Chapter 2The Name We Gave Our Son

That single word, "Mom," pulled me back several years.

When Arthur brought up divorce, he didn't give a reason.

Madison did some digging for me and uncovered his first love, Lily Evans.

I took the evidence and confronted Arthur.

During the argument, a truth accidentally slipped out of him:

"Yes, I love Lily! Even if I have a child with you, that child must carry the mark of her existence!"

Only then did it all make sense.

No wonder when we were naming our son, Arthur insisted on changing "Julian" to "James."

He said he hoped our son would be "Just," noble, and righteous.

But it wasn't about justice. It was an anagram. "James" was for J-A-M-E-S. Just Always Miss Evans Secretly.

Unlike what Madison and the others thought, from that day forward, my feelings for Arthur died completely.

I loved Arthur, yes, but not enough to lose myself.

I loved him, but I loved my dignity more.

However, our marriage involved too many people. Just separating the assets took a massive amount of time.

Arthur cheated first; I had to make sure I got the larger share.

Back then, my biggest concern was my son, James.

But from the very beginning, he didn't want to leave with me.

Maybe it was pity from above that made me suddenly stubborn, wanting to persuade James, wanting to fight for full custody.

If it hadn't been for that stubbornness, I never would have discovered that my dear son had already accepted Lily as his mother.

If I hadn't discovered that, I wouldn't have left so cleanly, and I wouldn't have started my new life so easily.

After I confronted Arthur, he immediately moved Lily into our house under the guise of being James's private tutor.

Surprisingly, James adored 'Ms. Lily' and defended her at every turn.

I heard him praise Ms. Lily more than once, saying she was gentle and pretty, understanding, considerate, and kind.

But James was just a little kid back then. I thought Arthur had hidden the affair well, so I didn't overthink it.

Until I heard it with my own ears. He carefully asked Lily, "Ms. Lily, can I call you Mom?"

After getting a yes, he happily called her "Mom" several times.

He added, "Ms. Lily needs to become my new mom quickly. I hate my mom right now. I hope she and Dad get divorced soon."

Lily asked him why.

"Because Mom won't let me eat candy."

Lily sounded surprised. "Just because of that?"

"Yes."

James's decisive answer completely shattered me.

I thought about a lot of things. I thought about my parenting style. I thought about my past.

In the end, I signed the divorce papers without any lingering attachments and left the country.