Skyler's POV

I walked into the house with one thought in mind. “Get Robert to talk to me.”

He had been acting weird for the past few months. Normally he doesn't act like we were married, but he actions were weirder than usual.

Thankfully, Ethan was still in school and Robert was working from home, it was the perfect day for a conversation. Because if I was going to salvage the little tolerance we had for each other in this marriage, it needs to be done.

"Robert?" I called out in the silent house.

No answer.

I kicked my shoes off, walked towards his room when I heard a woman's laugh.

I froze.

Not here. Not in our home.

There they were.

Robert.

And her. She looked so much like my dead sister.

Lila, his so called friend Lila, wrapped in the sheets, her bare shoulder peeking out as she turned to look at me, eyes wide out of surprise. Not fear, not guilt.

"You son of a bitch," I spat, my voice shaking with fury.

Robert swung his legs off the bed like that would somehow make this better, like standing there half-naked would suddenly turn this into something explainable. "Skyler…"

"Save it!" I screamed. "Ethan could walk through that door any second! And this... this is what you’re doing?"

Lila fumbled, muttering something I didn't even try to hear, pulling her clothes on.

"Get out," I hissed at her. "Get out of my house."

She left, but not before I saw the smirk on her face.

I turned on Robert, who stood there, "Was she just a 'friend' the whole time?" I demanded, stepping closer.

He opened his mouth, but instead huffed and kept quiet.

“Does this man have any respect for me whatsoever?” I asked myself.

"I hope it was worth it," I whispered, shaking with rage as I walked out.

I know what to do. So, the next day I went to the one person I could talk to.

“I need to do this.” I told myself for the last time as I took a deep breath and opened my mouth.

Seven years. That's how long I've been bound to Robert, not by love, but by a contract signed in desperation. Now, I sat across from Judy, his mother, in her kitchen, the scent of fresh coffee doing little to calm my nerves.

"I can't do this anymore," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Robert never loved me. He tolerates me at best."

Judy's eyes narrowed, her perfectly manicured fingers tapping against her coffee cup. "You knew the terms, Skyler. You agreed to them."

I clenched my fists beneath the table. "I was a broke college student. You offered to pay my tuition in exchange for marrying your son after his wife died. I thought... I thought we could build something real."

She sighed, a sound that felt more like a reprimand than sympathy. "Robert was grieving. He needed stability for Ethan."

Ah, Ethan. The child who looked at me with disdain, who flinched when I tried to comfort him. He doesn't even know how I fight for him. "He hates me," I murmured. It was the truth. But no one else saw it but me.

Judy's gaze hardened. "He's a child. They all go through phases."

I stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the polished floor. "This isn't a phase. This is a life sentence.”

She rose as well, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. "Just a little longer. For Ethan's sake. You know you want to stay."

I pulled away and left. I needed air, space, clarity, assurance. Anything, actually.

As I stepped outside, my phone buzzed. A message from an unknown number:

"Meet me at the old park. I have information about Robert you need to hear."

My heart raced. Who could this be? What did they know?

I looked back at Judy's house, then at the message. Curiosity crept up my heart.

I took a deep breath and typed a reply:

"I'll be there."

I drove faster than I ever had, I needed to know immediately what the message meant. But, when I got to the park, it was empty. No one was there.

I looked around until I saw a silhouette of a child, one that I know a little too well.

“Ethan?” I wondered what a six years old was doing out here, alone. “What's are you doing?”

He looked up at me, his eyes filled with so much hatred. “I was waiting for you.” He said quietly, it almost escaped me.

Then, it clicked. “Oh my God! Did you…did you message me?” I scoffed in disbelief.

He shrugged, “I knew you would be stupid enough to fall for it. It's not my fault your brain is not working well.” He said and I almost fell over from the hostility in his voice.

I choked back on my tears, “What? Ethan, what did I do to deserve this!” I screamed, going closer to him as I held him arm, dragging him to the car.

He snatched himself from my hold, “You're not my mother!” He screamed in my face.

Anger.

The only thing I felt at that moment, “God help me, if you don't get your butt into that car right now! I'm going to call your Dad.” I retorted.

He hissed at me, “Bitch.” But, got into the car anyway.

