"Stephanie Perry, let's get a divorce. You've seen it yourself, really. We don't even live in the same world anymore."

"Mom, just say yes already. Dodging it won't help. You can't even begin to compare with Aunt Zelda."

My son, Cary Whitney, pressed me, his voice thick with impatience.

"Stephanie, I know you can't bear to leave this family. But you should also know that you can't force something that isn't meant to be."

Before I could say a word, my daughter, Denise Whitney, stepped in to back him up.

"Exactly, Mom. Just let Dad and Aunt Zelda be together. Only a woman like Aunt Zelda, so learned and accomplished, with such an air about her, is good enough for Dad."

When she finished, all three of them fixed their eyes on me, unblinking.

This was already the third time this month that Ervin Whitney and the rest of them had pushed me to divorce.

In their eyes, I was nothing but dead weight, a woman who knew only how to wash clothes and cook meals.

Ervin said I'd never done a thing for his career.

And the two children, melted long ago by Zelda's honeyed words, had already turned against me.

My heart had died by now. I held out no more hope for this family.

"I'm not unwilling to agree to the divorce."

The moment they heard that, all three of them lit up at once.

Ervin seemed to know what I was about to say, and he rushed to make his offer.

"Stephanie, as long as you agree, you can have all the family's savings. I only want this apartment."

As a university professor, Ervin brought in over twenty thousand a month, but with four mouths to feed, the expenses ran high too. Still, in his spare time he ran some training courses on the side, and that extra income had let this family save up around one million.

"Give me two million dollars, and I'll agree to the divorce."

——

Ervin shot to his feet the instant he heard it, the finger he jabbed at me trembling slightly.

"Stephanie, have you lost your mind? Our whole family only has about a million in savings."

"Exactly, Mom. Asking for that much money is way out of line."

But I answered them slowly, without the slightest hurry: "This apartment we're living in is worth over four million. If we divorce by the law, two million should be mine, shouldn't it?"

At that, none of them said anything.

The family had over a million in savings, the apartment was worth more than four million, which came to nearly six million all together. If they took the divorce through the courts, they'd have to split at least half with me, close to three million.

Ervin exchanged a glance with Cary and Denise, and at last gave a heavy nod.

"Fine. We agree. But I'll need a little time for that two million. You can sign this divorce agreement first."

Ervin pulled a divorce agreement out of his briefcase, one that seemed to have been drawn up long ago.

I didn't look at the agreement. I went on, "There's a second point. After the divorce, both Cary and Denise go with you."

"Mom, if Dad takes custody of both of us, then you'll have to pay child support every month."

"Right, otherwise aren't you going to be counting on us to support you in your old age someday?"

Hearing this stirred nothing in me, not a single ripple. I pointed at the agreement and said, "You can add a clause to it. I'll no longer raise you, and you won't owe me any duty to support me either."

The expressions froze on all three of their faces.

"Mom, are you trying to cut all ties with us?"

Cary stood up, his fists clenched, glaring at me.

I met his gaze head-on, without flinching.

"Isn't Zelda your mother? An old, ugly woman with no air about her, like me, what right do I have to be your mother?"

."Mom, we're only telling the truth. Look at you, getting all upset over it. The fact is, you just can't compare to Auntie Zelda."

"Fine. I've agreed to the divorce, and I've agreed to let Zelda Fox be your mother. If none of you have a problem with it, then add that clause in."

Denise had already snatched up the divorce agreement and marched off into the study.

In their eyes, this family had always been held together by Ervin alone. To them, I was no different from a maid.

It wasn't long before she came back with a freshly printed copy of the agreement.

I simply slid it into my briefcase.

"Once the two million dollars is in my account, I'll sign it and mail it back to you."

With that, I switched off the recording on my phone, walked into my own room, and started packing.

A few changes of clothes, most of them styles from five or six years ago.

On the vanity, an entire row of cosmetics belonged to my daughter Denise. The only thing that was mine was a single jar of cold cream.

Last of all, an ox-horn comb I'd used for nearly twenty years and a few elastic bands for tying back my hair.

For the sake of this family, I'd scrimped and saved for almost twenty years. I'd never once lived for myself.

And all I'd gotten in return was the whole family's contempt and resentment.

This time, I was going to live for me.

When I passed through the living room, Ervin, Cary, and Denise were all there waiting for me.

"Mom, let me carry that for you."

Ervin reached for my suitcase, but I stepped aside before he could touch it.

"No need."

I didn't bother with any of them. I just picked up my suitcase and walked out the door.

The moment I stepped over the threshold, I felt as though something had been lifted off me. My whole body went light.

I didn't go far. I just found a high-end hotel nearby and checked in.

A night in a hotel like this was something I never would have dared imagine before. This time, I didn't feel the slightest pang over it.

