Chapter 3
By the time the call ended, I could barely see through my tears.
I walked back into the living room.
Edward called out, sounding annoyed, "Why are you crying? Seriously, you're making a fool of yourself. Have you made up your mind yet? Stop wasting time."
Sophie spoke softly, trying to comfort me, "Lily, don't let this weigh on you.
"I know it's hard for you to let go of this family, but you can't make love happen if it's not there."
"Ed is so much happier when he's with me. You wouldn't want him to be miserable, right?"
I swiped my tears away fiercely and looked up at her.
I said, "Sophie, back when you were a freshman in high school, you called me that winter, saying your family couldn't afford a winter coat.
"I sent you 700 dollars that same day, then went to the mall, picked out a down jacket, and mailed it to you myself.
"You texted me after you got it, saying you'd pay me back someday. Is this how you repay me? By getting into bed with my husband?
"He's more than 20 years older than you are, old enough to be your father."
Sophie's face went ghostly pale.
"Lily, I'm so sorry, but love doesn't care about age. I couldn't help how I feel," she said.
"If you can't control yourself, then don't give me that 'I want him to be happy' nonsense. Did you ever stop to think about how I felt when you were messing around with my husband?" I shot back.
Edward's head snapped up.
"Lily, don't be so nasty!" he snapped.
I let out a cold laugh.
"Nasty? It wasn't nasty when you two couldn't help yourselves, but now that I'm only verbally describing what you've done, and it is suddenly too much for you, huh?"
His face turned livid with anger.
Michael jumped up, unable to take it anymore. "Mom, that's enough. Sophie loves Dad truly."
"Sit down," I snapped, gazing at him.
I snarled, "If someone took your girlfriend away, would you still praise them for being 'truly in love'?
"Your own mother got her husband snatched away, and you're standing there calling me unreasonable, huh?
"Michael, have you lost your mind, or did your conscience disappear?"
Michael's face turned bright red, his lips trembling, but he couldn't get a word out.
Emily muttered under her breath, "Mom, can't we be a harmonious family?"
"A harmonious family?" I shot back, my voice thick with sarcasm. "Your dad is sleeping with the girl I put through school for years, and you still call this a family, huh?
"If your boyfriend slept with your best friend, would you still sit at the same table and pretend everything's fine?
"Emily, you're 23. If you had even half a brain, you wouldn't say something this stupid."
Emily burst into tears.
Sophie said, her voice shaking, "Lily, don't blame them. It's all my fault. I'll leave."
She tried to stand up, but Edward grabbed her arm.
"Why are you leaving? This is my house," he said.
I stared at Edward's hand holding onto Sophie.
"Your house?" I sneered. "We bought this place together. Of the 100,000-dollar down payment, 50,000 dollars was borrowed from my family, and you never paid them back. So if this is your house, what am I? A guest? Or the maid?"
I looked at everyone standing there and suddenly felt the whole thing was indeed ridiculous.
After more than 20 years together, I'd turned myself into another replaceable part in their lives.
They ate the food I cooked, wore the clothes I washed, and stayed in the house I cleaned. Then, they told me, "You should leave. Someone else fits better than you do."
Wasn't it pathetic?
Thinking about that call from my future self, I parted my lips, my voice calm.
I said, "I'll agree to the divorce."
The living room went dead silent.
"For real?" Edward blurted out, sitting up straight, all the arguing forgotten.
"Yeah, but the terms are going to change," I said and picked up the calculator from the coffee table.
I continued, "We have savings, houses, stocks, and funds. I'm not settling for only half of these.
"We've been married for over 20 years. I helped you build your company from the ground up. I know exactly where every dollar went.
"I want 100 million dollars."