Broken Chains, New Beginning

  My marriage with Nadine was arranged by Mr. Bradley. He needed someone to look after Nadine for him. I needed someone to pay for my mom's high medical bills. So, we hit it off right away. I even quit my job and married Nadine. After marriage, I learned about Nadine’s tragic experience of losing both her parents in her early years. I also saw with my own eyes that she cried and called ‘Mom’ in her dreams at midnight. That was why the two broken souls resonated with each other at that moment. I wanted to heal Nadine’s heart and to build a happy family with her. In order to fulfill the responsibilities of a husband, I worked hard to improve my cooking skills and try to make the food that she describes as her mother's. I visited various places and bit by bit recreated the cabin in her memory. In order to satisfy her needs, I also learned various tricks in bed. I thought we would have a happy future. But on our wedding anniversary, she went to the hotel with my best friend in a dignified manner. I ran to question her like crazy. Nadine sneered and threw the contract between me and Mr. Bradley in my face. “Alvaro, who do you think you are? Do you really think you’re something special just because I played with you for two days? “You’re nothing but a dog my grandfather bought. What right do you have to question my business? “If you dare to make me unhappy, I’ll have your mother’s treatment cut off immediately!” I was struck by lightning and could not utter a word. After that, Nadine became even more outrageous. After having enough fun with internet celebrities, she started to target my friends, constantly breaking my bottom line. On one side, my mother desperately needed medical treatment; on the other, my marriage had long since decayed. The forces tugging me from both ends nearly drove me to collapse. One time, I even slipped and fell down the stairs because I was distracted. After waking up, I learned that Nadine was pregnant. Mr. Bradley almost pleaded with me, “Keep this child. He may be a turning point in your marriage. “If Nadine still does not know how to restrain herself after the child is born, I will definitely not force you anymore.” Carrying all kinds of complicated emotions, I chose to agree. I never imagined I would fight so hard for so long—for my mother, my children, my marriage and love. In the end, I could not hold on to any of them. I slowly wiped away the tears from the corners of my eyes and looked out the gray window. Perhaps that was the only consolation. Nadine and I both gained freedom. As I was deep in thought, Nadine called, “Alvaro, you went to complain to Grandpa again, didn't you? You have completely disrupted the rare time that Julius and I have together. “I'm warning you, if you do this again, I'll stop the card!” If it was in the past, I would have humbled myself, endlessly explaining and apologizing to Nadine, trying every possible way to earn her forgiveness. But that time, I just said it with an indifferent look on my face, “Whatever you want.” Nadine was a little surprised by my cold attitude.  

  But soon, she sneered again, “I heard that once the child is by your side, you can speak with confidence. “But don’t forget, I am the heir of the Bradley Family. As long as you are still in the Bradley Family, I will have plenty of ways to torment you.” I closed my eyes, since I had seen Nadine's methods. The first time I caught her cheating on me, I naively went to Mr. Bradley to seek justice. But I was met with Nadine's crazy revenge. She threatened my mother and forced me to kneel on the freezing cold balcony of my bedroom and slap myself over and over again. That night, she and her lover made love all night long. I was sent to the hospital with a red and swollen face due to frostbite. The only bit of sincerity that was left was completely dissipated in the heavy snow. From then on, no matter how excessive Nadine did, I pretended not to see it.  I silently endured all kinds of humiliation and difficulties from Nadine, trying hard to maintain Mr. Bradley's identity. But that time, my mother was gone. The child also died. So, this marriage, which existed in name only, should be finally declared over. I hung up the phone indifferently. I got up and contacted a friend at the funeral home, made an appointment for cremation. As I returned to the ward, I saw Nadine standing at the door. She frowned at me, then sneered, “Why don’t you continue to act pitiful? “You're running around right after the accident. You're in such good health and it looks like you don’t need to continue recuperating. “I plan to bring Julius to live in the villa. He is young, delicate and can't do housework. You can go through the discharge procedures and go back to be our maid.” As she spoke, Nadine came closer to me. There was a malicious smile on her face. “Your painful expression is the best stimulant for me in bed.” She stared at me, expecting to see me in pain and sadness. But I just had an expression that was calm and numb. Feeling that it was boring, Nadine stopped the young nurse beside her again. “Where's the child? What's the result of the physical examination? Bring him here for me to see.” The young nurse looked panic-stricken. I said helplessly, “The child was taken away by his grandfather.” Nadine wanted to say something else when her cell phone rang. As soon as she answered the phone, her face changed drastically. Then a slap hit me on the face. “Alvaro, what did you do to Julius? If anything happens to her, I will never let you go!” I was already weak and my footing was unstable, so I bumped into the handrail behind me. The young nurse hurried forward to support me and yelled, “Mrs. Bradley, Mr. Bradley just had a car accident. You will kill him if you do this!” Nadine pretended not to hear. She left quickly with concern for Julius.  

