Chapter 3

Everyone in the room snapped their heads toward me.

The first to react was Leo.

The moment he saw me, he rushed over and threw his arms around my legs.

"Mom! Hunter hit me!"

My legs trembled slightly.

This was the first time a child had ever hugged me.

It was also the first time I realized how small and incredibly soft a child's hands could be.

I didn't push him away. Instead, I glared coldly at Mr. Collins.

"You claim my son is lying, yet you didn't even bother to investigate before laying your hands on him. What kind of educator are you?"

Mr. Collins gritted his teeth, his face turning red with anger.

"What does an ignorant woman like you know about discipline?"

Before I could reply, Hunter chimed in from the side, sneering.

"Mr. Collins, she's not even a real woman. She's just the barren trash my uncle threw out of the Thorne family!"

"She was married to my uncle for seven years and couldn't even produce a single heir. She's just a useless beggar."

I clenched my fists.

See? This was the Thorne family.

Even a spoiled six-year-old kid felt entitled to humiliate me with such vile words.

I didn't deign to reply to Hunter.

Instead, I knelt down, looked into Leo's eyes, and whispered, "Can you beat him in a fight?"

Leo blinked in surprise, then nodded slowly.

"Then go back over there and beat the crap out of him."

"If you start losing, I'll have Martha help you."

A spark of pure joy lit up Leo's eyes.

I gave him a gentle pat on the back.

"Go."

Leo shot forward like a bullet, slamming straight into Hunter.

I had seen Leo practicing Taekwondo in the backyard before.

Even at six years old, he could easily break a one-centimeter-thick wooden board.

I had found it strange that a tough kid like him would let a pampered brat like Hunter bully him.

But getting hit didn't matter.

As long as he hit back twice as hard.

Sure enough, within seconds, Leo had Hunter pinned to the floor, pounding him until the kid wailed like a dying animal.

Mr. Collins panicked and lunged forward in a rage.

"You little brat! How dare you lay a hand on a Thorne! I'll teach you a lesson—"

He raised his arm, about to forcefully yank Leo off Hunter.

I turned to Martha and barked, "What are you standing there for? Pull that teacher away and give him a piece of your mind!"

Martha looked at me in terror. "But... Ma'am..."

I cut her off coldly.

"If you don't act right now, you can pack your bags and leave tonight."

Driven to a corner, Martha rolled up her sleeves, charged at Mr. Collins, and grabbed him by his hair, dragging him to the floor.

"How dare you touch our young master!"

She sat right on top of Mr. Collins and delivered three ringing slaps across his face.

The office descended into absolute chaos.

Hunter was crying bloody murder on the floor under Leo's fists.

Mr. Collins was screaming for help under Martha's slaps.

I stood there, watching the glorious mess unfold.

A cold, mocking smirk played on my lips.

A barren woman who couldn't keep her husband?

Fine. I'll show you exactly what this "barren" woman is capable of.

As I was enjoying the view, a freezing voice cut through the air from behind me.

"Stop this! What on earth is going on here?"

Hearing Julian's voice, I gripped my phone even tighter.

But I didn't turn around. I simply said to Martha and Leo, "Keep going. If anything happens, I'll take full responsibility."

Julian finally recognized my voice.

He marched over in utter disbelief and grabbed my wrist.

"Alina? What are you doing here?"

His grip was painfully tight.

Without hesitation, I swung my free hand and slapped him hard across the face.

I quickly took two steps back and glared at him.

"Julian Thorne, don't touch me. We are divorced. Keep your hands to yourself."

Julian was completely stunned by the slap, staring at me as if I had grown a second head.

But the next second, his nephew Hunter's desperate cries filled the room.

"Uncle Julian! Save me!"

Julian glared at me with pure hatred before rushing over to Hunter.

He grabbed Leo by his collar and yanked him up.

But Leo was smart. The moment his feet touched the ground, he wriggled free, ran over, and hid behind my back.

Martha quickly scrambled up and stood beside me as well.

Looking at Hunter's bruised and swollen face, Julian turned to me, his brow furrowed in deep anger.

"Alina, you know Hunter has a weak constitution! How could you let this happen?"

"How did you become so vicious?"

"You don't behave like a lady from a prestigious family anymore!"

Those words.

They instantly dragged me back to my seven years of marriage.

Whenever I complained to him about Beatrice coming over to stir up trouble, or about his mother forcing me to kneel because I wasn't pregnant, Julian would look at me with that exact same expression of disgust.

"Alina, look at yourself. You've become so bitter and toxic, always complaining. Where is the poised lady I married?"

Then, he would throw his phone onto the couch and lock himself in his study, completely ignoring me.

Back then, I would always cry myself to sleep.

But now, I only felt a cold amusement.

"Whether your nephew is weak or not is none of my business."

"Let me make this clear, Julian. If your nephew ever touches my stepson again, I'll make sure my stepson beats him to a pulp."

"And you better teach that brat of yours to shut his mouth. If I hear him spreading lies about me again, I won't hesitate to have my brother Ethan pay a visit to your headquarters and ask if the Thorne family is run by a bunch of gossiping losers."

I expected Julian to explode in rage.

After all, during our seven years of marriage, I had never dared to talk back to him because of my guilt over not having a child.

But to my surprise, his eyes filled with a sudden, intense pain.

"You... you got married? You're married again?"

I blinked, slightly surprised.

I didn't expect Julian to be completely clueless about my remarriage.

But then again, it made sense.

By the time we divorced, he was probably so sick of me that he never wanted to hear my name again.

I smirked coldly.

"Why? You can move on, but I can't?"

With that, I gently pulled Leo from behind me.

"Go get your sister. We're leaving this school."

Then, I turned to Mr. Collins, who was clutching his bleeding face.

"Congratulations. After today, no school in this city will ever hire you again."

"I'll have my brother send a memo to every board of directors. You are blacklisted."

Mr. Collins forgot all about his pain, his face turning pale.

"I... I..."

I looked at him with sheer disdain.

"Let this be a lesson. It's not just the Thorne family's kids who are precious. The Sterling family's kids are just as untouchable."

Finally, I looked at Julian, who stood frozen in place, looking like he had seen a ghost.

"Julian, from now on, walk the other way when you see me. Otherwise, I'll hit you every single time."

"And if you ever lay a finger on me again, I'll make sure you lose that hand."

Without giving him another glance, I turned and walked out.

After seven years of marriage, he was finally nothing but a stranger to me.