Chapter 3

3.

"I almost forgot. You're drowning in debt, so you probably don't have a cent to your name anyway. Do your mistress and your secret son know you're broke?"

Gavin went dead silent on the other end, clearly shocked I knew his secrets.

When he finally spoke, he sounded like a cornered animal.

"Elara, if you spread lies about me, I'll divorce you and take everything!"

"Maya has my last name. If you want custody, you'd better hand over the house and every penny you've saved!"

He sounded so confident, thinking Maya was my only weakness.

He had no idea I had already let her go.

I hung up on him and immediately called a lawyer to draft divorce papers.

I told him I wanted everything Gavin had, which wasn't much, but I wanted him legally drained.

I had the papers printed out ten minutes later.

Just as I tucked them away, Maya walked into the apartment.

She was wearing a skirt so short it barely covered her hips and a tight crop top.

She was staring at her phone, giggling and pouting at the screen.

"Aww, thank you for the Mega Rocket, Daddy-69! You're so sweet!"

"You want to see a special dance? Give me a second, babe! Mua!"

She looked up and saw me standing by the door of what used to be her studio.

Her face instantly shifted from bubbly to a look of pure loathing.

It was a transformation so fast it was almost impressive.

"What is your problem now, you old hag? I told you, I'm done with ballet! Stop trying to control my life!"

"Other girls get to have fun and go to parties, but you treat me like a slave to the stage! You went behind my back and talked to my teacher just to embarrass me!"

"Why can't you be like a normal mom? You're honestly disgusting."

I had already decided to let her go, but the words still felt like a serrated knife across my heart.

She was the one who begged for ballet classes when she was six.

I was only trying to help her finish what she started so she'd have a career.

If she hadn't been scrolling through social media during class, the teacher wouldn't have called her out.

I tried to give her a shield against the world, and she used it to stab me.

There was nothing left to say.

I wiped any trace of emotion from my face and spoke calmly.

"Fine. You don't have to dance anymore."