  The young nurse looked at me with a distressed expression. There was no unnecessary expression on my pale face. It seemed that all the love, hatred and vengeance had been exhausted in the past ten years. After the inspection, the doctor told me to rest. I finally understood why Nadine was angry. The child died, so Mr. Bradley was filled with grief and anger and banned Julius from the entire Internet. Julius mistakenly thought that I was taking revenge and went to Nadine to complain, exaggerating the situation. As a result, Nadine attacked me. That was not all. Nadine revoked my status as a shareholder in Bradley’s Enterprise and replaced me with Julius. In order to make him happy, she took pictures of twenty stars and named them after Julius. During the interview, Julius proudly showed off the ring on his hand. “I never thought I was a mistress. A man who cannot keep his wife's heart deserves to be a widower. “Besides, Alvaro married into the Song family for the money, but I am different. I only have a sincere heart for Nadine.” The comments below are polarized. A bunch of brainless fanatics tagged my account. All kinds of humiliation and abuse forced me to give way to Julius. But I watched it and only felt irony. After so many years, Nadine's tricks of coaxing her lover had not changed at all, since I think she treated me the same way back then. After learning that my family was poor and I had never celebrated my birthday, she gave me twenty gifts on my twentieth birthday. From a golden lock at the age of one to a villa at the age of twenty. He said it was to compensate me for the suffering I had endured over the past twenty years. I still remembered that day when she held my hand under the starry sky. “Alvaro, I lost my parents when I was young. From now on, I will treat your mother as my own mother and be filial to her. I will build the happiest family with you.” I melted in her soulful eyes. I naively thought that I had found someone with whom I could spend my life. But later, the novelty wore off.  Nadine soon fell in love with someone else. During a date, she forgot me on the mountain while giving flowers to her lover. That day I walked hundreds of kilometers of mountain roads alone to get home. My feet were rubbed until they bled and my calves were left with scars that would last a lifetime. In fact, I should have understood it at that time. This woman was selfish and passionate and would never settle down for anyone. That contract was just an excuse she made for cheating on her husband. Thinking of this, I left a message under Julius’s video. [I wish you a long and happy marriage and a son soon.] As the message was sent, Julius deleted the video. What followed was a phone call from Nadine wanting to question me. But I did not get through. Instead, I calmly blocked her like she usually did to me.      

