No one knew what Grady said to Zeth, but she suddenly burst into laughter.

She even glanced in Marcella’s direction.

A wave of helplessness rose from the soles of Marcella’s feet. For the first time, she felt that the past seven years of her life had been utterly meaningless.

She averted her gaze from the ‘ex-lovers’ and was about to walk around the two and return to her room when a small hand grabbed her.

Before she could see Seth’s face clearly, she heard his reprimanding voice.

“You’re not allowed to go in until you apologize to Aunt Zeth!”

Seth shoved past his mother and ran to Zeth’s side, naturally wrapping his little arms around her waist.

When he looked up again, his eyes were filled with such intense disgust for Marcella that it was nearly overflowing.

“I was using the bathroom just now! That’s why Aunt Zeth went to the master bedroom’s bathroom instead! You barged in yelling without knowing the situation! What if you scared Aunt Zeth? You gotta apologize!”

Marcella stared at Seth’s aggressive stance, her hand clutching her lower back trembling uncontrollably.

She never imagined that the child she had painstakingly given birth to would one day turn against her.

It had only been seven days, and Seth was already desperate for Zeth to become his new mother.

Marcella closed her eyes, forcing back the tears welling up in them.

When she opened her eyes again, her gaze toward Seth was completely indifferent.

“Mind your own business. It’s not your place to tell me what to do.”

Seth hadn’t expected his mother to scold him like that, leaving him completely stunned.

Even Grady was taken aback. He felt that something about the Marcella before him was different.

But that feeling was quickly pushed aside, replaced by even greater dissatisfaction.

“Marcella! What’s wrong with you? Seth is just a kid!”

“So what? He’s not my son?”

With just one sentence, Marcella shut Grady up. Seth, too, widened his eyes and stared at her in shock.

Before Grady could respond, Marcella took a step forward.

With a bang, she shut the bedroom door, locking all three of them outside.

Through the door, she could still hear Seth’s choked and tearful voice.

“Aunt Zeth, when can you stay here forever and be my mom?”

‘Oh, perfect! I don’t want to be your mom anymore either!’

Marcella thought bitterly, but as she turned her head, her eyes caught sight of a few strands of red hair on her pillow.

The same color as Zeth’s.

Marcella’s gaze drifted to the messy bed sheets and the trash bin, where used tissues wrapped around discarded condoms lay in plain sight.

It was then that she collapsed onto the bed, drained of all strength.

The moment the memories of last night flooded her mind, her stomach lurched.

She barely had time to react before she threw up all over the floor.

‘So it’s not just Grady who’s been lying to me, huh?! Even my own son knows everything but plays dumb to deceive me!’

Hearing the sound, Grady hurried in, his face filled with concern that didn’t seem fake.

But as soon as his hand reached out to her, Marcella flinched away.

“You’re like this, and you’re still being stubborn…”

Grady trailed off, momentarily stunned when he met Marcella’s icy gaze.

He had never seen her like this before.

For the first time, a strange sense of panic crept into his heart.

Before he could think any further, the sound of shattering glass echoed from the living room.

Seth rushed into the bedroom, his brows tightly furrowed.

Grabbing his father’s hand, the boy tugged anxiously.

“Dad, Aunt Zeth burned her hand! Come and check on her!”

From beginning to end, Seth never once checked on his mother.

He even covered his nose in disgust as he stood near Marcella.

“I’m going to check on Zeth first. You take a moment to drink some water and calm down.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Grady threw the bottle of water from the table at Marcella.

Even when the bottle hit her forehead, he only spared it a glance before heading straight for the door, his pace completely unaffected.

Marcella couldn’t help but find it ironic.

She had no choice but to steady herself against the bed, get up, and head to the bathroom to freshen up.

When she came out, she saw Grady carefully applying ointment to Zeth’s hand.

Standing beside him, Seth was blowing on Zeth’s hand with a distressed expression, glancing at her face every so often as if afraid his father might be hurting her.

From a distance, Marcella noticed the burn on Zeth’s hand.

It was nothing but a few faint red spots—give it a little time, and the redness would probably fade.

As soon as Marcella stepped out, Seth immediately raised his hands in front of Zeth as if shielding her from harm.

As ir Marcella was some kind of threat.

“Sorry, Marcella, he’s just a kid. Please don’t take it to heart,” Zeth said with a gentle smile.

She reached out and patted Seth’s head, a fleeting glint of satisfaction flashing through her eyes.

It was as if to say, “See? So what if you carried him for 10 months and raised him for five years? In the end, it’s me he wants to protect.”

Grady glanced at Marcella briefly, his brows furrowed.

Then, siding with Zeth and Seth, he said, “Seth was scared by you just now. Don’t hold it against him.”

At that, Seth let out a huff and turned to bury himself in Zeth’s arms.

But within seconds, he lifted his head again.

