Chapter 3

3

The three-day deadline passed. Of course, I didn't show up.

Hayes returned to my small, lonely yard.

My son, Skyler, was excited, running circles around his father.

He tried to tuck his transparent little hand into Hayes's large palm.

"Mommy, look! I'm finally holding Daddy's hand!" he cheered.

My eyes burned with a phantom sting, and I forced a smile for him.

For all these years, Hayes believed Skyler was Lucian's son.

He treated the boy with pure disgust and refused to even look at him.

I had done a DNA test that proved they were father and son.

But Hayes didn't believe it, claiming I had paid someone to faked the results.

After that night at the club, I had lost all his trust.

I had asked for a divorce many times.

I wanted to end our toxic, broken relationship.

But he would only glare at me with pure venom.

"You owe me, Chloe. I told you, I will never let you go."

"Divorce? Not in this lifetime."

He would bring different women home to spend the night just to spite me.

Whenever I tried to argue, he would remind me how "dirty" I was for being with Lucian.

This continued until Seraphina came back from abroad.

The moment she returned, he cut ties with all the other women.

The two of them were constantly seen together in public.

Even his business partners started calling Seraphina "Mrs. Hayes."

My thoughts were pulled back to the present.

I watched Hayes stand at the gate, trying to call my old number.

The only thing he heard was a robotic voice telling him the number was disconnected.

He frowned and opened our old chat on his phone.

The last message he sent was three days ago, demanding I show up for the transplant.

Naturally, there was no reply.

He began scrolling through my social media page.

When he saw a photo I had posted four years ago, his thumb froze.

It was a candid shot of him sitting on the sofa.

Skyler, who was two at the time, was leaning his little head against Hayes's shoulder.

I had thought it was a beautiful moment and snapped the picture.

But a second after that photo was taken, Hayes had pushed the boy away in disgust.

Hayes stared at the enlarged photo for a long time.

Finally, he went back to the chat and typed a message.

"This is your own fault, Chloe. The three days are up."

"Starting today, I'm cutting off every penny of your allowance."

He waited for a while, but the silence remained.

In a fit of rage, he kicked the gate with all his might.

Skyler, who had been happily playing, started shaking with fear.

He burst into tears and ran into my arms.

"Mommy, what's wrong with Daddy? I'm scared..."

I held him close and tried to soothe him.

"Don't be scared, Skyler. He can't hurt you anymore."

"Look, there are butterflies over there. Why don't you go play with them for a bit?"

I tried to distract him.

Skyler wiped his tears and looked over at the butterflies dancing in the weeds.

He gave me a small smile and flew toward them.

Hayes, meanwhile, was getting more frustrated.

He rubbed his temples and pulled out his phone again.

"Hello? Is this a locksmith company?"