Son Wants a New Mom, Dad Says Denied

After being married to Caden Lancaster for seven years, I find a diamond ear stud that doesn't belong to me in his suit pocket for the first time. What's more, I haven't worn jewelry in a long time.

I calmly place the stud on the dining table in the living room and wait for Caden to come back with our son, Felix Lancaster.

As soon as Felix walks in, he spots the sparkling stud and says with disdain, "Mom, you're wasting money again."

I hold back the urge to hit him. I ignore him and shift my gaze to Caden, who is standing behind him.

"Explain yourself. Whose earring is this?" I say coolly.

Caden doesn't speak. He stands there as if he is frozen in place. His handsome features stiffen.

Seeing the scene, Felix suddenly bursts into laughter. "Dad, did you find me a new mom? That's great!"

My six-year-old son imitates the mocking tone he heard from short videos and shouts at me, "Having a plain Jane mom like you is so embarrassing! Get out of my house! This looks like Ms. Sulvan's earring. That's great! I want her to be my mom. She's pretty, gentle, and she really likes Dad."

Every word cuts deeply into my heart.

Upon hearing this, Caden loosens his clenched fist. He takes two shoehorns from the cabinet behind him and smacks Felix on the head.

He hands both of them to me and asks in a low, grim voice, "Which one do you want, honey? The wider one or the thinner one?"

I stared at the two shoehorns Caden Lancaster handed me. One was made of dark hardwood, wide and sturdy, clearly meant for delivering a proper beating. The other was plastic, thin and long, perfect for leaving bright red welts.

The seven-year itch that had been burning inside me was doused by my son's betrayal, leaving me feeling oddly amused despite everything.

Before I could choose one, little Felix Lancaster burst into tears with a wail loud enough to wake the dead, as if he'd suffered the greatest injustice in the world.

"Daddy, you're hitting me! You're hitting me for this old, ugly woman!" he cried, stamping his feet, his small body trembling with rage.

"I hate you! I hate her too! I want Ms. Sulvan to be my mom!"

Caden's expression turned stormy as thunder. Without a word, he grabbed the thick hardwood shoehorn and brought it down hard on Felix's backside with a sharp crack.

He put real force into it. Felix's crying stopped abruptly, his whole body frozen in shock, before he erupted into an even more agonized howl.

"You hit me again! I'm calling the police on you! This is abuse!"

I watched coldly, making no move to intervene. Caden dragged his wailing son to the corner and made him face the wall to think about what he'd done. Only then did he turn and walk over to me, his deep eyes filled with exhaustion and apology.

"Honey, I'm sorry. I didn't raise our son properly."

He picked up the earring from the table, his brow furrowed. "This does seem to belong to Ms. Sulvan, but I have no idea how it ended up in my pocket."

I stared into his eyes.

Caden had beautiful eyes with slightly upturned corners. In his youth, those eyes made countless girls scream. Now, mellowed by time, they appeared even more tender.

He never lied to me. I knew that better than anyone. But the appearance of this earring wouldn't stop nagging at me.

"Ms. Sulvan, the one who teaches their class literature, the really pretty one?" I asked.

"Yes." Caden nodded.

He then added, "But I don't think she's pretty."

His survival instinct was strong, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to completely calm me down right now.

"Then how do you explain this?" I pointed at the earring.

Before Caden could answer, Felix sniffled from the corner and tattled, "It is Ms. Sulvan's! I saw her wearing it today. She dropped one and looked for it forever, but she couldn't find it.

"She even said she hoped a handsome guy would find it, and she'd marry him to say thanks. Ms. Sulvan said before that Daddy is really handsome."

Caden and I locked eyes, instantly understanding what had happened.

Caden walked over and dragged Felix, who was covered in snot and tears, back to us. His voice went dead serious.

"Felix Lancaster, you tell me the truth. Did you pick up Ms. Sulvan's earring and put it in my pocket?"

Felix's eyes darted around. He pouted stubbornly, refusing to speak.

"Speak!" Caden's voice went ice cold.

Felix finally cracked and burst into tears again. "I just wanted Ms. Sulvan to be part of our family!

"Ms. Sulvan is so nice, not like Mom, who wears those old pajamas every day with messy hair and doesn't look good at all! All my classmates laugh at me and say my mom looks like a maid!"