The One He Gave Up On Was His Own Mother

Chapter 3

Kian stayed out all night again and stumbled home reeking of alcohol first thing the next morning. The second he stepped through the door, he brought up divorce without preamble.

"You already know anyway. Mia is pregnant with my kid. Let's get a divorce."

I sat on the sofa, my voice steady as I replied, "Fine. But I call the shots on how we split the property."

Kian slouched against the sofa, dropping every last bit of his fake nice-guy act. "Property? We only have tens of thousands left in savings. I can cut you thirty thousand. You're not in a good financial position, so custody of our son has to go to me too."

I laughed right in his face, equal parts bitter and furious.

"Kian, we've been married ten years. We built everything we have together. We have at least two million in savings, and you're telling me there's only tens of thousands left? You even want to steal our son from me and leave me with nothing? Have you got no shame at all?"

Kian's voice was ice-cold. "That's just how things are. If you want the divorce, take the thirty thousand and get out. If you don't, we can drag this out for as long as it takes."

"I was actually planning to wait until all your family's mess was wrapped up so we could settle down and live normally, but you had to kick up a fuss. I'm not gonna let your family drag me down forever. Hazel's illness might last another ten years, but I'm not wasting my whole life on it."

I trembled all over with rage, right when Jasper Reed walked out of his bedroom.

Kian's tone held a smug, unreadable edge as he spoke up. "Since Jasper's here, why don't we let him choose for himself? When we get divorced, who's he gonna pick to live with?"

Before I could get a word in, Jasper darted straight over to Kian's side. "Dad, I'm staying with you. I don't want to be with Mom."

I couldn't believe my ears. Those words hit me like a ton of bricks. I froze on the spot, staring at my son in total disbelief.

This was the baby I'd carried for nine whole months, raised and doted on every single day and night. He knew full well his dad had cheated, knew he was a selfish, cold-hearted traitor.

And he still picked him without a single second of hesitation.

Kian glanced at me triumphantly. "You hear that? Even Jasper doesn't want to be with you."

I forced my raging emotions down, my voice tight. "Fine. If we can't work this out, we'll see each other in court."

Kian scoffed, loud and sharp. "You? Taking me to court? If you're gonna be this unreasonable, don't blame me for playing dirty."

He pulled out his phone, made a call, and turned back to me with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Starting today, every single household account is frozen. You won't be able to touch a single cent until you agree to sign the papers and leave with nothing."

I froze right where I stood, my fingers spasming against my palms.

Kian grabbed his coat and sneered, "Every day you refuse to sign, you go another day without a cent. Let's see how many more days Hazel can hold on without you being able to pay her bills, huh?"

With that, he slammed the door behind him. The deafening crash shook the very walls of the apartment.

My hands shaking so hard I could barely hold the phone, I called the bank—and sure enough, I couldn't touch a single cent of our money.

For ten whole years, I'd poured every last bit of myself into caring for Kian and Jasper full-time at home, and every cent I had access to came from Kian's supplementary card. Just to force me to fold, he'd actually stooped this low.

I hung up the bank call and dialed Eliza's attending doctor right away.

"Doctor, could you please give me two more days to come up with the medical fees? I promise I'll pay every last cent as soon as possible."

The doctor sounded helpless on the other end of the line. "Ms. Moore, Eliza's bill is already three days past due. Her targeted therapy and oxygen will get cut off any day now. If that happens, her condition will spiral fast, and she could die at any time."

"I understand. I'll do everything I can to scrape together the money. Please, just keep her treatment going for now."

Once I hung up, I sank into the couch, wracking my brain for any way out of this nightmare.

But late that night, a text from Kian popped up on my phone.

Kian: Don't even think about going out to borrow money. I've already posted guards at the door. You stay right at home and think things over. If you don't see reason, you'll never step foot in that hospital again.