“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.

Thanks to his fighting experience, Maverick easily knocked my father to the ground.

But my mother couldn’t be saved.

She said she no longer had any dreams, that this was all life would ever be for her.

She told me: When you marry, keep your eyes open. Live for yourself.

Right after she spoke, my father, seizing the moment when we weren’t paying attention, drove the kitchen knife into her head.

That image became the nightmare I would never wake from.

As my mother lay dying, Maverick held my hand and swore. “As long as I’m alive, Eliana will be free. I’ll help her chase her dreams. She’ll never be trapped by blood.”

Only after hearing that, my mother closed her eyes forever.

She passed peacefully. I think, for her, it was a kind of release.

Later, my father was sent to prison by the Thomas family’s lawyer, and I was finally free.

That day, Maverick stood waiting beneath a tree and said he would pay for my entire education.

Naturally, we ended up together.

Because of his promise, I had agreed to all of the Thomas family’s unreasonable demands.

But now, even though his vow still echoed in my ears, that young man was long gone.

At five in the morning, Maverick sent a message.

[Tonight is the family dinner. If you still refuse to come back and see Isaac, then forget about ever seeing him again.]

[Eliana, I get that you’re angry. I get that you’re jealous. But try to understand me. I’m a man. I can’t revolve my entire life around a family.]

I wiped the dried tears from my face and replied coldly, [Okay.]

But before that, I wanted to retrieve every single design draft I had drawn for his company, free of charge.

At nine sharp, I arrived downstairs at the company.

Just as I stepped through the doors, I overheard the staff whispering.

“That draft, did Secretary Lainey really draw it? That’s insane! I thought she ran out of ideas ages ago, but she just keeps producing more.”

“She’s juggling two roles at once. No wonder the president keeps her close.”

“If I had talent like hers, I’d probably be lounging in the private suite, too. We’re just here to warm the chairs and ride the wave.”

“But seriously, he’s treating her like royalty. I heard he’s giving her half the company’s shares! That’s going from employee to boss overnight!”

My heart sank to the bottom.

I knew Lainey's background; she had studied finance and management, fields entirely unrelated to design.

Just as I reached the office door, I saw the design draft I had finished two days ago displayed openly on the table.

The collaborators were full of praise, showering compliments on the drawing.

Lainey accepted every word with a delighted smile, as if the work were her own.

A wave of fury surged through me, and I pushed the door open.

"Lainey's draft? Maverick, care to explain this?"

After personally escorting the collaborators out, he turned back with a dark expression, voice rising in anger.

"What are you doing? Do you have any idea how important this project is to the company? What kind of chaos are you trying to cause? Would you only be satisfied if the entire deal collapsed?"

"You're a housewife, what use is a signature to you? As long as the design benefits the company, does it really matter who gets the credit?"

With reddened eyes, I looked at the man before me clearly, perhaps for the first time.

"You knew design was my dream. I never objected to you using my drafts. But giving all the credit to Lainey, what was that supposed to mean?"

"I spent three days and nights working on that piece. And you erased me with a single sentence. What exactly am I to you?"

Lainey quickly stepped forward, looking pitiful as she grabbed my arm.

"Sister Eliana, I’m sorry. I used your draft, and I apologize. We’re family. Don’t be mad... If the employees see this, they’ll laugh at us..."

I flung her hand off without hesitation, my voice like ice.

"You’re just a secretary. Who gave you the right to speak here?"

Her eyes welled with tears, trembling pitifully, like she was the one wronged.

Maverick instantly exploded, slamming the table with a loud thud.

"Enough! Are you done making a scene? My employees are my business. If you came here to fight, then get out, right now!"

"I’ll talk to you at the family dinner tonight. Until then, drop the attitude. Don’t forget who you depend on to survive!"

Lainey quickly added in a soft, fake-concerned voice.

"That’s right, Sister Eliana. Isaac’s been saying he misses you. As a woman, shouldn’t family come first? I’ve already taken care of all the hard work, so you wouldn’t have to run around so much."

I shot her a cold glance and turned to leave.

Once outside, I dialed the business partner’s number.

"Those design drafts, twenty million, does that offer still stand? I can sign today."

The other party sounded thrilled.

"Finally! I’ve been waiting for your call, Miss Wilson. Of course, it still stands! I’ll bring the contract right now!"

"I have one condition."

"Name it. As long as it’s legal, I’ll agree to anything."

…

At exactly 6 p.m., Lainey sent me a message.

[Sister Eliana, I’m truly sorry about today. As an apology, I’ve listed a few of Isaac’s favorites. If it helps bring you two closer, it’ll be worth it.]

Following her list, I ordered every dish from the hotel and packed them all carefully. But there were so many that it cost me four whole hours.

By the time I finally arrived at the old Thomas residence, the family dinner had already started.

The moment my mother-in-law saw me walk in, she slammed her utensils down.

"Look who decided to show up! You’re harder to invite than a goddess. The whole family waited for you, were we supposed to starve until you felt like coming?"

"Maverick, your wife’s really something else. Give her a few more years, and we’ll all be dancing to her tune!"

In the past, Maverick would’ve at least spoken up for me.

But tonight, he didn’t even lift his head, just kept tapping away on his phone, pretending I didn’t exist.

Isaac sat nestled beside Maverick, with Lainey on his other side. They looked every bit the perfect family of three, except I was the one left out.

Thinking of the custody battle looming ahead, I swallowed the ache in my chest and forced a calm voice.

"There was traffic. I brought some food for Isaac. Sorry, I’m late."

I handed the bag to the housekeeper.

As the dishes were laid out, Lainey leaned close, offering Isaac a bite with exaggerated warmth.

"Here, try this. Your mom brought it just for you. If you finish it, you won’t be mad at Mommy anymore, okay?"

I quietly slid into the space between them. I hadn’t seen Isaac in so long, my eyes stung with tears.

Just as I reached out to hold him, he suddenly jerked back and screamed.

"I don’t want Mommy! I don’t want Mommy! I don’t know her!"

"Auntie Lainey, make her go away!"

My arm froze mid-air. In that moment, I wished the floor would open and swallow me whole.

Maverick set his phone down, his expression cold.

"I’ve told you, if you keep skipping out like this, Isaac won’t even remember you’re his mother."

"Who knows what you’re so busy with every day? Lainey’s already doing a better job than you ever did."

His words sliced through me like a blade, each one sharper than the last.

I turned away and sat down in silence.

Suddenly, Isaac cried out. Red rashes spread rapidly across his cheeks.

"Ah... It’s itchy... it hurts!"

Lainey’s face turned ghostly pale.

"Oh no! There was shrimp in the food. Isaac’s allergic to shrimp!"

"Quick, take him to the hospital!"

Panicked, I rushed forward to check on him, but Maverick shoved me away without hesitation.

"You brought food without even checking his allergies? Were you trying to kill him?"

Before I could speak, my mother-in-law’s palm came down hard across my face.

"Useless! You’re good for nothing! You disappear all year, and when you finally show up, you poison my grandson? How did our family end up with someone like you?!"