Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Three days later. Saturday.
I was cleaning the living room when the doorbell rang.
Patricia. Robert. Vanessa. And Vanessa’s husband Derek.
All four of them.
Patricia marched in first, wearing that classic “I’m here to fix this mess” expression.
“Mia. I heard you want a divorce?”
“Yeah.”
She pushed past me into the house. The others filed in behind her and sat down.
Patricia took the center of the couch like it was a throne. Robert beside her. Vanessa hovering nearby.
Marcus came out of the bedroom.
He glanced at me. Then at his mother.
“Mom, I told you not to come-”
“And let you lose your wife without saying a word? Absolutely not.”
Patricia turned to me.
“Mia, talk to me. What’s going on? What has Marcus done that’s so terrible?”
I looked at her.
This woman. The same woman who called Lily “our sweet daughter-in-law” in that group chat.
Who’d been calling me “Mia”-never “daughter-in-law”-for eight years.
Eight years. And I was only realizing it now.
“It’s over. That’s all.”
“What do you mean ‘over’? Marcus works hard, provides for you, nobody’s mistreating you-what’s the problem?”
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Chapter 8
Vanessa jumped in, voice all syrupy. “Sis, is there some kind of misunderstanding?”
Robert cleared his throat dramatically.
Marcus sat in the corner. Silent.
Patricia stood up and walked over to me.
Her voice went soft. Gentle.
“Mia, honey, let me be real with you. Every marriage has rough patches. If Marcus did something wrong, tell me. I’ll
talk to him. Mother to son.”
“Don’t bother.”
“Sweetie-”
“Mrs. Bennett. Don’t bother.”
She froze. I’d never called her that before. Always “Mom.
Vanessa caught on immediately. Tugged Marcus’s sleeve.
He stood up.
Walked over to me.
“Mia.”
Then he did something I genuinely didn’t expect.
He dropped to one knee.
Actually knelt in front of me.
“I messed up. I’ve been so focused on work I neglected you. Give me another chance. I’ll do better.”
Patricia seized the moment. “See? Marcus is on his knees. What more do you want?”
Vanessa chimed in, voice trembling, “Sis, my brother has never knelt for
anyone.”
Even Robert spoke up, voice slow and heavy.
“Mia… my blood pressure’s been acting up again. You know my health isn’t great. We’re family, Let’s not do this.”
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Chapter 8
Family.
That word again.
Marcus looked up at me. Eyes red and watery.
“Please. Just one more chance.”
I’ll admit-for a split second, something in me wavered.
Not because I was moved.
Because he was good. Really, really good at this.
If I hadn’t seen that group chat-if I didn’t know about Lily-if I hadn’t read that message about waiting for the
mortgage to be paid off before “coming clean”-
I would’ve fallen for this.
Just like I’d fallen for everything else for eight years.
But I had seen it.
“Marcus. Get up.”
He didn’t move.
“Stand up. I have something to say.”
He slowly got to his feet.
I pulled out my phone, opened the group chat.
“Our Family,”
Every phone in the room buzzed at the same time.
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