On our tenth wedding anniversary, my husband, Julian Croft, moved his terminally ill first love, Chloe Reed, into our Upper East Side penthouse apartment under the guise of a "private nurse," despite my objections.

Julian accused me of being cold-hearted and cruel. "Ava, you're not worth a single hair on Chloe's head!"

My own son, Caleb, sided with them, threatening to cut me out of his life if I didn't let Chloe move in.

Something inside me snapped. I would get a divorce and return to the world of architecture.

But when that father and son saw the forged medical records, they were drowned in regret.

"Ava, she tricked me! You're the one I've always loved!"

"Mom, are you abandoning me? I'm your only son!"

I didn't waste a single glance on them.

Who were these pathetic fools blocking my path? I had a Pritzker Prize to accept.

...

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1

"Chloe's condition is critical. I've decided to bring her home so I can take care of her personally."

I stared down at the diagnosis of late-stage pancreatic cancer.

This was Julian's tenth-anniversary gift to me.

Seeing the dark expression on my face, Chloe Reed leaned against him, her voice a fragile whisper that threatened to break at any moment. "Julian, maybe this is a bad idea. I don't think Ava wants me here."

"Besides, I'm going to die soon. You shouldn't be going to all this trouble for me."

"Chloe, don't be silly. You're going to get better," Julian soothed her.

Then, he whirled on me and roared, "Ava Monroe, have you no heart!"

"She's a sick woman, and you can't even tolerate her? What kind of example are you setting for Caleb, being so heartless?"

At his father's command, Caleb immediately started shoving my legs.

"You're horrible! If you don't let her stay, I don't want you as my mom anymore!"

The anniversary dinner I had so carefully prepared grew cold on the table, my heart turning to ice along with it.

Two faces, one large and one small, both strikingly similar, stared me down with righteous indignation.

One was the husband I had loved for ten years, the other the son I had raised for nine.

On all those countless nights Julian didn't come home, claiming he was working late, Caleb was the last thread of hope I clung to.

There was a time when he would clutch my hand and sweetly call me "Mom."

But now, for another woman, he was threatening to disown me.

In an instant, a wave of disappointment washed away all my anger.

A bitter smile formed on my lips as I turned back toward my room.

But Julian blocked my way. "Ava, Chloe is a patient. Let her have the master bedroom."

"Pack your things and move into the study. Now."

I took a deep breath, walked straight into the room, and with trembling hands, dialed a number I knew by heart.

"Regina, I'm ready to come back."

The voice on the other end was ecstatic. "Really? Ava, you've finally seen the light!"

"When you gave up the partnership at the firm for your family, it was the architectural world's loss! I'll get everything set up immediately!"

I let out a bitter laugh and booked a flight to Chicago for the next month.

After hanging up, I opened Instagram. As I scrolled through my feed, an update from Julian's profile caught my eye.

His username was "JCroftNYC."

I once thought it stood for Julian Croft's home in New York City.

It wasn't until Chloe Reed stood before me that I understood the "C" was never for Croft. It was for Chloe.

The post was a photo from that afternoon: him and our son, skating with Chloe at Rockefeller Center.

The caption read:

【A new beginning.】

But that father and son duo usually hated crowded tourist traps like that.

Chloe's blindingly radiant smile was like a needle in my eye.

It turned out they didn't hate those places; they just hated going there with me.

A friend had commented below:

【Julian, aren't you afraid Ava will leave you for doing this?】

Julian had replied with only three words.

【She wouldn't dare.】

Yes, I wouldn't dare.

Back then, I had believed Julian's nonsense about loving me forever and had walked away from my burgeoning career without a second thought.

I had been a stay-at-home mom for ten years.

Now, besides my husband and son, I had nothing.

My head was spinning when Julian walked in and handed me a takeout box.

"Here. I remembered you like lobster pasta."

The pasta was cold, the sauce already congealed. It looked like leftovers.

What was this? Charity? Chloe's leftovers?

I raised my hand and scraped the pasta straight into the trash.

Julian's face contorted with rage. "Ava, what the hell is wrong with you!" he hissed.

"Taking out the trash."

My words only fueled his anger.

"I actually remembered our anniversary and brought you something, and this is the thanks I get? You're unbelievable!"

Julian raised his fist, but instead of striking me, he slammed it down on our anniversary gift—a custom crystal sculpture.

As he stormed away, the sculpture crashed to the floor and shattered.

I knelt and quietly began to pick up the shards.

Amidst the glittering fragments, a memory surfaced.

Once, when Julian was drunk, he had held me and slurred Chloe's name, over and over.

I stopped picking up the pieces. Instead, I grabbed the still-intact base and hurled it against the wall with all my might.

The next day, Julian was up early.

A man who hadn't set foot in the kitchen for a decade was, for once, making a full breakfast.

Chloe sat at the table, savoring it with a look of pure bliss. "Julian, you're so good to me."

"Silly girl, who else would I spoil? This is all your favorite, lobster eggs Benedict. You're not well, so you need to eat up."

"That's right, Chloe. Have some more. This is the best part."

The three of them sat at the table, a picture of perfect harmony, making me the outsider in my own home.

Seeing me approach, Julian cleared his throat. "I made lobster eggs Benedict. There's some for you, too."

