Chapter 1
The next morning, the house was a frozen wasteland.
His attitude towards me was noticeably colder, his eyes holding an unspoken distance and a barely disguised disappointment.
On the wall hung our family portrait, the three of us. In the photo, my smile was radiant, nestled beside Julian, who held little Leo. The scene was as warm as a meticulously painted oil canvas.
Now, looking at it, all I felt was bitter irony.
I silently picked up the toys scattered on the carpet, Leo’s masterpiece from last night.
Just as I bent to grab a Transformer, Leo’s bedroom door opened.
“Mommy!” My five-year-old son, Leo, dashed out.
He ran up to me and delivered a blow that felt sharper than any knife:
“Mommy! Why can’t you have a baby sister anymore? Daddy says Aunt Scarlett would be better than you if she could have a baby!”
My brain exploded. Spots danced before my eyes, my ears rang, and I swayed, almost losing my balance.
Aunt Scarlett… Scarlett Davies…
He didn’t just feel sorry for Scarlett himself; he’d poisoned our innocent five-year-old son with such vicious, twisted ideas!
My face went ashen, my entire body shaking uncontrollably.
“Leo…” My voice was horribly hoarse, like an old bellows. “Who… who taught you to say that? Tell Mommy, who was it?”
Leo was startled by my pale face and trembling voice. His little lip trembled, and tears welled up, threatening to spill over.
“Leo!” Julian’s voice boomed from the study, laced with obvious impatience and a hint of… guilt?
He strode over quickly, yanked our son away from me, pulling him behind him as if shielding a precious treasure, cutting off my view of Leo.
He didn’t even spare me a glance, only addressed our son, but his words were clearly a “defense” aimed at me: “What does a child know? Don’t scare him!”
His eyes were cold as ice, his tone scathing: “It’s the truth, your body isn’t well, so why blame others for saying it? Leo just spoke the truth, why are you so upset?!”
He stood on a pedestal of moral superiority, mercilessly judging me.
In that moment, I clearly felt the chasm between me and my son being forcibly widened by the man I once loved so deeply.