Chapter 3

The next day, I took time off from work and stayed home to pack my luggage. I didn't have much, so I just took a few changes of clothes and my personal documents.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

I opened the door, thinking it was the delivery man arriving with the divorce papers, but froze when I saw Xavier standing outside. He was wearing an expensive cashmere coat, one hand holding onto the boy from the video.

I held onto the doorknob so tightly that my knuckles turned white.

Xavier looked me over and smirked when he saw how pale I was. "Theo, aren't you going to let me in? I didn't get to explain everything on the call, so I brought Leo here to see you."

He nudged Leo forward. "Leo's about to start preschool. Wren feels bad that he doesn't have a complete family. She said Leo is part of the Sinclair family and wants me to officially move in with Leo."

Leo's resemblance to Wren made my stomach turn.

I pointed at the elevator and yelled, "Get the hell out of here! Take your bastard with you!"

I moved to slam the door shut, not wanting to look at either of them, but Xavier quickly stuck his hand in the gap and stopped.

He leaned in and laughed mockingly. "Theo, who are you trying to impress with that holier-than-thou act? You really think Wren loves you? She told me she has to take sleeping pills whenever she shares a bed with you, just so she can stomach it.

"All she can think about is the way those women had you pinned beneath them back then whenever she touches you." He looked into my eyes and moved closer. "She said you're so dirty that I'm the only one she wants. I'm the only one who can make her feel anything."

The last thread holding me together finally snapped.

I'd spent 12 years trying to heal from the nightmare I'd lived through, and Wren had actually turned it into bedroom gossip and shared it with her lover.

"How dare you bring that up?!" I snapped and slapped Xavier across the face as hard as I could.

The sharp crack rang through the entryway. The blow sent Xavier stumbling as his forehead slammed hard into the corner of the shoe cabinet by the door. Blood instantly ran down his face.

Leo burst into tears.

Clutching his bleeding forehead, Xavier scrambled backward. "You psycho! You're fucking crazy! Just you wait!" Then he scooped up Leo and staggered into the elevator.

I slid down the doorframe and sat on the floor. I closed my eyes, feeling a little coolness settle into my hair.

I knew what I had to do. I took the health checkup report from under the coffee table, the one that showed I'd finally overcome my fear, and ripped it up.

It was supposed to be a surprise for Wren, but now it just felt like a slap to my pride.

Half an hour later, the lawyer brought over the paperwork. I signed it and placed the divorce papers right in the middle of the coffee table.

The rain was coming down hard, with thunder rumbling in the distance. With my suitcase in hand, I got ready to leave.

The front door flew open, and Wren came straight at me, a vein bulging in her forehead. "Theo! Where the hell did you take Leo?"