  Then, I suddenly remembered that that day was the day my mother was cremated. I explained the whole story and completed the discharge procedures early. The attending physician was worried, but could not persuade me to leave, so he offered to accompany me. When the staff handed me the urn, the devastation I expected never came. Instead, I felt a shackle that had bound me for ten years finally break free. I let out a soft sigh, bid farewell to the doctor and returned to the Bradley Family alone to pack my things. As soon as I walked into the living room, I saw Nadine and Julius sitting on the sofa. Seeing me come back, Nadine hurriedly zipped up her skirt. But the red marks all over her body still revealed the intensity of the battle just then. I was not sad, nor angry. As if I saw nothing, I walked into the bedroom with an expressionless face. As I came out, Julius had already left, only Nadine was left sitting there drinking. Seeing me come out, she slowly raised her head. The dim light shone on her face and no expression could be seen as she asked, “Alvaro, where did you go today?” “It's none of your business.” I did not want to say more, but Nadine suddenly smashed the wine glass. She strode up to me and yelled, “Why are you pretending to be so pure and innocent? Don’t think I don’t know that you're fooling around with that pretty girl. “Alvaro, can’t you bear the loneliness? Are you blaming me for ignoring you during this period of time? If so, I will help you!” As she said that, Nadine roughly tore off my clothes and pulled my hand towards the bed. I was taken aback by her actions. Struggling hard, I said, “Nadine, are you crazy? I just had the surgery!” Nadine, lost in her fury, refused to listen and sank her teeth into my shoulder. I shoved her away with force and slapped her. Enraged, Nadine would not back down. She grabbed a wine glass from the table and hurled it at me. The glass shattered with a loud crash and a thin trickle of blood slowly trailed down my forehead. For a moment, Nadine froze, her rage replaced by shock as she instinctively reached out to support me. I stumbled back a few steps and tried to speak, “Why don’t you know how to hide…." But my body could not hold on and I fell down. I did not know how long it was before I was woken up by the quarrel between Nadine and Mr. Bradley. I realized that I was back in the hospital. Seeing that I woke up, Mr. Bradley seemed relieved.  But Nadine looked at Mr. Bradley with displeasure as she said, “This is the good husband you picked for me, leaving the children to go out on a date with a vixen. Mr. Bradley was so angry that he was shaking all over as he scolded, “What date? Do you know what Alvaro did yesterday…." “Grandpa,” I interrupted Mr. Bradley. “It’s all over.”  

  Mr. Bradley understood what I meant and said no more. He just looked at Nadine with a look of disappointment. Nadine waved her hand indifferently as she responded, “Since she is awake, there's nothing for me to do here. Julius is still waiting for me, so I'm leaving first.” Mr. Bradley hit her with his cane as he yelled, “You beast! I don’t care where you go today, but you must come to the Bradley Manor with Alvaro tomorrow…." Before he could finish his words, Nadine's figure had disappeared at the door. Mr. Bradley sighed deeply and his back became more hunched. He handed me the signed divorce agreement while blaming himself, “Alvaro, it's my fault for not educating the younger generation well. “But the child is also your own flesh and blood. I hope you can see him off to his last journey.” I looked at this old man with completely white hair and could not bear to refuse. The next morning, I came to the Bradley Family's Manor dressed in black. I had been taking care of this child since birth. It was a pity that it passed away forever before I could see him grow up. I gently wiped away the tears from the corners of my eyes. ‘That's fine, Alvaro. In that way, you won’t have any worries and be reluctant to leave,’ I muttered in my heart. After all, I had given my best to this marriage. So when it was time to leave, all I felt was exhaustion, not regret. Nadine did not show up until the child was buried. I did see a photo of her and Julius trying on wedding dresses on the trending searches. Julius sent me a message with a proud look on his face. [So, what if you two have a child? Nadine still chose me in the end.] [By the way, did you think that Nadine was taking care of you while you were in a coma? In fact, she was with me the whole time. We were in the bed next to yours and unlocked many new positions.] In the video, my face was pale. It formed a sharp contrast with Julius's rosy face. I did not reply, but silently forwarded all the messages and videos to Mr. Bradley. Then I took off my wedding ring. Holding my mother's ashes, I whispered, “Mom, let's go home.” *** It was not until night fell that Nadine returned to the Bradley Family's Manor, reeking of alcohol. As soon as she opened the door, she was shocked by the wreaths everywhere. “Who died? Could it be Alvaro's mother?” She was still in shock and looked flustered. “Why didn't you tell me about this big thing earlier? Where's Alvaro? He must be very sad now. I want to go and accompany him.” Mr. Bradley, who could no longer bear it, handed over the divorce agreement. It hit Nadine in the face. Mr. Bradley who had been suppressing until that time finally burst out, “Alvaro has left with his mother's ashes. Today is your son's seventh day!”