05
“A new husband?”
Sebastian Gresham enunciated each word slowly, gnashing his tooth,
“If you have a problem with me, you can tell me directly. Do you really have to be this
spiteful?”
“Didn’t I say this is just a sham divorce? We can remarry in a month, Lydia Hunt and I have
nothing going on. What do I have to say to make you believe me?”
I looked at Sebastian Gresham’s angry face and nodded.
“Fine, then I can explain things to you too. Micah Yip is just a colleague. Living together is for
work convenience, sharing a bed is because it’s too cold at night, and the marriage certificate was just a lark. Actually, he and I have nothing going on.”
Sebastian Gresham was livid. “You got a marriage certificate! And you’re saying it’s nothing?
Freya Lowell, do you think I’m a complete moron?!”
The words were barely out of his mouth before Sebastian Gresham’s furious expression
began to falter.
I looked at him and calmly challenged him.
“I’ve already explained it. I only see Micah Yip as a brother. How could you think I’m capable of something so low?”
Sebastian Gresham’s face drained of color, and he was momentarily speechless.
Felicity Gresham’s gaze shifted from me to Joey’s hand in mine.
A rare flicker of panic crossed her usually affectedly mature face.
“Mom?”
She tried to take my hand. “Aunt Hunt has already moved out; you can come home today.”
I dodged her hand and reiterated.
“I’m already divorced from Sebastian Gresham. You don’t have to call me Mom anymore.
That’s your home, not mine.”
Felicity Gresham’s outstretched hand fell short. Her eyes welled up, and she glared fiercely
at Joey.
“You stole my mom! She’s my mom, not yours!”
Joey, terrified, buried his head in my arms.
Micah Yip wordlessly shielded me, stepping in front.
That gesture silently drew a line.
Felicity Gresham finally burst into tears, sobbing and screaming.
“You’re a thief! You stole my mother!”
Felicity wasn’t one to cry easily, so her tears always used to break my heart.
D
But watching her now, sobbing until she could barely breathe, I felt nothing. Joey trembling in
my arms, however, broke my heart even more.
4:55 pm DD DD
“Crying and sniveling over something so small? Can’t you stop playing the victim?”
With that, I stopped arguing and carried Joey into the classroom.
The teacher looked at me, surprised.
“So you’re Joey’s mother! How come you’ve never come to our kindergarten’s parent–child
activities before?”
I smiled and promised, “I won’t miss them again.”
Felicity Gresham’s tearful voice cut into our conversation.
“They’re lying! Joey doesn’t have a mother. She’s my mother!”
The teacher looked at Felicity Gresham, surprised and hesitant.
“But Felicity, Ms. Hunt has always been the one to accompany you to the parent–child
activities. Look, the teacher even has Ms. Hunt’s name registered here. I thought Ms. Hunt was
your mother.”
Micah Yip squeezed in, rudely shoving Felicity Gresham aside.
Smiling smugly, he pulled two bright red booklets from his pocket.
“Freya is my wife and Joey’s mother. This is our marriage certificate. I even brought the household registration book. Would you like to see it, teacher?”
The teacher repeatedly refused and wrote my name and Micah Yip’s name side–by–side in
the parents‘ column of the register.
Only then did Micah Yip contentedly take back the marriage certificate, carefully returning it
to the pocket close to his chest.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Why do you carry that thing around with you?”
Micah Yip put his arm around me, acting like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“I wish I could stick it to my forehead, so everyone who sees me knows that Freya Lowell is
my wife.”
After that, I awkwardly tried to play games with Joey.
I’m clearly not cut out for this stuff; he ended up with a terrible ranking.
I felt a little uneasy, worried Joey would look disgusted.
Joey, clutching her participation prize, had a little face flushed with excitement as she
whispered tentatively.
“Mommy, will you still come to my parent–child activities? I can do my arts and crafts
projects all by myself, and I’ll try really hard to win first place so I won’t embarrass you.”
My heart felt enveloped in a warm, gentle tide, and I softly promised.
“Yes, Mommy will always be there for you.”
4:55 pm DDDD