“Aunt Zeth got burned, Mom. Hurry up! Make us breakfast! Aunt Zeth wants mac and cheese, and Dad and I want—”

Before the boy could finish, Marcella cut him off. “Then make it yourself. Don’t you have hands?”

Five years of devoted care had only earned her disdain and rejection.

This time, she had no intention of giving another ounce of herself to her husband and her son.

Hearing this, Grady frowned, looking at Marcella in confusion.

To him, household chores had always been her responsibility.

Making breakfast was just expected.

Sensing his gaze, Marcella turned to him, her expression unreadable.

It was as if… she were looking at a stranger.

The realization made Grady’s hand tremble slightly as he applied the ointment.

A strange unease settled in his chest, an involuntary urge rising within him to get up and go to her.

Even the slightest movement did not escape Zeth’s notice.

She immediately spoke in a pitiful voice, “It’s nothing, just a little burn. I can make my own food. Seth, Dee, don’t blame Marcella. She probably just isn’t feeling well after throwing up earlier.”

The moment the words left her lips, nausea surged in Marcella’s stomach once again.

She almost wanted to peel off Zeth’s face and see what was really hiding underneath.

Just then, Marcella’s phone rang.

An unfamiliar number was calling.

“Hi, Mrs. Walquist. For ID verification, may we request your household registration book? In addition to that, since you are married and have a child, we also require your marriage certificate.

“We will come to pick you up in a week. Please make the necessary arrangements to say goodbye to your family.”

Upon hearing this, Marcella looked toward her husband and their son.

One on the left and one on the right—both standing beside Zeth… as if they were the real family.

“Thank you. I’ll have everything ready.”

Hanging up, Marcella didn’t spare the three another glance.

She turned and walked straight to the study.

Their marriage certificate was there.

There was a time when Marcella, like any newlywed, wanted to frame her marriage certificate.

But the moment Grady heard about it, his face twisted with distaste.

Right in front of her parents, he declared that if she dared to frame it, he’d tear it up on the spot.

Thinking back to that moment, Marcella shook her head, finding her past self almost laughable.

Now, the off-white marriage certificate just sat on the bookshelf.

When she opened it, her hand froze midair.

Her face in the wedding photo had been covered with a sticker—Zeth’s oversized headshot.

Next to it, in scribbled handwriting, were the words: [My dad and my mom]

The sun blazed outside, yet a cold chill crept up from the soles of her feet.

She had no idea what she’d done wrong. Why was Seth so desperate to make Zeth his new mother?

Marcella shut the marriage certificate and took a deep breath, eyes closed.

‘It’s fine, Marcella. It doesn’t matter anymore. None of it matters anymore.’

When she opened her eyes again, clarity had returned.

As she turned around, she saw Grady standing in the study, though she had no idea when he’d arrived.

“What are you looking for? On the phone just now, I heard someone say they were coming to pick you up. Where are you going?”

His gaze landed on the marriage certificate and household registration book, suspicion written all over his face.

She couldn’t let him find out—so she lied.

“I scheduled a check-up. The driver’s coming to get me.”

Grady stayed silent as if weighing the truth of her words.

Just as she was about to walk past him, he grabbed her wrist.

“I’ll go with you.”

“There’s no need. I can handle it myself.”

The moment she refused, Grady’s brows knitted together.

In their marriage, the mere mention of him accompanying her anywhere would have sent her over the moon. From the second he spoke, she would’ve been anticipating it eagerly.

But now, there wasn’t a trace of excitement on her face. She remained indifferent.

Sensing her rejection, Grady tightened his grip.

“What’s really wrong with you? All I did was let Zeth use the bathroom! Is that really such a big deal?”

Marcella turned to glare at him, her eyes cold.

“Just the bathroom?”

The sudden confrontation stunned him.

Something flickered in his gaze—guilt.

For the first time, he avoided looking at her.

“This is ridiculous! I try to be nice, and you act like I’ve done something terrible! Fine, if you’re so eager to go to the hospital without me, suit yourself!”

Grady suddenly yanked his hand away, spitting out the words like she was the one being unreasonable.

Marcella let out a mocking laugh. ‘He’s guilty, all right.’

Not long after she handed her documents to the staff, she received a message.

[Miss Westerman, your marriage has been officially dissolved. To ensure your child’s safety, his status will be updated to adoption.]

The moment she read it, a weight lifted from her chest.

She no longer had to live under the fear of Grady leaving her.

This time, she was the one who left him.

Just as she put her phone away, it rang again.

It was Grady’s mother.

“Come to the family estate.”

That was all she said before hanging up.

She didn’t even give Marcella a chance to refuse.

His family had always been like this—looking down on her.

Yet Grady was the one who insisted on marrying her in the first place.

Later, right as Marcella reached the family estate, a woman’s playful laughter rang out from inside.