The second time I brought up the divorce was three years ago. That very night, Terrence went back to Fulton Manor.

After that, I only got to see my child once a week.

Over the seven years we were together, Terrence had learned exactly where my weak points were. He made it so that I could not leave.

This was my third attempt at getting a divorce.

Maybe out of sympathy, the lawyer, Mr. Lansing, agreed to take my case.

When he took the marriage certificate from me, his eyes widened dramatically.

“Ms. Mercer, this marriage certificate is fake! You and Mr. Fulton are not legally married.”

“What?” I was so shocked that I jumped up from my seat. I thought that I had heard wrong.

“How can the marriage certificate be fake? Please look again carefully.”

Mr. Lansing looked at the certificate properly.

“I’m very sorry, Ms. Mercer. This marriage certificate is truly fake.”

I burst out laughing. I laughed until tears streamed down my face.

Seven years! That was 2,555 days!

In all that time, I asked myself every day why I had ever trusted Terrence. Why had I agreed to marry him?

Marrying into the Fulton family had been like serving myself up on a platter to a heartless monster.

It had taken me seven years to fully see the truth and six of those years to gather the courage to seek a divorce.

But the lawyer was telling me that Terrence and I had never really been married at all.

It was no wonder that the members of the Fulton family called me a tramp. This was why they slandered me.

I was really no different from the other women in Terrence’s life.

I wiped away my tears and thanked Mr. Lansing for his kindness.

Since we were not married, it would be much simpler to leave Terrence.

Only, I could not quite let go of Nate.

Nate was my son. He would be five years old this year.

Giving birth to him had been difficult, and I had lost a lot of blood. I had nearly died on the surgery table.

I remembered hearing the doctor ask Terrence, in my semiconscious state, whether they should prioritize saving the baby or me if it came down to it.

Terrence did not even hesitate to respond.

“The baby.”

His cold words had ripped me out of the haze. I kept telling myself that I could not die. Nate could not survive without his mother.

It was this thought that had dragged me from the edge of death.

Nate was the only reason that I still had the will to live.

Yet, two days after giving birth, Terrence’s mother, Georgia, forcefully took him away.

She said, “It’s for his own good that the baby won’t be raised by you, Kendra. Don’t forget, you’re just a tramp who crawled out from an alley. If he stays with you, he’ll just be mistreated, just like you.”

Even if it was humiliating, I bore the brunt of their mockery just so Nate could have a better life.

I woke from my nightmares countless times, clutching the clothes and toys I had prepared for my son. I sobbed till my eyes were swollen.

My crying occasionally woke Terrence up. When that happened, he would show me a video clip of Nate.

I had survived on those videos for three years!

When I had asked for a divorce again, Georgia finally allowed me to see Nate once a week.

Today was one of those days.

When I got to Fulton Manor, it was very quiet.

I stood at the door and shouted for ten minutes or so, but no one came to the door.

That was right. I had been Mrs. Fulton for seven years, but I still did not have the right to go in and out of Fulton Manor as I pleased.

One of the servants passing by could not bear to watch any longer and told me that Terrence had taken Nate away early that morning.

I let out a bitter laugh. I knew that this was Terrence’s punishment.

Every time this happened, I was forced to give in. I traded my dignity for the right to see my son.

I took a deep breath.

For Nate, I had to call Terrence.

“Hello? Mommy!” came a familiar child’s voice. It was Nate.

Instantly, tears pricked my eyes, and I could feel my heart melt.

It was my son.

“When are you getting home, Nate? I miss you.”

There was some noise in the background. It sounded like they were at an amusement park.

Even through the noise, I could hear Nate’s voice.

“I don’t want to see you, Mommy.”

My heart sank in an instant. I asked in disbelief, “What did you say, Nate?”

Nate’s voice was clear as his words shattered me. “I said I don’t want to see you!”

I could not help but clutch my phone tighter. I took a deep breath.

“I know you’re having a lot of fun right now. You can have your fun, but later, you should come and meet me, alright? I’ll always wait for you, no matter how long it takes.”

Nate did not hesitate, and his response was as cold and heartless as Terrence himself. “No! Daddy said you made him mad. You’re a bad mommy! I don’t want to see you anymore. Don’t come to find me anymore. I don’t like you, Mommy!”

The line went dead, and so did my heart.

It seemed that Nate was just like Terrence. He did not love me at all.

That was fine. I could finally leave without feeling like I had left something behind.

Back at the hotel, I reserved a plane ticket to my hometown.

Before I went to sleep, I looked through Terrence’s social media.

There was a photo of three people at the amusement park. The young woman, who had been at Colette’s wedding, was in the picture, as though she were already Nate’s mother.

Nate was leaning affectionately into Terrence’s embrace. He was sharing a Neapolitan ice cream with the other woman.

The caption read, [My son wants a new mommy.]

There were no likes on the post. From that, I understood that Terrence had posted it for my eyes alone. I was the only one who could see it.

Every time we argued, he would post something like this, and they were always about Nate.

He was warning me. He was telling me to give in for the good of my son.

Every time, I did as he wished. I would put aside my dignity and allow him to debase me.

Thinking about how I had risked my life to give birth to Nate, I realized that was when Terrence had truly gotten his claws into me.

Unfortunately for him, I would not fall for that trick again.

I hit like on the post before putting my phone down to go to sleep.

In the middle of the night, I was woken by Terrence’s phone call.

“What kind of mother are you, Kendra? Do you know how long Nate was waiting for you? He’s still crying!”

I rubbed my eyes and said sleepily, “Oh? Please apologize to him on my behalf.”

Terrence was quiet for two seconds before he let out a laugh. “Do you think I won’t stop you from seeing Nate again, Kendra?”

I could hear the threat in his voice.

But I was no longer the same woman. I was no longer the woman who gave in every time because of her son.

“Oh, I know you definitely will,” I said softly as I looked at the ceiling.

Terrence swallowed. He asked in disbelief, “What did you say?”

I sat up. My hair rustled over the hotel’s sheets.

“You’re Nate’s father. You can do anything you want.”

Through the line, I could hear the sound of ceramic breaking.

“This is your last chance, Kendra. Take your words back. If you don’t, I’ll take Nate overseas tomorrow. Don’t even think about seeing him again.”

I put the phone on speaker and navigated to my gallery.

There were 213 videos and more than 1,000 pictures.

I had looked at them countless times before.

I took a deep breath and deleted everything. Suddenly, I could not wait for tomorrow to come.

“We were never married. Is that correct, Terrence?”

On the other end of the line, Terrence went quiet.

I looked down and continued indifferently, “Since we were never married, there’s no need to get a divorce. Let’s break up.”

I hung up.

The next second, there was a loud knock at my door.