I used to think Oscar didn't see through Mildred's schemes and manipulations.
Now I realized he'd been enjoying every second of it—two women fighting over him.
I turned to the waiter beside me.
"Cancel the—"
"OWWW! It hurts! Daddy, Miss Summers pinched my arm and made it all swollen!"
Beatrice held up a red, swollen arm and wailed as if her heart were being ripped out.
"Janet, if you have a problem with me, take it out on me. Why would you bully a child? She's innocent!" Mildred's eyes were rimmed red, and the look she turned on Oscar was brimming with hurt and helplessness. "Oscar, thank you for everything you've done for us over the years, but we shouldn't see each other anymore. She abuses Bea right in front of you. I can't imagine what she'd do when you're not around..."
She took Beatrice's hand and moved to leave.
Beatrice grabbed the hem of Oscar's jacket and refused to let go.
"I don't wanna leave Daddy! I want Mommy and Daddy together forever! Miss Summers is a bad lady. She's trying to steal my daddy!"
The commotion at our table instantly drew every eye in the restaurant.
A handful of influencers who'd been livestreaming whipped out their phones and aimed the cameras straight at my face.
"Oh my God, you guys, I came here for a restaurant review and walked into a mistress confronting the real wife! Screenshot this homewrecker's face so she doesn't steal YOUR man next."
"That poor baby. The mistress has the nerve to abuse a child right in front of the parents. Imagine what she'd do as a stepmother!"
The waiter who had been perfectly pleasant moments ago turned cold.
"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. We don't welcome homewreckers in this establishment."
The situation was spiraling out of control. I looked at Oscar, silently begging him to step forward and clear my name.
He barely spared me a glance.
"Janet, Bea is just a child. How could you lay a hand on her?"
"Oscar, I didn't pinch her."
I pointed to the security camera above us.
"If you don't believe me, pull the footage right now."
The words had barely left my mouth when Beatrice collapsed to the floor.
"Oscar! Bea fainted! Get her to a hospital, hurry!" Mildred screamed.
Oscar scooped Beatrice into his arms and bolted for the door. Just as he crossed the glass entrance, his steps faltered. He turned back to look at me.
By then, I was surrounded—livestreamers with their cameras and self-righteous customers closing in like a mob.
Insults rained down on me from every direction.
For one fleeting second, I thought he'd had a change of heart.
Then he opened his mouth.
"Janet, I never knew you could be this vicious. When you figure out what you did wrong, come find me."
He left without looking back.
He left me alone to face the mob.
In the end, it was a stranger—a customer who couldn't stomach watching anymore—who called the police. Only then was I able to leave the restaurant.
Sticky broth dripped down my hair, trailing along my temples. My white dress was smeared with food stains and reeked. Not a single rideshare driver would pick me up.
I walked home.
When I pushed through the front door, Oscar was sitting on the living room couch, smoking. He tried to keep his expression neutral, but I caught the disgust in his eyes.
"You're back?"
I looked at him steadily.
"Oscar, we're done."
The hand pinching his cigarette went still. He stood and walked toward me.
"Because of what happened at lunch?"
He stared at my face, took a long drag, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"Janet, I thought you'd understand the situation. If I'd defended you at the restaurant, Mildred and Bea would've been the ones getting hurt."
He paused, then added, "Besides, this whole mess started because you got jealous and hurt Bea. You have no one to blame but yourself."