I sighed and followed him. I drove us home in silence as many questions ran through my mind. “Where did he get a phone? How did he think of something like that? What did he hope to achieve?”

The car was barely parked before he got out and stormed inside. Saying ”Bitch” on more time.

I rested my head back, taking a deep breath before going inside as well. I know now what to do and nothing can stop me. I paced as I waited for Robert to come home.

He and I are going to have a long conversation.

Minutes later, Robert arrived from work and I called his attention to the conversation I was hoping to have with him. Maybe this time he'll listen.

“What is it?” He asked impatiently making me choke on my words. But, nothing can hold me back, so I said the first thing that was on my tongue.

“I want a divorce.”

Skyler's POV

“No.”

Just one word. Cold. Final.

I stared at Robert, trying to register what he just said. “What do you mean no?”

He didn’t flinch. Arms crossed. Jaw tight. Like I just asked him to hand over a kidney, not for a divorce.

“I’m not signing anything,” he said. “This is your family. You’re not walking away from it.”

“Robert, I am miserable.” My voice cracked. “You know that, don’t you? Ethan barely talks to me. You treat me like a…like a ghost in my own damn house. I’m done pretending this is normal.”

“You’re his mother. You don’t get to be just …done.”

He said it like it was obvious. Like it was law.

My hands curled into fists at my sides. “So what, I’m supposed to just keep playing house while you two pretend I don’t exist? Let Ethan glare at me like I ruined his life? Let you dismiss me every time I speak?”

“You are his mother,” he repeated, slower this time, like I was stupid. “He needs you.”

I laughed. Sharp. Bitter. “He doesn’t want me. You made sure of that.”

Robert’s eyes narrowed, but I wasn’t done.

“I’m not happy here. I haven’t been in years. I’m trying to leave before I become someone I don’t recognize…before I start screaming in the middle of dinner or throwing plates just to feel something.”

He shook his head. “This isn’t up for debate, Skyler.”

“I’m not asking for permission!”

“You should have thought about that before marrying me,” he snapped. And just like that, he left his coat from the hook by the door. “I’ve got a meeting. We’ll talk later.”

“I’m telling you I want out!”

But he was already halfway out the door. He didn’t even look back.

The door slammed. And I stood there. Frozen. Breathing too fast. Too loud.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to scream, or cry, or tear the pictures off the walls.

Instead, I whispered, to no one at all, “He really thinks he owns me.”

And for the first time in a long time, I felt somethig for Robert.

Anger. A strong sense of it.

***

I stood there for what felt like hours after the door slammed shut.

Screw him.

I moved to the dinning room where I practice the same routine e everyday. Smile. Set plates. Serve food no one asked for. Be invisible unless something was missing.

Ethan was already at the table, fork in hand, not eating. Just waiting. And when he looked up, it wasn’t surprise on his face.

It was contempt.

He didn’t speak. Just stared, eyes hard and sharp…like his father’s. Like he had been learning from him. I tried to meet his gaze, tried to find that little boy who used to fall asleep on my chest, drool and all. But he was gone.

“You’re late,” he muttered.

I bit my tongue. Counted to three. “Dinner isn’t even served yet.”

He shrugged. “Still late.”

Before I could respond…before I could remind him I wasn’t his maid, the doorbell rang.

The maid, Elena, appeared and scurried to the door.

And then she walked in.

Long brown coat. Heels clicking too loudly on the floor.

“Lila!” Ethan shot up from his chair. “You came!”

He ran to her. Ran. Wrapped his arms around her waist like she was his actual mother and not the stranger Robert had paraded around.

“I love when you’re here,” Ethan beamed.

Lila gave him a dramatic kiss on the cheek. “Aww, baby, I missed you too.”

My throat closed.

She looked up then. Saw me. Smiled wider, like we were old friends. “Skyler. You look... tired.”

I stared at her. Then at Ethan. Then back at her.

This wasn’t just disrespect. This was war.

Robert brought her here. Again. Here. Into my home. Our home. With no warning, no shame, no care for what that would do to me.

“You’re not welcome here,” I said with a low voice.

She laughed. “Oh, honey, Robert invited me.”

Of course he did.

She walked past me, and sat in my seat.

