Aurelia cried out in pain.

It was freshly boiled water. I handed it to her without pause, never thinking she would let go at that moment.

But in Aiden’s eyes, there was only one meaning.

It was I who, on purpose, spilled the boiling water on Aurelia.

“Are you alright? Where are you burned? Let me see!”

Aiden suddenly jumped up, rushing over in a panic.

He moved too fast; he didn’t even look at me, pushing me aside with force.

I stumbled backward, my lower back hitting hard against the sharp edge of the shelf. The severe pain made my eyes fill with tears and I almost fell.

“Aunt Aurelia, are you alright?”

Isaiah, forgetting his earlier complaints, leaned in, his eyes red, carefully checking her legs.

Then, he lifted his head and looked at me with a scared look.

At that moment, the tight string in my heart for so long finally broke. From the moment Aurelia stepped into this house, my nerves had been tied tight; I had barely kept myself steady.

But when I saw my son look at me with that look, I couldn’t keep going anymore.

Six years of time and care.

A bond of blood that should not break.

In the end, it still couldn’t win over someone he had known only a short while.

Maybe Isaiah was not only like Aiden in how he acted.

Even the person he chose to care for was the same.

The sharp pain in my lower back was a clear reminder.

Aiden did not care about me, did not think about me and had never loved me.

“I’m fine, ouch…” Aurelia said, her voice shaking as she tried to hold back the pain.

“Don’t push yourself, come on, I’ll take you to the hospital.” Aiden made the choice right away.

“Dad, don’t leave me here alone, I’m scared…” Isaiah grabbed his shirt, his voice shaking with tears.

In that moment, my ears buzzed and the room seemed to go quiet.

Scared? Was he scared of me?

But I clearly did nothing.

I did not spill that water on purpose.

Aurelia let it go herself.

“Lyra, you really are something, scaring the kid like this.”

Aiden coldly said these words.

As he helped Aurelia past me, he simply pulled Isaiah along.

“Isaiah, let’s go.”

I reached out on instinct and held him, my throat tight, my lips shaking a little, wanting to speak.

“It wasn’t me…”

But before I could finish, Aiden interrupted me impatiently.

“I saw it with my own eyes, Lyra, what are you trying to deny?”

He stared at me, his eyes cold and full of disgust.

“Seven years, I thought you had changed a little, but you’re still the same, your head full of dirty tricks.”

“Lyra, you make me sick.”

The door slammed shut and the room went quiet at once.

That quiet was so heavy it almost took my breath. I walked into the storage room, picked up a broom and carefully cleaned the broken glass on the floor, piece by piece. Then I switched to a mop and slowly wiped the spilled water.

During the whole time, my movements were hard but calm.

It was like I was finishing a task I had done many times before.

Only my body moved; my heart had already turned numb.

Aiden and Isaiah didn’t come back until late at night.

I remembered the next morning’s plans very clearly.

Aiden had to attend the company’s usual meeting with the shareholders.

Isaiah had to go to kindergarten.

I always remembered these things better than anyone else.

All along, reminding them of times, looking after their daily needs, nothing was ever handled by them.

Like an assistant, like a nanny.

After waiting a long time, I finally called Aiden’s number.

I wanted to remind him that my father-in-law would join the shareholders’ meeting the next day and to ask him to dress the right way.

I also wanted to remind him that the nights were getting colder and to make sure Isaiah didn’t get sick.

But the call was cut off after only two rings.

“Hello, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable.” The cold voice startled me.

I called again.

It rang for a few seconds, but still no answer.

I called a third time, but there wasn’t even a waiting ring.

“Hello, the number you dialed is currently unavailable.”

I suddenly smiled.

But the smile didn’t reach my eyes.

I had thought that before leaving, I could at least say goodbye with some pride.

After seven years of marriage, I had tried my best to keep this marriage, this home.

Now, it was time to let go.

That night, Aiden and Isaiah never came back.

The next morning, I was woken by loud knocking at the door.

I thought Aiden had forgotten his keys.

But standing outside was my father-in-law, Rocco Turner.

“What time is it? You look like you just got up.”

His tone was unhappy as he walked into the house.

“Where’s Aiden? Didn’t I tell him ahead of time that he had to attend today’s meeting? I couldn’t reach him on the phone either. What happened?”

Rocco’s voice was loud and clear, his criticism ringing in the living room.

I pushed my messy hair aside; my throat felt tight and my voice was a bit rough.

“Aiden isn’t home.”

“Where did he run off to again? Where’s Isaiah?”

He looked at me, his brows pulling in even tighter.

“Shouldn’t you be taking the kids to kindergarten at this time?”

His look was filled with dislike.

Back then, when Aiden and I got married, it was Rocco who agreed.

