The next day, the video of me being surrounded by reporters spread across the internet. Elton responded, "There will be no divorce. Stop bothering my wife." Meanwhile, Yvette's intern friend, Nicole, was fired before her internship ended. With Elton's so-called "loyalty" on full display, I came off as dramatic and unreasonable in comparison. Soon, I received a surge of online hate. "Hedy is disgusting. If she didn't want to marry him, she should've just said no. She claims that she was forced. Really? She clearly doesn't want a divorce." "First love? She's just another bitch. And Elton still defends her? She's not worth it." Just then, a comment stood out from the sea of criticism. "You people don't know the truth about what really happened back then. So who are you to judge her? You have no idea how much she's been through!" I glanced at the profile picture and realized that the comment was left by my close friend, Daisy Harrington. Everyone began demanding to know the truth about what really happened back then. In fact, the truth was... painfully cliche. That year, my mom, Elena Miller, was diagnosed with a terminal illness, and the treatment for that required an enormous amount of money. Worse, it was a hereditary disease. I was still young at the time, so my symptoms hadn't shown yet. But as I got older, the chances of me developing the same illness were high. And even if I had children someday, they'd likely get sick too. The day Mom collapsed from her illness, she fainted on the spot. When she woke up in the hospital, the first thing she said to me was that I had to break up with Elton. I froze, then shook my head. "Mom, Elton won't turn his back on me. We don't have to have kids." I said it not just for her, but to convince myself as well. She held my hand tightly and said, "I know Elton wouldn't abandon you. He's a good man. But have you ever thought about him? "If he finds out that we're both sick, he'll work himself to death trying to pay for treatment." Mom urged me to break up with Elton early, before it got too difficult for either of us to let go. That day, I was quiet for a long, long time. In the end, my voice trembled as I whispered, "Mom... I don't want to lose him."