Chapter 3

Cyrene barely had time to finish her sentence when Orion removed his disposable gloves to take the pen and sign his name on the document.

“That was quick. Aren’t you going to read it at all?”

Cyrene asked deliberately while casting a look at Elara.

Orion smiled faintly. “There’s no need to go through all that formality.”

“Aunt Cyrene, did you say toys? I want toys! Would you get them for me?” Emilia cried out cheerily, “I want my room to be filled with lots and lots of plushies! I don’t like the ones Mommy bought me. They’re ugly!”

“Me too!” Cliff raised his hand and chirped, “I want a hundred action hero figurines!”

Elara frowned. “Did you forget you two have asthma? It’s not good for your health to have all those stuffed toys in your room.”

Cyrene paused briefly before saying, “I’ll make sure to pick toys with safe materials. Don’t worry, Elara.”

Orion agreed. “You can always trust Cyrene to attend to things.”

Now that even Orion had given his blessing, Cliff and Emilia were elated. They went up to Cyrene to kiss her on the cheeks.

“Yay! Aunt Cyrene is the best!”

“I wish you were our Mommy instead!”

Orion had a gentle look in his eyes when he watched the trio laughing together.

The irony of the situation did not elude Elara.

In her past life, she would take the time to sew toys for the children by hand using hand-picked materials, all because she wanted to avoid triggering their asthma. Even if her hands were riddled with needle scars, she still went at it.

As it turned out, all the effort she put into the toys was deemed worthless.

Then, she returned to her room alone.

Shortly after that, Cyrene went to her with the signed divorce papers.

“Orion signed them. You’re not going to back out on your word, are you?”

“Of course not,” Elara stated with conviction, “I’ll leave once the divorce waiting period is over.”

…

The next day, Cyrene took the children to buy piles of toys.

Cliff and Emilia followed her everywhere as if they were her shadow. They excitedly decorated the room together.

Elara happened to walk down the hallway when she saw them throwing away the miniature castle and dolls she made for them into the trash can.

Meanwhile, she also heard the sound of heavy objects being dragged across the house.

Several movers had shown up with a brand-new floor lamp, dressing table, and coffee table.

“I found these pieces of furniture when we were toy shopping and I thought they looked good, so I decided to buy them,” Cyrene said while turning to Orion with a warm smile, “Besides, I was thinking we should redecorate your house since it looks so solemn in here.”

Orion was more than agreeable. “Of course, whatever you’d like.”

Elara dug her fingers into her palms.

She was the one who meticulously decorated the house over the years. She had furnished every nook and cranny with attention.

Now, all of her work was being undone just because Cyrene had deemed them too "solemn."

In the days that followed, Cyrene would be at the house under the pretext of having to oversee the renovations.

Since the divorce papers had been signed, Elara decided to take a backseat and let the renovations play out without getting involved.

Orion, who was usually absent for weeks at a time, somehow managed to find time to be home every day.

Elara watched as the four of them spent time together in the kitchen. They would cook, play games by spraying sauce on each other, and laugh so loud their voices echoed across the house.

She watched as Cyrene hand-fed unwashed strawberries to Orion, who was by all accounts a germaphobe. He ate them gladly without cringing.

She watched as Orion, who was usually uptight about his sleep schedule, decided to stay up late to watch movies with Cyrene and the children. He ended up falling asleep on the couch until the afternoon of the following day, then decided to skip an important work meeting.

That was when she finally understood that Orion's strict standards were for her only.

When it came to the person he truly loved, he was more than willing to be lenient. He would gladly break all of his rules for her.

…

One night, Elara's bedroom door was thrown open.

Orion, who hadn't spoken a word to her for days, stood before her.

A vicious look glowed in his eyes. He hissed sharply while looking down at her, “Elara, my patience has reached its limit.”

Elara was bewildered when Orion suddenly threw a blanket at her.

“I noticed how you’ve been neglecting your parental duty lately and haven’t been taking care of the house. I was going to let it all slide, but you went and crossed the line by taking it out on the children!

“You know Emilia has asthma, but you still made her sleep with a blanket that hasn’t been washed for days! You could’ve killed her!”

Elara was taken aback.

The blanket was a pure cotton blanket she had carefully selected two years ago. It was the highest thread count blanket the shop had to offer.

It would not trigger an asthma attack just because it hadn’t been washed for a couple of days!

“This wouldn’t trigger Emilia’s asthma,” Elara stated sharply, “You should be worrying about all those toys Cyrene bought…”

Before she could explain, Cliff suddenly burst into the room crying and throwing himself on Orion.

He began to accuse Elara amid sobs. “Mommy hates us! She doesn’t want us anymore! When we were kidnapped, she didn’t even bother to save us and told the kidnappers to kill us!

“Daddy, make her leave! Since she doesn’t want us, then we don’t want her either!”