Chapter 2

“Mom, you’re right. Divorce. ” My voice was eerily calm. “We’ll go tomorrow. ”

“Amelia…”

“Don’t call me Amelia. ” I looked at him. “From now on, we’re strangers. ”

“Just listen to me…”

“I won’t. ” I grabbed my purse. “Tomorrow at 3 PM, I’m meeting Sarah. After that, I’m going to see a lawyer. The day after tomorrow, we’ll go to the courthouse. ”

“What about Leo? ”

“He stays with me. ”

“I have parental rights too…”

“You want parental rights? ” My mom sneered. “Fine, we’ll see you in court. Let’s see if a judge will award custody to a man who has an illegitimate child, transfers marital assets, and deceives his wife! ”

His face went white. “And,” my mom continued, “this house was bought by my daughter before marriage. You have no claim to it. ”

That was true. When we bought the house, I paid the down payment. He only added his name to the deed. “Mom, let’s go. ” I took Leo’s hand. “Where are we going? ”

“A hotel. ”

“Good. ”

The moment the door closed, I heard him say, “Amelia, I’m so sorry. ”

I didn’t look back. In the elevator, my mom suddenly asked, “Can we get that hundred thousand back? ”

“Probably. ” I said. “It’s a joint account; large expenditures require both parties’ consent. ”

“Good. ” She nodded. “Tomorrow, I’ll have your brother, David, go with you to see that woman. ”

“No need. ” I said calmly. “I’ll go by myself. ”

The elevator reached the ground floor. As we walked out, Leo suddenly asked, “Mommy, will I not have a sister anymore? ”

I crouched down, looking at him. “Honey, you’ll always be Mommy’s only precious one. ”

“What about Daddy? ”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t know how to. Friday, 9:30 PM. In the hotel room, Leo was already asleep. My mom was on the balcony, making a call, probably to David. I stared at my phone. Thirty-seven missed calls, all from Mark. And SnapChat messages, 99+. I didn’t look at a single one. My phone rang again. This time, it was Mark’s mom, Brenda. I hesitated, then answered. “Amelia, dear…” Her voice sounded a little panicked. “Mom. ”

“Did you… have a fight? ”

More than just a fight. I sneered. “Mom, do you know about that child? ”

Silence on the other end. “You knew? ” My voice rose. “Amelia, listen to me…”

“You knew all along? ”

“I… I only found out last year…”

Last year. Last year, the child was four. “So you hid it from me for a year? ”

“I was doing it for the good of the family…”

“For the good of the family? ” I laughed. “So letting me stay in the dark, letting my husband transfer eight thousand to another woman every month, was for the good of the family? ”

“But after all, that’s also our family’s child…”

I hung up. My mom came in from the balcony. “Who was that? ”

“Brenda. ”

“What did she say? ”

“She knew all along. ”

My mom’s face darkened. “She knew and didn’t tell you? ”

“She said it was for the good of the family. ”

“For what family? ” My mom laughed, bitterly. “Her son has another woman and child outside, and she thinks that’s good? Letting my daughter be a fool, that’s for the good of the family? ”

I didn’t speak. My phone rang again. Still Brenda. I didn’t answer. She sent a SnapChat message: “Amelia, please don’t get upset. Can we meet and talk tomorrow? Some things aren’t what you think…”

Not what I think? Then what are they? I threw my phone onto the bed. “Mom, I want to sleep for a bit. ”

“Okay, you sleep. ” She sighed. “You’ve been through so much these past years. ”

I closed my eyes. Been through so much? It was more than that. I thought of these six years of marriage. I thought of our wedding, when he told me he would take care of me for a lifetime. I thought of the day Leo was born, when he said, “Thank you for giving me a family. ”

I thought of every month when he said he was handing over his entire salary, and I believed I had everything. Turns out, all I had was a lie. No. I didn’t even have a lie. All I had was ignorance of the truth. My phone vibrated non-stop. I opened my eyes, picked it up, and looked. It was Mark’s SnapChat messages:

Amelia, please don’t be like this. I really know I messed up. Can we just talk this through? Leo is still small, we can’t get divorced. I swear, I’ll never see Sarah again. I’ll get that hundred thousand back. Amelia, we can’t just end like this. I read them, deleted the chat history. Blocked him. At 2 AM, my mom’s phone rang. She answered, then handed it to me. “It’s David. ”

“Hey sis. ” My brother’s voice was grave. “Mom told me everything. Don’t worry, I’ll go with you tomorrow. ”

“No need, I can handle it myself. ”

“Don’t be stubborn. ”

“I’m not. I’m calm. I just want to face this alone. ”

“Alright then, but I’ve already contacted a lawyer for you. Tomorrow at 5 PM, after you see that woman, go to the law firm. ”

“Okay. ”

“Also, about that hundred thousand, go to the bank and freeze the joint account first. ”

“I know. ”

“Sis, don’t be scared. You still have me. ”

After hanging up, I suddenly started to cry. For six years, I thought I had a family. Only now did I realize, my real family had been behind me all along. Saturday, 10 AM. I went to the bank. “Madam, freezing a joint account requires both parties to be present…” the staff member said. “Here’s a lawyer’s letter. ” I handed it over.