Since he refused to bring it up, I decided to confront it myself. I wasn’t about to pretend nothing had happened. “Have you drafted the divorce agreement yet?”
Silas’s expression darkened instantly. “Are you really that eager to divorce me?”
Without hesitation, I nodded. “Yes.” All I wanted was for Yael to grow up healthy and happy, free from the shadow of Silas’s dominance.
!
Silas paced the room, as though weighing his next words. “I’ve been busy these past weeks. There’s a project at the company that needed my attention.”
I didn’t understand why he was telling me this.
“I reviewed the surveillance footage from that day. It turns out I misunderstood Yael. Yuna slipped into the pond on her own when she tried to grab some fish food from him. I was too anxious at the time.”
“And yet, you blindly believed every word Yuna said?”
“She must’ve been scared and didn’t know how to react,” Silas tried to justify.
1/2
Chapter 7
“And what about her claim that Yael bullied her at school? Was that true too?”
Silas fell silent, unable to answer.
I turned to look at Yael, who was quietly playing with his toys nearby. “You owe Yael an apology.”
Silas walked over to Yael and crouched down. “Yael.”
+25 BONUS
Immediately, Yael put down his toy and retreated behind me. It was clear that he was afraid of
Silas.
For a moment, a flicker of regret crossed Silas’s face, as if Yael’s reaction had cut him deeply. “Yael, would you like to go to the amusement park?”
Yael’s eyes lit up instantly. Going to the amusement park with his father had always been his dream, Every year on his birthday, he wished for a day at the amusement park with both his parents.
Unfortunately, Silas never brought him. In fact, he often scolded Yael for wanting to play, insisting that as a Gardner, he shouldn’t waste time on such frivolous things.
This was the first time Silas had voluntarily offered to take him. Naturally, Yael looked up at me, his eyes brimming with,hope.
I felt a swirl of emotions–bitterness, relief, and guilt. I didn’t want to stand in the way of Yael’s relationship with his father. Right now, he needed Silas’s presence, so I gave a small
nod.
Yael turned to Silas and said softly, “Yes, please.”
“How about this Saturday? I’ll take both of you to the amusement park. Sound good?”
Finally, Yael’s face lit up with a smile for Silas. “Okay.”
