Chapter 6
Vivian's POV
He was willing to believe I had used my own son's safety as a weapon.
That was Dylan's final verdict on me.
I stood there, and a wave of nausea rose without warning.
Whatever last trace of hesitation had remained dissolved completely in that moment.
I gave a small, quiet nod — as though confirming something to myself.
"You're right." My voice was flat and entirely without inflection. "You're all right."
I took one step back, putting distance between myself and all of them.
"The divorce agreement — I'll have my attorney draft it and send it to you as soon as possible. Custody of Allen I am relinquishing. From this point forward, Allen is your son alone. He has nothing to do with me."
I didn't look at any of them again. I turned, pushed open the door, and walked out.
The corridor lights were cold and harsh. The elevator doors slid shut around me, and in the brushed metal I caught a glimpse of my own face — pale, almost unrecognizable, and yet strangely composed.
Back at the lab, I called my attorney.
"Mr. Johnson, please draft the divorce agreement on the terms we previously discussed. All marital assets — I'm waiving my claim to everything. Custody of the child goes to Dylan."
"That's correct. I want nothing. Please send it over as soon as it's ready."
I hung up and sat in the dark without moving. My body had nothing left. But my mind was unexpectedly quiet — the stillness of a sea after the storm has passed and taken everything with it.
Dylan's POV
Two days later, Vivian asked to meet at a café on the ground floor of the Hudson Group building.
I arrived ten minutes late.
When I walked in, she was already at the window seat. A cream-colored sweater, jeans, hair pinned up loosely. No makeup. Her expression was distant — the way she looked at me had the quality of someone regarding a stranger.
I sat down across from her.
"Whatever this is, you couldn't say it over the phone?" I said. "Allen is still in the hospital. I don't have a lot of time."
"This won't take long."
She reached into her bag, drew out a document envelope, and slid it to the center of the table.
"Divorce agreement. Look it over. If there are no issues, sign it."
I looked at the envelope without reaching for it, studying her face as though trying to read something that wouldn't resolve into sense.
"What exactly are you trying to do here, Vivian?"
"Get divorced." Straightforward. Final. "It's all in there. I'm not asking for anything from the Hudson estate. Custody of Allen is yours. Visitation rights —" She paused briefly. "If you and Allen feel there's a need, you can arrange something. If not, that's fine too."
I picked up the envelope and pulled out the few thin pages inside. I read through them quickly.
The further I read, the heavier my expression became.
All marital assets waived. Custody relinquished. Visitation rights treated as an afterthought.
I set the agreement down and leaned back in my chair. "Is this a new tactic, Vivian? Lead with total surrender, then wait for me to feel guilty enough to come after you? You think this kind of performance is going to bring me running?"
She picked up her coffee, took a small sip, and set it down. When she looked at me, there was something in her eyes that wasn't anger, wasn't hurt. It was closer to pity.
"Dylan, do you genuinely believe the entire world exists to follow your script?"
The question caught me off guard in a way I hadn't expected.
"I'm not playing games with you," she said, her voice unhurried and completely even. "I don't have the energy for it, and frankly, I don't have the interest. I simply don't want any further connection to you. Allen is genuinely fond of Hazel now. I sign, you and your family of three carry on without the inconvenience of me — isn't that the cleaner outcome for everyone?"
"Family of three?" My voice came up sharply. "Vivian, be very clear about what you mean. Hazel is helping with Allen's care. That's all."
"You can call it whatever you like." She gave a small shrug. "What she is to you is no longer any of my concern. Once the agreement is signed, contact my attorney directly. The information is on the document."
She stood up and reached for her bag.
"Vivian!" I was on my feet, and before I'd thought about it, my hand had closed around her wrist — hard.
"When are you going to stop this?"
She looked down at my hand on her wrist. When she raised her eyes back to mine, the corner of her mouth curved slightly.
"Mr. Hudson, a scene in a public place doesn't reflect well on anyone. That may not concern you, but it does have some bearing on Hazel's reputation and Hudson Group's share price."
I dropped her wrist immediately. My jaw was tight. My chest was moving more than I wanted it to.
She rubbed her wrist where it had gone red, turned away from me, and walked out of the café without looking back.
I stood there and watched her figure disappear through the glass door. Then I looked down at the divorce agreement on the table.
She was willing to walk away from all of it. She actually meant it.
I grabbed the agreement, crumpled it in one motion, and held it above the trash bin.
Then I stopped.
I smoothed nothing, fixed nothing. Just stood there with a balled-up page in my fist.
Then I put it in my jacket pocket.
When I got back to the hospital, Allen had just woken up.
He was pouting, looking around the room with red-rimmed eyes. "Daddy, where's Mommy?" His voice was hoarse from crying.
I was sitting at his bedside going through emails. My fingers paused over the keyboard. I didn't look up. "She had things to do. She left."
"She left?" His voice climbed into a whine. "She really doesn't want me anymore?"
I said nothing.
Hazel moved in quickly, soft smile already in place. "Mommy just went to take care of something important. Allen's a big boy — you understand that, right? When you're out of here, I'll take you to the amusement park. The big Ferris wheel, cotton candy, everything. How does that sound?"
Allen's eyes lit up at once. He nodded vigorously.
I watched this without expression, then moved my gaze back to the screen.
The crumpled pages in my jacket pocket pressed against my ribs.
