At the company’s celebration banquet, I arrived ten minutes late. I stopped to buy a gift for my son.

My husband’s secretary greeted me with a smile, smoothing over the awkward moment.

“Eliana Wilson, you and President Thomas really are something. Eight years of marriage and still so sweet, it’s enviable.”

But my husband’s face immediately darkened.

“Sweet? We’re an old married couple. If the kid’s mom doesn’t feel like showing up, then forget it. Let’s just start.”

I stared silently at the livestream, then turned and walked out, headed straight for the law firm.

When the divorce papers were placed on the table, Maverick’s expression turned cold.

“Are you out of your mind? Just because I called you the kid’s mom, you want a divorce?”

I nodded.

“Yes. Exactly because of that.”

——

The company’s biggest project had just been finalized. Maverick had specially taken half a day off and arranged a celebration banquet.

I had been out buying a birthday gift for our son, and with traffic holding me up, I arrived ten minutes late.

The livestream on my phone was still playing.

Maverick sat at the center of the table, and the seat that should’ve been mine was already occupied by his secretary, Lainey Landers.

Some of the guests looked confused.

“Has sister-in-law not shown up yet? It’s been a while. Should we just go ahead and start?”

Someone beside them gave a discreet nudge.

“Haven’t you heard? Behind every successful man is a stronger woman. If it weren’t for the sister-in-law supporting him all these years, would the company have come this far? Maverick and Eliana have such a good relationship. What’s the harm in waiting a little? It’s not like anyone’s starving.”

Maverick’s face darkened slightly, though his voice stayed even.

“Back up? She’s just a housewife who stays home all day enjoying life. What help could she possibly offer?”

“If it weren’t for Lainey these past few years, even with three heads and six arms, I’d still be running myself into the ground.”

At the praise, Lainey blushed, lightly tapping his chest with a playful fist.

“President Thomas, you’re teasing again. Everyone knows how much you adore Eliana, right? You’re just trying to make the single guys here jealous.”

“Eliana’s beautiful and capable. Even after having a child, she continues to bring you clients. If I were a man, I’d fall for her too.”

The appreciation I’d once imagined never came. Instead, Maverick’s face turned frosty in an instant.

“Beautiful? You mean before she gave birth, right? These days… Eliana’s just…”

“Whatever. She’s a mother now, I can’t expect too much. Let’s drop it. Let’s just start eating. By the time she gets here, you’ll all be starving. So slow, who knows what she’s even busy with all day at home?”

The colleagues around the table raised their glasses in celebration, eagerly fawning over Lainey. No one spared me a second glance.

My fingernails dug deep into my palms as my body trembled.

“Driver, turn around. Take me to the nearest law firm.”

With the divorce agreement in hand, I didn’t head for the hotel; I went straight home.

On the way, messages from Maverick kept popping up one after another.

Each one colder, more impatient than the last.

[Still not here? How long do you expect us to wait? Do I need to teach you basic social manners now?]

[What’s with you? You used to be punctual. Is this some new attitude? Should I be begging for your presence now?]

[Forget it. Come or don’t, the celebration’s over. I’ve been drinking. Come pick me up. I’ll give you ten minutes. And bring hangover meds, I’m not feeling great.]

In the past, every time his social events ended, he would always send me a message.

And I’d drop everything, flag down a taxi, and rush over, afraid something might happen to him.

But this time, I simply felt tired. I couldn’t keep running anymore.

I turned off my phone and quietly reviewed the agreement laid out on the table.

When I finished signing the last page, the door slammed open with a thunderous crash.

Maverick barged in, eyes cold, and flung his suit jacket straight at me.

“What’s wrong with you? Is your phone broken? Or are you just blind?”

“Why were you pretending to be dead when I messaged you?”

“Do you even realize it’s raining outside? If I catch a cold, who’s going to run the company?”

“You stay home all day doing absolutely nothing. What could be keeping you so busy? Even the UN president isn’t this hard to contact!”

I looked up, my eyes landing on the lipstick smudged across his collar, and suddenly, I let out a laugh.

“Isn’t someone already delivering things for me? If I showed up, wouldn’t I have just ruined your little fun?”

Catching my gaze, Maverick’s face tightened into a frown.

“Lainey had too much to drink tonight and nearly fell. I was just helping her, it rubbed off by accident.”

He tore off the shirt in frustration and flung it at me again.

“What’s with that attitude? I worked all day and came home to your sour face?”

“I haven’t even brought up you being late, and now you’re throwing sarcasm at me?”

“That’s enough. I don’t have time to baby you. Lainey’s not feeling well. Where did you get that hangover medicine? Send her some so she won’t miss work tomorrow.”

“Oh, and these two shirts, hand wash them tonight, dry them, and iron them properly. I need them for my business trip.”

I ignored his commands.

My eyes narrowed slightly, my voice cold and composed.

“Maverick, don’t you think you’ve been a little too considerate toward that secretary of yours?”

That set him off immediately.

“What’s wrong with taking care of an employee? Can you stop being so paranoid all the time? I’m exhausted. I come home to rest, not to get interrogated. If this keeps up, I might as well move out!”

I let out a faint laugh, the kind that stung more than it soothed, my gaze fixed on my phone.

“Move out? Haven’t you already done that?”

“Those two-meter beds in your office must be cozy. Probably more comfortable than anything you’ve ever shared with me.”

