Chapter 4

Leo stood beside me, suddenly murmuring under his breath:

"It's your fault for not letting go..."

My eyes welled with tears as I looked at him. "I told you, this was the only thing my mother left me."

"Do you even know why your mother is rotting in that hospice care?"

Leo blinked, taking a step back.

"I don't have a grandma. I only know she’s a money-draining old hag..."

The blood rushed to my head.

"Auntie Sienna said she stays in such an expensive room, wasting Daddy's money when she can't even be cured. She's just a black hole for money—"

"Say that again."

My voice changed.

It was so cold and hollow, even I didn't recognize it.

Leo was startled by my expression. He bit his lip but forced himself to yell, "She is a money-draining old hag! What are you gonna—ah!"

I shoved him.

His foot caught on a box, and he fell backward onto his butt.

He froze for a second, then burst into loud, dramatic wails.

"Daddy! Daddy!"

I stood there, my palms completely numb.

Looking at my crying son on the floor, the words "money-draining old hag" echoed in my ears.

That "old hag" was my mother. His grandmother.

She was the one who, despite just undergoing major surgery, spent nights hand-knitting a baby blanket for him when he was born.

She was the one who, every year on his birthday, would call from the hospice, begging the nurse to read her birthday wishes to him.

And he called her a money-draining old hag.

The sharp edges of the broken diamonds dug into my palm.

The pain cleared my head.

Austin rushed in, seeing Leo crying on the floor. He knelt down and scooped him up.

"Leo, what happened?"

Leo buried his face in Austin's chest, sobbing hysterically. "Daddy! She pushed me! Kick her out! I want Auntie Sienna..."

Austin held him, glaring at me.

His eyes were filled with absolute disgust. "Elena, have you lost your mind? You're physically abusing a child now?!"

"I didn't abuse him," I said quietly. "I just shoved him."

"Is there a difference?!"

I looked down at the broken pieces of my mother’s bracelet in my hand.

"Yes," I said. "Abusing him would be me trying to discipline him as his mother. Shoving him was just him getting what he deserved."

Austin stunned, looking down at his son.

Leo shrank into his father’s arms, his crying softening into a whimper. "But I was just telling the truth... Auntie Sienna said that old woman is just wasting Daddy's money..."

Austin pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Why are you picking a fight with a toddler?" He shot me an annoyed look. "Sienna manages our family finances now. She was just stating a financial fact, and Leo overheard it. Don't blow things out of proportion."

"You have no idea how much she stresses over managing this estate."

He glanced at the broken jewelry in my hand.

His tone softened slightly, though his annoyance remained.

"I brought Leo here today so we could have a proper talk. But about the... other thing, let's keep it from him for now. I don't want it affecting his mental health."

I knew he was talking about the divorce.

I remained silent.

A proper talk?

About what?

In our four years of marriage, the amount of time he and Leo spent talking to me wouldn't even add up to half of what he shared with Sienna.

Back in college, he was the one who pursued me relentlessly, breaking down my walls.

Even without that "accidental pregnancy," I had already gathered the courage to ignore our social class difference and say yes to him.

Looking back, I wished I had never agreed.

My mother was still lying in that hospice, waiting for me to visit.

With that thought, I grabbed my bag and walked out of the shed.