Became A Queen After divorce

Low-Rent Neighborhood of Srilgan, a small village located on the outskirts of Zheemond city.

Despite being separated by just a wall, Low-Rent Neighborhood of Srilgan and the Zheemond urban area form a stark contrast.

On one side, there are low, dilapidated houses;

On the other side, there are modern skyscrapers, bustling with lights and activity.

A wide river flows slowly from north to south at the village entrance, with waves surging along its banks.Property © 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org.

People have cut down the once-dense tropical plants along the riverbanks to build houses.

Before even stepping into the village, Pearl saw piles of garbage as tall as mountains, some even higher than the houses.

Many children, barefoot and naked from the waist up, were running and laughing in the garbage heaps.

They were filthy from head to toe because their parents were too busy making a living to look after them, leaving them to play among the trash.

On the garbage heaps, there were also many adults and elderly people.

With hunched and frail bodies, they tied large plastic bags around their waists and mechanically rummaged through the piles of trash for recyclable items.

Their faces, eroded by time, bore no smiles-only sweat and endless hope for life.

Pearl had never seen such desolate and decaying scenes since she was born.

She widened her almond-shaped eyes in astonishment, feeling as if she were in a strange, unfamiliar place.

“This…”

“Surprised? This is where I really live!”

Ruth smiled bitterly, looking down at the expensive dress she was wearing.

There was no doubt she couldn’t afford such a dress with her financial situation.

The dress she was wearing was a gift from Pearl.

“To you, this dress might be just an ordinary piece of clothing, but you have no idea-it could be my family’s annual income.”

Ruth’s statement was no exaggeration.

A Chanel dress costs tens of thousands, while the local salary in Zheemond is about 2, 500 yuan per month.

After deducting rent, utilities, and food, it’s barely enough to get by.

But her family’s situation is even worse.

“My father broke his leg on a construction site when he was young, and the boss ran away without compensating him. His monthly medical expenses are 1, 500.”

“My mother earns money washing dishes at Chulae restaurant, but my monthly college living expenses are 900.” This was her living cost even with extreme frugality.

“Pearl, you’ll never know that to save money, I even had to use cloth as sanitary pads during my period.”

“When they got dirty, I had to wash them with ash from plants before reusing them.”

This led to an embarrassing incident.

During the excellent student representative speech, she wore a white dress on stage, and her period accidentally leaked through the cloth, humiliating her in front of the entire school.

The mean girls in her class, jealous of her good grades and looks, started spreading rumors about her.

“They said I was like this because I had an incomplete abortion, and my boyfriend believed them and called me unchaste before transferring schools and leaving me.”

In Tondende, abortions were common. She often found underdeveloped fetuses in black plastic bags in the garbage dumps.

After that, Ruth became even more self-conscious.

And it all started because she couldn’t afford a pack of sanitary pads.

“I wore this dress to hang out with you during the day, and at night, I had to carefully take it off, put on my old, dirty clothes, and work in the garbage dumps like everyone else.”

“People living on this land depend on this garbage dump as much as they hate it!”

In her childhood, this village was lush with vegetation and rich in fish resources.

One day, the government built a wall outside the village, isolating them from the outside world. Trees began to be cut down, and the river water ceased to be clear.

The most lethal blow was the continuous dumping of foreign waste here.

The land quickly changed.

It was no longer the beautiful, peaceful, and serene hometown in her memory.

People living here were despised by the outside world because of the word “slum.”

Fearing they had infectious diseases, many places wouldn’t even offer them normal job opportunities.

Gradually, young people couldn’t stand it and left.

Only the elderly who didn’t want to leave their homeland and children who couldn’t support themselves remained.

“I told myself from a young age that I didn’t want to live like them!”

“I didn’t want to be filthy and spend every day surrounded by this dirty garbage.”

“So, I studied desperately and got into a school in the city.”

“At school, I was afraid others would find out about my family’s situation, so I lied, saying my father was a big company boss and my mother was a fashion designer.”

Most of the garbage here came from overseas, including some discarded branded clothes.

She would pick them out from the trash, wash them clean, and sew them up to become new styles no one had seen before.

Seeing the familiar brand tags, people started believing her lie that her mother was a top fashion designer.

“Likewise, I didn’t want you to look down on me, so my lies started five years ago.”

“Pearl, can you forgive me?”

In the five years she had known Pearl, Pearl had never flaunted her wealth, making Ruth mistakenly believe Pearl was as poor as she was.

Little did she know, Pearl shattered all her assumptions on their first meeting.

Pearl was far more beautiful than she imagined, quirky, straightforward, and generous.

She could spend 160, 000 in a day shopping, an amount Ruth couldn’t even dream of.

She never imagined Pearl was the renowned lady of the Gilliam family, to whom 160, 000 was a mere trifle.

Realizing the gap between her and Pearl, Ruth had been constantly worried her lies would be exposed.

“Now I’ve confessed everything. If Pearl hates me, I won’t blame her. After all, no one wants to be friends with a liar,” Ruth said, feeling guilty.

Pearl quietly listened to her reveal her inner feelings bit by bit.

Saying she wasn’t shocked would be a lie, but it was far from making her hate Ruth.

So, she took a step forward, took Ruth’s arm, and gently comforted her, “Ruth, don’t overthink it. You hid your identity from me, and I did the same to you. Since we both made mistakes, let’s not dwell on it.”

“Besides, I became friends with you because I genuinely like you and enjoy chatting with you. I don’t care about money or status.”

“Really?”

Ruth had prepared herself for the end of their friendship when she decided to bring Pearl here.

She never expected Pearl to forgive her so generously.

“Of course, it’s true. I don’t look down on you. On the contrary, I actually envy you.”

“Envy me? Why?”

What could someone like her have that a wealthy heiress like Pearl would envy?

The next moment, Pearl looked into her eyes, gently smiled, and said, “Yes, I envy your courage not to be controlled by fate and your hard work towards your goals. As for me, all I do is live off others and lie down.”

“I think I need to learn from you, so-I’m going to find a job!”

Ruth was shocked to the core.

The lazy Pearl said she wanted to work.

Her dream since she was sixteen had been living off her father, her husband, and her dad.

Her life goal was to have money, kids, and a husband who wouldn’t come home!