Elwin trailed right beside them.
Compliments flowed without pause.
“He really takes after Mr. Henson's good looks. What a gorgeous child.”
“Though those eyes are the spitting image of the Pruitt heiress.”
My heart seized, crushed by an invisible fist, and a suffocating ache ripped through every nerve.
Elwin and his parents smiled and nodded at the guests, but when they turned, their eyes landed squarely on mine.
The smiles froze on their faces.
Elwin blurted out before he could stop himself：
“Maura, what are you doing here?”
A few heads swiveled toward me.
“Fox? So you're not one of the Hensons. Which side of the family are you from?”
Norma's expression darkened for a split second before she turned to the guest with a practiced smile：
“She's a Henson relative. Distant branch of the family.”
The panic in Elwin's face eased considerably once he heard that.
“Right, she's……she's a distant cousin of mine.”
“Ah, that explains it.”
The curiosity dissolved.
Norma handed the baby off to Dana, then pulled me aside. Her voice dropped low, laced with warning.
“Weren't you overseas? And who told you to come here? Do you have any idea what kind of event this is?”
I let out a cold laugh：
“What's the matter? My husband throws a one-month celebration for his mistress's baby, and his actual wife isn't allowed to attend?”
Her voice turned icy：“Drop the act!”
“I suggest you get lost before you make things worse for yourself.”
A quiet laugh slipped from my lips, and the chill in my eyes deepened：“And if I don't?”
“Don't push your luck!”
“You think you're still good enough for my son? Do you even know who that child's mother is?”
“The heir to the Pruitt family. Old-money elite. Old Mr. Pruitt's own granddaughter.”
I replied without a trace of emotion：
“The Pruitts? Bottom of the barrel among the elite families.”
“They're still way beyond anything you can touch!”
“You've seen what you've seen today. Now keep your mouth shut and walk away.”
“Otherwise, you won't have a place left in this world.”
Elwin walked over as well, a warning threaded through his tone.
“Maura, you run a tiny company. We're not in the same world anymore.”
“Summer knows about us. But she said as long as you come back and agree to the divorce without making a fuss, she won't make things difficult for you.”
“A clean break. That's the most dignity I can offer you.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of divorce papers.
“I figured you'd be back around now, so I've been carrying these with me. Just sign.”
I stared at the papers and bowed my head, a trembling laugh escaping me.
Caught red-handed with an affair and an illegitimate child, and they felt not a shred of guilt. Instead, they stood here threatening me like I was the one in the wrong.
The next instant I lifted my chin, and something shifted in the air around me, cold and commanding.
“Elwin, you're all so afraid of offending the Pruitts. Aren't you the least bit afraid of offending me?”
Norma hadn't expected that kind of force from me.
But with the Pruitt name bolstering her courage, she hardened her expression again and stared at me like I'd lost my mind.
“Who do you think you are? An egg smashing itself against a rock. The nerve.”
Elwin chimed in：
“Bluffing won't get you anywhere. I'll throw in some money if that's what it takes. Don't humiliate yourself, or today won't end at just a divorce.”
He pulled a check from his breast pocket and tossed it at me.
“One million dollars.”
Three years I'd propped him up. That check wasn't compensation. It was a bare-faced insult.
Slowly, I reached out my hand.
At the sight of it, smiles crept across both their faces.
Norma sneered：“There we go. I knew all you wanted was to squeeze some money out of us.”
But in the very next moment, I tore the check to shreds and let the pieces scatter like confetti.
