His $5.2, I Quit As His Wife

Chapter 3

"She thought the allowance my dad gave her wasn't enough, so she stole the class fee I kept in my backpack!" Matthew continued speaking. "She wouldn't even walk me to school this morning. She did it because she stole the money!"

The head teacher stared at me with a hard, unforgiving scowl. "Please hand over the money right now. If you don't, we're calling the police."

My own son had always loathed me, he wouldn't even let me touch any of his things.

Once I washed his backpack for him, he cut it to pieces and threw the whole thing right in the trash. "Don't you dare touch my stuff. I hate you!"

I would never, ever forget that hysterical, loathing snarl he spat at me that day.

I stared at my son in stunned disbelief. He wouldn't meet my eyes, but he still kept lying through his teeth, stubborn as ever.

"It was her! She was jealous that Ms. Stacy had such nice clothes, so she stole the class fee to buy herself new outfits!" He made a pleading face to his teacher. "You have to believe me!"

My heart dropped straight through the floor, shattering into a million tiny pieces the second he finished speaking.

"I didn't take the money. I have never even seen that class fee." I clenched my fists tight. "Call the police. Liars get what they deserve."

He was still just a kid, after all. The second the words 'call the police' left my mouth, his legs started shaking like a leaf.

But Sebastian was already panicking, and, predictable as he is, shifted the blame back to me. "Hand over the money right now! I pay for everything to keep you as a housewife, I didn't do that just so you could ruin my good name."

Stacy put on that sickening sweet act like she was only looking out for me. "You know, making a big scene out of this just makes everyone look bad. Thirty thousand dollars is way more than a housewife like you, who lives on just five hundred a month, can come up with, after all!"

Hearing that, the head teacher only became more convinced I was some greedy, gold-digging thief.

I spoke through gritted teeth, my voice ice-cold, "I've never seen that money. I didn't steal it. I let Matthew walk to school alone because I'm divorcing his father. He won't have anything to do with me from now on anyway."

Stacy snickered, sharp and mocking. "Divorce? Who else would ever want you besides President Miller? How could you ever dare leave him?"

Then, like the manipulative b***h she is, she began to step forward, acting like she'd about to talk me down, but suddenly threw herself backward and crumpled to the floor.

Big fat tears instantly came rolling down her cheeks as she cried, "I know you don't like me, but you can't drag President Miller's name through the mud! His big finance project is at the most critical stage right now. What will people think if this gets out?"

At that, Sebastian lunged to yank Stacy up to her feet, then spun around to glare at me, face twisted red with rage. "Fiona, you've gone too far. Stacy is my employee. She's not some punching bag for you to take your anger out on!"

I stared back at him, thick sarcasm dripping from every word. "Fine by me. Divorce me, and I'll step aside and give her the spot immediately!"

Stacy leaned into his chest, then suddenly purred in that soft, breathy voice of hers. "President Miller, she suddenly brought up divorce out of nowhere… don't you think she's got another man already?"

She tilted her head as if she was connecting the dots. "Yesterday she sent me a message saying she didn't even want you anymore, that she had plenty of men lining up for her. In fact, maybe she's even willing to throw her own son under the bus just so she can run off with another man! A person like that doesn't deserve to be a mother!"

On cue, she gave my son a hard shove, and he immediately jumped in to back her up.

"I-It's true! Mom's running off with another man! I saw their messages! Some man keeps messaging her!"

My relationship with that man he was pertaining to was completely innocent. I'd never hidden anything from my son about it.

And yet... this was the child I'd carried for nine months and raised with my own two hands, and here he was, lying to defame me just to please Stacy.

A sharp blade sliced straight through my heart, and the coppery tang of blood bloomed in my throat.

I really had misjudged him.

Bone-deep exhaustion dragged at me as I whispered, "That's not…"

But Sebastian flew into a rage before I could finish. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and wrenched me violently.

"I've given you everything, and you still want to run off with your lover?" He yanked me harder. "This kind of scandal can never get out to hurt my company. Even if you die, you're going to die in our household!" He dragged me across the floor by the hair, and chunks of scalp tore loose from the force.

As I thrashed around, I fumbled for my phone to call the police, but he snatched it out of my hand before I could get it out.

Just then, the phone's ringtone blared.

Sebastian's face twisted with brutal fury. "I'll just see which bastard is dumb enough to go looking for death messing with me!"

The second he answered the call, a frantic voice cut through the tense air.

"Ms. Johnson, your mother's condition has taken a turn for the worse… please come see her one last time."