Vince's angry call caught me sorting through paperwork for Elise's school transfer.

Having decided on divorce, I planned to leave town. I'd already discussed the school change with Elise, wanting him to adjust early.


"Why are you transferring Elise? Don't you know this is the best school in the city? People would kill for a spot there!"

Vince's voice crackled with impatience and anger.

"Is it because I transferred Danny to Elise's class?"


"What kind of mother doesn't consider her own son's best interests?"

"With Danny and Elise together, they can look after each other!"


So that's what he'd done. But that wasn't why I was transferring Elise.

"Danny's stomach still hurts, and it's too much for Sansa alone. I'm staying to help, so I won't be home tonight."

Vince rambled on while I listened patiently. When he finished, I replied with a single word.

"Okay."

My composure caught him off guard. His voice wavered with uncertainty.

"Honey, I..."

"If that's all, I'm hanging up."

I ended the call without waiting for his response.

After finishing with the paperwork, I scrolled through my phone. Sansa had just posted on social media—a photo of the three of them in a hospital hallway. Vince held Danny, who was hooked to an IV, while Sansa rested her head on Vince's shoulder. The caption read: "When a child is sick, the whole family worries. Thankfully, we have you."

I deliberately liked the post. She deleted it immediately. How predictable.

Sansa's message arrived seconds later.

"I'm sorry, Rosa~ Vince won't be home tonight. Danny is sick and needs him. He's so worried about Danny."

"You're so much stronger than me. You take such good care of Elise, while I'm just a helpless woman who causes trouble for Vince."

"But don't worry about him—I'll take good care of him too."

She can't care for her own son but can care for someone else's husband? What a manipulative woman. For two years, Sansa has been "accidentally" posting updates visible only to me, marking her territory.

"Thanks for caring for my husband. You're quite the accomplished widow. Your husband must be so proud, watching from beyond."

I blocked her immediately after sending my reply.

When her husband first died, seeing her as a widow with a young child, I'd encouraged Vince to help them. I never imagined he'd gradually shift from helping to replacing her husband.

Vince called shortly after.

"Rosa! What the hell are you doing? Sansa was being kind and apologetic, and you insulted her!"

"Stop bullying her! Do you have any conscience at all?"

Vince shouted while Sansa sobbed quietly in the background.

"You've gone too far!" He hung up.

Going too far? Who's really crossing lines here? He neglects his own child to care for another woman and her son, yet I'm the one going too far?

Just then, Luca sent me a message.

He explained that since Elise was eight, he could choose his custodian, so I'd definitely get custody. But without proof of Vince's affair, our property would be split equally.

With nothing left to bind us, I began organizing our new life.

I looked around the home we'd built together, every corner filled with memories.

While packing Elise's toys, I spotted a toy excavator.

Elise had desperately wanted it for Children's Day, but Vince had said he'd buy it when our son was older.

Yet in Sansa's social media post, Danny held that exact toy. Her caption read: "Thanks to a certain special man for buying this Children's Day gift for his son."

She'd even added a winking emoji.

It wasn't that he wouldn't buy it—he just wouldn't buy it for his own son.

I'd confronted Vince hysterically with her post. The next day, he brought an identical toy for Elise.

"If someone else has something, you want it too! How shallow!"

Even after buying it, he mocked our son. The toy was never played with again.

While cleaning the bedroom, I found our family portrait on the dresser, taken when Elise was three.

Back then, Elise had been upset about not being in our wedding photos. Vince had picked him up, apologized cheerfully, and taken us for a family portrait the very next day.

Now the frame was covered in dust.

My tears fell onto the glass, creating faint streaks.

Vince called at that exact moment.

"Rosa! Do you know Sansa just took half a bottle of sleeping pills because she felt so guilty about you? She's getting her stomach pumped right now!"

"If something happens to her, how will you explain it to Danny? You've turned completely heartless!"

"I could strangle you right now."

I could practically see the veins bulging on his forehead.

I stared at the family photo. The man smiling adoringly in the picture—who once loved me and our son above all else, who used to proudly say his wife came first—was now berating me for another woman's sake.

"Feel free to come strangle me."

I hung up and tossed both the excavator and the family photo into the trash.