Chapter 4

Kathleen hadn't expected Rita to move into Gilliam Mansion with Terry.

The moment Rita saw her, she looked uneasy. She clearly hadn't forgotten what she'd said at the alumni get-together, right in front of Kathleen.

"Kathleen, I'm only staying here for a little while. Once Terry gets used to living here and doesn't need me anymore, I'll leave."

Terry tightened his grip on Rita's hand. "Bad woman! Don't make my mom leave. If she goes, I'm going too!"

Rita gave an awkward smile, but Kathleen caught the hint of defiance in her eyes.

Everyone knew Kathleen had struggled with infertility for years and desperately wanted a child of her own. Now Rita had brought Greg's child right into their home.

It was hard not to see it as a deliberate attempt to hurt Kathleen.

Greg, however, didn't seem bothered in the slightest. His expression softened as he looked at Rita and Terry.

"No one's going to make your mom leave. This is our home from now on."

Watching the three of them together like a happy little family, Kathleen suddenly felt like the one who didn't belong.

Without a word, she turned and walked away.

Rita started to call after her, worried that she had upset Kathleen.

Greg stopped her. "Leave her alone. Lately, all she does is mess around with those designs that aren't going anywhere."

Kathleen heard every word.

Greg hadn't always talked about her work that way. When they first got married, he had happily modeled menswear for her.

He used to praise the clean, polished lines of her designs. He told her that even without the Gilliam family's help, she would someday make a name for herself around the world.

But after they got married, Kathleen gradually gave up her own ambitions and tried to focus on being a wife and building a family.

Somewhere along the way, her work became nothing more than "designs that aren't going anywhere" in Greg's eyes.

Kathleen picked up her pace and pretended she hadn't heard him.

Greg watched her walk away, an uneasy feeling settling over him.

Kathleen had been too calm lately. He had said those things on purpose, hoping she would argue with him or at least show that she still cared.

But she hadn't.

For one unsettling moment, Greg wondered if she might actually leave him.

Then he told himself he was overthinking it. Kathleen loved him too much. She had taken him back even after their divorce, so why would she leave him now?

He helped Rita settle in and let the thought go.

Kathleen didn't return to Gilliam Mansion until that evening.

She had planned to sleep at the studio, but some of her design sketches were still in the study. Since she would be leaving soon, she decided she might as well pack everything up once and for all.

But the moment she walked into the study, she froze.

The room was a mess.

She bent down and picked up one of the scraps scattered across the floor. Her mind went blank when she realized what she was looking at.

The sketches she had painstakingly created over the years had been ripped to shreds.

Terry was still there, picking out Kathleen's things and ripping them up one by one.

For a moment, Kathleen couldn't think. All she could hear was her heart pounding in her ears.

"What are you doing? Who said you could come in here?" she yelled.

She had made it clear over and over that the study was off-limits. Not even Andrew or the housekeepers had been allowed inside before.

Emily Robbins, one of the housekeepers, appeared in the doorway and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Gilliam. Mr. Gilliam said Terry could go anywhere he wanted."

Kathleen grabbed Terry and pulled him away from her things so she could see exactly what he had destroyed.

Before she could do anything else, Terry started wailing. His cries echoed through the entire mansion.

"What did you do to Terry?"

Rita came rushing over, followed by the bodyguards Greg had left behind to protect him.

The moment Terry saw his mother, he grew bolder. He grabbed the framed photo of Rita and Greg beside him and smashed it against the floor.

The glass shattered on impact, and a shard sliced Kathleen's arm. Nearby, the stacks of design sketches wobbled, threatening to topple over.

"You're mean! You're the reason my mom and dad can't be together! Your stuff shouldn't even be in this house!"

Kathleen lunged forward to stop him, but the bodyguards caught her and held her back.

"You're stopping me instead of him?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Gilliam. Mr. Gilliam gave us strict orders to put Terry's safety first. He also said you could be a threat to him."

Kathleen stared at them in disbelief. Greg had actually gone so far as to order his men to protect Terry from her.

Meanwhile, years of her work were being torn apart right in front of her. She struggled against the bodyguards, but she was no match for them.

As she watched her sketches being destroyed, something inside her finally broke. A wave of resentment nearly swallowed her whole.

By the time Greg came home, Rita had pulled Terry back to her side and pinched him hard on the arm several times. Terry's wails once again rang through the entire mansion.

Rita hurried over to Greg and showed him Terry's reddened palm and the dark bruises on his arm.

"Greg, Terry did one little thing Kathleen didn't like, and she tried to hit him. How am I supposed to leave him with her after this? I'm his mother. We should leave!"