What he cared about was always the face of the Turner Family. As for me, in his eyes, I was only someone who barely fit that name.

I had always known how Rocco looked at me.

I still spoke, trying to explain, “Aiden and Isaiah went to the hospital last night…”

Before I could finish, Rocco coldly asked, “Are they feeling sick? Why aren’t you at the hospital with them? What are you doing at home?”

My throat tightened, dry to the point of pain and my head pounded; I must have had a fever.

But right now, I couldn’t worry about any of that.

“No,” I said softly, “Aiden’s friend got burned last night and he took Isaiah to the hospital. He didn’t come back all night.”

Rocco’s look eased a little after hearing that.

“Which hospital? Take me there.”

I didn’t really know which one it was, but I had a rough idea.

There was a hospital close to our neighborhood where Aiden had a good friend, Kylee Johnson, who worked.

I went with Rocco to Kylee’s office. When we knocked and stepped in, we saw Isaiah fast asleep on a small bed, only a thin jacket loosely covering him.

Kylee’s look turned dark the moment she saw me.

But as soon as she saw Rocco, her face quickly brightened with a smile.

“Rocco, what brings you here?”

“Where’s Aiden?” Rocco asked, frowning, his tone cold.

“He’s in the room with a friend. I’ll take you over.”

As she walked past me, Kylee shot me a hard look, her eyes full of blame, as if I was the one who brought Rocco.

But I had no time to care about her mood.

Right then, my chest was in a mess.

I wanted to take Isaiah home, wash him, change his clothes and make him a hot breakfast.

But the lack of trust, even fear, in his eyes last night was still clearly stuck in my mind.

Never mind.

Even if I tried my hardest, my child might not want it.

I lowered my eyes, moved my sight away from Isaiah and walked out with Rocco.

Aiden had arranged a fancy hospital room for Aurelia.

Aurelia lay on the bed and Aiden slept beside her.

He only woke up in a dazed state when Rocco walked over, rubbing his eyes.

“Dad? Why are you here?”

“Do you know what day it is today?” Rocco’s voice turned hard. “Did you completely forget what I told you before?”

He started yelling at Aiden without giving him a chance to answer.

“Uncle Rocco, Aiden was just doing this to look after me…” Aurelia spoke softly, trying to calm things down.

Rocco shot her a cold look. “Be quiet.”

“Dad, why are you yelling at her?” Aiden stood in front of her right away. “This has nothing to do with her. I was the one who said we should come here. If Lyra hadn’t thrown hot water at her and burned her, would I have stayed up all night?”

The moment he finished, everyone’s eyes landed on me.

I shook my head, my voice light. “I didn’t do it.”

Aiden smirked, his tone sounding rude. “Still trying to deny it. I don’t care enough to argue with you.”

Rocco kept one hand behind his back and pointed at Aiden with the other, continuing to blame him for a while.

Only after Aiden lowered his head to apologize and kept saying it wouldn't happen again did Rocco turn around and leave.

Aiden and I walked him down together, watching the car drive off.

Then only the two of us were left.

Aiden yawned, looking worn out.

I had barely gotten any sleep last night and now I felt drained and tired, wanting nothing more than to go back and rest.

But before I could finish letting out my frustration, he stopped walking and stood in front of me, his tone cold.

“Congrats, you’ve gotten your plan to scheme again.”

“You hurt Aurelia and got me harshly yelled at by my father, Lyra. Are you feeling proud now?”

He stared straight at me, his look clearly warning me.

“I might overlook it this time, but there will not be another time. If I find out you’re plotting again, you’re leaving.”

He said this while wearing only a short-sleeved cardigan.

On his thin, pale wrist, he still wore the watch I had given him many years ago.

That watch was the only thing my father, whom I had never met, had left for me.

I had always kept it close as a sign of our love and also as a wedding gift, giving it to Aiden with a serious heart.

A thought crossed my mind. I didn’t answer his blame, but calmly asked, “Can you give me back this watch?”

Aiden froze for a moment, a quick mix of surprise and awkwardness passing over his face before anger rushed in.

“What? Is this cheap watch yours?”

His tone held clear anger, then he laughed coldly.

“You should’ve said it sooner! If I’d known it was from you, I would never have worn it.”

While saying this, he reached for the clasp.

I knew he honestly didn’t remember where the watch came from.

Aiden owned far too many watches; he even had a whole room just for storing them and the straps. This watch had been left in a drawer, collecting dust for a long time. Today, he likely just grabbed it because the style went with what he was wearing.

Since I had chosen to cut ties, I wanted it clean.

I wanted what belonged to me.

Whether it was a relationship or an item.

To him, it wasn’t worth anything and he had never cared about it.

But for me, it held deep meaning.