Chapter 3

Vivian showed up early the next morning, suitcase in hand, and knocked on my door.

Nathan wanted to get on the highway before the holiday traffic built up, so they'd decided to leave first thing in the morning.

When he saw Vivian standing outside with her luggage, he frowned with concern.

"Why didn't you wait for me at home? You shouldn't have to drag all that luggage around. You'll tire yourself out."

As he spoke, he took the large suitcase from her.

I watched from the doorway as they fussed over each other. Their little display didn't stir anything in me anymore.

My eyes drifted to the suitcase I'd packed the night before, and I remembered Nathan's words.

"Nora, there's no room in the trunk for all that luggage. Vivie has a suitcase, too. You'll have to take yours on the train."

I looked at their bags. They were nearly the same size.

Apparently, Vivian would be exhausted if she had to handle hers, but there was nothing wrong with me hauling mine onto a train.

The truth was suddenly obvious.

Nathan wasn't incapable of being considerate. He simply chose not to be considerate toward me.

I didn't argue.

After all, taking the train was exactly what I intended to do.

Maybe they were doing it on purpose. Vivian and Nathan stood there chatting happily for quite some time before they finally noticed me behind them.

Vivian turned to me at once, arranging her face into an apologetic expression.

"This is all my fault, Nora. If I hadn't come along, you wouldn't have to take the train."

She sounded sincere enough, but there wasn't a trace of real regret in her voice. It felt more like she wanted me to see how much Nathan cared about her.

I lifted an eyebrow. "If you really feel bad, why don't you buy yourself a train ticket right now?"

Vivian clearly hadn't expected me to call her bluff. She stood there, stunned, looking wounded and helpless.

Nathan immediately stepped in front of her as if he needed to protect her from me.

"We already settled this, Nora. Why are you going back on your word now?"

From behind him, Vivian spoke in a soft, demure voice.

"It really is my fault, Nora. I've always been in poor health, and I can't stand being in enclosed spaces for too long."

"Please don't blame Nathan. He's only worried about me, so he thought it would be better for you to take the train."

"I don't want to come between you two."

Her words sounded like an explanation, but the message underneath was unmistakable:

Nathan cared about her so much that he was willing to inconvenience his own wife for her sake.

Thankfully, I no longer cared.

They stood close together while I watched them. Then I suddenly smiled.

"I was only joking. Don't take it so seriously."

Nathan visibly relaxed and turned back to move the luggage.

The noise brought Milo running out of his room. The moment he saw Vivian, he shoved past me and threw himself into her arms.

"Aunt Vivie! You're finally here! I missed you so much!"

Milo knocked me against the doorframe as he rushed by. Pain shot through my arm, and a bruise began to form almost immediately.

He hadn't been this affectionate with me in years—not since he started elementary school.

He was always complaining that I gave him too much homework and never let him play.

I'd never wanted to make his childhood miserable. But I'd been strict because I wanted him to have a good future.

Instead, he'd come to resent me for it and grown more attached to Vivian.

Now I heard his clear, cheerful voice again.

"Aunt Vivie, can you be my mommy?"

"If you were my mommy, I could see you every day!"

"And you'd buy me lots of yummy snacks. I wouldn't have to study so much, either!"

Every word cut deeper than the last. All the effort I'd put into raising him had somehow become the very thing he used to hurt me.

Not one person told him to stop.

Vivian's eyes held a flash of triumph as she hugged him close and answered sweetly, "If that's what you want, you can call me Mommy."

"I'd be so happy to have an adorable son like you."

I started clapping from the side. "How lovely. A child asking a shameless woman to be his mother."

Milo's face reddened.

Vivian immediately came to his defense. "Children are honest about who treats them well. They naturally prefer the people who are good to them, don't they, Nora?"

I nodded. "I have no interest in becoming someone else's stepmother."

Vivian stamped her foot, then glanced toward Nathan, who had just stepped out of the elevator.

She raised her voice at me. "I was only asking you to show more concern for Milo! How can you twist my words like that?"

Nathan's expression hardened. He was ready to defend her again.

I didn't give him the chance. I shoved the divorce papers into his hands.

"I wish you shameless people the very best."

Then I turned, grabbed my large suitcase, and walked away without hesitation.