"Yes, Julian's is delicious, you should try it!"

As Chloe spoke, she placed a piece of lobster on my plate.

Expressionless, I scraped everything from my plate into the trash.

Chloe's eyes instantly welled with tears. "Ava, even if you have a problem with me, you shouldn't waste Julian's kind gesture."

The moment her lip began to tremble, Julian's heart went out to her. He turned on me, his voice cold.

"Ava, I tolerated you last night. But what's with the long face? Can you stop being so damn unreasonable for one second?"

"I have a severe seafood allergy. And chronic stomach problems from years of skipping meals to take care of Caleb. Or had you forgotten?"

Julian froze.

Caleb had been a sickly child, and in caring for him, I had often eaten at odd hours, or not at all.

Over time, I developed chronic stomach issues and a severe food allergy.

He probably didn't remember.

There was a time he would meticulously pick every last piece of shrimp off my pizza.

Chloe blinked. "A little stomach trouble is no big deal. I have to take medicine right after I eat, but I still finished every last bite of the breakfast Julian made for me."

Caleb chimed in with a sneer, "Yeah, unlike some people, Chloe's not a baby, making a big deal out of nothing!"

Julian snapped out of his daze and smiled dotingly. "Alright, my little princess, I know you appreciate me. Your body can't handle too much strain right now."

I couldn't stand another second of this nauseating charade. I threw down my fork. "Then you'd better eat every last scrap."

Back in the study, I tried to focus on my old profession.

After ten years away from architectural design, I was inevitably rusty.

But the sounds of laughter and chatter from the living room were so loud I couldn't concentrate.

I heard Chloe's voice drift in. "What do you think of your mom?"

"She's so annoying! All she does is nag, she dresses like some old lady, and she never lets me eat any good snacks!"

Chloe giggled. "What about me?"

"You take me out to play and buy me yummy food. You're the best."

"So... would you like me to be your godmother?"

Caleb immediately chirped, "Godmom."

In the study, my heart turned to ice all over again.

Caleb was born with a weak constitution and needed constant, careful attention.

Julian, always using his busy work schedule as an excuse, had never been there. For all these years, I was the one who had given up my career to raise him, piece by piece.

I never imagined I'd be worth less to him than a stranger who bought him treats and took him out to play.

The pitter-patter of rain against the window brought me back to the present.

It was raining.

I remembered the new rose bushes on the terrace and rushed out to bring them inside, but the flowers had already been maliciously trampled into the dirt.

Before I could even register the loss, I heard a click.

The terrace door was locked from the inside.

"Caleb, open the door!" I pounded desperately on the glass.

But all I saw was Caleb on the other side, pointing at me and shouting to Chloe, "Godmom, come look! She looks like a drowned rat!"

Chloe smiled and tapped him on the head.

"You little rascal. Come on, Godmom will take you to buy some snacks."

"Yay!"

Caleb, ignoring me completely, skipped away holding Chloe's hand.

The November downpour was bone-chilling. I huddled in a corner, frozen, not just my body, but my very soul.

It wasn't until the last rose petal was beaten from its stem that Julian, just home from work, finally let me in.

Under the bright lights, my face was deathly pale, my hair plastered to my skin in wet strands. I must have looked like a pathetic ghost.

Chloe covered her mouth in feigned surprise. "Oh my God, Ava, what happened to you?"

Caleb hid behind her, making faces at me.

And Julian, after hearing what had happened, just frowned.

"Ava, you're a grown woman. How could you let a child lock you out? Be more careful next time."

I didn't say a word. I lunged for Caleb.

Julian panicked, shoving me back. "What are you doing? You're really going to hold a grudge against a child?"

"He's just a kid, but you're a grown woman!"

His push sent me stumbling backward. I landed in a pathetic heap on the floor.

Caleb burst out in piercing laughter.

In this twisted trial, I, the clear victim, had been cast as the sole defendant.

I looked up at the father and son and let out a dry, hollow laugh.

Then I stood up and walked toward them, my face a blank mask.

They must have thought I was about to surrender. Undisguised mockery was plain on both their faces, the large and the small.

My hand flew out, striking each of them across the face. A sharp slap, then another.

Caleb's eyes widened. He clutched his cheek and ran crying to Chloe. "I hate you! You're a psycho! You deserve to be alone forever!"

Julian was now beyond furious, panting as he glared at me.

Chloe, ever the peacemaker, held Julian back and started in on me. "Ava, Caleb is just a child. How could you, his mother—"

A third slap cut her off.

"You're annoying," I said flatly. I had wanted to do that for a long time.

Seeing Chloe theatrically stumble backward, Caleb was so scared he stopped crying.

Julian frantically caught her in his arms and started to carry her out, throwing a threat over his shoulder.

"If Chloe's condition gets any worse, you'll pay for this!"

Afraid I might do something else to Caleb, he dragged his son along with them.

Good. They were all gone. The house was finally quiet.

After being drenched in the rain all evening, I developed a high fever in the middle of the night. I dragged my weak body out of bed, searching for medicine.

In a daze, I sensed someone approaching.

I forced my eyes open and was met with Chloe's sneering, contemptuous gaze.