Chapter 2

Martin froze for a second, then let out a cold laugh. "Divorce? You gotta be kidding. You're just a housewife who cooks and watches the kid all day, and she's nothing but extra baggage. How are you supposed to survive without me?"

My heart twisted painfully. So this was how he saw me—just a burden to him.

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous it all was.

Did he really forget that we both graduated from Oxford University? Did he forget I turned down a dream job at the research institute just for him?

I poured all those years into this family and to him, yet in his heart, I was nothing but a worthless housewife.

I bit my lip hard, refusing to look away. "I don't need you worrying about how I'll survive. That's my problem, not yours!"

Martin's face turned stormy, and his crew immediately started jumping in to back him up.

"Seriously, Grace, just chill out. You're totally blowing this out of proportion!"

"Come on, it's just a haircut. You're really gonna pull the divorce card over this?"

"Sophia's hair grows fast. It'll be back before you know it. You're making way too big a deal out of this."

Helen wiped fake tears from her eyes, her voice trembling like she was about to cry. "Martin, it's all my fault and Luna's. We upset Grace..."

She suddenly snatched Luna over, gave her a couple of pretend swats on the backside, and Luna burst into loud, dramatic sobs, perfect for the act.

Martin's face twisted with sympathy as he immediately pulled both Helen and Luna into his protective embrace. He shot me a fierce look and yelled, "Grace, if you need to blow off steam, do it at me! Haven't they suffered enough? What more do you want from them?"

Just as I was about to say something, Helen suddenly clutched Martin's sleeve and put on a panicked act, crying out, "Martin, look at Luna. What's happening to her?"

Luna's face turned as pale as a sheet, her eyes fluttering half-shut as she mumbled in a frail voice, "Dad... it's all my fault... Please don't fight with Grace because of me..."

Finally, those guys let go of me.

I crawled desperately toward Sophia, but ended up crashing right into Martin, who was rushing out with Luna in his arms.

"You have a death wish or what?" Martin snarled, his face twisted in fury. "If anything happens to Luna, I swear I'll make you pay!"

He grabbed Luna and stormed out the door, with his whole crew swarming after him.

I crawled over to Sophia, stumbling on shaky knees. She was curled up on the ground, looking just like a ragdoll someone had thrown away.

I wrapped my arms around her, clutching her tight, desperate to protect her. Blood was still trickling from the wound on her forehead.

"Mom... Mom," Sophia whimpered, her voice soft as a breath. "Am... I really that bad? Is that why Dad doesn't want me anymore?"

It felt like someone had driven a knife straight through my chest. I couldn't hold back any longer, tears pouring down my face in torrents.

I hugged Sophia even tighter, feeling how badly she was shaking. Leaning close, I whispered softly in her ear, "No, honey, it's not true. You're not bad at all. Sophia, you're perfect. Don't ever think otherwise..."

I rushed Sophia to the hospital and got her injuries treated. When the doctor saw her, he said she was probably traumatized and told me to keep her far away from whatever—or whoever—was hurting her.