"Kyro, you have to divorce her! She’s trampled all over your love, humiliating you like this. Don’t you dare go soft again!"
Kyro didn’t speak. He just stared at me with bloodshot eyes, as if he were the one who had been wronged.
"Wife… is what Ruby said true?"
"Bring that man here. Let me see for myself. If he passes my test and truly has your best interests at heart, I’ll let you be with him. But our son… he’s the symbol of our love. I will never let you take him!"
He suddenly scooped our son into his arms and burst into tears, holding him like his last lifeline.
Anyone watching would’ve instantly painted me as the villain.
A flicker of triumph crossed Ruby’s face. She moved closer, voice coaxing.
"Eloise, end it with that man already! A peaceful life with Kyro is worth more than any fantasy."
"Get lost!"
I slapped her hand away, and the fury I had kept buried finally erupted.
"Ruby, don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been sneaking around doing behind my back!"
At my breaking point, I kicked her hard in the shin.
"If you dare interfere in my marriage again, I’ll make sure you regret it!"
Ruby stumbled back and crashed straight into the full-fish feast table, toppling plates and drenching herself in broth and sauce.
Kyro didn’t even bother to wipe his tears. His face turned dark with fury.
He grabbed my collar, his voice low and menacing.
"Apologize."
"In your dreams."
Just then, Chad rushed over and clumsily began wiping Ruby’s skirt with his tiny hands.
"Auntie Ruby, don’t cry. Chad will blow on it for you..."
That eager little face, like she was his real mother, twisted something in my chest.
Kyro let go of me and immediately turned to help Ruby clean up.
Then he turned to me with a cold sneer.
"Good, very good! Eloise, if you’re so hell-bent on divorce, then fine, let’s divorce! But remember this: you brought this on yourself!"
I ignored him and walked over to Chad, asking one final time, gently, "Chad, will you come with Mommy?"
He clung tightly to Ruby’s neck, shaking his head with force.
"You’re a bad woman! I don’t want to go with you! You always make Daddy sad!"
So the child I had poured five years of love into had already given his heart to another woman.
I glanced at Kyro one last time and spoke calmly, "You win. The child is yours."
The man I once married without a second thought now stood under the light, a fresh hickey glaring at me from his neck.
It wasn’t a mosquito bite; it was the imprint of another woman, left in the heat of passion.
As I turned to leave, my mother-in-law’s triumphant voice rang out through the restaurant.
"My son is exceptional, of course, he’ll find someone better! But you? An old, twice-married woman? Let’s see who’d still want you after leaving him!"
"Even your own son doesn’t want you. You’re doomed to die alone!"
My parents’ groveling voices stung even worse.
"In-laws, it’s our fault for not raising our daughter right. If she insists on divorcing, we’ll disown her! From now on, we only recognize Kyro as our son!"
The night breeze was cold, but not cold enough to cool the heat blazing on my cheeks.
The sting from that slap still lingered, but it was nothing compared to the pain tearing through my chest.
When I reached the entrance of the residential compound, the security guard stepped in front of me.
"Mrs. Morris, no, Miss Castillo, sorry. Mr. Morris said you’re not allowed in."
I froze in place.
"What do you mean? I’m going home. How could I not be allowed in?"
The guard let out a short scoff.
"Mr. Morris said you’re already divorced. You no longer have the right to return to his home. As for your belongings, he’ll have someone pack them up and send them to your parents’ place."
No need to guess, this was clearly another scheme my parents cooked up to force me into submission.
