Late Blooms, Early Goodbyes

"Ms. Sterling, please review the divorce agreement carefully. Once you sign, your marriage will officially end in a month," the lawyer said calmly.

Madeline Sterling stood in the bathroom, phone pressed to her ear. When the lawyer finished speaking, she replied softly, "Alright. I understand. Thank you."

She ended the call and looked at herself in the mirror. A visible scar marked her right cheek. Just the sight of it made her feel insecure.

Right then, her phone chimed. She unlocked it and saw that her daughter had sent her a family photo.

Yet, Madeline's expression remained blank as she stared at the screen.

In the photo, Tristan Fowler was grinning from ear to ear. It was a look she had never once seen during their marriage.

Beside him, Annabelle Fowler—the daughter she had poured her heart into raising—looked radiant with joy.

But the woman standing where Madeline should have been wasn't her at all. Instead, it was Regina Jenkins, Tristan's first love.

In fact, Annabelle had sent the photo on purpose. It was meant to mock her.

Ever since Regina came back three months earlier, newly divorced, Madeline had felt like an outsider. In the eyes of Tristan and Annabelle, she was the one who no longer belonged.

That day was supposed to be meaningful. It marked Madeline and Tristan's eighth wedding anniversary and her birthday.

However, Tristan had picked a fight over a meal, claiming her cooking didn't sit right with him. Then, he took Annabelle with him and left Madeline alone in the house.

She only learned where they had gone through Regina's Instagram story. As it turned out, the three of them had spent the day together at a marine-themed park.

There were a dozen short clips, each around 30 seconds long. Madeline watched them all in silence. But the last one shattered her.

Tristan, the same man who had always recoiled from physical touch, was carrying Regina on his back. At one point, he even wiped the whipped cream from the corner of her mouth with his index finger before licking it off.

A cold numbness spread through Madeline, like her body had been hollowed out from the inside.

She had given everything to this family, working herself to the bone day after day. And in the end, it had all been handed to someone else. She couldn't help but feel pathetic.

Madeline sank into a chair and stared at the strawberry cake on the table. It was already starting to melt.

With every passing second, her heart seemed to sink with it.

…

Minute by minute, time crawled by.

At 3:00 am, the living room lights snapped on. Tristan and Annabelle were finally home. They barely glanced at Madeline, but the flicker of disdain in their eyes was unmistakable.

At that moment, Tristan yanked off his tie and flung it at her.

"You know I hate garlic, and you still used a ton. Try using your brain next time!" he snapped.

Then, as if he were doing her a favor, he threw a gift bag her way. "Here. Your birthday present."

Madeline glanced inside and almost laughed. It was a cheap pair of bee-shaped earrings, clearly a freebie.

She already knew what the real gift was. The expensive diamond-studded swan necklace had made its appearance on Regina's Instagram earlier that day.

When Madeline didn't react, Tristan's face twisted with irritation.

"I bust my ass every day while you sit at home doing nothing. It's one thing not to pull your weight around, but now you're giving me attitude too?" he spat, his voice laced with rage.

He continued, "If I had known you'd let yourself go like this, with not a shred of femininity left, I never would've married you! Go sleep in the yard tonight. If you can't admit what you did wrong, then don't expect me to forgive you."

Having said his piece, he stormed into the bedroom.

Annabelle, on the other hand, stood nearby with a look of disgust. A beat later, she grabbed the melted cake and smashed it on Madeline's head.

"I had so much fun with Regina at the park today," she boasted. "You're just the maid in this house. Hurry up and divorce Daddy. Then get out!

"I want Regina to be my mommy, not you. You're nothing but an ugly freak!"

Madeline stared at the daughter she had loved and protected from the day she was born. She couldn't believe Annabelle had just said something so vicious. It was as if she didn't matter at all.

All at once, her heart shattered into pieces. How had she ended up raising a child so ungrateful?

In reality, Annabelle hadn't always been like this. She used to be affectionate, thoughtful, and clingy with Madeline.

Yet, everything had changed three months ago when Regina came back. After just a few meetups, Annabelle's attitude toward Madeline had shifted beyond recognition.

She was certain Regina had said something to Annabelle, sowing discord between them.

If it were just the words of an outsider, Madeline might've ignored them. But what chilled her was how her years of sacrifice meant nothing. Three months of Regina's presence had outweighed a lifetime of love.

The more she thought about it, the more pathetic she felt. Her daughter had come to despise her, and her husband couldn't even hide his disgust. Worse, he had condoned Annabelle's cruelty toward her.

Madeline's face gave nothing away as she walked to the bathroom to wash the cake from her hair. Something inside her had died. She no longer hoped for kindness from Tristan or Annabelle.

A beat later, she reached for the drawer beneath the sink, pulled out the divorce papers, and signed her name.

A few days ago, she and Tristan had fought over Regina. In a fit of rage, he had thrown the document at her.

He was confident that Madeline loved him and Annabelle too much to ever walk away. So, he had taken pleasure in humiliating her.

For a while, she had let him. She even swallowed her pride and begged for his forgiveness, all to salvage a marriage that was already broken beyond repair.

But that night, Madeline saw it clearly. Some people were simply heartless. No matter how much she gave or how far she bent, it would never be enough.

If that were the case, she had no reason to hold on anymore. She no longer wanted to stay with Tristan or Annabelle.