My Son Betrayed Me, I Dumped His Dad

Chapter 2

Harry slid a few papers across the table toward me, the sheets scraping against each other with a soft rustle.

“These are the divorce agreement and the property division papers. I've gone through them already, no issues.”

His tone was as dull as if he was going over the most boring chess match of his life.

"We split the assets 50-50, fair and square. You can come see Gian whenever you want."

I flipped open the contract.

It was fair, all right.

Right up until I spotted the date at the very bottom.

One month ago.

He'd had these papers drawn up ages ago.

I set his agreement down, pulled another document out of my bag, and pushed it toward him.

"Sign this one instead." My voice was just as calm as his, if not more so. "You get seventy percent of the assets, I get thirty. But I have one condition.

"I'm giving up all custody rights to Gian for good, and I won't pay any child support going forward. We should avoid contacting each other as much as possible from now on."

Harry's hand, pen already lifted to sign, stuttered for a split second before he kept moving.

The scratch of the nib against the paper was as sharp and clean as a knife cut.

"I'm done. Your turn to sign."

When he saw me put my signature down too, he let out a visible sigh of relief.

The gentle tone he usually used was even softer now.

"Helena, thank you. Thank you for being so reasonable and thoughtful, for not making a huge mess out of this.

"After all, if you'd kicked up a fuss about this whole thing, I might have..." He trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging in the air.

But both of us knew exactly what he was going to say.

I tucked the agreement into my bag and stood up.

Then my gaze drifted, almost by accident, to the fancy little cake sitting on the dining table.

Ten years of marriage, and this was the first cake I'd ever gotten in this household.

Gian must have caught me looking, because he immediately threw his arms around the cake to guard it.

"Aunt Shara's birthday is today too! I'm saving this for her!"

Harry frowned and scolded him under his breath. "Gian! Don't talk nonsense. This is for Mom."

"It is for Aunt Shara!" The kid set his jaw, puffed out his chest, and yelled defiantly, "I have already called her! She's on her way right now!"

Before the words were even out of his mouth, a crisp beep echoed from the front door, the password lock had clicked open.

I didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

In this house, the only person who could walk in without knocking besides the three of us was her.

Shara Lawson walked in as casually as if she belonged there.

Gian launched himself straight into her arms. "Mom! You're here! Let's eat the cake already!"

He tilted his head up and yelled loud and clear for everyone to hear, "Aunt Shara, you're gonna be my new mom from now on!"

Shara didn't look surprised in the slightest.

She squatted down gently, and gave Gian's little nose a playful boop.

"Store-bought cakes aren't healthy. I'll make you a homemade one, okay?"

I couldn't be bothered to watch this little charade.

I grabbed my bag and headed straight for the door.

The sound-activated light in the hallway flickered on at the sound of my footsteps.

Quick, soft pattering footsteps came rushing up behind me.

"Helena! Wait a second!" Shara's voice chased after me.

I stopped in my tracks, but didn't turn around.

"Helena." Her voice trembled slightly, like she'd just gotten the rawest deal on the planet. "I don't think I've done anything wrong. In a relationship, the person who isn’t loved is the real third party.

"You're being pretty reasonable about this. Stepping aside gracefully like this is better for all of us."

I wasn't angry. I didn't feel so much as a flicker of emotion.

"Shara, you haven't changed one bit. When you practiced chess, you only ever practiced on my discarded endgame positions.

"Now when it comes to marriage, you're only picking up the scraps I don't want. Good thing our master kicked you out of the school so early. Otherwise, you'd have shamed the whole school."

With that, I didn't bother sticking around to watch her face flush bright red then drain pale. I turned and left without a second glance.

The elevator doors slid shut, and the mirrored wall inside reflected my completely calm, unruffled face.

It was over.

It's better this way.