Chapter 2

I stopped pounding on the door, letting my body slide down the glass until I collapsed onto the freezing tiles.

Kenna's words echoed in my ears, and I let out a bitter laugh. I brought this on myself.

The unbearable cold drained the heat from my body, inch by inch. I started hallucinating. I felt like I was burning, as if flames were licking at my skin. I began pulling off my clothes.

Then, my heart stopped. My soul left my body.

I saw Archie leisurely walk up to the glass door with a phone in hand. He looked down at me.

Lying there on the balcony, barely clothed, I looked pitiful.

Archie suddenly covered his mouth and giggled. Through the glass, he made silly faces at my corpse.

"Mommy, you look just like that stray dog downstairs! So ugly! You're such a pervert, Mommy! Why aren't you wearing clothes? Grandma says women like you are indecent! I'm gonna take a picture and send it to the family group chat!"

Then, he cracked the door open. A blast of icy wind rushed in. He shivered violently and quickly slammed the door shut again.

Still standing behind the glass, he gave Brandon a video call and aimed the camera at me.

Suddenly, he started crying. "Daddy! Mommy froze to death… Come home, Daddy. I'm scared!

"Daddy, now that I don't have a mom anymore, can you take Ms. Cole home to be my new mom?"

…

"Mommy! Are you even listening to me?"

Archie's impatient voice yanked me out of my memories of my past life and back into the present.

As I stared at the little devil in front of me, the last shred of motherly love I had melted away like the snow outside the window.

I shoved Archie hard. He fell backward, landing flat on his butt with a loud thud.

Just as he was about to throw a tantrum, I got up and smiled at him. "Didn't you want to play hide and seek? Well, what are you waiting for? Go hide."

Archie froze for a second. He swallowed back the curse words that were about to spill from his mouth.

Rubbing his sore backside, he ran toward the balcony—just like in my past life—and hid behind the washing machine.

Once he was completely out of sight, I walked over, shut the glass door, and locked it.

The moment Archie heard the click of the lock, he bolted out from behind the washing machine. He stared at the door, confused.

A five-year-old couldn't hide his emotions.

His face practically screamed, "How did you think to lock the door first?"

Archie looked up at me through the glass door and started yelling, kicking, and pounding on the door.

"Open the door! Let me in! Evil Mommy! Are you trying to freeze me to death? Regina Foley! As the man of the house, I command you to open this door right now, or I'll tell Daddy! I'll make him divorce you!"

When I heard him say "the man of the house", I almost laughed.

Archie started attending kindergarten when he was three. Back then, he was still so attached to me. At the kindergarten gate, he clung to me and sobbed uncontrollably, refusing to let go no matter what.

He cried over and over, "Don't go, Mommy! I want you!"

That day, I comforted him patiently. "Archie, you're a man now. Grown-ups stand tall and strong. It's just kindergarten. You can do this, Archie. Be brave, just like Maximus Titan!"

"Yeah, I can do it! I'm a man! When I grow up, I'm gonna protect you, Mommy!"

Teary-eyed and sniffling, three-year-old Archie promised to be my knight and protect me for a lifetime. That day, I was truly happy.

But somewhere along the way, Archie's idea of being a "man" changed.

"I'm a man. You have to listen to me! Go buy me ice cream now!"