Chapter 3
After a while, I walked out of the kitchen, feeling the weight of everything settle into the pit of my stomach. I found Ryan and Lucas sprawled on the couch, lazily flipping through TV channels as if nothing had changed.
Neither of them even spared a glance at me. No apology. No acknowledgment. They both just assumed things would go back to normal, like always–me, silently absorbing the hurt and moving on as if their cruelty meant nothing.
But this time, I had reached my limit.
I bent down to pick up the divorce papers I had dropped earlier, ready to speak my mind. But then the front door creaked open, and Madeline walked in.
She breezed into the room with the same confidence she always had, like she was walking into her own home. Her lips were a perfect shade of red, her body clad in a fitted silk dress that hugged every curve. Pearls shimmered around her neck, and her hair cascaded in flawless curls. The diamond ring on her finger caught the light, gleaming brightly.
The same diamond I had found in Ryan’s bag just three days ago.
She stopped dead when she saw me on the floor, crouched over the papers. A small, mocking laugh escaped her lips, and I saw the glimmer of disdain in her eyes.
“Elise, what are you doing?” she asked, feigning concern as she effortlessly stepped around me. “Cleaning this late at night?”
I looked up at her, and in her flawless eyes, I saw a mirror
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of myself–worn, defeated. My clothes hung loosely, and the remnants of kitchen water still clung to my hands. The yellow glove on my wrist looked like a pathetic reminder of everything I’d just pulled from the drain.
I looked like a woman life had ground down and left behind.
Ryan made four hundred thousand a year, yet here I was, looking like this.
Before I could find the words to speak, Madeline walked past me, as though I didn’t exist. She pulled out two elegant gift boxes and handed them to Ryan and Lucas.
“Here you go, Lucas. I remember you said you needed a new tie. And Ryan, I picked something out for you as well.”
Ryan opened his box with a faint, polite smile, but when he saw what was inside–a pair of branded underwear–his face flushed, and he quickly stuffed them back into the box.
Lucas, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. He lifted the tie with pride, his voice full of enthusiasm.
“Maddie, this is perfect!” he said with a grin. “I needed one for the engagement dinner.”
Ryan shot him a quick, anxious look, but it was too late. The words had already escaped.
Engagement dinner?
I froze, my heart pounding in my chest. My voice came out slow, like I was choking on my words. “You’re getting married?”
Neither of them even glanced at me,
I took a step closer, my voice growing harder. “Why am I
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just hearing about this now? I haven’t even met the woman you’re marrying.”
Lucas shrugged, his gaze vacant. “Come on, Mom. Look at yourself. If Clara had met you first, I doubt this wedding would even be happening.”
My throat tightened. “Then who stood in for me?”
He avoided my eyes. “Maddie went instead.”
It felt like someone had hit me with a freight train. My knees buckled beneath me, but I didn’t collapse.
Seeing my silence, Lucas waved his hand dismissively. “She’s your best friend, right? Her going in your place is basically the same as you being there. Can we just not make a big deal out of it?”
I stared at him, my voice cracking. “I’m your mother, Lucas,” I whispered. “I am.”
The words felt like they were tearing out of me, the first time I’d raised my voice in years. Lucas stood frozen, momentarily caught off guard.
And then Madeline’s light, condescending laugh cut through the tension.
She leaned in and took the divorce papers from my hand like they were an amusing little game.
“Oh, Elise,” she smirked, her voice dripping with mockery. “Still playing these childish games at your age?”
Her tone was light, almost playful–but there was something sharp, something cold beneath it. A sting hidden behind every word,
“This kind of drama might be cute when you’re thirty,”
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she continued, her voice filled with venom. “But you’re not thirty anymore.”
Then she gave me that look–the one that made my skin crawl. Slow. Pitying.
“You really think, if Ryan actually divorces you, that someone better will come along?”
Ryan sighed, the sound thick with exhaustion. “She’s been like this ever since the concert. Acting like we’re the ones in the wrong,” he said, his eyes fixed on Madeline, completely ignoring me. “You and I both know the truth, but she refuses to see it.”
Madeline reached up and rubbed his temples with
exaggerated tenderness, like she was dealing with a child. “Let me handle this,” she said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. “She’ll come around.”
That’s when I laughed–cold, hollow, and full of bitterness.
“Perfect,” I said, my voice clipped. “Then I’ll leave you two to it. I’m not going to stand in the way of your happy ending.”
Ryan’s expression turned hard, but before he could speak, Madeline stepped forward again.
“Elise, you’re misunderstanding everything. Please, just let me explain-”
Her hand reached out, the diamond ring on her finger grazing my skin, slicing into my hand like a knife. A sharp, sudden pain erupted through my palm.
Something inside me snapped.
I pushed her.
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She tumbled backward, her body crashing to the floor in a messy swirl of silk and pearls.
Ryan sprang to her side in a flash, like a man protecting his precious possession.
“Elise Thornton, are you out of your mind?!” he bellowed, his voice filled with outrage.
He knelt beside Madeline, hands roaming over her body as if checking for injuries. “Are you hurt? Are you okay?” His voice shook with worry. “Ignore her. She’s completely lost it.”
Madeline slowly shook her head, acting dazed, as if I had caused her serious harm.
Ryan turned back to me, his face dark with fury. “I’ve been patient with you, Elise, but this is too much. I told you nothing happened, and yet you physically attacked her.”
He snatched the divorce papers from Madeline’s lap.
“You want a divorce? Fine. You’ve got it.”
With a flourish, he signed his name on the papers, the pen digging into the page, and threw them at my feet. “Now, pack your things and get out of my house.”
He turned to Madeline, taking her hand in his, making sure I heard every word.
“Let’s go upstairs, Maddie. Now that I’m divorced, we don’t have to worry about anyone accusing us of anything anymore.”
They disappeared up the stairs, hand in hand, like the final scene of a play I never agreed to perform in.
I didn’t scream. I didn’t cry. I simply bent down, picked up
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the papers, and signed my name–each stroke deliberate, controlled.
Behind me, I heard Lucas let out a bitter scoff.
“Happy now?” he sneered. “Way to nuke our family over your tantrum. God, Mom… I’m really disappointed in you.”
I didn’t answer him.
Inside, the truth echoed louder than his scorn:
The disappointment is mutual, son.
