I’d waited 15 years to hear that, and at that moment, I finally heard it.
But deep down, I felt nothing at all–if anything, just a faint sense of disgust.
I pulled my hand back and looked at Caleb, my face utterly indifferent. “Since you refuse to cooperate with the divorce, I’ve already contacted Mr. Vance. We’ll take it to court.”
Caleb’s expression froze, sorrow welling in his eyes. “Isabelle, we don’t have to take it that far.”
I held his gaze for a long moment before finally speaking in a calm, even tone. “Yes, Caleb. We don’t have to take it that far.”
Even if there was no love left, we should at least part on good terms after over ten years of marriage.
Caleb met my gaze, then slowly lowered his eyes, a hint of sorrow flickering across his face.
Almost word by word, he choked out, “Is this… really… the end for us?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the car window slowly rolling up in the distance.
When I glanced over, I was caught off guard. Spencer seemed to be wiping away tears.
He clearly hadn’t expected me to look over at him so suddenly.
He hurriedly wiped his face with the back of his hand, trying to hide his tears.
Before the window had fully closed, he abruptly turned away.
Without another word, I turned and walked away, not looking back.
The car door burst open nearby. Spencer came running, frantic and flustered, his voice trembling with panic as he called out, “Mom!”
Caleb’s voice cut in, weary and defeated. “Enough. Let’s go home.”
Spencer suddenly lost control and screamed, “Why? Mom isn’t anything like you said. You’re all liars. You tricked me. I was just deceived, that’s all. I did nothing wrong. I’m not leaving!”
I kept walking, never once looking back.
While I was lost in thought, Maxie, who had always been so obedient, suddenly yanked free from my grip and dashed toward Spencer.
Before I could pull Maxie back, it had already dashed to Spencer’s side.
Maxie paused half a step from Spencer, then began circling him warily, sniffing with careful curiosity.
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A moment later, Maxie excitedly wagged its tail, raised its front paws, and leaped up at Spencer.
In response, Spencer recoiled in panic and disgust, shoving Maxie away before stumbling back two steps.
When Spencer was twelve, he had been bitten by a stray dog, leaving him with a deep–seated fear of dogs ever
since.
Maxie didn’t dare approach again, letting out low, mournful whimpers.
Spencer’s brow furrowed deeply, his face a mask of defensiveness, his expression utterly distraught.
After a long pause, he seemed to suddenly remember something.
He looked at me, then at Maxie, his face gradually freezing in stunned realization.
As it suddenly dawned on him, he looked guiltily at Maxie. With a hesitant expression, he stepped forward, crouched down, and beckoned to it.
But Maxie didn’t dare go near him again. It turned and ran back to me, nuzzling its head against my leg with a whimper.
I tightened my grip on Maxie’s leash and looked at Spencer, a bitter irony in my eyes. “How fascinating. It still remembers you.”
It still remembered six–year–old Spencer finding it in the pouring rain.
Spencer had once said to it, “Little Max, Little Max, come home with me. I’ll be your family from now on.”
As time passed, Little Max outgrew its name, so we began calling it “Maxie” instead.
The boy who had once promised to be Maxie’s family hadn’t come back in six years. He’d long forgotten about it.
The human heart was fickle,
As I walked away, Spencer’s voice came from behind, heartbroken yet stubborn. “Mom, I’m not leaving.”
It didn’t matter to me anymore.
Whether they left or stayed, wherever they went, it was no longer my concern.
Life just went on as usual.
Caleb and Spencer kept showing up before me with alarming frequency.
Tense and awkward, they kept coming up with flimsy excuses.
Caleb claimed it was Spencer who insisted on coming, while Spencer would sometimes say he came to visit my father, and other times that he was here to see Maxie.
Other times, they’d claim the scenic spot here was perfect for a business venture.
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Despite being over 600 miles apart–Caleb buried in business, Spencer swamped with schoolwork—they somehow kept showing up.
I had no idea how they managed to fit these visits into their schedules, or what excuses they gave the Burns family.
At first, I was irritated, but gradually I grew accustomed to their presence and eventually turned a blind eye.
In December, the night before I was supposed to take the kids to the town center for the art competition, my phone rang. It was my lawyer, Nolan Vance.
Unexpectedly, Caleb had signed the divorce papers just as the divorce case was about to go to trial.
The legal procedures were complete, and the divorce decree would be mailed to me soon.
It was just as Caleb had said back then. “We don’t have to take it that far.”
I let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Nolan hesitated before continuing, “But… it seems Spencer has found out about the divorce. He apparently had a serious confrontation with Mr. Burns and even severed ties with the Burns family.
“He’s also withdrawn from the year–end International Mathematics Competition. He might come looking for you again.”
I ended the call.
For the first time in many days, I found myself lying awake in the dead of night again.
As I lay in bed half–asleep, my mind suddenly drifted back to when Spencer was just a little boy.
Now a nationally renowned math prodigy, Spencer had actually been anything but bright as a child.
By the time Spencer was nearly two years old, he had yet to speak a single word.
He couldn’t even say the simplest words-“mama” or “dada.”
Spencer was born prematurely with a rather severe congenital heart condition.
At his two–year checkup, the doctor’s initial diagnosis was devastating. Spencer was mute and intellectually impaired.
The Burns family kept pressuring me more and more to have a second child.
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Chapter 6
Chapter 6
