All Chapters of He Gave Her the Wedding, I Gave Him Divorce: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

Cy’s face lit up when I brought out the cake. He started bouncing in his chair.The kids from his ABA group’s eyes were on the Lego figures set up in fighting poses on the top layer, like a flock of pigeons zeroing in on a discarded Twinkie. Little hands halted. Exclamations of “Cake!” and “blocks” were sprinkled in.Joy. My son was pure joy.Was it hard when he couldn’t find his voice? Sure. When he had a meltdown, and I had to regulate us both? Yes.But his blue eyes sparkling with excitement, and the breakthrough moments when he mastered a sentence or used his spoon right, outweighed all of that. Even the sleepless nights when he couldn’t go down. Even planning his party by myself.“Are you sure Mr. Whitmore can’t make it?” Naomi, little Vivian’s mom, asked.I carefully slid the cake onto the table. “He said he has a meeting.” I glanced at the clock. Waiting any longer would push Cy’s bedtime too far.“I don’t know how many birthdays Adrian’s father missed over the years. Of course

“Thank you,” I said, as I went to my knees, looking over Cy. Safe. My baby was safe. Adrian called from behind, “Ethan, what are you doing here?” His tone was full of suspicion.Ethan. Adrian’s half-brother, whom I’d never met. The child of his father’s first marriage. I couldn’t reconcile the way Grace had described him with the man in front of me.His hair was lighter than Adrian’s, walnut instead of black, but he had the Whitmore eyes. His mouth tilted into a smile as Adrian approached, laugh lines creased at the corners of his mouth.Ethan was the wolf at Adrian’s back. After his mother’s death, and his father’s hasty remarriage, he had never warmed to Adrian or Grace, in fact his hostility towards them was legendary.From different continents, the brothers competed like bitter enemies. Adrian in North America, Ethan in Europe, and even an ocean couldn’t wash away the hatred my ex-husband felt for his half-brother.Not with the way Whitmore Group’s executives talked about him. O

Rage took over, but I didn’t yell. “Listen to me carefully. You have Adrian. You can drag my name through the mud, but if you ever hurt or even look at my son wrong again, I’ll make you wish you were the one with cancer.” No room for doubt or regret.I needed to draw this line, for Cy’s sake. “Keep his name out of your disgusting mouth,” I finished.The voice that answered had shed its cruelty, replacing it with sobs. “How could you say that?”She should have been an actress.Then, Adrian spoke. Sabrina was on speaker, making sure he overheard at the right moment. “I can’t believe you, Summer. Even if you have no courtesy, you can at least give Sabrina your respect.”“I’m done with this conversation. Submit the divorce decree, Adrian. There’s no point in waiting.”I hung up.…The next day, I expected to drop Cy off at therapy and put in some work at my parents’ house.But something was wrong. I couldn’t get him out of bed on time. I tried tickles, special interests, visual timers…n

Ethan gazed at me, the corner of his mouth tipped up. Would he laugh at me too?I thought of him saving Cy, the way he cradled my son to his chest even as he mocked Adrian. No. His hatred didn’t extend to us.I took his hand.He placed his other hand on my waist as I stood.I turned and glared at Helena. “I haven’t seen Adrian in a long time. Do you really think I’d be here if I still had feelings for him?”Ethan chimed in. “It’s only right that my girlfriend stands with me at my brother’s wedding. After all, the best man needs a beautiful woman to match him.”The crowd tittered. “That’s the brother?”“Doesn’t matter what he says. If he came stateside, it’s trouble for Whitmore.”“Isn’t he the oldest? Why wasn’t he made CEO?”“Who says it can’t still happen?”“Dating his brother’s ex. That can’t be a coincidence.”Helena gaped at us, her words lost along with her control of the crowd.Her eyes bored into me. “Even if you’re dating someone else, it doesn’t change the past. I know you,