"What did you just say?" Caden's face went even whiter than mine.

He stared at me as if I'd just suggested flying to the moon.

Even Felix, still sniffling in the corner, stopped and stared at us with wide eyes.

"I said, let's get a divorce," I said again, quietly but clearly.

"Since your son wants a new mom so badly, I'll make it happen. I'm done being the maid around here."

I turned to head back to the bedroom, but Caden grabbed my wrist.

"Beatrice!" Caden's voice carried a hint of panic. "Don't say things you don't mean. Felix doesn't understand what he's saying. I'll deal with him later. Don't take it personally!"

"I'm not saying things I don't mean."

I turned back to look at him. My gaze was calm, though my throat felt tight. "Caden, I'm tired. I'm really tired."

The past seven years hadn't exactly been easy.

At gatherings with friends, I watched the women who used to be my equals become leaders in their fields. They wore tailored suits and talked about their latest projects and stock portfolios, while I could only chime in with parenting tips.

I never told Caden how that felt.

When I woke up in the middle of the night to crying, fumbling in the dark to warm bottles and change diapers while he slept soundly beside me, I never told him about that exhaustion either.

When I deleted the coat I'd been eyeing in my shopping cart for weeks so I could afford to sign Felix up for more expensive enrichment classes, I never told him how that stung.

I thought this was just marriage, a life that I had chosen. But when everything I'd sacrificed got thrown back in my face by my own son, when he treated it like something shameful, that was when I realized all my effort had become a joke.

"Honey…"

Caden swallowed hard, and his eyes filled with anguish. "I'm sorry. This is my fault. I haven't paid enough attention to how you feel. We won't get divorced, okay? Give me a chance. Let me make this up to you."

"Daddy, is Mommy leaving us?"

Felix finally grasped how serious this was. He ran over crying and wrapped his arms around Caden's leg. "Then who's going to make me food…"

He hesitated, then said, "Ms. Sulvan?"

Caden's expression darkened instantly. Felix quickly ducked his head, realizing that was a stupid thing to say. His father clearly didn't like Ms. Sulvan.

Felix looked at me carefully. The disgust was gone from his eyes, replaced by fear.

I smiled bitterly. They should have been everything I was proud of. But right now, all I felt was how ridiculous it all was.

I didn't answer. I yanked my wrist free from Caden's grip, walked into the bedroom, and locked the door behind me.

Outside, Caden was yelling, and Felix was wailing.

"Felix! You just drove your mother away! I'm telling you right now, if this family loses her, you and I are done too!"

"Daddy, I was wrong. I'm sorry! I want Mommy back! I don't want Ms. Sulvan anymore."

"Now you know you were wrong? Too late!"

I leaned against the door, listening to the chaos outside. Finally, the tears came.

I didn't really want a divorce. I loved Caden, and I loved Felix too.

I just couldn't stand being looked down on anymore.

I needed a way out, a way to breathe. I needed to take a hard look at what these seven years had done to my life.

I stayed in the bedroom for a long time, until the noise outside finally died down.

Someone knocked softly on the door.

"Honey, can you open up? I made dinner—all your favorites."

Caden's voice came through the door, careful and pleading, but I ignored him.

"I made that little brat stand out on the balcony to think about what he did. He knows he messed up. He's crying and begging to apologize to you.

"Honey, please don't be mad anymore. You can hit me, yell at me, whatever you want. Just don't shut me out.

"Beatrice…"

His voice got quieter and quieter until I could barely hear the catch in his throat. Something squeezed in my chest. This man had been devoted to me since college, spoiling me rotten.

In seven years of marriage, we'd barely even argued. He took care of all the heavy lifting, made me tea when I had my period, and remembered every single one of our anniversaries.

He was a golden boy, a CEO who commanded respect at work, but he was willing to drop all of that for me. How could I actually leave him?

I wiped my tears and opened the door. Caden stood there with red-rimmed eyes. When he saw me, relief washed over his face, and he pulled me into a tight hug.

"You scared me to death." He buried his face in my shoulder, his voice muffled.

I patted his back and said quietly, "I'm hungry."

"Right, let's eat. Come on." He quickly led me to the dining room.

The table was covered with food, all my favorites, but Felix wasn't there. The offending earring was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Felix?" I asked.

"Still on the balcony." Caden ladled soup into my bowl. "Letting him think about it a bit longer."

I didn't say anything else and just ate quietly. The warmth spread through my stomach, and the ice around my heart seemed to thaw a little.

We ate the entire meal in unusual silence.

After dinner, Caden went to the balcony and hauled Felix back inside.

The kid had been out in the cold wind. His eyes were swollen and puffy from crying, his nose was red, and he looked utterly pitiful.

The moment he came in, he ran over and threw himself at my feet.

"Mommy, I was wrong!" He grabbed my legs and cried so hard he could barely breathe. "I shouldn't have said those things to you. Please don't leave me. Don't divorce Daddy!"

I looked down at him, feeling a mess of emotions. "Felix, tell me. What exactly did you do wrong?"

"I-I shouldn't have said you weren't pretty. I shouldn't have told you to get out of the house. I shouldn't have wanted Ms. Sulvan to be my mom…" he sobbed, his eyes darting around nervously.

Then he said in a squeaky, unconvincing voice, "Mommy, you're the prettiest. You're a hundred times prettier than Ms. Sulvan!"

When he hurt me, he really hurt me. And when he lied, it was just as obvious.