It was a room with floor-to-ceiling windows, the river view clear in the distance. I opened the window, breathed in the fresh air, and sat there by the glass for a full hour.

Then I picked up my phone, meaning to scroll through some videos for a while, when I noticed there was still a security camera connected to it.

It was the camera in the living room back home, installed years ago.

Almost without thinking, I tapped it open, and the living room came up sharp and clear.

Ervin, Cary, and Denise stood by the door, as if they were waiting for someone.

No prizes for guessing. They were waiting for Zelda Fox.

Sure enough, before long, Zelda pushed the door open and walked in.

Zelda was thirty-five this year, but she looked only twenty-eight or twenty-nine. Delicate features, fair skin, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses that gave her an air of refinement.

The moment she stepped inside, Denise threw herself into her arms.

"Auntie Zelda, now we get to live together from now on."

"I ordered a dozen dishes. They'll be here any minute. Tonight we celebrate properly."

Soon enough, a delivery driver brought the food in, and before long the table was covered with it.

Ervin, of all things, actually ordered a bottle of red wine.

The whole family raised their glasses and drank freely, their faces glowing with happiness.

But I knew that no matter how much passion a life held, in the end it all came back to bills and dirty dishes.

I took a shower and lay down on the soft, generous bed, falling asleep almost at once.

That night I slept sweeter than I had in years. The last time I'd slept so well was before I ever got married.

I was just about to get up when my phone rang. To my surprise, it was Cary calling. I pressed answer without thinking.

"Mom, the house is a total mess. Come back and clean it up, would you? Oh, and don't forget to grab me some breakfast."

“Sorry, Cary, you've got the wrong person. Your mom's last name is Fox, and right now she's still lying in your dad's bed.”

With that, I hung up on him.

Cary called back almost immediately.

“Mom, you really don't plan to take care of me anymore? If you don't look after me properly and my grades slip, don't blame me.”

The words pulled a cold laugh out of me.

For the sake of Cary and Denise doing well on their SATs, I had nearly worked myself to the bone caring for them.

I was up at five every morning to buy fresh ingredients, planning balanced meals, making sure they had nutritious breakfasts.

Then I drove them to school, and whenever their grades dipped, I hired tutors.

But instead of gratitude, they grew more and more distant from me, egged on by Zelda.

They said they needed freedom, that I treated them like machines built to grind through problems, that I crushed them until they couldn't breathe.

And Zelda? She played the role of the warm, understanding big sister, granting their every wish. That was what made them despise me so completely.

Well, I wanted to see whether they could keep those grades up this time, now that I wasn't looking after them.

I hung up on Cary again, and this time they didn't call back.

But curiosity got the better of me, and I logged into the home security cameras anyway.

What greeted me was a complete mess: the table buried under leftover food, much of it spilled onto the floor.

Sunflower seed shells and all kinds of trash were scattered everywhere.

Someone's clothes lay in a careless heap on the couch.

Cary and Denise were knocking on the door of Ervin's master bedroom.

They knocked for a long time before Ervin finally cracked the door open and passed out a hundred dollars, telling them to go buy their own breakfast.

More than an hour later, Ervin and Zelda finally emerged from the master bedroom.

“Zelda, tidy up the house a bit.”

After washing up, Zelda took one look at the wreckage filling the place and her brows knit together.

It was obvious she had no desire to lift a finger, but she gritted her teeth and cleaned anyway.

The moment Ervin saw she was unhappy, he hurried over with an ingratiating smile.

That kind of tenderness Ervin showed Zelda was something I'd never once tasted in nearly twenty years of marriage to him.

I really wanted to know how long a woman who had to be coddled like that could be kept happy.

A day later, Ervin transferred two million dollars to me and told me to go to the county records office the next day to finalize the divorce.

I agreed readily.

Early the next morning, I didn't get to the records office until nine, and from a distance I could already see the three of them—Ervin, Cary, and Denise—gathered around Zelda, saying something.

I walked straight over, and when Ervin spotted me, he quickly came striding toward me.

Since there were no property disputes, the divorce went through fast. In under half an hour, we'd traded our marriage certificate for divorce papers.

The instant we stepped out of the records office, Cary and Denise came pushing Zelda forward.

“Dad, you two go get your marriage license. Sis and I want to throw a little celebration for you and Aunt Zelda today.”

Denise jumped in too “Dad, I want a fancy dinner.”

Zelda stroked Cary's and Denise's heads, her face full of doting affection.

“All right, my treat today.”

They were reveling in their celebration, while I stood there like a stranger.

Cary shot me a glance from across the way.

“Mom, don't be angry, be the bigger person. You should congratulate my dad on finding his true love.”

I couldn't be bothered with them. Both by feeling and by law, they were no longer my family.