My spot. At the head of the table.

“Robert.” I called his attention to it.

“What?!” He snapped at me. "Just let her in."

Skyler's POV

Lila and Ethan laughed like they had not seen each other in ages. Like I was the stranger who walked into the wrong home.

She poured him more mashed potatoes. And Ethan leaned into her, smiling, actually smiling, like I had not seen in months.

Maybe longer.

Every little moment pained me deep. I sat at the far end of the table, cold plate in front of me, untouched.

They didn’t notice.

Or they didn’t care.

I used to be a big part here, maybe not in everyone's life, but a boy part of Ethan's.

Now, I was just... here. Background noise.

I cleared my throat, “Ethan, did you finish that art project for school? The one with the…”

He did not even look at me. “Why do you care?!” he snapped.

The words hit like a slap.

I blinked, stunned, with my mouth hung open.

Lila looked at him, then at me, but said nothing. Of course she wouldn't.

“I care,” I said, quieter. “Because I’m your…”

“You’re just mad that I like Lila more.”

I felt it before I realized what I was doing.

My hands slammed down on the table, loud enough to gather attention.

Ethan jumped. Lila froze, her fork mid-air.

“I want a divorce,” I said, my voice loud. “Do you hear me this time, Robert? I want out. I want my life back.”

Silence.

“Can we not do this right now?” he said.

I stood up, my chair screeching behind me. “We are doing this now. You brought this woman into our house, you let our son talk to me like I’m some disposable thing, and you act like I’m the problem?”

He didn’t answer. Just looked at me like he was already bored.

But I wasn’t done.

“I’m not your prisoner, Robert. You don’t get to trap me here with your silence and your smug little power games. I want out. I don’t care if you ‘allow’ it or not…I’m done.”

***

Seconds later, I heard him speak.

“Lila, take Ethan upstairs.”

I froze.

Robert leaned back in his chair. “Someone needs to keep the house from burning down,” he said, dry. “And you seem determined to light the match.”

“You think I’m the problem?” I asked, barely able to keep my voice down. “You bring your mistress into our home, let our son disrespect me to my face, and I’m the one lighting the fire?”

Robert shrugged, like I was being dramatic. Like this was beneath him.

“You're upset,” he said, carefully. “But let us not pretend this is about feelings.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Then what is it about, Robert?”

He smiled.

It wasn’t kind.

“You were happy enough when the money was flowing. When the dinners were catered, the vacations were first class, and the cards never got declined.”

My stomach dropped.

“You think this is about money?” I said, disbelief notable through my tone.

He stood now, finally. Slowly. Deliberately. “It always is with women like you.”

“Women like me?”

He held my gaze still. “Pretty enough to catch attention, smart enough to know what pockets to land in. You had a good run, Skyler. But now the shine has worn off, and suddenly you're unhappy?”

I stared at him, stunned into silence. It was not the insult that broke me…it was the certainty in his voice. He believed it. Every word he has uttered so far.

“You think I stayed for the money?” My voice was shaking now, with rage, not grief. “You think I put up with your neglect, your condescension, your cheating, for some credit card limit?”

Robert didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.

“You really want to know why I’m leaving?” I stepped closer, heart pounding. “Because I’m tired of being invisible. I’m tired of being used. And I’m done explaining my worth to a man who never saw it to begin with.”

His jaw clenched, but he didn’t speak.

Then I turned, and this time prepared to walk away for real. I was done. But, something clashed into me, it was Ethan.

My face lit up with hope, thinking he was back to console me, ask for forgiveness or something. Then I saw Lila smirking from behind him, almost like she was pushing him to do the right thing.

"Go on," I heard her whisper and I looked back at Robert who had a look on confusion on his face as well. "You said you wanted to tell her something."

Ethan nodeded and took cautious steps towards me with his hands behind his back and head bowed. A remorseful gesture.

"What is it baby?" I asked and knelt for him to have easy access to me.

Little did I know, it would be the greatest mistake of my day.

"Mommy..." He began then shook his head. "No, Skyler." it was not the way he said my name that made me shiver, no, I was used to him calling me that. But, the look on his face, God. It was hostile.

Then I saw it, my eyes widened, "No, Ethan. No!"