Chapter 3

Shayne's other hand pinched my chin, forcing me not to evade, and then his lips pressed down on mine.

"You'll like it."

…

Zach was in the senior class of kindergarten.

School started at 8:00 am every day.

It took about 20 minutes to drive to the kindergarten. To avoid being late, he would leave home at 7:30 am every day.

I, on the other hand, got up at 6:30 am to cook breakfast.

Today's breakfast was a bit simpler. It was ravioli that I prepared last night.

The broth was the troublesome part. I needed to simmer fresh chicken broth.

I lay bay leaves at the bottom of the ceramic pot, placed a whole cleaned chicken inside, and finally placed a few sprigs of thyme on top. I then covered it and turned the heat to high.

Once the water boiled, I lifted the lid, and the rich aroma of chicken broth wafted up to greet me.

After adding a bit of salt, I turn the heat down to simmer.

Now that I was done with this, I happily left the kitchen and went to the dressing room to help the boys pick out clothes for the day.

Shayne was the CEO of the company, so he dressed quite formally.

Zach, being a kid, wore clothes where comfort and convenience were most important.

Once I finish pairing the outfits, I put the clothes in their respective bedrooms. Shayne and Zach were just about done washing up.

Since I had time, I ladled out the chicken broth and started cooking the ravioli.

The chicken broth was already hot, so it was easy to bring it to a boil.

After I added enough ravioli for three people into the pot, I quietly waited for the ravioli to cook.

"Mom!"

Hearing Zach's angry voice, I turned around and saw him charging toward me with the tablet in his arms.

He furiously demanded, "Did you delete Ms. Luna's number and leave the group?"

I looked at his youthful face, which was unusually lively because of his anger, and shook my head. "I didn't."

But I understood Zach well. Although he was too young to be able to distinguish right from wrong, Luna's willingness to indulge him and let him eat and play freely made her the person he liked the most.

Even though we adults cut off his contact with Luna for his own good, he definitely wouldn't be able to just accept it.

I had already mentally prepared myself to face his anger. Still, I didn't expect what he said to be so hurtful.

"Who else would do that?" Zach glared at me with red eyes. "No wonder they all say Dad doesn't like you. A woman like you who likes to control others' lives and every move doesn't deserve anyone's affection!"

Even though I had anticipated that he would say some extreme things out of an emotional outburst, I told myself that as a mother, I should be understanding.

But...

I still overestimated myself.

His words were like sharp arrows, effortlessly breaking through the defenses in my heart and piercing deep within.

It turned out that my son thought I was such a detestable person.

My hands trembled uncontrollably as I asked, "If Dad doesn't like me, who does he like?"

Zach puffed his cheeks angrily. "Of course, it's Ms. Luna! He said it himself. He has liked Ms. Luna for a long time!"

"Really?" My mind went blank. "How do you know this..."

Zach looked at me with his head tilted. "Dad told me, of course. Why would he take me to play with Ms. Luna every time otherwise?"

His naivety made his innocent and straightforward inquiry even more hurtful.

Indeed…

If Shayne didn't like Luna, he wouldn't be in contact with her.

And yet, their recent interactions had been terrifyingly frequent.

Shayne's feelings for Luna were evident.

It felt like a huge hand was tightly gripping my heart. I was instantly filled with a sharp pain.

"Dad must really like Ms. Luna. The way he looks at Ms. Luna is different from how he looks at you. Dad said that the reason he doesn't want a divorce is that he's afraid I'll end up becoming a child from a single-parent family like you. It wouldn't be good for my psychological growth. He's also worried that you would cling to him and end up hurting others when you lose control!"

I looked at Zach.

He was only five years old, speaking in a cute, childish tone that was nothing short of innocent.

However, the things he said were incredibly extreme and hurtful.

I desperately comforted myself, telling myself that he only said these things because he was upset.

Even so, I couldn't stop my hands from shaking.

The ravioli was cooked then.

As the aroma wafted into my nose, I forced myself not to think about this "innocent talk." I started serving him a bowl of ravioli. Afraid it would burn him, I placed the bowl on the table.

