He Chose Her Son, So Our Son Called Him Mr. Carter

Hearing my son say it so calmly, I felt both relieved and heartbroken.

Since realizing Victor cared more about Lily and Leo, I'd been quietly teaching Arthur to stop depending on him. It was a brutal thing to do to a nine-year-old, but I had to.

I didn't want a husband who'd betrayed me, and my son didn't need to share his father with anyone.

For the past month, whenever Victor left Arthur behind, Arthur had called him "Mr. Carter" in anger or hurt.

Victor always assumed Arthur was sulking and never thought much of it.

But this time, Arthur sounded calm. He looked at Victor with the cool distance he'd show a stranger.

Arthur saw the look on my face, cut a small piece of cake, and handed it to me. Then he turned to Victor. "Mr. Carter, why haven't you left yet?"

Victor opened his mouth. He started to lift his hand, then let it drop. He looked a little hurt.

Victor had promised to spend Arthur's birthday with him. Arthur had looked forward to it all week.

Arthur was so attached to him that if Victor had stayed just this once, Arthur would have forgiven him for everything and wouldn't have wanted to leave him.

I'd thought things were about to get more complicated. But Victor let Arthur down yet again.

I looked at them, a father and son acting like strangers, and felt a weight settle in my chest.

When I found out Lily had gotten divorced, I panicked. I was afraid Victor would change.

I turned out to be right.

Back when Victor was broke, Lily had dumped him without a second thought and married a rich man's son. Victor had never gotten over it. He wanted to prove himself to her.

When Lily and her son were kicked out, Victor finally had his chance to swoop in and save them.

That night, he took the limited-edition toy I'd camped outside a store all night to get for Arthur.

Arthur cried and begged him not to take it. Victor scolded him for caring only about toys and said he wasn't acting like someone who would inherit the business.

But the next day, I saw a photo Lily had posted on Instagram of the three of them.

Leo was sitting on Victor's lap, holding Arthur's toy and grinning.

In a corner of the photo was a gift box with a logo on it.

And on Lily's wrist was the Bulgari bracelet I'd wanted for ages.

I'd told Victor how much I wanted it. He'd called me shallow and said he wouldn't waste money on pointless luxuries.

But now Lily's caption read, "I always get whatever I want, even a Bulgari bracelet covered in diamonds."

That night, Victor didn't come home until the early hours of the morning. I lay awake waiting for him, the divorce papers already on the table. When he got home, we had a huge fight.

But Victor acted like he'd done nothing wrong. "Lily gave me important business information. The bracelet and the toy were a fair trade!

"With the information she's giving me, I can take my business to the next level. Why can't you see the bigger picture instead of obsessing over whether Lily and I have a thing?"

In a fit of anger, he grabbed the divorce papers, signed them, and threw them at me. "You want Arthur to grow up in a broken home? Aren't you afraid he'll hate you for the rest of his life?

"Who do you think could give you two a better life than me? How are you going to live without me? Get real!"

The nerve of him. I was so angry my chest hurt.

Arthur heard us fighting and timidly pushed his bedroom door open. He looked lost. "Mom, Dad, please don't fight..."

For Arthur's sake, I fought to stay calm and crouched down to comfort him. "Okay, we won't fight. Go back to bed, sweetheart."

The whole time, Victor kept his back to us and didn't say one word to comfort Arthur.

I knew I could take Arthur and leave. But that might scar him for life.

He was too young to understand betrayal or how I felt. He might even come to hate me for keeping him from his father.

I couldn't let that happen. Arthur needed to be done with Victor and choose to leave with me himself.

The past month had been agony for both of us. It felt like cutting the rot out of my heart, one slice at a time.

It had taken a long time, but now it was finally over.

Victor took two steps forward and put a hand on Arthur's shoulder. "Arthur, I..."

The next second, his phone rang.

Lily's sweet, helpless voice came through the phone. "Victor, aren't you here yet? Leo's burning up, and I don't know what to do. The housekeeper always handled this stuff..."

Victor's voice went soft right away. "Don't worry. I'll be right there."

He said, "We'll talk tonight," then hurried out of the banquet hall.

Arthur leaned against me, staring after Victor. "Mom, I don't want him to be my dad anymore."

I crouched down and stroked his hair. "Pack your things when we get home," I whispered. "We're leaving the day after tomorrow."