Chapter 3

For the next few days,Tamara didn’t see Callum at all.

She didn’t need to.

She knew exactly where he was and what he was doing.

Seraphina had a habit of casually posting photos of herself and Callum on social media.She was clever about it,too.Every picture was carefully framed just enough to make her point without giving anyone a reason to call her out.

Sometimes,she would post a photo of her hand intertwined with Callum’s,making sure his face was visible while keeping her own out of the frame.

The message was obvious.

She wanted Tamara to see it.

And she made sure there was nothing in the photos that could be used against her.

In the past,seeing those pictures would have sent Tamara into a rage.She would have confronted Callum,demanded answers,and made a scene.

But now,she felt strangely calm.

When her daughter,Tilly,came over,she happened to see the latest photo on Tamara’s phone.

“Mom,”she asked hesitantly,“people outside keep saying Dad is cheating on you and doesn’t want us anymore.Is that true?”

Tamara’s heart clenched painfully.

How was she supposed to explain something like infidelity to a child?

She swallowed the ache in her throat and carefully chose her words,telling Tilly only what she needed to know.

“No matter what happens between grown-ups,none of it is your fault.”

“Tilly,Mommy is going to separate from Daddy.Do you want to leave with me?”

Her daughter wrapped her arms tightly around Tamara and nodded without hesitation.

“I do.I want to stay with Mommy forever.I only want Mommy.”

Tears of emotion filled Tamara’s eyes as she pulled her daughter into an even tighter embrace.

“Okay.From now on,it’ll just be the two of us.”

That afternoon,Tamara took Tilly to a real estate agency.

The house they currently lived in was registered under Tamara’s name.Callum had cheated on her,so there was nothing wrong with selling the property and keeping the money for herself.

After several rounds of negotiation,Tamara finally sold the house for seven million dollars.

It was below market value.She was in a hurry to turn the property into cash and had insisted on receiving the full payment upfront,which meant there weren’t many buyers willing to meet her terms.

Still,Tamara never expected to run into Callum on her way out.

Tilly gently tugged at her mother’s sleeve and whispered,“Mommy,is that the woman Daddy cheated on you with?”

Tamara followed her gaze.

Across the street,Callum was helping Seraphina look at houses.

Every time the real estate agent showed Callum another property,he found a dozen reasons to reject it.

“No.The master bedroom is too small.It doesn’t give Seraphina enough room to move around.”

“This one won’t do either.The master bedroom doesn’t get enough sunlight.That’s not good for her health.”

The agent knew Callum was a wealthy client,so he had gone out of his way to show him only the finest properties.

Yet Callum still managed to find fault with every single one.

Back when Tamara and Callum were looking for their marital home,he hadn’t even bothered to look at the online listings.

Tamara had always thought he was simply the kind of man who didn’t like to fuss over things.

Now she finally understood.

It wasn’t that Callum didn’t care enough to make an effort.He simply never cared enough to make an effort for her.

Seeing him clearly for the first time,Tamara forced a faint smile and gently took Tilly’s hand.

“Tilly,you’re still too young to understand grown-up matters.Come on,let’s go home.”

With that,Tamara turned to leave with Tilly.But before they could get far,Tilly suddenly broke free from her mother’s hand and ran straight toward Seraphina.

“You’re a bad woman!You broke Mommy and Daddy apart.You’re a homewrecker.”

The child’s shrill voice immediately drew the attention of the people nearby.Within seconds,a small crowd had gathered.

Seraphina’s face flushed with embarrassment.She pointed at Tilly and spat,“You little brat!Who taught you to say those things?Your mother?”

“I’ll teach you a lesson today!”

She raised her hand,ready to strike Tilly.

Tamara rushed forward and caught her wrist before she could.

“Seraphina,I warned you.Stay away from my daughter.Touch her again,and I swear you’ll regret it.”

But before Tamara could say another word,Callum stepped in.

He grabbed Tamara’s wrist and squeezed hard enough to make her wince and let go.

His voice was cold.“Tamara,I warned you too.Stay away from Seraphina.If you lay a hand on her again,I won’t let you off.”

Pain shot through Tamara’s wrist,but it was nothing compared to the ache spreading through her chest.

When Seraphina was hurting her daughter,Callum had been nowhere to be seen.

Yet the moment Tamara stepped in to defend Tilly,he was there,protecting Seraphina as though she were the one who needed saving.

For the first time,Tamara understood how completely he had chosen her.

In the past,whenever Tamara or Tilly was treated unfairly by someone in the Blackwood family,Callum would have his security team throw them out without a second thought.

His love for them had once been impossible to miss,written into every little thing he did.

But so was the fact that his heart had changed.

Tilly’s eyes were swollen and red from crying.She clung desperately to Callum’s sleeve,trying to pull his hand away.

“Let go!Don’t hurt Mommy!”

Callum’s expression darkened.

Before he seemed to realize what he was doing,his hand swung back and struck his daughter across the face.

Tilly fell hard to the floor and immediately burst into tears.

Tamara’s heart lurched.Her eyes turned red with fury as she screamed,“Callum!She’s just a child!”

“She’s your daughter!And now you’re willing to hit your own child for another woman?”

A shadow crossed Callum’s face.

He hadn’t meant to hit Tilly.His reaction had been instinctive,his body moving to protect Seraphina from getting hurt.

But the slap had already happened.

So instead of apologizing,he hardened his voice.“She’s picked up all these bad habits from you.You’re telling me she doesn’t deserve a lesson?”

“Tilly only turned out this way because she was raised by you.I’ll take her with me from now on.You don’t need to raise her anymore.”