Chapter 3

3

I handled the funeral all by myself.

The day we buried her, it started to snow heavily.

The white flakes felt like they were mourning the unfairness of the world.

When I got back to my neighborhood, the gossiping neighbors were already whispering.

"Hey, isn't that the Vance girl?"

"I heard her mother passed, and her rich husband didn't even show his face!"

"That's not all. People are saying the husband stole her mother's donor kidney for his side piece!"

"Well, that's what happens when you raise a daughter. She let a man kill her own mother."

Their voices were low, but the words felt like needles in my back.

They were right.

It was my fault. I stayed with him, and it killed her.

I walked into the house like a ghost. Everywhere I looked, I saw traces of my life with Silas.

Looking at our photos, I realized how much of a joke I had been.

We met in college.

Back then, his family's business was failing. He couldn't even pay his tuition.

I was the one who worked three jobs to keep him in school.

When he started his first company and got scammed, I was the one who took out loans to pay off his debt.

We crawled through the mud together until the sun finally came out.

He became the elite businessman everyone envied, and I chose to stay home and be a supportive wife.

I thought we'd be happy forever.

Then Saskia arrived.

I remember our first anniversary. I had planned a romantic dinner, but Silas left after one call from her.

Her excuse? She was drunk and felt "lonely."

I wanted to laugh.

Since when does a lonely girl call a married man in the middle of the night?

But Silas went anyway.

It happened again and again. Every fight ended with him saying: "If you don't like it, get a divorce!"

I loved him for a decade, but I couldn't beat one sentence from Saskia.

He was so arrogant that he hadn't even sent a text since the funeral started.

I finally picked up the phone and called him.

Saskia answered.

"Oh, sorry Elora. Silas is busy giving me a sponge bath right now."

I gripped the phone so hard my knuckles turned white. "Put him on. Now."

She let out a mocking little giggle.

A moment later, Silas's voice came through.

"Make it quick! I'm busy!"

"Mom is dead," I said calmly.

I expected shock. Maybe a little guilt. But he just scoffed.

"You're really going to lie about that just to get me to come home?"

"You're actually wishing death on your own mother? Aren't you afraid of bad karma, Elora?"

"I'm warning you, Saskia is a patient. She's like a sister to me. It's my job to take care of her."

"I'll be back in a few days. I'll have my secretary find another donor. God, you are so annoying!"

He hung up.

He didn't give me a chance to say another word.

In his eyes, everything I did was a dramatic ploy to steal him away from Saskia.

He loved the feeling of two women fighting over him.

I sat in silence for a long time.

I looked at the family photo on the mantel and felt a hole opening in my chest.

The person who loved me most was gone.

I tucked the photo away and started packing my bags.

I used to ignore the red flags because I loved him.

But now? I didn't feel a damn thing.

He was nothing to me.

The next morning, Silas finally came home. I was sitting by my packed suitcases.

The divorce papers were sitting on the coffee table.

Silas walked in, frowning when he saw me.

He tossed a folder at me.

"There. You wanted a donor? I found a list of five. Happy now?"

I looked at the folder and smiled bitterly.

"Impressive. You really have all the power, don't you, Silas?"

I had spent years searching, and he found five in a day.

He just never wanted to help until he felt like he was winning an argument.

Silas smirked. "What? You're happy now? I told you, there was no need to use those lies to guilt-trip me. I…"

"Silas."

I cut him off and pushed the papers toward him.

"I want a divorce."