Chapter 3

I took Zoe back to the apartment to pack our things.

The home that had once been filled with laughter between mother and daughter now felt unbearably silent.

In the living room, Lucas was clumsily trying to feed Kyler formula.

Powder spilled everywhere.

When he saw me, his brow furrowed into a knot.

"Why are you back? Hurry up, grab your stuff, and get out. Don't disturb me while I'm with Kyler."

I ignored him and walked straight into the bedroom. I pulled out two large suitcases.

Rita followed me in, hovering behind me like a prison guard.

"Vanessa, let me tell you something—this house belongs to my son. You're not taking a single thing that doesn't belong to you."

Her eyes scanned every item I packed.

I folded Zoe's and my clothes one by one and placed them neatly into the suitcases.

"These are all part of my dowry from before the marriage. And this jewelry set—my mother left it to me."

I pointed to a box on the dresser.

Rita immediately lunged forward and slammed her hand down on it.

"Your mother left it to you? Once you married into the Gray family, it became Gray family property! You want to take it? Over my dead body!"

Her fingers locked around the box like a vice.

I stopped what I was doing, stood up, and stared at her in silence.

She shifted uncomfortably under my gaze but refused to let go.

"What are you looking at? Am I wrong? You're about to walk out that door, and you think you can take something this valuable?"

I didn't argue. I just pulled out my phone and turned on the voice recorder.

"Say that again. Whose property is this?"

Rita froze for a second, then threw a fit.

"It's the Gray family's! What are you going to do about it?"

I put my phone away, stopped looking at her, and continued packing.

A picture frame fell to the floor. The glass shattered.

Inside was a photo of Zoe and me at the beach.

Zoe walked over and carefully tried to pick it up.

"Don't touch it. You'll cut yourself."

I pulled her back.

From the living room, Lucas shouted impatiently.

"Vanessa! Can you hurry up? You're taking forever! If you break anything, can you even afford to replace it?"

I pulled the photo out of the broken frame—careful to avoid the shards—and slipped it into my pocket.

Then I swept the empty frame and broken glass into the trash.

Rita, seeing I wasn't paying her any attention, started yelling again.

"Did you hear that? My son told you to get out! Stop being an eyesore!"

I zipped up the suitcases with a heavy finality.

I pulled one suitcase with each hand and held Zoe's hand with the other as I headed for the door.

As I passed through the living room, I saw Kyler throw his bottle on the floor. He was reaching for Lucas's car keys on the coffee table, about to shove them into his mouth.

Lucas was completely oblivious, head down, absorbed in some guidebook on early genius cultivation.

I walked past without a glance.

The door slammed shut behind me.

I didn't care if that child choked on the keys. I didn't care if Lucas could actually raise a genius.

I rented a small one-bedroom apartment in the old part of the city.

Compared to the Gray family's spacious riverside penthouse, this place was a shoebox.

But Zoe remained calm. She set down her little backpack and studied our new "home" carefully.

"Mom, where's my bed?"

I pointed to the small bed by the window, covered with cartoon sheets I'd just bought.

"That's yours from now on."

She nodded, climbed onto it, lay down to test it, and then smiled at me.

"It's soft."

My heart softened too.

By the time we settled in, it was late at night. After I read Zoe a bedtime story, she fell asleep quickly.

I sat on the creaky sofa in the living room. My phone buzzed.

It was a message from my friend Claire Winters.

[How are you? Did you find a place? Do you have enough money?]

I replied that everything was fine and left it at that.

It wasn't that I didn't want to talk—I just didn't know where to begin.

I opened my mobile banking app and stared at the pitiful balance. Then I thought about the card Lucas had thrown on the counter. A wave of helplessness washed over me.

I needed to find work. Fast.

Just then, my phone rang. It was Lucas.

I answered but didn't speak.

His voice came through, barely suppressing his anger.

"Vanessa, did you take the washing machine manual with you?"

I paused.

"No."

"Then how the hell do I use this new front-loading washer? My mom can't figure it out, and now there's water everywhere!"

"There's a QR code on the door. Scan it for the digital manual."

"I don't have time for that! Come back here right now and show my mom how to use it!"

He barked the order as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

I said nothing.

In my previous life, this was how it always went. No matter where I was, he always found a way to drag me back to deal with whatever mess he and his mother couldn't handle.

And every single time, I softened and went back.

"Lucas, we're divorced."

I hung up.

The phone immediately started ringing again. I hung up over and over until I finally just turned it off.

I walked into the bedroom and looked at Zoe's peaceful sleeping face. The last traces of helplessness in my heart vanished.

This life, I would live only for her.