Chapter 1

After three years of separation, Richard Lane finally agreed to the divorce.

The taxi had pulled up to the family court when a trending post popped up on my phone.

The photo showed Vivian White and Richard's hands clasped. On her ring finger, the diamond I once couldn't bring myself to buy sparkled.

It read: [Today is the day my boyfriend breaks up with his ex, and the day we get married.]

My phone rang immediately. Richard's voice came through.

He said, "Susan, I know you still love me. Until the papers are signed, you can always change your mind."

Love?

I stared at the two of them embracing at the court entrance, my fingertips turning white.

That word had been ground to dust long ago, the day he locked me in a mental hospital, and the day he pointed at my swollen belly and called my child a bastard.

All I had left for him was a bone-deep hatred.

*****

The family court was blasting warm air, but it couldn't chase away the chill that clung to me.

Richard was dressed in a designer suit, and the eyes and brows that once made my heart race now only held distance and impatience.

He held Vivian's hand tightly in his left, and she wore a white dress, looking so much like I did back then.

When I walked in, Richard didn't let go of Vivian's hand. He stared at me, his gaze unwavering.

His eyes were so sharp it felt like he was trying to see right through me, searching for even a hint of reluctance or pain.

Without a hint of emotion, I averted my gaze, took out the documents I'd prepared from my bag, and headed straight for the desk.

"Susan, are you still mad at me?" Vivian called out. "Richard and I couldn't help it back then. Please don't blame him."

I kept walking without even glancing her way, not wasting a single word on her.

In the past three years, I'd heard the taunt more times than I could count. It used to make me shake with rage.

But all it ever did was make Richard double down on the humiliation and punishment.

All I wanted was to get this over with and go pick up Charlie from school.

When I ignored Vivian, something cold and mean flashed in her eyes.

But then she put on an aggrieved face and raised her voice, making sure everyone in line could hear. "Yeah, you were the one who cheated first, so Richard and I getting together wasn't really wrong, right?

"What do you think, Susan?"

The word "cheat" pierced my ears like a needle.

For a split second, a hint of false emotion flickered in Richard's eyes, but it was quickly drowned out by a jealousy and disgust so intense it felt suffocating.

He despised betrayal more than anything because his father had made his fortune by having affairs, and in the end, left him and his mother behind.

That childhood shadow became the sharpest blade he wielded against me.

"Vivian's talking to you. What, cat got your tongue?" Richard's voice was icy, leaving no room for argument.

I stopped in my tracks and fixed him with a cold, emotionless stare. "Richard, given where we stand now, this isn't something we should be discussing anymore."

As soon as I finished speaking, he suddenly seized my wrist, his grip so fierce it felt like he could snap my bones. "Looks like after all these years, you still haven't learned your lesson."

That familiar threat instantly brought back the fear I'd buried deep inside.

I remembered the icy restraints in the mental hospital, the unknown drugs forced into me, and the endless insults and beatings...

I bit back the pain in my wrist and the fear that threatened to overwhelm me, forcing my voice to stay steady and tight. "I just want a divorce."

The clerk at the desk had already noticed the drama unfolding nearby.

When Richard glanced her way, she instantly flashed a fawning smile. "Mr. Lane, you're here? Let me help you with the divorce papers."

Richard let go of my wrist and stared down at me with that arrogant look, as if he was above it all. "Want to get this over with fast? Sure."

He pointed at the entrance of the court. "Go outside. Apologize to Vivian. You're not coming back in until you do."

People all around started staring, and the whispers kept spreading, rising, and falling like a tide.

"What's going on? The husband brought his mistress to the divorce, and now he's making his wife apologize?"

"He looks so respectable, but how could he be so heartless?"

"Maybe the wife really did something wrong."

The whispers stabbed into me like needles, every word pricking at my skin.

I caught that look in Richard's eyes. He was so sure I'd grit my teeth and take whatever humiliation he threw at me to get the divorce, same as all those times before.

Vivian hooked her arm around Richard's, pretending to be all understanding. "Richard, isn't this a bit too much for Susan?"

But I could hear the smugness loud and clear.

Richard patted her hand, but his eyes never left me. "She doesn't know her place. She needs to be taught a lesson."

I took a deep breath, glanced at the string bracelet on my wrist, and Charlie's gentle voice came to mind. "Mommy, when are you coming to pick me up?"

If it were for Charlie, I could swallow any humiliation.

I turned and headed for the door, my steps crunching through the thick snow that blanketed the ground.

Vivian had somehow followed me outside, motioning for Mary to hand her a cloth bag.

"Susan, the ground's freezing. I asked Mary to prepare a 'soft mat' for you. Don't waste my generosity," Vivian said, her voice syrupy sweet but full of malice.

She opened the bag, revealing a layer of sharp, jagged pebbles packed tightly together.

Without even sparing Vivian a glance, I stood there, ignoring her completely.

The moment the sharp stones pressed into my feet, a piercing pain radiated through my nerves.

I bit down hard on my lower lip, desperately holding back my tears.

Warm blood trickled down my feet, staining the ground beneath me red.

Vivian towered over me, her voice dropping as she flashed a venomous smile. "Susan, this is what you get for trying to take Richard from me."

I closed my eyes, tuning her out completely.

All I could think about were the memories I'd tried to bury, ones that hurt way more than the pain in my feet.