The Intertwining of Love and Crime: My Life's Choice

Some people say that loving for the sake of love is divine, while loving for the sake of being loved is human. In the realm of love, we often lose ourselves and are willing to pay any price for that persistent emotion in our hearts. However, when love is betrayed, how many people can stay rational? Today, I want to share my story, a tale about love and crime.

I am Lily. I was born into an ordinary working-class family. My mother gave birth to me at the age of 37, and my father was already 40 at that time. Having a daughter in middle age, my parents were naturally overjoyed, and I undoubtedly became the apple of their eye.

Under the pampering of my parents, my personality has become a bit spoiled and headstrong. I recall that when I was in junior high school, seeing other classmates wearing a white leather jacket, I pestered my parents to buy one for me. It was in the early 1990s. In this small foreign town where we live, a leather jacket costs five or six thousand yuan. At that time, the enterprise where my parents worked was in a difficult situation and often couldn't pay salaries for several months. They could only barely make a living by doing odd jobs in their spare time. But I didn't care about these. I insisted on asking my parents for a leather jacket. In the end, my parents couldn't resist me and satisfied my unreasonable request. Later, I learned that the money for buying clothes was obtained by my mother pawning her wedding ring, and that ring was my mother's most beloved possession.

Looking back now, I am filled with emotion. I realize that I have always freely demanded their love from my parents, and their unprincipled indulgence has actually harmed me. This has also laid the groundwork for the big trouble I would cause in the future.

In middle school, I fell in love with a boy named Tom. Tom and I knew each other since we were little. We were classmates in elementary school, and in middle school, we became deskmates again. Tom's father was sentenced to prison for theft. After his father was imprisoned, his mother remarried. Tom was raised by his grandmother. Growing up in such an environment, Tom developed an inferiority complex. He is usually taciturn and doesn't even know how to resist when others bully him. And I am the kind of person who can't stand seeing others being bullied. When others bully Tom, I always stand up for him and argue with others for him. Over time, a subtle feeling developed between us.

What really made Tom and me make our relationship public was the opposition of teachers and parents to this matter. When the homeroom teacher found that we were very close, she talked a lot about the harms of puppy love in the class. The teacher's opposition instead aroused my rebellious mentality, and Tom and I openly appeared in pairs on campus. When the teacher saw that this was not working, she talked to my parents and asked them to persuade me. However, my parents' persuasion only strengthened my determination to be with Tom.

No one in my family supported my marriage with Tom. In their eyes, Tom is a poor guy with little education. From any perspective, he is not worthy of me. My mother even asked me with tears in her eyes more than once, "What's so good about Tom that you are willing to go against the whole family and still insist on being with him?" My family's firm opposition also made me sad for a while. But at that time, I was like being possessed. I was madly in love with Tom. I stubbornly believed that love is the most important thing in my life. Even at the cost of family affection, I would not hesitate. But I never seriously thought about whether that person is worth such a great price.

When I was 22 years old, I got married to Tom. Because my family had always opposed our marriage, they didn't attend the wedding. Tom doesn't have many relatives either. The wedding scene was rather deserted, with only a few colleagues and friends attending. It can be said that my wedding took place without the blessings of my relatives.

Although my parents didn't approve of our marriage, when I got married, they still gave me ten thousand yuan to buy some daily necessities. I will never forget the look in my mother's eyes that day, full of various complex emotions: there was a bit of love, a bit of sadness, and also a bit of reluctance and helplessness...

After marriage, Tom and I worked as a waiter and a guard respectively in a hotel. We only earned a few hundred yuan a month, and life was very tight. At this time, Tom proposed to learn how to drive so that he could earn some extra money by driving in his spare time to support our family. Of course, I supported Tom's idea. I lived frugally and took out three thousand yuan to let Tom learn how to drive.

Soon, the female boss of the hotel needed a driver. Tom, who is conscientious and loyal, became the boss's driver. At first, I was very happy. After all, it's a case of a husband's prosperity bringing honor to his wife. But soon, I discovered a problem. Tom often had to accompany the female boss on outings at night and coming home in the middle of the night became a common occurrence. Moreover, the female boss was also very good to Tom and often gave him gifts. With a woman's unique intuition, I felt there must be something wrong. Sure enough, soon rumors spread to my ears. It turned out that the female boss got rich by relying on a rich man. Now that rich man no longer likes the female boss. To fill the emptiness in her heart, the female boss has taken on a "kept man" again. And Tom is just one of the female boss's "boyfriends."

I found Tom and questioned him why he was so spineless. Unexpectedly, he had a shameless look and said that he did this also to let me live a better life. Tom's attitude completely angered me. I swore that I must make Tom pay the price. That night, I took a gasoline bottle and set the car that Tom was driving on fire. Looking at the raging fire, my heart was filled with a sense of pleasure. But soon, that pleasure turned into fear because there was a strong wind that night. The fire spread with the wind and soon the entire garage and dozens of cars inside were destroyed. Afterward, I was sentenced to ten years in prison for arson.

When I first arrived at prison, because of the long sentence, I was in a very bad mood and often fought with other prisoners for no reason. In addition to scolding me, the prison guards also gave me special attention and patiently educated and counseled me. Moreover, I am a warm-hearted person. When a prison roommate has a headache, a fever, or is troubled by something, I take it very seriously. I keep asking them how they are and if they are feeling better. And when a prison roommate encounters difficulties in life, I am also the most enthusiastic person.

After these changes, I have become much more mature. I am now very remorseful. My momentary impulse back then has led to today's consequences. After I was imprisoned, my parents visited me many times in prison. The support of family affection has given me the belief to reform. Now, my performance in reform is very good.

Love is an eternal theme of humanity. It can make people brave and strong, but it can also make people crazy and lose their rationality. My story tells us that in the face of love, we must remain rational and not be overcome by momentary impulses. At the same time, we must cherish the people around us and not wait until we lose them to realize their value.

May everyone find their own happiness on the road of love and not repeat my mistakes. Let's cheer for me and hope that in the days to come, I can start anew and live a beautiful life.