I'd never seen Otis as a stranger before. But in that moment, he became one—and I finally shattered.
"Otis."
"Let's get a divorce."
I was sobbing uncontrollably, begging him.
"Otis, please. Just let me go."
He didn't agree.
He just watched me fall apart with that detached coldness, then dropped a single line before walking away.
"Debbie."
"You're not thinking about yourself."
"But what about your mother?"
Right.
My mother was still in the ICU.
The entire medical team—Otis had personally arranged for them to care for her. Even if only for Mom's sake, I had to endure. I could only endure.
So I kept swallowing it all, right up until today.
I stared at my phone, at the messages Jemima kept sending. I tapped on the latest video.
Otis was clearly drunk, holding Jemima close as he spoke.
"Debbie won't divorce me."
"Even if she doesn't stay for me—"
"—she'll stay for her mother. Because of her mother. No matter how far I push her, she can only take it."
A dull ache bloomed in my chest. I'd long accepted that Otis and I could never go back to what we were. But hearing him weaponize my weakness so casually—it still cut deep.
I listened as Jemima asked him why.
He just gave a low laugh.
"There's a secret."
"Something Debbie never knew."
"See, Debbie—" He beckoned with one finger, and Jemima leaned in. "Her mother always had a chance at recovery. Eighty percent success rate if she went overseas for treatment. But I never agreed to it."
"And I made sure no one told her."
Ice crawled up my spine.
My hands were shaking so badly I nearly dropped the phone. His voice, cold and flat, kept drilling into my ears.
"I blocked every piece of information. Made sure Debbie never found out."
"Because I needed her."
"To never be able to leave me."
"Debbie, you see—"
The rest—
I couldn't hear anymore. Tears blurred everything. I clamped a hand over my mouth, choking on silent sobs as the memories crashed over me.
Mom, trying to scrape together my college tuition, had followed the village women into the mountains to gather herbs. She'd fallen. And she'd never woken up.
So many years now.
She'd always been the wound I carried.
I still remembered how I'd nearly destroyed myself back then.
Then Otis appeared.
The untouchable young heir, standing in front of me, pulling me into his arms so tight it hurt.
"Don't be scared, Debbie."
"You have me. You don't have to be afraid of anything."
Otis had held my broken pieces together. My collapse. My entire life. He'd brought in the best medical team for my mother. Paid my tuition.
It was Otis.
It was always Otis.
He'd made me who I became.
And it was also Otis—
My phone wouldn't stop buzzing.
The hospital.
My heart seized. Before I could even answer, Jemima's mocking voice came through the video.
"What a shame."
"Looks like your mom lost the will to live after she learned the truth."
The camera showed my mother's face. Tears at the corners of her eyes.
I frantically hit accept, and the doctor's voice came through.
"Mrs. Sanchez."
"Your mother—"
Silence stretched on the other end.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The world went mute. All I could hear was my own heartbeat, and my own voice, cracking.
"My mom..."
"What happened to my—"
"Your mother passed away at 6:35 p.m. today."
"Please..."
"Accept our condolences."
This wasn't the first time Otis had drunk himself unconscious. Everyone knew the Sanchez heir wore a mask of warmth—but underneath, he was colder than anyone.
One single weakness had grown from his heart.
Her name was Debbie.
Debbie.
"Debbie..."
Otis's eyes snapped open. He raked a hand through his disheveled hair and snatched up the phone that wouldn't stop ringing. The caller ID barely registered before his foul temper exploded through the line.
"This better be important!"
"Sir..."
The voice on the other end stumbled, unable to form a coherent sentence.
Otis felt his eyelid twitch. His heart seized.
He didn't even have time to brace himself.
Through the phone, Geoffrey Sanchez finally managed to speak, his voice trembling.
"Mrs. Sanchez, she..."
"Mrs. Sanchez's mother passed away last night."
