ManyWriters

During the acrobatic performance, I watched helplessly as my sedated child was swapped with a dummy.
On the animal training stage, he was eaten bit by bit by the tigers.
I begged everyone desperately to save my son, banging my head on the ground, but was only treated as a madwoman and thrown out.
Later, Xavion rushed me to the hospital with a severe head injury.
After three months in a coma, the moment I woke up, I struggled to tell Xavion about our son's killers. Instead, I overheard his conversation with his secretary outside the room.
"Boss, are you sure this is the right thing to do? Tommy is your own flesh and blood after all. Your wife will be devastated if she learns the truth."
"Melody became depressed trying to save me. You saw how she threatened suicide with a knife that day. As long as she can be happy every day, I'd do anything - let alone sacrifice one child."
Two streams of tears fell from my eyes as I stood by the wall, unable to control my trembling.
Our picture-perfect family was all a lie. The son I cherished more than my own life was just a disposable stress relief tool in Xavion's eyes.

The Circus Tragedy, a Son Devoured By Tigers

"Vivienne, I'm going to help Melody back to the car to rest for a bit. Tommy's gravestone is in the third row, fourth column. You can find it yourself," Xavion hurriedly instructed before rushing off to support Melody as they left.


I tugged at my lip and walked in the direction Xavion had mentioned.


Before I could locate Tommy's gravestone, I overheard a child approaching, pointing at Xavion and Melody as they hastily got into the car: "Mommy, that couple is so in love."


The childish voice was innocent, but it felt particularly sharp and grating to my ears.


It seemed even such a young child could see what kind of relationship Xavion and Melody truly had.


Regret and sorrow consumed me entirely, and my legs, which hadn't touched the ground in three months, suddenly felt even weaker.


I practically crawled and stumbled my way to find my child's gravestone.


My trembling hands caressed the small photo on the headstone, my voice already choked with sobs. In the end, a thousand words became one broken sentence: "Tommy, Mommy is so sorry..."


If only I could have traded places with him that day.


Utterly dejected, I bought a plane ticket for three hours later.Despite spending half our lives roaming with the circus alongside Xavion, I couldn't be bothered to pack my bags now. All I wanted was to head straight to his room and hand him the ddevilrce papers I'd prepared.


One way or another, I couldn't stand another minute in this hellhole.


But unexpectedly, outside the master bedroom, I overheard Melody and Xavion's intimate sounds.


I originally planned to just leave the ddevilrce papers somewhere, but suddenly I heard the noises inside quieting down, followed by their conversation.


"Xavion, if Vivienne and I were both drowning, who would you save?"


I thought he'd at least hesitate for a few seconds.


But to my surprise, he answered without missing a beat: "You, of course."


Those four short words stopped me in my tracks.


If Xavion had never cared for me at all, that would be one thing.


But Xavion and I had known each other since high school, from school uniforms to wedding gowns.


Others might not know, but I knew all too well how hard it had been for us to end up together.


I'd watched him go from dirt poor to struggling entrepreneur, standing by him as we built the circus into something big and successful.


Our life before was a world apart from how we lived now.


But even when we slept in a drafty shack, he genuinely cared for me.He was so good to me that he'd eat plain steamed buns for a week straight just to buy me fried chicken once a week.


He was so good to me that a single cough from me would make him break out in a cold sweat, fussing over me for ages.


I still remember how, on countless late nights, he promised me that when we had money, we'd enjoy all the finer things in life together.


He said he'd be good to me for a lifetime.


But now, faced with such a difficult dilemma, he answers without hesitation, so easily.


Suddenly, all those beautiful memories feel so distant, as if they happened in a past life.


Chapter 3