Chapter 1
On the day we decided to dissolve our marriage, General Zellmer summoned all five children to the study. With a stony face, he told me sternly, "You can only take one with you."
Everyone thought I would weep and beg him. Everyone wondered which child I would choose with anguish.
However, much to their surprise, I picked up the daughter his first wife left behind and began walking away.
He shouted after me in bewilderment, "Are you out of your mind? What about the other four?"
I turned to him and smiled. "The other four are all yours. You raise them."
*****
The general slammed the document that officially dissolved our marriage on the table.
This man, who was also my husband, Humphrey Zellmer, stared at me with eyes as frosty as ice. “Istina Snowdon, you can only take one with you.”
Five children stood in the courtyard. Four were my own flesh and blood, comprising two sons and two daughters.
The fifth was his late wife's daughter, Zelenya.
The servants in the manor, Humphrey's mother, and his sister all watched me with gleeful eyes in anticipation of the upcoming spectacle.
They were waiting for me to cry, to beg for mercy, and to make the gut-wrenching decision of selecting only one among the five children.
After eight years of dedication, all I got in return was a cold-hearted statement: "You can only take one with you."
My eldest child, Caleb, was only seven years old. He stood stiffly, clenching his fists as tears welled up in his eyes.
My second child, Selina, and the third one, Cedric, looked very lost.
My youngest, Stella, was still a baby under the care of the wet nurse and didn't understand what was happening at all.
Zelenya, the six-year-old who wasn't my biological child, kept her head lowered while her thin shoulders trembled.
She knew she was the one most likely to be abandoned.
Humphrey cast a cynical, judgmental gaze upon me.
He was very certain that I would choose my son, Caleb, who was also my firstborn.
After all, that was his legitimate first male descendant, the future heir to the General's Estate.
Taking Caleb away would be tantamount to destroying his reputation and future succession plan.
Humphrey was waiting for me to choose, and then he would refuse. He would use that choice to humiliate me and to tell me that I didn't even have the right to choose.
I looked at Caleb, then at my other three biological children.
My heart felt like it was being squeezed so viciously that the pain was almost suffocating.
Slowly, my eyes swept over each of my children solemnly until they landed on Zelenya.
I then headed towards her under everyone's shocked gaze.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Humphrey frowning as a look of bafflement flashed briefly in his eyes.
As I squatted down in front of Zelenya, the girl raised her head. Her eyes were filled with fear and despair like those of a frightened fawn. "Mommy..." she called out timidly.
I reached out and gently wiped the grime from her face. "Don't be afraid."
Then, to everyone's astonishment, I picked the girl up. Her tiny body was almost as light as a feather.
I then held her securely in my arms, turned away, and walked out without hesitation.
There was only deathly silence behind me.
"Stop right there!" Humphrey's furious yet incredulous voice boomed out like thunder.
"Istina Snowdon! Are you out of your mind? What about the other four?"
I stopped in my tracks, but did not turn around.
Eventually, I turned to look at his face, which was contorted with anger.
Then, with a cocky, cynical smile, I replied, “The other four are all yours. You can raise them yourself.”
My words struck Humphrey like a stinging slap across the face.
His handsome face turned purple with rage as his eyes blazed with fury. "How dare you!"
He lunged at me to grab Zelenya from my arms. However, I deftly evaded his hands.
“General Zellmer, it is clearly stated in the marriage dissolution agreement that we are no longer related. Any further attempt to lay a hand on me will be considered assault in public.” I reminded him crisply.
Humphrey's hands froze suddenly in mid-grab.
Humphrey's elderly mother then hobbled forward with her cane and shrieked, “Istina Snowdon! You venomous woman! To take revenge on our Zellmer family, you've even abandoned your own flesh and blood!”
I looked at her and found her words laughable.
“Mrs. Zellmer, who was it who said not a single child of the General's household should be left to roam the streets? Now, you are complaining there are too many?”
The old woman's face turned red from both anger and embarrassment.
At this juncture, Humphrey's younger sister, Sayetta, also joined in. "Istina! How could you do this to my brother! How could you abandon Caleb and his siblings!"
I ignored that woman. With Zelenya in my arms, I said firmly to Humphrey, "Humphrey, you made me choose in the first place."