He Comforted Another Boy, So I Divorced

Chapter 2

Cathy didn't say a word the entire drive home.

When we passed her favorite dessert shop, she didn't press her face to the window like she usually did.

Ethan was strict about sweets. He always said too much sugar was bad for her teeth.

I pulled over, went inside, and bought her a slice of strawberry cake.

I opened the box and handed it to Cathy.

"Tearing up someone else's book was wrong. But if someone hurt you or made you feel bad, you can tell me."

The tears Cathy had been holding back instantly spilled over, one landing right on the cake.

That was when I finally found out what had happened.

A few days ago, Cathy had gone to Ethan's dental clinic and seen Luke hanging around his neck, calling him Dad.

And Mia, the "Aunt Mia" Cathy had only ever seen on video calls, had been holding onto Ethan's arm.

She'd smiled at one of the nurses and said the three of them were going to see a movie together as a family.

Then today, Cathy noticed that Ethan had covered Luke's textbooks himself. Every single workbook had Luke's name written on it in Ethan's handwriting.

"Dad told me not to say anything." Cathy's voice trembled. "He said you work really hard, and if you found out, you'd be sad."

She buried her face against the cake box, muffling her sobs.

"I'm sorry, Mom... I... I didn't want to make you sad. But I don't understand. Why did Dad become Luke's dad too?"

I stroked Cathy's hair. My fingertips had gone numb from how badly my heart hurt.

Ethan had made Cathy keep the secret of his affair. Worse, he'd dressed that burden up as "protecting Mom."

"Sweetheart, you didn't do anything wrong."

I wiped the tears from Cathy's cheeks and the frosting from the corner of her mouth.

"From now on, grown-up problems stay with the grown-ups. You don't have to protect anyone."

That afternoon, I took Cathy back to school to make things right.

Cathy and Luke shook hands in front of their teacher.

Luke still looked unhappy, his lips pushed out in a pout.

"I don't even like your mom. She's not as pretty as my mom. My mom said Dad's only going to come home to us from now on, and he's only going to love me."

Footsteps sounded outside the office. The door opened.

Mia walked in. The second she saw me, her eyes turned red.

"Stella."

Once upon a time, whenever she called my name like that, I'd immediately assume someone had hurt her.

After her parents divorced, she'd been sent to live with her grandmother. She hadn't even been at our school for a week before some kids started calling her unwanted.

I'd grabbed the nearest box of chalk and thrown it at them. Afterward, the two of us got sent into the hall as punishment.

I knew her better than anyone. My dad had left our family early too.

After college, I brought Mia with me when I left our hometown. I even got her a job learning dental assisting under Ethan.

On my wedding day, she cried harder than my own mother. She swore she'd keep an eye on Ethan for me. She said she'd never let Cathy grow up the way we had.

And now here she was. Standing in front of Cathy with Ethan's son beside her.

I stared at her. "When did you come back? Or have you been here this whole time?"

Tears slid down her face. Her eyes moved past me and landed on Cathy.

"Our kids are here. Can we not talk about this right now?"

Again.

They kept using kids as a shield to protect themselves. As if they'd forgotten Cathy was one of the first people their lies had hurt.

Cathy and Luke stayed behind for class. Mia and I went to a coffee shop near Ethan's dental clinic.

"I'm sorry. I never meant to interfere with your family. I didn't know when you said Cathy was transferring schools that she'd end up at the exact same one as Luke..."

I laughed coldly. "Only someone who hurt another person by accident gets to say 'I'm sorry.' Mia Hayes, do you really think you qualify?"

Her face went pale. Fresh tears immediately spilled down her cheeks.

Right then, Ethan arrived. The moment he saw her crying, he pulled out a tissue and handed it to her.

I looked at him. "And you? You got back from your business trip and only just remembered Cathy changed schools? Or do you just think neither Cathy nor I matter anymore?"

Ethan rubbed the space between his brows.

"That's not the point right now. The real issue is that Cathy and Luke are at the same school. We need to think about whether this is going to affect both of them academically. Cathy was doing just fine at her old public school. It was closer to home too."

He didn't mention a single word about the fact that Cathy's new school had better teachers and better resources.

But I understood exactly what he was saying. He wanted me to transfer Cathy back.

I stood up, my expression ice-cold.

"Ethan, I don't care where your heart and body have gone. But you do not get to make Cathy step aside for others."