ดวงใจจำนน

“Mr. Clark, I’ll be going abroad for further studies next month. Here is my resignation letter.”

Mr. Clark looked at me in surprise. “This is so sudden.”

I told him the excuse I came up with. “My husband is in Austraya. I want to take our child there so we can be together.”

He nodded. “That makes sense. Raising a child alone here must be hard. We all thought you were a single mother.”

I smiled. I was not, but soon, I would be.

As I stepped out, I ran into Matthew Grant and Quilla Xander walking toward me.

Matthew was my boss and the father of my child.

Seven years ago, I was his personal secretary. One chaotic night, after too much drinking, we had a child.

This year marked the sixth year of our secret marriage and the sixth year he refused to let our child call him “Dad.”

Matthew walked slowly, as if he were deliberately matching the pace of the woman beside him.

Quilla was holding a report in one hand and clutching the hem of Matthew’s suit with the other. Their lovey-dovey act was almost painful to watch.

As we passed each other, my heart sank. I could not help saying, “Matthew…”

He stopped and looked at me with a cold expression. “Ms. Langley.”

His polite but distant tone carried a warning. It was a reminder that this was the office. He was communicating that he was my boss, and I was his employee.

I understood what he meant and buried the feelings I had already been suppressing.

“Mr. Grant.”

Matthew gave a small nod and kept walking, as if I were a stranger.

I laughed bitterly at myself and swallowed the words about my resignation.

He would not care anyway.

My phone lit up. It was a message from my son on his smartwatch.

[Mom, will Dad come home for my birthday?]

I froze for a moment and instinctively looked back.

I saw Matthew leaning down to speak gently to Quilla.

Someone passed by, and he instinctively shielded her. His eyes were full of tenderness.

I suppressed the ache in my chest and texted Matthew.

[Today is Tyler’s birthday. Are you free tonight?]

Across the hall, I saw him check his phone. Less than three seconds later, he put it down without a change in expression.

As I looked at the unanswered message, I laughed bitterly at myself.

I thought, ‘Whitney, get a grip.

‘You should’ve known he would never love you. What were you even expecting?’

I put my phone back in my pocket, took a deep breath, and walked away.

I thought, ‘Matthew, soon you’ll be free.’

…

After leaving the office, I went straight to Tyler’s kindergarten to pick him up.

As soon as he saw me, he said, “Mom, today’s my birthday. Will Dad celebrate with me?”

On the crowded street, my eyes filled with tears.

“Your dad—”

Before I could finish, my phone buzzed.

Matthew had finally replied.

[I’m free. I’ll come home.]

A rush of joy hit me. I nodded eagerly. “Tyler, don’t worry. Your dad will come home today.”

Tyler clapped and jumped into my arms, thrilled.

After six years of marriage, this was the first time Matthew had agreed to celebrate Tyler’s birthday.

That night, I prepared a full meal, and Tyler finished his homework early.

One hour passed, then two, then three…

I sent message after message on my phone. I asked Matthew if he was coming, but as usual, there was no reply.

Tyler seemed to understand. He looked at me hesitantly. “Mom, is Dad too busy?”

A sharp pain hit my chest. I wanted to explain, but no words came out.

In the end, I said, “It’s okay. I’ll always be with you.”

Tyler did not ask further questions. He quietly picked up his birthday hat.

“Mom, can you put it on for me?”

I nodded. As I reached for it, I noticed Quilla’s latest social media post.

[Today was great. I really enjoyed myself.]