Chapter 2

With that, I turned and walked out.

As I passed Emily, she instinctively took a step back. She covered her face, eyeing me like I was a monster. "What are you doing? I didn't mess with you this time."

I didn't spare her a glance and kept walking.

*****

Michael spent two days in the hospital and finally came home on the third day.

Emily tagged along with him.

I stood in the doorway, arms crossed, blocking their way.

When Emily saw me, she instinctively touched her cheek.

"Don't be like this. I asked her to bring me home," Michael said, stepping protectively in front of Emily.

I nodded, cracking my knuckles. "Guess you didn't take my warning to heart. Looks like I'll have to teach you again."

Emily shrank behind Michael. She blurted out, "If you hit me again, I'll call the police. Let's see if they'll actually do anything about assault."

I nodded. "Go ahead, call them. I'd love to see if they'll lock up the mistress for wrecking a marriage."

Emily was left speechless, fuming.

"You can't keep your husband in check, and you have the nerve to blame someone else for stealing him?" Michael's mother, Margaret Turner, snapped.

She stormed up to me, practically foaming at the mouth.

I took a step back, putting some space between us.

Michael stepped forward, blocking his mom. "Mom, what are you doing here?"

Margaret snorted. "If Emily hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known you were forced to eat a whole table of mango desserts by that bitch. Doesn't she know you're allergic? She was trying to kill you."

Emily, seeing her backup arrive, immediately perked up. "Mrs. Turner, you have no idea. Mr. Turner was in the hospital for two whole days. The doctor said if it had been any later, he wouldn't have made it."

I looked at her, my voice low. "Looks like you really didn't take my warning seriously."

And right in front of everyone, I slapped Emily again.

Margaret immediately shielded Emily behind her.

She shouted at me, "That's enough, Sarah. Who could stand a woman as violent as you? If you were half as sweet and understanding as Emily, do you really think Michael would ever go for her?

"When things go wrong, maybe you should look at yourself instead of always blaming others. Honestly, I don't know why you are so rude."

Michael grabbed his mom. "Mom, go home. I can handle this myself."

Margaret shot back at him, "You're way too soft on her. If you actually stood your ground, your wife wouldn't dare yell at you like that. Listen to me. Divorce Sarah and marry Emily."

Emily lowered her head, looking all shy.

Michael snapped, "Mom, if you keep this up, don't bother coming back. I can handle things with Sarah myself.

"Besides, Sarah is still my wife. Have you thought about how I feel when you talk about her like that?"

Seeing her son actually angry, Margaret finally shut up, though she was clearly still pissed.

Margaret and I had never gotten along.

Michael and I met in college. He chased me for a whole year before I finally agreed to date him.

But Margaret thought my family was too insignificant to be good enough for her son.

Michael, under pressure from his parents, made it clear. "If you accept Sarah, you'll have a son and a daughter-in-law. If you don't, then pretend you never had a son."

That was the only way Margaret and his dad finally gave in.

But after that, from the day I married into the family, she never gave me a kind look.

She was always complaining, either my food was too salty or too bland.

After a while, Michael, worried I'd keep getting mistreated, sent his parents off to live in their hometown.

At least in that way, Michael really was a good husband.

After sending his mom away, Michael turned to me. "Don't take what Mom said to heart."

I snorted. "If I let that get to me, I'd have died of anger ages ago."

"Don't worry. I'm not divorcing you." Michael made a promise.

I looked at him, a half-smile on my lips. "So you're really okay with letting Emily play the mistress?"

Michael frowned, clearly annoyed. "Can you stop dragging Emily into our problems? I know you're upset, and I did what you wanted. I ate the mango desserts and ended up in the hospital. Isn't that enough?"

I snorted, not saying another word. There was no point in pushing this any further.

I gave Michael two choices.

One, he would kick Emily out of the company and cut all ties with her. Two, we would divorce, and he would walk away with nothing.

Michael shook his head.

"Fine, then let's settle this in court." I tossed that out and was about to walk away.

But Michael's next words made me freeze. "Can you really let Lily lose her dad or mom at such a young age?"

I pressed my lips together.

Tomorrow was the day Lily was coming home from boarding school.

Michael stepped up to me, trying to appeal to my emotions. "Sarah, you grew up in a single-parent family. You know how cruel the world can be to kids like that. Do you really want Lily to go through the same pain you did?"

Every word he said hit the most sensitive nerve in my heart. "Sarah, for Lily's sake, give me one more chance, okay?"

I turned away, my voice low. "This is the first and last time. If I catch you again, using Lily as a shield won't save you."

*****

The next day, Lily came home from school. She was five years old, usually the liveliest and most cheerful little girl. But this time, she pressed her lips together and didn't say a word.

No matter how I asked, she pressed her lips together and wouldn't say a word.

Michael crouched down, looking at Lily, his voice gentle. "Tell me, what's wrong?"

Lily shook her head, still refusing to speak.

Over the next few days, Lily started doing every chore she could find around the house, whether she knew how or not.

I told her to go rest. But she shook her head, grabbed whatever I was doing right out of my hands, and started doing it herself.

She had to stand on tiptoe on a little stool to reach the sink.

She stretched as far as she could, trying her best to wash the dishes.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash. The plate hit the floor and shattered into pieces. Lily slipped off the stool and fell, landing right on the broken shards.

I rushed over, scooped her up, and grabbed the first aid kit.

Lily gently pushed my hand away, determined to go back to the sink.

I couldn't take it anymore and grabbed her. "Lily, what's going on with you? Is there something you can't tell me?"

Lily looked at me, her eyes turning red.

All of a sudden, she bowed and burst into tears. "I'm sorry, Mommy. It's my fault. I was bad and made you mad. I'll be good, I promise. Please don't leave Daddy. Please don't leave me, okay?"

Her words were very careful, as if she were a little puppy, terrified of being left behind.

I kept my voice steady, trying not to scare her. "Who told you I don't want you? Who told you I'm leaving Daddy? Who said those things to you?"

As Lily choked out her story between sobs, the whole picture finally clicked.

Margaret was still stewing after Michael yelled at her. So she actually went all the way to Lily's school.

She stood there in front of the whole class and told everyone that Lily was a kid nobody wanted.

"Grandma said Daddy and Mommy are getting divorced, and they don't want me. She said I'm bad," Lily sobbed.

With every word Lily said, I could feel my fists clenching tighter and tighter.

I always knew Margaret didn't like me. But Lily was her granddaughter, and she could still do this to her.

I told Lily, "No matter what, I will never leave you."

Lily asked, her voice careful, "Really?"

I nodded. "You're more important to me than anything. I could never leave you."

After comforting Lily, the next day I stormed over to Margaret's place, ready for a fight.