The morning light felt softer today.
Lian Yue sat in the waiting area of the tech company, resume trembling slightly in her hands. She had barely slept — partly nerves, partly the quiet fear that lived under her ribs now. But for the first time in a long while, she felt something other than sadness.
Possibility.
She straightened when her name was called.Her voice didn't shake.Her answers were clear.Years of studying, learning, and dreaming finally stood beside her again instead of behind her.
When she finished, the panel exchanged glances — impressed, curious.
"We'll get back to you soon," they said.
She nodded politely, but when she walked out, her heart raced.Her fingers clenched around her bag strap.
Please, please, just one thing in my life go right.
She had just stepped outside when her phone rang.
A number she didn't know.
"Hello, is this Ms. Lian Yue?"
"Yes, this is she."
"We're pleased to inform you — you've been selected. Welcome to the team."
For a second, she couldn't breathe. The world blurred, not from sadness this time, but from relief so sharp it felt like sunlight breaking a storm.
"I— Thank you… thank you so much!"
When the call ended, she pressed a hand to her mouth and laughed — a quiet, breathless sound that tasted like freedom. Tears pricked her eyes, but they weren't heavy. They sparkled.
She wasn't trapped.She wasn't hopeless.She wasn't just someone's quiet, forgotten wife.
She was herself again — brilliant, capable, alive.
She texted no one to share the news.There was no one waiting to cheer for her — and that hurt.But today, she would clap for herself.
She looked up at the sky, voice barely above a whisper:
"I did it."
And for once, the world felt like it answered —a breeze brushing her hair, warm sunlight on her face.
A beginning.Finally.
She lingered outside the building, sunlight brushing her like it finally remembered her name. People hurried past, suits and heels clicking, life moving — but for the first time, she didn't feel left behind.
Her phone screen dimmed in her hand.No messages from him.No "Where are you?"No "Did it go well?"
Silence — the usual kind.
But today, instead of sinking, she inhaled deeply.
I can do this. I really can.
She walked toward the bus stop, each step steadier.
A small smile tugged her lips as the thought formed clearly for the first time —
"I can survive on my own."
Rent,Bills,Groceries,Medical check-ups.
She mentally listed them like little mountains. They didn't scare her this time.
She could climb them.She didn't need him to carry her.She didn't need anyone.
I'm not helpless. I'm not stuck. I can build my own life again.
And maybe… maybe she could raise this child without ever asking him for anything. The idea hovered, fragile but warm. She pressed a hand lightly over her stomach — not a dramatic gesture, just a quiet, protective instinct.
"We'll be okay," she whispered beneath her breath, almost shyly, as if the wind might overhear.
She wasn't sure if she believed it fully yet.But today, there was faith — a tiny seed pushing through soil.
She stopped at a small bakery, buying the cheapest slice of strawberry cake, then sat near the window with a cup of warm water the shop gave for free.
She held the fork carefully, heart soft with pride as she took the first bite.
This wasn't celebration food. This was victory food.
No one clapped for her.No one hugged her.No one even knew.
But she knew.
And that was enough.
Looking at the street outside, she let out a slow breath.
I am not living in his shadow anymore.
Whether he loved her or not,whether he noticed her absence or not,whether he ever returned to that home and realized she had been wilting there —
it didn't matter today.
She had her own future now.A job.A chance.A heartbeat she could build around.
Freedom didn't come with fireworks.Sometimes it came with a phone call and a slice of cheap cake.
And in that quiet corner, sunlight touching her cheeks,Lian Yue's life finally started to feel like hers again.