The Flower Bloomed Sixty Times

“Mom, what’re you doing?!”

Zayden and Yannick ran over. When they saw their clothes in the fire, they shoved Xena hard and grabbed the rest of the clothes from her hands.

“That’s too much!” Zayden yelled. “Just because we said the clothes Ms. Jensen bought are nice, you want to burn all our clothes?”

Yannick shouted, “You’re so stingy! Ms. Jensen’s clothes are beautiful! They’re beautiful! They are ten thousand times prettier than yours!”

Moon stepped forward and held the boys. Tears ran down her cheeks as she said, “I’m sorry, Ms. Xander. I shouldn’t have bought those clothes.”

Julian gritted his teeth as pain shone in his eyes. He reached out and wiped the tears from Moon’s face. “Moon, you did nothing wrong. You don’t need to apologize.

“Xena, apologize right now!”

The setting sun and the fire made Xena’s face burn red, but her eyes were as cold as ice.

She stared at the four of them for a few seconds and let out a bitter laugh.

She leaned down and threw the rest of the clothes into the fire. Then, she turned, walked back to her room, and slammed the door behind her.

Soon, Zayden and Yannick’s screams rang out from outside.

“Where are my pillows?! The dolls that I’ve had since I was little are gone!”

“Our rocking horse! Our teddy bears! Our spinning tops! Our toy cars!”

The boys cried like their hearts were going to break. “All our toys and clothes are gone! Dad, we don’t want a mother like that anymore!”

The light in the room grew dim. Only a faint glow remained.

Xena sat on the floor and hugged her knees. Her face was expressionless.

It felt as if someone was squeezing her heart, and the pain made it hard for her to breathe.

“Xena, open the door!”

Julian knocked several times. He sounded angry.

He twisted the doorknob hard. “Come out! We need to talk!

“If there’s a problem, we can fix it. Stop acting like a child!

“Zayden and Yannick are your sons! Do you think you’re fit to be their mother?”

The door suddenly opened. Xena looked exhausted.

Her eyes were cold and still. Her voice was calm. “I’m not fit to be their mother. Moon is.”

Julian’s breath caught. His fists clenched. “What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said.” Xena met his usual cold gaze. “Julian, all these years I’ve been chasing a fantasy. If you like Moon that much, I’ll step aside and let you be happy.”

“Xena!” Julian’s eyes turned razor sharp. “Zayden and Yannick are your sons!”

He drew in a deep breath. “I made everything clear before we got married. I gave you the status of my wife and children. What more do you want?”

Xena closed her eyes tightly. Marriage, children, status—she had wasted her life over these things in her previous life, all because she could not swallow her pride.

Tears filled her eyes. “Julian, I don’t want any of it. We—”

“It’s good if you don’t want it!” Zayden and Yannick ran forward. They clenched their fists and shouted, “You can’t even earn your own money! All you’re fit for is housework. Even that, you make us do it! You don’t even let us watch TV. You don’t let us play whenever we want! You’re not fit to be our mother!

“What we want is a mom like Ms. Jensen, who’s beautiful, gentle, and can dance!”

“Fine.” Xena lowered her head and looked at the two boys. Her voice was hoarse and low. “Zayden, Yannick, your wish will soon come true.”

Julian’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean—”

Bang!

The door slammed shut.

Xena leaned against it. Tears ran down her face.

She looked down and slid slowly to the floor. Her voice was barely a whisper.

“Julian, this time I don’t want anything.

“I don’t want you either.”