Chapter 2

Kids often said the cruelest things. My heart clenched so tight I couldn't breathe.

After seven years of marriage, I'd gone from a career woman, a rising star in the design world with a name people recognized, to a housewife who spent her days circling the stove and chasing after a kid.

I gave up my dreams and the glamour all for this family. And in the end, in my own son's eyes, I was just some "old, ugly" woman who "looked like a maid".

Caden froze too. He stared at my face, which had gone white in an instant, and heartbreak filled his eyes filled. He let go of Felix and strode over to me, pulling me into his arms.

"What the hell are you saying!" he roared at our son, voice shaking with fury. "Felix, apologize to your mother right now!"

"I won't!" Felix's chin jutted out as he glared at me. "I'm not wrong! Just look at her! Look at what she's wearing! She doesn't even brush her hair!

"At the last parent meeting, all the other kids' moms wore dresses and makeup. But her? She showed up in a tracksuit! Tommy and the guys all laughed at me!"

I went stiff. I remembered that parent meeting.

That day, I'd been busy making the lunch Felix specifically asked for, then cleaning the house. By the time I looked at the clock, there was only half an hour left before the meeting started.

I rushed to change into what I thought was a decent enough tracksuit and hurried over. I didn't even have time to look in a mirror. Apparently, in my child's eyes, that was utterly humiliating.

Caden's arms tightened around me. He turned, his gaze ice-cold. "Felix, your mother gets up before dawn every single day to make you breakfast. After you go to bed at night, she's still cleaning the house.

"She doesn't have time to dress up because she spends all her time on you. Do you think the things you just said are fair to her?"

"I don't care!" Felix shouted. "I just want a pretty mom! Ms. Sulvan would be perfect!"

"Fine. That's just fine." I gently pushed Caden away and took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice steady.

I walked over to Felix and crouched down, looking straight into his eyes. Those eyes looked exactly like mine, except right now they were full of disgust.

"Felix, you think I'm not good enough anymore. You want to replace me, is that it?"

My calm stare unnerved him a little, but he still nodded.

"Alright." I stood up. The stabbing pain in my chest had gone numb, replaced by a hollow emptiness.

I looked at Caden and said, "Caden, let's get a divorce."