"Is that so?" I asked flatly. "But earlier you said your classmates all laughed at me for looking like a maid, didn't you?"

Felix's crying stopped short. His little face turned bright red.

Caden spoke up from the side, his voice low. "I already called Tommy's dad. Tomorrow I'm going to the school myself to have a chat with your homeroom teacher and those kids who've been running their mouths."

He put particular emphasis on "have a chat". I could just picture Caden's cold face looming over a bunch of six-year-olds.

Felix's face went from red to pale and back again. Finally, his pudgy little hands twisted together. "Daddy, do you have to go to school…"

Halfway through the sentence, Caden shot him a look. Felix ducked his head and went completely silent. Looking at their matching guilty expressions, I let out a long sigh.

"Felix." I pulled him up off the floor and looked him straight in the eye.

"I can let this go, and I won't get divorced. But you need to remember something—I do things for you because I love you. That doesn't mean you get to take it for granted or treat me like garbage."

I glanced around at our neat, well-kept home and said calmly, "Since you think the old me wasn't good enough, I'll change.

"From now on, you handle your own business. Dress yourself, pick up your own toys, and check your own homework. I'm not going to spend 24 hours a day revolving around you anymore."

Felix nodded, not quite understanding.

Caden came over and wrapped his arms around me from behind. He looked at Felix and said, "And if you ever make your mother upset again, it's the shoehorn. Got it?"

"Got it," Felix answered quietly.

The family storm triggered by a single earring seemed to settle down after that. The misunderstanding was cleared up, and Felix apologized.

Caden became even more attentive, practically glued to my side, terrified I'd actually pack up and leave one day.

But the hurt was still there. And my dear son clearly wasn't done either.

He just switched to a more roundabout strategy to continue his grand plan of getting a new mom.

The first weekend after the drama, I was still asleep when rustling sounds woke me up. I opened my eyes and saw Felix standing on his tiptoes by my vanity, acting suspicious.

"Felix, what are you doing?" I asked.

He jumped, startled, and whatever he was holding clattered to the floor.

I looked closer. It was the barely-used set of ridiculously expensive skincare products I owned.

"I… I wanted to make Mommy pretty," he said quietly, picking up the bottle.

For a second, I felt a rush of warmth. Had this kid actually turned over a new leaf?

I sat up and waved him over. "Come here."

He shuffled to the bedside.

"How do you want to make me pretty?" I asked gently.

"Ms. Sulvan says women have to take care of themselves, or they'll age fast," he recited seriously. "She says she uses toner, serum, lotion, cream, and eye cream every single day. Mommy, you should use them too."

As he spoke, he tried to smear the serum on my face.

I caught his hand, not sure whether to laugh or cry. "Alright, alright. I got it. Go wash up, and we'll take you out later."

That day, I did something unusual. I put on light makeup and changed into a dress I hadn't worn in ages.

When I walked out of the bedroom, Caden was reading the newspaper, and Felix was playing with Legos. They both froze like someone had hit pause and turned to stare at me.

Caden's eyes lit up with undisguised admiration. He set down the paper, walked over, and reached for my waist out of habit.

"Honey, you look beautiful today."

Felix ran over too, tilting his head up to look at me with bright, shining eyes. "Mommy, you look like a fairy today!"

My mood lifted. I smiled and pinched his cheek. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.

But I celebrated too soon.

The three of us went to an amusement park and wore ourselves out completely. By the time we got home that evening, Felix was already asleep in my arms.

Caden carried him to his room while I went to remove my makeup and wash up. When I came out of the bathroom in my familiar old cotton pajamas with a sheet mask on my face, Caden was leaning against the headboard, looking at his phone.

He glanced up at me and smiled. "You must be exhausted. Come rest."

I'd just climbed into bed when Caden's phone rang. It was a FaceTime call. He looked at the screen, his expression turning a bit odd, then declined the call.

"Who is it?" I asked casually.

"Nothing important. A work thing." He set his phone face down on the nightstand.

I didn't think much of it and pulled off my sheet mask, ready to sleep. Then the phone rang again. It was another video call.

Caden declined it again and put it on silent. My gut told me something wasn't right.

Before he could stop me, I grabbed his phone. By the time he tried to intervene, it was too late.

On the screen was a contact saved as "Felix's Teacher".

The messages that just came through read, "Mr. Lancaster, is Felix asleep yet? Some of the girls in our class said they miss him and want to video chat to say goodnight."

Below that was, "Mr. Lancaster, is now a good time?"

My anger flared instantly. I looked up at Caden coldly.

He immediately threw his hands up, looking completely innocent. "Honey, I swear, there's absolutely nothing between us. Felix gave her my number today!

"He said it was to make it easier to discuss his schoolwork. I didn't think anything of it and saved her number too. I haven't even talked to her!" He swore up and down.

I believed him, but I didn't believe Renee Sulvan.

What kind of teacher would video call a student's parent in the middle of the night? And with some bullshit excuse about "the girls miss him".

I opened Renee's profile. Her latest post was from half an hour ago. It was a carefully posed selfie with the caption, "Sleepless nights are perfect for missing someone."

The background showed a trendy, upscale bar. She had heavy makeup on and a hazy look in her eyes that came off seductive.

What made me even angrier was what I saw below the post. Caden's account had liked the post.

Caden went pale. He immediately tried to defend himself.

"What? Honey, I would never follow another woman's account! Let alone give her a like!"

His words trailed off as he froze, seeming to understand. Then, his gaze shifted toward the next room.