Chapter 1

Emmanuel was an expert in giving me the silent treatment.

Whenever he got even a little upset, he’d slam the door and disappear for ten days, sometimes two weeks.

I had grown used to adjusting my emotions, smiling through the pain while taking care of Oliver.

Until one day, I was helping him with his homework when I saw his wish.

"Wish Mom would disappear.

"The way she freaks out at Dad is terrifying."

That was the moment I woke up.

Sunday nights were always the hardest.

Oliver was dragging his feet, crying as he tried to finish the homework due the next day, while Emmanuel, drowning me out with his headphones, was fully immersed in his game.

Nobody cared about me.

Oliver cried harder after I scolded him, glaring at me with frustration, while Emmanuel pretended not to notice us, clearly annoyed.

I stood at the dining table, gathering up the leftover scraps, silently convincing myself that everything was my fault.

But inside, my heart ached.

It was late. Emmanuel had retreated to his study to sleep, Oliver had cried himself to sleep with tear stains still on his face, and I stood in the bathroom, staring at my weary reflection.

This marked the third month of Emmanuel’s silent treatment. Three long months. Long enough for me to forget why our cold war had even started.

Living under the same roof, he hadn’t spoken a word to me, and I had stubbornly refused to back down.

He was the one in the wrong. I wasn’t going to apologize. But I couldn’t sleep.

I walked to Oliver’s room to tidy up his backpack. That’s when I saw it.

In his notebook—his brand-new diary that I had bought him—his wish was written in small, childish handwriting.

“I wish Mom would disappear.”