Chapter 3

I just let the camera in the corner be my eyes, quietly watching everything unfold.

Through its lens, I saw Robert and Leyla making out, acting like no one else in the world mattered.

Every time I "accidentally" came downstairs, Eugene would always find some excuse to send me away.

He was always smoothing things over for them, making sure no one noticed what was really going on.

Eugene's constant enabling just made Leyla even bolder.

One time, while I was out, she helped herself to my clothes and wore them on purpose.

When I came back, she stood there flaunting the hickeys on her neck. "Mrs. Baker, you're back?"

She was convinced I couldn't see a thing, grinning with reckless confidence, not bothering to cover up at all.

Robert, standing next to her, exchanged a glance with her before turning to me, his voice calm.

"You're back. What have you been up to lately? Need any help?" he asked.

I knew he didn't really care what I'd been up to; he was just making small talk.

Swallowing the wave of nausea rising in my chest, I forced a smile.

"It's nothing, I just went out for a walk to clear my head. Robert, why don't you see Leyla out? I'm going upstairs to change," I said.

I pretended not to notice the way they were exchanging glances.

I didn't come back downstairs until dinner time.

But as soon as I reached the bottom of the stairs, I heard Eugene's voice.

"Dad, why go to all the trouble of flying in flowers from overseas? She can't even see them anyway. If Leyla finds out, she'll get jealous."

Lately, Robert had been putting a lot of effort into planning my birthday party.

He not only had his assistant book a fancy hotel, but he also arranged for flowers to be flown in from abroad.

Honestly, Eugene wasn't the only one who didn't get it. I couldn't figure out what the point was either.

Robert let out a sigh.

"Just think of it as me making it up to her. After all, she did bring you into this world. From now on, I'll make sure Leyla gets the best of everything," he said.

Eugene's face fell as he said, "If I had a say in it, I'd never have wanted to be born by her.

"Once you two get divorced, I hope my mom won't come visit me too often. Just once in a while is enough. That way, Leyla won't have to feel jealous, and people will just forget I ever had a blind mom..."

Even though I kept telling myself I should've given up ages ago, hearing that made my heart turn to ice.

My cane clattered against the stairs, making a loud noise.

The conversation in the living room came to an abrupt halt.

Robert walked over, and for some reason, there was a hint of nervousness on his face.

He came over, sounding a little tense. "Rachel, are you alright?"

I forced a cold smile. "I'm fine. Just didn't watch my step and my cane hit the stairs."

He tried to help, but I brushed him off and made my way to the dining table by myself.

Back then, Robert was always buried in a magazine or glued to his phone during dinner, barely acknowledging anyone at the table.

I was the only one in this house constantly reminding Robert and Eugene about things, making sure they didn't forget anything.

But now, even I didn't bother to speak, and the house suddenly felt weirdly quiet.

Eugene kept glancing at me in surprise, and even Robert couldn't hide his confusion, frowning more than once.

Still, he didn't say a word.

The next day, they left, same as always.

Once again, I was left alone in this empty house.

Now that I had the place to myself, I started packing up my stuff, one thing at a time.

I'd made up my mind to leave, and I was going to do it quick and clean.

I didn't want anything to tie me to this place ever again.

I was totally caught up in packing when Eugene's teacher called.

"Mrs. Baker, today is Eugene's very first parent-teacher conference since he started elementary school. Will you and your husband be coming?" she said.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I was too stunned to speak.

Eugene never mentioned anything about a parent-teacher conference.

Robert hadn't said a word about it either.

As his mother, I was the last to know.

I just brushed it off, but later that night, I saw a video of the parent-teacher conference pop up on the teacher's feed.

On the screen, Robert was dressed to the nines in a sharp suit, and Leyla stood beside him in a designer silk dress.

They looked like the perfect couple.

Nobody would ever guess they weren't actually married.

Even little Eugene stood tall and proud between them.

With his innocent voice, Eugene told everyone, "These are my mom and dad."

I thought I'd be heartbroken.

But maybe when I had been hurt enough to just feel numb.

I quietly turned off my phone.

It wouldn't be long now, just a few more days to go.

Soon, Eugene's wish was about to come true.

From now on, Eugene would have a new mom, and I'd be out of his life for good.