Chapter 3

The parents around us started whispering right away.

"Oh my god, I never would've guessed. I thought Ethan's mom was nice, but she's this jealous?"

"I've been watching since the start. Apparently, she and this woman's husband used to date, but he dumped her. Now she's taking it out on the new wife. Throwing hot soup like that? She could've ruined her face."

"People are scary these days. Better stay away from her. And keep the kids away, too. You never know if her son picked up her bad habits. If something happens, we'll all be in trouble."

Their gossip got more and more ridiculous, and I almost laughed out of pure disbelief.

But moments like this were exactly when I needed to stay calm and spell things out.

I took a deep breath. "I already said it wasn't on purpose. And seriously, who gives a kid boiling soup to drink?"

Olivia's eyes filled with fake tears as she stared at me. "Jessica, I genuinely wanted to be friends with you. I really think your son is adorable.

"He looked thirsty, so I wanted to help. But you twisted it into something ugly. It really breaks my heart."

She paused, then added sweetly, "I know you still haven't gotten over Henry. With my dad's help, he's one of the top designers in the circle now—rich, handsome, and successful. You must be kicking yourself for letting him go."

"You're joking," I said, shaking my head. My voice stayed calm. "I don't regret it. Not even a little."

Henry let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh. "You're still as stubborn as ever. Seeing your ex doing better than you and my son doing better than yours, there's no way you're not regretting it."

Watching him flaunt his money and his so-called "biological son", desperately trying to prove how different his life was now compared to before, I honestly found it ridiculous.

He didn't even realize that the kid looked nothing like him. And he still hadn't figured it out.

But I had zero interest in wasting more time on them, so I cut straight to the point. "How much for the bag and the outfit? I'll transfer it to you."

"You're going to pay me?" Olivia laughed like I'd told the funniest joke on earth.

Her expression was dripping with mockery. "Do you even know how much this set costs? Just the bag needed fifty grand in purchase history. Fifty thousand dollars. Sweetheart, you're wearing Shein and taking the bus. You think you can afford this?"

I took a slow breath and forced myself to stay calm. "You're right. My outfit isn't worth much. But that doesn't mean I can't pay you back. Just give me your bank number."

Olivia clearly didn't believe a word of it. "I'm not even trying to make this hard for you. I know people who can't have kids of their own tend to spoil the ones they manage to get whether they're blood-related or not."

She tilted her head and gave me a cold smile. "Here's a deal. Bring this little bastard over here, kneel, and apologize. Fifty kowtows, and I'll drop the whole thing."

The moment those words left her mouth, something inside me snapped. My eyes went cold.

I lifted my hand and slapped her hard. "I've put up with you long enough. And for the record? Your son is the bastard."

Olivia froze, completely stunned for a second.

Then she finally processed what happened.

"You've lost your damn mind!" she shrieked. "Jessica, are you insane? What kind of psycho are you?"

But I didn't miss the humiliation in her eyes.

Right then, Henry rushed toward us, yanked Olivia behind him, and shoved me again.

My seven-year-old son didn't even hesitate. He moved in front of me like a tiny, furious knight.

He puffed up his cheeks, glared up at Henry, and said loudly, "If you keep bullying my mom, I'm going to be really mad!"

Amber hurried over to calm things down. "Come on, guys, we're all old classmates. Let's just talk. Don't be emotional."

"Emotional?" Henry barked. "Why don't you open your damn eyes and see who threw the first punch?"

He jabbed a finger at my face, practically foaming with rage. "Jessica, do you think I'm too nice to you or something?

"You broke, pathetic nobody. How dare you lay a hand on my wife? Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I don't need anything from you," I shot back. "And your wife insulted my son in front of everyone. Am I not supposed to fight back?"

I gave a cold laugh. I refused to let people from my past drag my present family into their mess. If I were going to handle this, I'd handle it cleanly without giving anyone leverage against me.