Chapter 3

Serena asked in utter disbelief, "Chloe, you've finally woken up? You're actually leaving that toxic man after sacrificing everything for him?"

It turned out my friends had seen the truth much clearer than I had.

I gave a quiet "Yeah."

Serena’s voice instantly turned ecstatic.

"That is amazing! Chloe, you have no idea how much I've wanted you to get out of that miserable marriage. Don't worry, I'll have the divorce papers drafted as fast as humanly possible!"

Hearing her excitement, my feelings remained incredibly complicated.

Before marrying Austin, I had my own life.

Back then, I was successful, bright, and full of life.

But during these seven years with Austin, it felt like I had completely lost myself.

I had given up my career, distanced myself from my friends and family, and dedicated every waking hour to him.

I poured all my love and energy into him.

Only to end up with nothing, living like a hollow shell of a person.

I chatted with Serena for a few more minutes before hanging up.

The moment I looked down at my phone, the screen lit up with more notifications from Hailey.

She had sent a barrage of videos and photos to mock me.

She bragged about how attentive Austin was.

"See this? Austin always brushes my dog's coat so gently. He even prepares warm water to massage my feet."

There were dozens of similar texts.

I wanted to ignore them.

But when I thought about how my son was injured today while his father was playing house with another woman, the anger inside me boiled over.

I opened the chat and fired back.

"If he loves you so much, why hasn't he divorced me yet? Do you enjoy being a homewrecker that much?"

"If you send me one more of these pathetic brag posts, I will post them all over Instagram and make sure everyone knows exactly what you are."

She didn't reply. I assumed she was fuming.

Just as I let out a sigh of relief, I heard a sound behind me.

I turned around to see Leo.

I didn't know how long he had been standing there.

But it was obvious he had heard everything.

He knew I was going to divorce Austin.

Children aren't good at hiding their emotions, but Leo tried his best to be strong. His little face was pale, and though he held back his tears, his voice shook.

"Mom... are you really never going to forgive Dad?"

Looking at the faint hope in his eyes, my heart ached.

A child his age shouldn't have to face the pain of his parents splitting up.

I felt incredibly guilty. Even though Leo was so young, he had worked so hard to make this family happy.

I knelt down and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Don't worry, baby. I remember my promise to you. We'll give him one more week."

If, after a week, he still hadn't changed, I would take Leo and leave.

Leo hugged me back tightly, full of love.

We comforted each other before heading to our respective rooms to sleep.

For once, I didn't stay up waiting for Austin. I knew he wouldn't be coming back tonight anyway.

To my surprise, in the middle of the night, a loud noise came from the front door.

Austin had stumbled home, completely drunk.

The moment the door opened, he almost collapsed.

I caught him out of instinct.

Instantly, a sweet, sickly perfume filled my nose. I knew that scent—it was Hailey’s.

A wave of nausea hit my stomach.

While the door was still open, I dragged Austin right back out into the hallway.

Then I slammed the door shut and locked it. The whole process took less than five seconds.