Chapter 4

Shannon's POV

David's expression darkened instantly. "Shannon, that's enough."

I ignored him. Keeping my eyes on Kandy, I said slowly and clearly, "I'm David's wife. And I'm Nick's biological mother."

Kandy froze. Tears immediately welled in her eyes as she turned to David in disbelief. "Is that true?"

David's face turned stormy. The next second, he snatched a glass of wine off the table and threw it in my face. Red wine ran down my temple and soaked into my collar. "Shannon, did you really have to make a scene?"

Before I could answer, Kandy suddenly clutched her chest and stumbled. The private dining room erupted into chaos.

Someone rushed to steady her while another person snapped at me, "Why are you still standing there? She has a heart condition! If something happens to her, are you going to take responsibility?"

Nick came charging over and shoved me hard. "If something happens to Mommy, I'll never forgive you!"

I stumbled into the corner of a chair, sending a sharp jolt of pain through my arm. But that was nothing compared to the sight in front of me.

My husband had his arms around another woman.

My own son stood protectively in front of her, staring at me with nothing but disgust.

I wiped the wine from my face. Without another word, I turned and walked out.

When I got home that night, I took all the fruit I'd bought that morning for our trip to Bellwater Bay and dumped it straight into the trash.

David called me over and over again.

I didn't answer once.

He finally texted me at one in the morning. "Nick was terrified. You went way too far."

I stared at the message and, strangely enough, felt calm. By sunrise, I had organized all the documents I needed and sent everything to my attorney.

At nine that morning, I got a call from the HR department at the company I'd interviewed with the day before. "I'm sorry, but we've decided to move forward with another candidate."

"I thought I was coming in for a second interview today."

There was a brief pause. When she spoke again, her voice had taken on that carefully neutral corporate tone. "After reviewing everything, we've decided you're not the right fit for the position."

Just before the call ended, I heard someone in the background whisper, "Isn't she that homewrecker who went crazy at someone else's birthday party?"

I stood on the balcony, a chill slowly spreading through my body.

It wasn't long before someone posted a video in a local community group.

The clip had been deliberately edited. It showed only the part where I stormed into the private dining room and announced that I was David Hammerback's wife.

The caption read, "Unhinged mistress crashes birthday party and causes a scene after getting exposed by the real girlfriend."

The comments were vicious.

"You can tell she's the type who lives off a man."

"She's just bitter. She can't stand seeing other people happy. Who deliberately goes after someone with a heart condition like that?"

After reading the comments, I called David. He picked up almost immediately. "So, you finally decided to call me."

"Did you give them permission to post the video?"

There was a beat of silence. That was all the answer I needed.

"And the job? You're the reason I lost that too, aren't you?"

"I only told them you were emotionally unstable right now and that hiring you might not be a good idea."

I laughed. My eyes burned as I fought back tears. "How thoughtful of you."

"Shannon, just come home. We need to sit down and talk."

"About what?"

"Apologize to Kandy. If you do that, I can make all of this go away."

For a second, I thought I'd misheard him. "You want me to apologize to her?"

"She ended up in the hospital last night. Nick was scared half to death."

I tightened my grip on the phone. "What about me?"

He fell silent. For a long moment, he said nothing.

"You threw a drink in my face. Your friends humiliated me. Did it ever occur to you to ask if I was okay?"

When David finally answered, impatience had crept into his voice. "None of that would've happened if you hadn't started the whole thing in the first place."

I hung up.

Holding the stack of papers against my chest, I stopped by Nick's school first. His teacher looked visibly uncomfortable when she saw me.

I placed a letter on her desk. "From now on, if anything comes up with Nick at school, please contact his father."

She stared at me. "Mrs. Hammerback, is something wrong?"

"I'm divorcing him."

She fell silent.

After leaving the school, I went home and started packing.

It didn't take long. There wasn't much in that house that truly belonged to me anymore.

At the bottom of a drawer, I found an old photograph from the day Nick was born. I'd had a C-section, and the incision had hurt so badly that I could barely sleep for days. Even then, I'd kept Nick cradled against me, almost afraid to put him down.

David had held my hand and whispered, "You did amazing, Shannon."

sat there staring at the photograph for a long time. In the end, I slipped it into my suitcase.

At four that afternoon, I left the divorce papers and a signed statement giving up custody of Nick on the dining table.

Just before I walked out the door, Mom called. "Shannon, I've booked your flight. It leaves at 9:30 tonight."

"Okay."

By the time I reached the airport, David was still calling.

I turned off my phone.

As the plane lifted into the night sky, I watched the city lights shrinking beneath me and realized just how exhausted I'd been all these years.

I'd spent long enough living for everyone else. This time, I was going to live for myself.

…

Third Person POV

It was after ten when David finally came home with Nick. The moment they stepped inside, they called for Shannon.

No one answered.

Nick ran straight to the bedroom. The second he saw the half-empty closet, panic swept across his face.

David stopped at the dining table. He picked up the two documents Shannon had left behind and began reading.

Slowly, all the color drained from his face. Those were divorce papers and a signed statement relinquishing custody.

He immediately called Shannon, but all he got was an automated message telling him her phone was switched off.

Nick stood beside him, clutching the custody papers, sobbing so hard he could barely get the words out. "Does Mom not want me anymore?"