He Chose Divorce, so I Destroyed His Legacy

On the day, my husband, Eugene Doyle, receives the offer to further his studies in the city, he serves me divorce papers instead.

I, Maria Johnston, am eight months pregnant with his child.

He tries to console me. "Maria, ever since my elder brother, Edgar, passed away, Janice has had nobody taking care of her. She can't survive on her own.

"I'll marry her for the time being, just on paper, until she manages to find her footing in the city. After that, I'll come back and marry you again."

Everyone assumes that I will patiently and obediently wait for Eugene to return because of my pregnancy. However, I tear up his written oath to me and terminate the pregnancy that same day.

Then, with the offer letter for the National Archeology Certification in my hands, I leave our little village and disappear from Eugene's life.

Five years later, I become a successful archeologist and return to the same village for a survey. My current husband, Rupert Kingston, can't come at the same time as me due to an emergency meeting, but he has informed the villagers to welcome me with open arms ahead of time.

To my surprise, I meet my ex-husband instead.

He says, "I know that you lost your baby at eight months. There's no need to be ashamed about it. It's about time you came back after running away from home all those years ago.

"Janice is about to give birth. We need you to be her nanny."

A huge banner that read "Welcome, Ms. Archeologist!" was hung up in the village at the most eye-catching spot.

There was also a huge group of people waiting under the banner. Standing at the frontmost spot of the group was my ex-husband, Eugene Doyle.

Janice Lockhart, his current wife, stood next to him, along with the other village officials. They looked all around them, anxiously waiting for the arrival of said archeologist.

"Hey, look! Mr. Doyle, isn't that your ex-wife, Maria Johnston?" one of the people in the group asked, suddenly elbowing Eugene.

Eugene's face lit up when he caught sight of me. However, the smile vanished almost immediately.

"I told you that she was just a village girl who'd never be able to survive out there on her own, especially after suffering a miscarriage like that. It's been five years since she ran away from home. It's about time she came back."

The group of people began to laugh.

"Hey, Maria!" one shouted. "Did you come back because you heard that Mr. Doyle had been promoted to manager at our factory and regretted leaving him years ago? Are you back to try and lick his boots or something?"

"Look at you!" another said with a sneer. "You should have taken better care of yourself, even if you'd been divorced by him back then. What kind of stupid, ragged clothing are you wearing?"

"I bet she must have been pinching pennies after leaving Mr. Doyle," a woman added.