After I rejected Daniel Sterling’s divorce proposal for the third time, I did something incredibly stupid. I compiled all his SnapChat messages with his assistant, along with their hotel records, into a devastating PowerPoint presentation and posted it online. I even added all the pain, betrayal, and heartbreak I’d endured during our five-year marriage as an accusation. Just when I thought I’d finally get the sweet taste of revenge, the police showed up. That’s when I found out Daniel had reported me for invasion of privacy. And just like that, I was sentenced to the darkest five days of my life. On the third day in jail, He brought me Leo’s latest award-winning essay to read. The title was: “My Psycho Mom.” In that moment, the firm resolve in my heart shattered into a million pieces. Seeing the contempt in his eyes, I stopped fighting. My voice hoarse, I said: “Daniel, I agree to the divorce.” “Ava Thompson, you can ask for anything you want, except for Leo’s custody.” He finally got the answer he wanted. Daniel no longer acted like a man on the verge of losing it. For once, he actually looked at me with something other than anger. I felt nothing anymore. No more arguments. Just calmly stated what I wanted. “I want a million dollars.” Daniel’s face flashed with surprise. He’d probably thought I wouldn’t give up custody so easily, that I’d keep fighting him. He’d even prepared himself for how to deal with me if I tried to fight for Leo. But I was completely different from what he’d imagined. “Only a million?” He couldn’t believe it, questioning me again, “If you take this million dollars, Leo will have nothing to do with you ever again.” Facing his challenge, I calmly nodded. Daniel seemed about to say something. His mouth moved, but he didn’t continue. “Fine. We’ll go register the divorce as soon as you get out. Ava, you better not be playing games with me.” He dropped a warning, then turned and left. But after he was gone, My mom, Eleanor Thompson, who’d been living abroad and I hadn’t seen in five years, showed up with a lawyer. Soon after, she easily bailed me out. Walking out of the police station, she casually pulled a lady’s cigarette from her pocket. She lit it with a flick of her lighter. As she slowly exhaled a plume of smoke, She turned to face me, utterly exhausted. “So, are you ready to come with me now?” I’d lived for twenty-seven years. She’d asked me that question twice. The first time was when she divorced my cheating father. She asked for nothing, only wanting to take me with her. But everyone around me told me that six-year-old me would be a burden if I went with her, a woman with no money. So I didn’t follow my heart. I chose to stay with my father. When she got her answer, she didn’t force it, leaving with a resolute determination. But sometimes, I harbored a bit of resentment towards her. Resented her for heartlessly abandoning me, abandoning our home. So when I married Daniel, She came to the wedding and told me: “Ava, learn to love yourself before you love anyone else. Don’t put all your energy into others; be good to yourself.” Back then, I was incredibly naive. I thought Daniel and I had a solid ten-year relationship. He would love me consistently, just as he loved himself. With a defiant spirit, I retorted, “Do you think everyone is as selfish as you? Only thinking about how to make others love you, but never thinking about how to make yourself worthy of love.” She wasn’t angry about what I said. She just looked at me with a strange smile. Only now do I understand. Back then, I was truly foolishly naive. My throat was dry, like it was lined with razor blades. Every word I spoke was agony. Hoarsely, I replied to her, “After the divorce is finalized, I’ll go with you.”
I stayed at my mom’s hotel for one night. The next day, I put on the new clothes she’d bought me. Then I went back to the house I’d lived in for six years. When I returned, Leo, who was playing with his toys in the living room, saw me. Surprise and annoyance flashed in his eyes. He muttered softly, “Didn’t she say she’d be in there for five days? How is she back after only three?” At that moment, Daniel also came downstairs. Seeing me, surprise also flickered across his face. It was as if he hadn’t expected me to be out so quickly. But he quickly composed himself. He said calmly, “You’re back, so go wash up and rest. Don’t cause any more trouble.” I shook my head. “No need. We’re going to the registrar’s office to file for divorce now.” Hearing this, Leo’s face changed drastically. He quickly ran behind Daniel, shouting at me, “If you’re leaving, just leave! Don’t even think about taking me. I’m not going anywhere with you!” Looking at his angry face, filled with rejection towards me, I silently pulled at the corner of my mouth. Yesterday, when Daniel left, he’d left Leo’s essay. That essay. I had read it over and over again. I clearly remembered him saying: “My mom is really like a psycho. My dad works so hard, but she always argues with him, throwing things around the house like a lunatic and hitting my dad. If I could, I really wish this crazy woman wasn’t my mom.” Daniel first brought up divorce when I discovered he was cheating. I calmly took photos of the SnapChat messages and hotel records I saw on his phone. When he came home, I went through the evidence I’d captured, one by one, right in front of him. I clenched my fists, suppressing all my anger. Silently, I waited for his remorse, waiting to see him on his