think I was there to ruin it.

But today was purely a coincidence.

"Are you two getting married?" I asked. "Congratulations."

Elmore looked up sharply, his expression complicated. "No..."

Even Dennis stared at me, looking confused. "Mom, didn't you know what happened before you came here?"

"Should I know something?" I was baffled.

Elmore looked down and took Dennis's hand.

"We're here to get a divorce." He gave a bitter smile. "What about you?"

I froze. So he and Gwynne had married long ago, and things had already deteriorated to the point of divorce. What had happened in those few years?

Dennis held Elmore's hand with one of his own and shook my arm with the other.

"Mom, are you coming home with us?"

I snapped back to reality, dropping my hand to brush my fingers against my ring.

Elmore sighed. "Audrina, I..."

I cut him off, raising my hand with the back facing him to display the brand-new wedding band on my ring finger.

"I'm here to get married."

Elmore didn't try to hide his shock. "You're getting married? To who?"

"To me."

My fingers were suddenly enclosed in a warm grip.

A man looked down at me with a gentle expression. "Sorry, I'm a little late." On his ring finger, he wore a wedding band that matched mine perfectly.

Elmore and Dennis just stared at him in silence.

Gwynne, however, stepped forward to get a better look.

Clint Morrison—my fiancé—met her gaze.

"I assume you've recovered from your 'cancer'?" he said.

Gwynne's expression went stiff. Elmore glanced at her. "You know him?"

Clint stuck out a hand toward Elmore. "We met three years ago. At the hospital."

Elmore clearly didn't recognize him, but he shook the hand out of politeness. "Is that so? I don't remember."

Clint offered a casual smile. "I was an intern on Dr. Duncan's team back then. Since your wife and Audrina were hospitalized at the same time, I saw a lot of you running between their rooms."

Elmore didn't know how to respond to that.

The awkwardness was palpable.

Clint withdrew his hand and looked from Elmore to Gwynne, ready to wrap things up. "Anyway, congratulations on your marriage."

We turned to leave, but Elmore spoke up. "We're here to get a divorce." His voice was heavy with resentment.

Clint squeezed my hand and looked back at him, totally unfazed.

"In that case... congratulations are definitely in order."

Elmore frowned. Before he could press for details, Gwynne interrupted.

"They're ready for us." Gwynne and Elmore headed to the clerk's window, leaving Clint and me in the waiting area.

"He looks like he regrets it," Clint said. "What's the play here?"

I didn't answer.

He clicked his tongue, annoyed.

I laughed; the whole situation was ridiculous.

"Oh come on, you’re really worried a first-timer can’t outdo a three-time veteran?"

Clint shot me a concerned look. "You two share a kid, after all."

I winked at him. "We'll have one of our own someday."

Elmore and Gwynne walked out just in time to see that. Elmore's expression darkened.

Gwynne had apparently forgotten some paperwork and was on the phone, telling her driver to bring it.

Clint and I went to the window to register. The clerk handed us the forms to sign.

Suddenly, the pen was snatched right out of my hand.

"Mom, I won't let you marry him!" Dennis had rushed between us, gripping the pen tight, his face deadly serious.

"Mom, Dad is getting divorced right now. You guys can be together again."

Elmore didn't try to stop him. He just stood there, watching me closely.

I glanced at Elmore, then looked down at Dennis.

"Why are you making a scene? You supported your father when he married Gwynne."

Dennis froze, unable to answer. "But Dad's different from you. Dad is... Dad..."

He stammered, unable to find the words, but I understood him perfectly.

Dad was Dad. Mom was... replaceable.

"There is no difference," I said. "Your father deserves respect, and so do I."

Clint, having already signed his papers, handed me a pen.

He gave Dennis a quick pinch on the cheek.

"She gave birth to you, kid. She doesn't owe you her life."

Dennis glared at him with pure hatred. He shoved Clint away violently.

"I don't like you! I don't like you!"

He snatched up the forms we'd just filled out and tore them to shreds.

"You're not allowed to get married!" he screamed, sobbing in anger. The commotion was drawing a crowd. Dennis was determined to stop me from getting that marriage license. The clerk suggested we step aside and handle our family matters first.

Elmore finally spoke up, "Audrina, you haven't come back to see Denny. He's just having a hard time accepting this."

I ignored the manipulation and looked Dennis in the eye.

"If I don't get married today, I'll do it tomorrow. You need to accept that."

Elmore and Dennis both stiffened.

Clint stepped up beside me. "Mr. Bernard, is it really appropriate to let a child fight your battles?"

Elmore's expression turned even grimmer. Gwynne stood there unnoticed, avoiding our eyes entirely.

Since we couldn't get the certificate today, Clint and I turned to leave.

Elmore looked like he wanted to keep harassing us, but then I heard Gwynne mutter something under her breath. "Audrina probably cheated ages ago."

Clint heard it, too. He stopped cold.

He turned around, marched right up to Gwynne, and pointed a finger in her face.

"You've been the mistress for so long you think everyone else is one, don't you? I wasn't going to waste my breath on you today, but you're asking for it. Did you forget that I'm the one who reported you for falsifying cancer medical records?"

All the color drained from Gwynne's face.