Chapter 4

“When are you getting home, Nate? I miss you.”

There was some noise in the background. It sounded like they were at an amusement park.

Even through the noise, I could hear Nate’s voice.

“I don’t want to see you, Mommy.”

My heart sank in an instant. I asked in disbelief, “What did you say, Nate?”

Nate’s voice was clear as his words shattered me. “I said I don’t want to see you!”

I could not help but clutch my phone tighter. I took a deep breath.

“I know you’re having a lot of fun right now. You can have your fun, but later, you should come and meet me, alright? I’ll always wait for you, no matter how long it takes.”

Nate did not hesitate, and his response was as cold and heartless as Terrence himself. “No! Daddy said you made him mad. You’re a bad mommy! I don’t want to see you anymore. Don’t come to find me anymore. I don’t like you, Mommy!”

The line went dead, and so did my heart.

It seemed that Nate was just like Terrence. He did not love me at all.

That was fine. I could finally leave without feeling like I had left something behind.

Back at the hotel, I reserved a plane ticket to my hometown.

Before I went to sleep, I looked through Terrence’s social media.

There was a photo of three people at the amusement park. The young woman, who had been at Colette’s wedding, was in the picture, as though she were already Nate’s mother.

Nate was leaning affectionately into Terrence’s embrace. He was sharing a Neapolitan ice cream with the other woman.

The caption read, [My son wants a new mommy.]

There were no likes on the post. From that, I understood that Terrence had posted it for my eyes alone. I was the only one who could see it.

Every time we argued, he would post something like this, and they were always about Nate.

He was warning me. He was telling me to give in for the good of my son.

Every time, I did as he wished. I would put aside my dignity and allow him to debase me.

Thinking about how I had risked my life to give birth to Nate, I realized that was when Terrence had truly gotten his claws into me.

Unfortunately for him, I would not fall for that trick again.

I hit like on the post before putting my phone down to go to sleep.

In the middle of the night, I was woken by Terrence’s phone call.

“What kind of mother are you, Kendra? Do you know how long Nate was waiting for you? He’s still crying!”

I rubbed my eyes and said sleepily, “Oh? Please apologize to him on my behalf.”

Terrence was quiet for two seconds before he let out a laugh. “Do you think I won’t stop you from seeing Nate again, Kendra?”

I could hear the threat in his voice.

But I was no longer the same woman. I was no longer the woman who gave in every time because of her son.

“Oh, I know you definitely will,” I said softly as I looked at the ceiling.

Terrence swallowed. He asked in disbelief, “What did you say?”

I sat up. My hair rustled over the hotel’s sheets.

“You’re Nate’s father. You can do anything you want.”

Through the line, I could hear the sound of ceramic breaking.

“This is your last chance, Kendra. Take your words back. If you don’t, I’ll take Nate overseas tomorrow. Don’t even think about seeing him again.”

I put the phone on speaker and navigated to my gallery.

There were 213 videos and more than 1,000 pictures.

I had looked at them countless times before.

I took a deep breath and deleted everything. Suddenly, I could not wait for tomorrow to come.

“We were never married. Is that correct, Terrence?”

On the other end of the line, Terrence went quiet.

I looked down and continued indifferently, “Since we were never married, there’s no need to get a divorce. Let’s break up.”

I hung up.

The next second, there was a loud knock at my door.