Remembering everything from that day feels like being thrown into an ice cave—my breath caught, my chest tightening until it hurts to breathe.
I'm going to be divorced soon.
That thought kept crashing through my mind, over and over again, as if forcing me to stay awake... to stay sane.
Soon, whoever Sebastian wanted to sleep with, he could sleep with. Whoever he wanted to protect, coax, or spoil... None of it would have anything to do with me anymore.
My fingers trembled as I covered my eyes.
The biggest mistake of my life wasn't marrying a man who never loved me—it was destroying myself for him. Draining every last bit of my strength to prove something he never cared to see. Grinding my bones down until there was nothing left.
Aggrieved, hollow, ashamed—each emotion pricked my heart like a hundred needles.
Tears blurred my vision as I knelt down and began packing Jacob's things.
His tiny jacket, his little socks. The milk bottle he used to bite on. The messy little cards he drew with his crayons...
Each item I placed in the box felt like carving a piece of flesh out of my own body.
"Mommy... Jacob likes Mommy the most... Mommy should smile more, okay?" His soft little voice still echoed in my ears.
He couldn't even form full sentences back then, yet right before surgery, he would wipe my tears with his warm little hands, comforting me with his clumsy words.
"Mommy don't cry... baby not pain... Mommy hug..."
But that sweet, sensible child—he would never walk out of that operating room again. Never run into my arms again.
How could Sebastian be so cruel? How could he bear to let our child die alone?
Jacob could have lived!
Just a little more—if only the bone marrow that belonged to him hadn't been stolen…
I cover my mouth, choking on a sob as pain tears through my chest.
Just as I wiped away my tears, the bedroom door suddenly clicked open. I snapped the suitcase shut and quickly wiped my face.
Sebastian steps in, taking off his coat. His brows knitted as he looked at me. "Wife, what are you doing?"
I forced my stiff lips into a smile. "Didn't you say... you weren't coming back tonight? I'm just clearing out some old things."
Before my voice even faded, a sharp, coquettish voice cut in, "Oh my, President Mitchell, even with your wife at home, the place still looks so messy?"
Sabrina strutted in on high heels, her gaze sweeping over me like a scanning beam, slow and mocking.
Then she brushed past me casually, as if this were her house.
A beat later, she let out a high-pitched shriek of surprise. "President Mitchell! I didn't know you had something so cute at home!"
She lunged toward the giant teddy bear in the corner—the one I hand-stitched while pregnant with Jacob. The one that accompanied him through countless painful nights.
Her movement was too rough; her shoulder knocked straight into the photo frame beside the door—the one containing the only family photo we had.
Crack!
As glass shattered across the floor, my heart shattered with it.
It was the only wedding photo we had taken after Jacob was born. He stood between us in a tiny suit, smiling with innocent joy.
That day, Sebastian held my hand and promised he would protect me and our child.
It was the only thing we had that felt remotely meaningful.
And now it lay broken on the floor—just like this family.
Sabrina gasped dramatically, covering her mouth. "Ah! Madam won't be mad, right? I didn't mean to... If you feel bad, I can pay—"
She didn't even finish before Sebastian rushed to her side, grabbing her arm and checking her for injuries.
"Are you hurt? Did you bump yourself? Be careful."
Only when he confirmed she was fine did he exhale in relief. His voice softened, so tender it felt foreign. "As long as you're fine, that's alright. It's just a piece of paper. Why would you compensate?"
I stare at the shattered pieces on the floor, my chest tightening painfully.
So in his eyes... those days, those memories...were nothing more than a worthless piece of paper.
Clenching my fist, I steadied my voice. "It's fine. If it's broken, it's broken."
Sebastian paused—clearly not expecting me to be so "sensible."
Sabrina blinked, displeasure flashing in her eyes, apparently displeased that I didn't fall into her trap. She had been expecting me to explode.
But no matter how much I cared about that photo, more than anything... I wanted to claw out the bone marrow inside her. The marrow that should have saved my son. However, I knew that was impossible.
With a sugary smile hiding sharp edges, she said, "President Mitchell, did you forget to tell your wife why I'm here?"
Her "reminder" jogged his memory. He turned to me, speaking as if it were natural, logical, unquestionable. "Lorelei, clear out Jacob's room. Sabrina fought with her family and has nowhere to stay. She's my secretary—I can't just throw her out. She'll temporarily stay in Jacob's room."
