Three days after leaving the Fu family home, I finally found a small apartment for me and my three children.

It was not big.

The walls were old.

The furniture was second-hand.

The kitchen was so small that only one person could stand inside comfortably.

But when I opened the door and carried my children in, Nian’an looked around with curious eyes.

“Mom, is this our new house?”

I looked at him.

Then I smiled.

“Yes.”

He looked at the empty room.

“Where is Dad?”

The question hurt.

But this time, I didn’t avoid it.

“From now on, this is our home.”

Nian’an thought for a moment.

Then he nodded seriously.

“Then I will protect Mom and my brothers.”

Those simple words almost made me cry.

Because my three-year-old son understood something that Fu Jingsen never did.

Family was not about money.

It was about who stayed.

That night, after putting the twins to sleep, I sat on the floor and opened the old notebook where I had recorded every expense for the past years.

Milk powder.

Diapers.

Medical bills.

Clothes.

Food.

Every single thing.

I had spent years believing that if I was patient enough, Fu Jingsen would eventually see everything I had done.

But I was wrong.

Some people don’t fail to see your sacrifice.

They simply get used to receiving it.

The next morning, I did something I hadn’t done in five years.

I opened my old laptop.

Before marrying Fu Jingsen, I was not just a housewife.

I was a designer.

I had created several successful projects during college and had even received offers from famous companies.

But after marriage, Fu Jingsen casually said:

“A woman doesn’t need to work so hard after becoming a wife.”

At that time, I thought it was concern.

Now I realized it was the beginning of my disappearance.

I spent the next week rebuilding my portfolio.

The first company I contacted was one I had rejected five years ago.

The person who answered the phone was surprised.

“Miss Lin?”

“It’s been a long time.”

“Are you returning?”

I looked at my three sleeping children beside me.

“Yes.”

“I am.”

Meanwhile, Fu Jingsen was beginning to notice something strange.

He thought my leaving was temporary.

He believed that after a few difficult days, I would return.

After all, where could a woman with three children go?

That was what he thought.

Until his assistant placed a document on his desk.

“Mr. Fu, Mrs. Lin has started working again.”

Fu Jingsen looked up.

“Working?”

The assistant nodded.

“She joined a design company.”

A strange feeling crossed his face.

“She knows nothing about business anymore.”

But the assistant hesitated.

“Actually…”

“What?”

“Her first project after returning has already attracted attention from several investors.”

Fu Jingsen stopped moving.

For the first time, he realized something.

The woman who left his house was not a helpless wife.

She was someone who had chosen to step away from her own light for him.

And now she was taking it back.

That evening, Fu Jingsen returned home.

The house was silent.

No children’s laughter.

No warm food waiting.

No lights left on for him.

Only emptiness.

He walked into the living room.

On the table was Nian’an’s old drawing.

The father figure with a black cross.

He stared at it for a long time.

Then his phone rang.

It was his mother.

“Jingsen, did you really let her leave?”

Fu frowned.

“Mom, this is between us.”

“No.”

Her voice became serious.

“You don’t understand what you lost.”

He was silent.

“What are you talking about?”

His mother sighed.

“Do you know who Lin Qing was before she married you?”

Fu’s fingers tightened.

“She was just…”

He stopped.

Because he suddenly remembered.

She never asked him for anything.

Never used his money.

Never complained.

She always said she was fine.

His mother continued:

“She was the youngest designer to win the national innovation award.”

“She gave up her career because she wanted to build a family with you.”

Silence.

For the first time in years, Fu Jingsen had no response.

Then his mother said something that made his expression change completely.

“Do you know why she never fought with that woman you loved?”

“What woman?”

His mother laughed bitterly.

“The woman who came back.”

“She knew about her.”

Fu froze.

“What?”

“Your wife knew you never forgot her.”

“She knew you still met her.”

“She knew everything.”

His hand slowly loosened.

Impossible.

If Lin Qing knew…

Why did she stay?

Why did she tolerate everything?

Why did she raise his children alone?

The answer came quietly.

Because she loved him.

And he had used that love until nothing remained.

That night, Fu Jingsen looked at the divorce agreement again.

The blank asset section.

The custody section.

Her sentence:

“I voluntarily renounce everything.”

At that moment, he finally understood.

She did not leave because she wanted nothing.

She left because she was tired of begging for something that should have been given freely.

The next morning, Fu Jingsen went to find her.

But when he arrived at her new apartment, he saw something unexpected.

A man was standing outside her door.

Holding flowers.

Talking with her.

And when Lin Qing smiled at that man…

Fu Jingsen realized something that made his heart sink.

The woman who spent five years waiting for him…

was no longer waiting.

And for the first time, he was the one who was afraid of losing her.

Read the entire Part 3 below.