Chapter 3

I couldn't believe what I had just heard.

Calmly, I gazed at Spencer in the night.

Once, I had to crouch down to speak with him face-to-face. But at that moment, I had to look up just to see his face.

I couldn't help but remind Spencer. "Do you remember when you once demanded to know why a child can't choose the mother they want?"

I watched Spencer's expression freeze, then gradually turn uneasy and flustered.

I'd carried him for nine months and nearly died bringing him into this world.

I'd poured every ounce of my love and devotion into him.

Later, he was swayed by the Burns family's words and gradually began to distance himself from me, growing to resent me.

I'd tried everything to reconnect with him.

I even swallowed my pride, admitted my mistakes, and explained myself, doing whatever it took to mend our relationship.

Yet after years of effort, all I received was humiliation at his fourteenth birthday party just a few months ago.

I'd spent weeks preparing the party, even losing sleep countless nights to make it perfect for him.

But he stood on stage, microphone in hand, and announced his birthday wish, giving me the most humiliating moment of my life before everyone's eyes.

"I wish I could have a mom who isn't so terrible," he declared.

Not long after that, at Spencer's high school graduation party, he knew full well I'd rushed back through a torrential downpour, yet just because I was five minutes late, he made me solve math problems under the scorching sun for five agonizing hours.

I looked at the boy before me and continued calmly, "Regarding that question, I can give you an answer now. You have the right to choose the mother you want. I respect your decision. But please, don't come before me again."

Having said my piece, I swung the door closed.

Just as the door was about to close, I heard Spencer raise his voice. "I'm not leaving! Even if you're getting divorced, I'm old enough to decide who I want to live with."

I ignored him.

Then I heard his trembling voice. "Mom..."

For the first time, there was an unmistakable trace of humility in his tone.

It had been a long time since he'd last called me "Mom."

I couldn't even remember when it happened last. But it didn't matter anymore.

After putting the kids to bed, I returned to my own bedroom.

As I walked to the window and drew back the curtains, the headlights in the front yard flickered back on.

Standing beside the car in the pouring rain was Spencer.

And, just as I'd expected, Caleb was there with him.

As the Burns family's sole heir, Spencer would never be allowed to come here alone—not at his age.

I watched as Caleb and Spencer stood together in the pouring rain for what felt like ages.

Then my phone screen suddenly lit up with a furious message from Caleb. [Isabelle, how could you abandon your own child? Whatever's between us, Spencer is innocent! Have you forgotten you're his mother?]

How ironic.

Just when I finally decided to let go, everyone suddenly started reminding me of my motherhood.

For all those years, I'd been nothing but a "disgrace" in Spencer's words, a "stain" in Caleb's.

To the Burns family elders, I was forever "unworthy as a wife, unfit as a mother" in their endless scorn.

I didn't reply. I set my phone aside and went into the bathroom to wash up.

By the time I finished and stepped out, it was almost midnight.

I walked to the window for my phone and, through the rain-streaked glass, saw Caleb and Spencer still standing far out in the pouring rain.

They could have just gotten in the car and left, yet they insisted on standing out there in the rain.

They knew this place well. My bedroom window overlooked the yard. They could see when my light came on, and I was sure they were counting on me to relent.

I took my phone and, without a moment's hesitation, drew the curtains shut, cutting off all connection to the outside world.

No sooner had I closed the curtains than Caleb started blowing up my phone.

I hung up, but he kept calling relentlessly.

It had been so many years, and he'd never called me first.

Even when something important came up, at most I'd get a text, and those were always painfully brief.

However much they might have despised me, I'd still lived with them for 15 years.

When someone suddenly left, even if it was just a cat or a dog, it still took some getting used to.

My phone wouldn't stop ringing. I was about to power it off.

Caleb sent another text. [Let's talk about the divorce.]

He called again.

This time, I finally picked up.

His strained voice came through the phone, mingled with the sound of pouring rain. "Spencer's caught a fever from being out in the rain. Can you let him in to shower first? We can talk in—"

For the first time, I felt a surge of irritation toward him.

In a flat tone, I cut him off, "Caleb, what exactly are you getting at?"

There was a long, heavy silence on the other end of the line before Caleb's voice finally came through. He stammered, "I-It's Spencer... He caught a fever from standing out in the rain."

I hit my breaking point.

They were supposedly brilliant men, yet they kept playing dumb about the most obvious things.

With the last shred of my patience, I spelled it out one final time, "Caleb, it was Spencer who said, in front of everyone, that he wanted to replace his terrible mother.

"And it was you and the entire Burns family who blamed me for being despicable, for taking Isadora's place.

"Now, as you all wished, I agree to the divorce. You get a new wife, and Spencer gets a new mother. Is that clear enough now? Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

The relentless rain poured on, met only by a deafening silence.

Seconds stretched into eternity. I was just about to hang up when Caleb finally spoke in a flustered voice. "Isabelle, I—"

I'd had enough.

All of a sudden, it hit me. Caleb was utterly despicable, and Spencer was no better.

My hand gripping the phone began to tremble uncontrollably.

Anger, resentment, and utter confusion surged through me all at once.

They had gotten exactly what they wanted, exactly what they wished for.

Yet it seemed they still wanted more.

My emotions were on the verge of spiraling out of control as I interrupted, "Let me say this one last time. I've given Mr. Vance full authority over the divorce.

"Go to him for everything. If you don't cooperate, he'll file for divorce on my behalf. Either way, we're done."

Just before the call disconnected, two frantic voices cut through the rain.

"Isabelle!" Caleb shouted.

"Mom!" Spencer cried.

I hung up.

I blocked and deleted all contacts—Caleb, Spencer, and everyone in the Burns family.

I no longer wished to talk about the past. Everything ended there.