“Well, you didn’t die, did you?” Claire shot me a glance of feigned annoyance and continued, “Why make things difficult for a child? I’ll apologize on her behalf, and let’s leave it at that. After all, she’s a minor—you can’t really do anything to us.”
“There’s no need to apologize,” Dylan interjected, stopping her.
My throat tightened as I looked at the man before me, a man I suddenly felt I no longer knew.
There was a time when he would carefully tend to even the smallest scratch on me. Now, after I narrowly escaped death, he seemed utterly indifferent, even urging me not to pursue the one responsible.
“Go home, Amira. Don’t make me repeat myself.” His icy tone felt like a dagger, leaving me cold and numb.
“I want an explanation,” I firmly replied.
Dylan raised his head in surprise, then furrowed his brows, as if coming to a realization. “Anna and Claire are just a widow and her child, relying on each other to get by. Anna is young and doesn’t understand things clearly. She sees me as a father figure, and I happen to like kids, so I went along with it. When she’s older, I’ll explain.”
I laughed bitterly, the sound full of self-mockery. “You like kids, but you’ve refused to have one with me, haven’t you?”
I thought back to those early days of marriage. Despite being newlyweds, Dylan was never home at night. Summoning all my courage, I had shyly asked him to stay in for just one evening. He hesitated before nodding in agreement.
That night, just as our passion was at its peak, his phone rang. Without a moment’s hesitation, he got up and left.
Embarrassment, disappointment, and humiliation mingled into a storm of emotions. I sat alone on the bed, crying through the night.
Dylan clearly remembered that night too. He offered a clumsy explanation. “Anna had a high fever that night.”
I walked over to the window, gazing at the endless lights of the city below, a cold smile on my lips. “You mean to tell me that Anna, who has a mother, grandparents, and a family, somehow couldn’t survive without the presence of an unrelated ‘father’?”
“That’s enough!” He strode over and grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at him in the eye. “I never realized you could be so jealous!”
In his pupils, I saw my own reflection—a face worn down by endless misfortune. And every misfortune had been orchestrated by him and Claire.
Suddenly, it all felt pointless.
I wrenched myself free from his grip and walked away. Just as my hand reached for the doorknob, his voice came from behind me, cold and unyielding. “Don’t be a lawyer anymore. Be a proper housewife. This isn’t a discussion—it’s a decision.”
“And Amira, you’ve already lost your right to be a lawyer.”
“I’ve made sure there’s no way out for you.”