knees, apologizing. During that wait, I imagined all the ways he’d cry and beg for forgiveness. But he didn’t. He just looked at me calmly. There wasn’t a hint of guilt in his eyes. Instead, there was a brazen defiance, now that he’d been caught. He told me, “Ava, either delete those photos and quietly be Mrs. Sterling, or we get a divorce.” Before this, I had naively thought that if he just apologized, I could try to forgive him this once. Because when a family breaks apart, the child suffers the most. I didn’t want my child to go down the same path as me. To force a five-year-old to make the cruel choice between living with his dad or his mom. But he didn’t apologize. His defiant attitude enraged me. In my grief and anger, I grabbed everything around me. And threw it at him, repeatedly. But when I heard the nanny and Leo talking, I desperately tried to control my breakdown. I didn’t want Leo to see the ugly scene between his parents. Only, my efforts to hide it failed. Leo saw me throwing things at Daniel like a psycho. But he didn’t hear Daniel’s words from before. Now, looking at the child who treated me like a lunatic, I once again accepted this sharp sword, born of my own flesh, piercing me. “Don’t worry, I don’t want you. After the divorce, I’ll be gone.” I was remarkably calm, my face devoid of any expression. Leo didn’t believe me. He looked up at Daniel. Daniel met his gaze. He said calmly, “Since that’s the case, we’ll go register the divorce tomorrow. I’ll have someone draft the parental rights termination agreement now; you sign it, and Leo will be at peace.” Leo’s eyes, which had just been filled with suspicion, lit up when he heard Daniel’s words. His face was filled with anticipation. I pursed my lips. And answered, “Okay.”
Daniel’s lawyer was incredibly efficient. In just two hours, The parental rights termination agreement was in my hands. I didn’t hesitate; I signed my name. The moment I signed, I distinctly heard a joyful sigh beside me. Leo happily took the agreement. He laughed, “I finally don’t have a psycho mom! No one at school can make fun of me anymore!” Facing my stunned gaze, Daniel, standing beside him, showed a hint of scorn in his eyes. “Someone took photos when you were taken away from home, and they were posted online. Because of you, Leo got a lot of cold looks at school.” His words carried undisguised blame. But he forgot. The cause of everything was him. I didn’t argue with him anymore. I went along with his narrative. Let him push all the blame onto me. But when I saw the disdain in his eyes, It reminded me of the second time he brought up divorce. Back then, I was so unwilling to accept it. I went crazy, running to his company. In front of all his employees, I furiously accused him and his assistant, Rachel Miller. He stood in the crowd, completely unaffected. He watched me perform like a clown with cold eyes. And I forgot. Those employees were paid by him. They wouldn’t casually judge their boss’s private life. And they certainly wouldn’t lose their jobs for someone unrelated. Everyone watched me as if I were a joke. Their curious stares made it impossible for me to escape. I instinctively wanted to run. But then I heard someone in the crowd say: “She might be pretty, but her temperament really can’t compare to Assistant Miller. If I were the boss, I wouldn’t pick this ugly woman either.” “Right? There are plenty of cheating men in this world, especially the rich ones. Why is she so stupid? Can’t she just turn a blind eye?” “If I were her, I wouldn’t make a scene at all. Couldn’t she just take the money and live a good life at home? Why make a fuss like a psycho and become a laughingstock?” I stood amidst the crowd, Listening to the whispers around me. I suddenly remembered the year Daniel started his business. To help him secure a deal with a client, I drank myself sick, ending up with stomach ulcers in the hospital. It was Daniel Sterling who sat by my hospital bed, Holding my hand tightly, crying and choking out: “Ava, I swear I’ll never let you down in this life. I’ll give you a home and make you the Mrs. Sterling everyone envies.” I opened my mouth, wanting to retort, to tell them. It was Daniel who promised me a future. It was he who said we’d love each other until we were old. I hadn’t had a chance to speak yet. Rachel Miller came running, crying. She fell to her knees in front of me with a thud. Bowing her head, she sobbed, “Mrs. Sterling, I never intended to come between you and Mr. Sterling. If you don’t like me, I can resign immediately and never see Mr. Sterling again. But I beg you, please don’t make a scene here. If you keep this up, how will Mr. Sterling face his employees?” She acted like a devoted wife, solely concerned for Daniel’s well-being. With one sentence, she branded me an unreasonable lunatic. Daniel looked at her tear-streaked face. He tenderly walked over and helped her up. He angrily snapped, “Enough! Ava, we’re getting a divorce! I don’t want to spend another day with you! I’m sick of this suffocating life!” Leo’s essay also recorded that day. Only then did I realize that the day I went to his company to cause a scene, Leo had skipped his after-school activity to go play with Rachel at the office. And in his essay, he wrote: “My mom isn’t just a psycho, she also embarrasses me so much. I don’t understand why I have a mom like this. If Aunt Rachel were my mom, that would be so much better.”
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