Chapter 2

Nora froze, then stared at me in disbelief. "M-My friend's mom is a great divorce lawyer! I'll ask her for help!"

The joy on her face made my nose sting.

Nora had first asked me to divorce Samuel three years ago. That was right after Riley appeared in his life and moved into the unit directly below ours.

Samuel was a mathematics professor. Whenever Nora asked him for help with a math problem, he'd frown and say that he wasn't good at teaching.

Yet the moment Riley asked for his help, he tutored Raymond in math for free for three years straight. He never missed a single day.

Over those same three years, he didn't attend a single one of Nora's parent-teacher conferences. But he never missed one of Raymond's.

I argued with him. I fought with him. I even demanded to know if he still wanted to be in this family. Every time, he'd simply adjust his glasses and look at me as if I were the unreasonable one.

"Raymond's foundation is weak. A little extra help makes a huge difference. Nora, on the other hand, is an average student. Extra tutoring won't change much. I don't waste my time on things with a poor return," he said. "Stop letting your emotions run wild. Nothing's going on between Riley and me."

That was how logical Samuel was.

When Nora finished at the top of her class, his entire response was just two words. "Not bad."

Then, he shut himself in his study and stayed up all night putting together a college application plan for Raymond, whose grades were nowhere near hers.

"Mom, why don't you divorce Dad? You can come with me. I'll take care of you."

Nora had said those words to me a long time ago.

Back then, I swallowed my pain and smiled so that she could focus on school. This time, however, there was no reason to keep up the act.

If Samuel no longer wanted this family, then it was time I kept the promise I'd made to my daughter and finally let go.

"Mrs. Cadwell, I brought Raymond to apologize," someone called out.

The doorbell rang, pulling me from my thoughts.

It was Riley and Raymond.

"I didn't think things through yesterday. It must've caused you a lot of trouble," Riley said, biting her lip. "Samuel's just the kind of person who can't say no. All I did was mention the idea once, and he insisted on standing in as my husband. There's really nothing between us. Please don't misunderstand."

"Sorry for stealing your daughter's dad, Mrs. Cadwell," Raymond chimed in with a smirk.

I could hear Nora accidentally shatter a cup behind me.

"That's right," I quipped. I calmly held out my arm and blocked Raymond from stepping inside. "You'd have to steal one because you never had one to begin with."

Raymond's face darkened instantly. "What the hell did you just say?"

He raised his hand to hit me.

My eyes landed on something hanging around his neck. My eyes widened.

"Where did you get that?"

"What are you doing, Cameron?"

My voice overlapped with Samuel's. The moment he stepped out of the elevator, he hurried over and instinctively positioned himself in front of Riley and Raymond. It almost seemed like they were his family.

"I brought Raymond here to apologize to Cameron, but she called him a bastard…"

Riley's eyes brimmed with tears. Samuel was ready to lash out, but I pointed at the pendant around Raymond's neck and cut him off.

"Why did you give Nora's pendant to someone else?"

His face paled, and the words caught in his throat.

I had had that pendant made from the gold my parents gave me when we got married. Nora had worn it every day since she was born for 15 years.

"It's just a necklace," he replied coldly. "Raymond kept getting colds back then, so I gave it to him. I thought it might bring him a little luck. Why do you have to make such a big deal out of everything?"

I slowly lowered my hand.

When the pendant went missing, Nora was in the hospital with pneumonia. She nearly died. Even with an oxygen mask on, she kept blaming herself. She was convinced she had lost it.

So Samuel had given it away all along.

"Fine. I don't care anymore." I looked at Samuel and smiled. "Go be their family. Nora and I don't need you anymore."