Chapter 3
As expected, Thané didn’t agree to my request for divorce.
We met when we were sixteen, started dating at nineteen, married at twenty–five, had our first child at twenty–six and our second child at twenty–nine. Now at thirty–six, we were deeply intertwined, both emotionally and financially. So he refused to divorce me.
A wife and children at home, a fragile lover outside–Thane wanted to maintain this
arrangement.
I mean, just think about it. If we divorced, those shares he gave me when he loved me most? They’d really mess him up financially and would severely weaken his position.
The Cole family had ambitious illegitimate sons and Thane wasn’t the only heir.
But I couldn’t give up everything and just leave with the children either. I must take what belongs to me.
So we reached an impasse.
Just like now, Thane again suggested I calm down while he took Lily away.
Lily had several bloody marks on her arm. One was deep enough to expose bone–I’d cut
her with the glass.
Thane sighed and said: “Sophie, stay home and calm down. We can talk about anything
later.”
Then he left with Lily.
Despite being injured, Lily still/shot me a challenging smile before leaving.
I was furious and threw the vase from the table at her.
“Ah!” Lily screamied as the vase hit her forehead. Thane grabbed her and ran out the door.
But the door didn’t close completely. I could hear the girl’s soft crying and also hear Thane calling me crazy.
mé
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How pathetic!
As soon as they left, Emma and Noah emerged from the bedroom. Holding hands, they cautiously approached me.
I knelt on the floor. Emma and Noah reached out, wanting a hug.
“Mom, don’t cry. Emma and Noah will always be with you.”
Ten–year–old Emma, mature and
seeming you can comforted me despite the marks on her face. Noah
reached out to wipe away my tears.
“Noah will always protect Mom and Sis, forever and ever!”
Seven–year–old Noah had a cut on his palm from the glass, but he didn’t complain about the pain either, choosing to comfort me alongside his sister.
“That woman is so hateful! She stole Dad’s keys and came to our house acting all superior!”
Emma hugged me around the neck and kissed the corner of my mouth.
Today was a weekend, but I had an emergency work meeting, so I left the children with our live–in nanny.
I never imagined–Lily would take advantage of this opportunity to come to my house.
The nanny was washing fruit in the kitchen. The two children were playing on the swing in the backyard when Lily silently approached and told Emma to call her “mom.”
Emma had always been mature for her age. She had some vague understanding of the relationship between Lily and me, so she told Lily to get lost.
Lily was angry and said to Emma: “Your daddy doesn’t love your mommy anymore. If you don’t start being nice to me now, when your dad marries me, I’ll send you deep into the
mountains to suffer like I did!”
Lily came from a remote mountain village.
The year Thane and I got married, following the Cole family tradition, we planned to sponsor several children who wanted an education but couldn’t afford it. No matter the
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personality, there are boys and girls.
Back then, Lily was only nine, skin and bones, but with bright eyes. She deliberately
grabbed my sleeve and said to me: “Miss, I want to go to school. Please sponsor me. I’ll
repay you someday.”
I never imagined her “repayment” would be sleeping with my husband.
The nineteen–year–old girl was full of youth and energy. She kept talking about repaying our kindness, appearing before Thane again and again, stubborn and fresh–faced.
In the end, due to her naivety, someone took advantage of this to drug her.
Thane happened to be passing by. The drug’s effects were powerful. The young girl was clingy and seductive, crying in a way that seemed both pitiful and adorable. He couldn’t resist. And then, clothes scattered messily around the bed. Thane drew the final period on our perfect eleven–year marriage with his own hand.
But Lily’s ambitions went much further. That’s why she came to my house and said those things to my daughter.
Emma was furious, shouting at her to leave.
Lily was also angry. She raised her hand and viciously pinched Emma’s cheek.
Children’s skin is delicate–with just one squeeze, she left a purple bruise.
Noah, seeing his sister being bullied, rushed forward.
The seven–year–old boy was no match for twenty–year–old Lily. Being pushed hard, he hit the table, and the glass cup on it fell to the floor. Noah also fell, and when he put out his hands to break his fall, there were glass shards on the ground. His palm was instantly
covered in blood.
At that exact moment, I returned home to retrieve a document I’d forgotten, just in time to
witness this scene.
No mother can tolerate seeing her children bullied. In that moment, rage consumed me. I took off my high heels and charged forward, grabbing Lily’s head and slamming it against the wall. Again and again, it felt so satisfying.
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But before I could turn the tables and let her feel the pain of being cut by glass, Thane came
back.