His fury snapped like a whip.

“Are you done? You’re always stuck on who I’m drinking with or which woman visits my office. With all that effort, why don’t you try being a mother instead?”

“When was the last time you even looked at your son? Do you still remember him?”

“Mom’s reminded me at least a dozen times, keep this up, and he’ll grow up thinking he only has one parent.”

At the mention of my child, something tugged at my chest, sharp, bitter, aching.

Back when I married into the family, not a single one of them welcomed me.

Their only condition for agreeing to the marriage was that, after giving birth, I had to hand the child over to them.

They said once he was older, they’d consider letting me have him back.

But that so-called arrangement dragged on for eight long years.

I saw my son only a handful of times, so few that even Lainey saw him more often than I did.

I cried. I fought. But in Maverick’s eyes, I was just being difficult.

He always said the family could give our son the best education.

That if I raised him, I’d only ruin his future.

But now I knew better.

What would truly ruin him was growing up in a house that had everything but love.

I laid the divorce papers flat in front of him and spoke with a voice stripped of emotion.

“Let’s get divorced. Please return custody of our son to me. From now on, whatever you do, whoever you’re with, I won’t care.”

Maverick’s face went stone cold, his voice low and sharp. “Divorce? Are you serious? The child is already eight.”

“Give me one valid reason.”

I tapped my phone and played the livestream recording on loop, the part where he said, “kid’s mom.”

His eyes flared red with anger.

“I said that casually! You are the kid’s mom, what’s wrong with me calling you that?”

“You want a divorce over something so trivial? Eliana, I don’t have time for your tantrums!”

I let out a long, exhausted sigh.

“Maverick, I’m not just your housewife. I have my own life. I sketch designs every single day.”

“If I were working outside, I’d already be a design director by now.”

“So what? Have I ever denied you money? Are you starving? Lacking clothes? Can you stop making a fuss for no reason? It’s not like I ever called you useless!”

He never understood what that one form of address truly meant to me.

And by now, I was too tired to explain.

“If you won’t sign, then fine, we’ll settle it in court.”

“Starting tonight, I’m moving out. If you change your mind, you know how to reach me.”

By midnight, I left the villa with my packed suitcase. Behind me came his voice, loud and uncontrolled.

“Eliana, remember your words! Even if you beg me on your knees, don’t ever think of coming back!”

“There are plenty of women lining up to marry me! If I hadn’t met you first, do you think you’d even have had a shot?”

Tears blurred my vision, but I didn’t turn back.

I walked out of the residential complex and hailed a taxi to the apartment I had bought before marriage.

Memories flooded in.

When I first met Maverick, he had been nothing more than an arrogant, reckless heir.

Back in college, he was infamous, known for fights and chaos, the kind of trouble that made everyone stay away.

Used to chasing after flashy, arrogant rich girls, Maverick noticed me on the very first day of school.

“Hey, are you in this major too? We’re in the same class, why not add each other on WhatsApp?”

I avoided him like the plague. “Sorry, I don’t have WhatsApp on my phone.”

His smile stiffened, pausing mid-air for two seconds. He clearly hadn’t expected to be brushed off.

I didn’t bother explaining. I simply turned and jogged back to the dorm, missing the flicker of curiosity that lit up in his eyes.

My roommates later said Maverick waited outside the girls’ dorm every day.

But I was too busy juggling part-time jobs, struggling to survive, and barely spending any time on campus at all.

We kept a peaceful distance for half a semester, until I got a phone call from the hospital.

They said my father had committed domestic violence again, and my mother had been seriously injured.

I rushed home after filing for leave, but by the time I arrived, the hospital had already discharged her. We couldn’t afford the bills.

She was kneeling on the cold cement floor at home, bruised, disheveled, and utterly broken.

My father reeked of smoke and liquor, cursing with foul, vicious words.

"You filthy bitch, had a child and still won’t behave. Where have you been? Cheating, huh? Don’t think I don’t see right through you. Trying to run? Dream on!"

"If it weren’t for your damn womb, do you think I would’ve married you? You were a cheap deal for the dowry, and you can’t even give me a son! If I’d known, I would’ve just killed you back then!"

My mother sobbed uncontrollably, her entire body trembling.

"You say you won’t give us money, but still want meat to eat. Where am I supposed to find money for groceries? Eliana has school, and we have tuition to pay. If I don’t work, how will we survive?"

I had seen my mother in that pitiful state far too many times.

She was nothing like the glowing, carefree girl in those faded yellowed photographs.

Once upon a time, my father had been drawn in by her beauty and grace, but he never nourished that rose with even an ounce of love.

That rose slowly withered, burning away her entire life for this home, only to be repaid with scorn and cruelty.

For the first time, I felt I had truly grown up. I rushed forward and shielded my mother.

I told them I would take responsibility for our living expenses and my tuition.

I thought my father would finally relent and spare her.

But I was wrong.

He turned all his fury on me instead, cursing me for not being a boy, accusing my mother of having a worthless womb.

He barked that girls didn’t need education, told me to drop out of school, and go on a blind date.

The bride price was eighteen thousand dollars. The match? A fifty-year-old disabled man.

My mother, burning with every ounce of love she had left, stood in front of me and begged me to run.

To never come back. But I refused to leave.

Drunk and raging, my father grabbed a kitchen knife.

And in that critical moment, Maverick appeared.