"Go ahead and dig in."

However, Zach picked up the bowl from the table with both hands and slammed it down onto the floor.

Clang!

The porcelain bowl shattered into pieces. There was chicken broth and ravioli everywhere.

"Zach Pearce! There's a limit to throwing tantrums. Have you forgotten the manners I taught you?"

I was also getting angry. Our eyes met, and neither of us backed down.

Not getting the result he wanted, Zach disgruntledly pushed me away. He cried as he left, "I don't need you to teach me! I hate you!"

He wasn't strong, but I was still pushed off balance, nearly falling over.

I watched Zach's retreating figure in disbelief.

We had always gotten along well. But because he was still young and his thinking wasn't mature enough, he would say and do the wrong things. Although it occasionally hurt me, I would calm down and later tell him what he had done wrong. He would then understand how to correct himself.

Usually, at times like this, he would come over and wrap his little arms around my neck, cooing, "Mom, I shouldn't have said that just now. I made you sad, didn't I? I'll remember to never say it again."

Then, he would gently nuzzle his face against mine.

But now…

I steadied myself against the stove, but drops of tears fell uncontrollably.

Why had he turned out this way?

Was there really something wrong with how I raised him?

I seriously reflected on myself and how I used to be overly strict with him.

Since Zach was just a child, he didn't understand that everything I did was for his own good. He only felt oppressed.

Luna's reckless indulgence just happened to make him feel relaxed...

He was slowly being influenced.

Gradually, he was moving away from me and getting closer to Luna.

Would our relationship improve if I were to lower my expectations of him in the future?

I took another bowl from the rack.

Zach's breakfast was all over the floor.

Shayne hadn't eaten yet. I didn't thoughtfully serve the ravioli in advance as I usually did. Instead, I placed the empty bowl on the table and sat beside it.

I had to admit, my emotions were a mess at this very moment.

Shayne paused when he sat down and saw the empty bowl. "What's wrong?"

I held back my emotions which were on the verge of erupting and replied, "Yesterday, I left the group and deleted Luna's contact. Zach got really upset and threw his meal. I guess he doesn't feel like eating what I made today. You can just take him to school for breakfast."

Shayne nodded in agreement. "Okay."

He then got up to serve himself some ravioli. "Don't be upset, honey. There's no need to argue with a child."

As I looked at him, Zach's words echoed in my ears. I opened my mouth, wanting to ask him what was going on.

But then I stopped.

If he questioned me later, how could I explain that I took what our son said in anger seriously? How would I respond?

But if I didn't ask anything, I would feel stifled...

With frustration building up inside me, I finally mentioned, "About yesterday..."

"Don't worry." Shayne seemed to know what I was concerned about. He smiled and raised his hand, ruffling my hair over the table. "Since I promised you, I'll handle it well."

Hearing his reassuring response, I finally felt a bit relieved. "That's good. Let's eat."

Once he cut off contact with Luna, I would also try to act as if his feelings had never wavered. He was still my loving husband and a devoted father.

After all, we used to be a happy family.

…

After Shayne finished his meal, he went to the bedroom to call Zach for school.

Zach came out dressed. When he saw me, he huffed and turned away, sulking as he took Shayne's hand and stormed off to the door.

Meanwhile, Shayne stood at the door and said goodbye to me.

Like every other day, they left.

I was left alone at home.

My task was to repeat the same boring routine of cleaning up the mess they left behind.

The shattered bowl on the floor, the scattered ravioli, the broth that had spilled everywhere, the used empty bowls on the table, and the dirty laundry from yesterday…

After finishing the chores, I finally started mopping the floor, moving from the living room to the bedroom, and then to the study.

As I pushed open the study door, I saw a photo and two opened letters on the desk.

It was an old photo of Luna looking youthful and vibrant.

The letter on the left was in Shayne's familiar handwriting.

He had only written two sentences.

"Luna, even though you hurt me deeply when you betrayed me, I would forgive you.

"As long as you're willing to reconcile with me, I can cancel the wedding with Aralyn immediately."

Boom.

My mind went blank.