Chapter 3

At three in the morning, I shut my laptop and rubbed my aching temples. The latest financial reports from Vance Group were full of holes. If it weren't for my father’s potential investment, I wouldn't have wasted a single second on them.

I ended up crashing on my office couch, sleeping fitfully.

The next morning, my phone lit up. Notifications from the parent group chat on Snapchat kept popping up.

[@All Members: Today is the parent-child field day at 9:30 AM! Please be on time!]

Field day was today? Neither Leo nor Marcus had mentioned a word to me.

By the time I rushed to the school, the playground was already buzzing with cheers.

From a distance, I saw Leo sitting on Marcus's shoulders, giggling, while Chloe held a water bottle and gently wiped the sweat from their brows. All three of them wore matching blue athletic gear. They looked exactly like a happy little family.

I took a deep breath and walked over quickly. "Leo, Mommy's here."

My son turned around, his smile instantly vanishing when he saw me. "Why are you so late? Everyone else's mom got here forever ago!"

Marcus frowned, his voice dripping with annoyance. "Elena, I know you're busy with work, but how could you skip your own son's field day? Thank god Chloe came, or Leo would have been devastated."

Chloe chimed in right on cue, looking apologetic. "Don't be mad, Elena. I shouldn't have stepped in, but I just couldn't bear to see Leo sad..." She stroked Leo's hair. "I didn't want the other kids to tease him for not having a mom there."

Her soft, weak voice cut through me like a knife.

Suppressing my anger, I knelt down. "Mommy will do the next race with you, okay?"

"No!" Leo took a sharp step back, hiding behind Chloe. "You run so slow! You'll make us lose! I want Chloe!"

He looked up at Marcus and declared proudly, "Dad and Chloe are all I need!"

A few nearby parents shot us strange looks, whispering among themselves. "Why is that kid talking to his mother like that?"

Chloe knelt down to embrace Leo, cooing over him. "Shh, it's okay, buddy. I'll run with you."

She looked up at me, a flash of triumph in her eyes, though her tone remained apologetic. "Elena, he's just a kid. Don't take it personally."

"It's fine." I stood up, digging my nails deep into my palms. "Have fun."

I turned and walked away. Behind me, I heard Leo joyfully calling Chloe "Mommy," Marcus gently praising her for being so good to Leo, and the surrounding parents whispering, "Wait, who is actually the mother?"

Five years of marriage, five years of motherhood, scattered away in the chilly autumn breeze.