Chapter 3 Mother of Mine

Simon's POV

The sound of a door slamming jolted me out of the work I was doing on my laptop. My head snapped up, and there she was-my mother, fury radiating from her like heat.

"Oh, I guess it's my door that slammed then," I thought bitterly, snapping my lips shut before the words could escape. Her footsteps were sharp against the floor, each one driving straight into my chest.

She stormed toward me, her eyes blazing. "What is this I hear on the news about you? What is this I hear you did to Tina?"

I exhaled slowly through my nose, willing myself not to roll my eyes. "Mum, you know better than to believe everything you see on TV," I said, returning my gaze to the laptop screen. My fingers hovered over the keys, pretending I still cared about the work I'd been doing.

The lid of my laptop snapped shut with a violent crack. My mother's voice rose, sharp and cutting. "Tina told me what happened! She told me you dragged her to a gynecologist to find out if she was pregnant for your baby."

Her accusation stung, not because it was untrue, but because Tina had run to her like some helpless child. I scoffed. "So Tina has made a habit of talking to you about me now?"

"She's been suffering in silence, Simon. Do you expect her to keep enduring it alone? Do you know how hard I tried before I got her to open up to me?"

Her words tightened something in my chest. For a flicker of a moment, guilt tried to slip in. I shoved it away with anger.

"When I saw the article about you two at a gynecologist's office," she continued, her voice trembling with both outrage and disappointment, "I thought it was going to be good news. I thought maybe, just maybe, I'd be expecting a grandchild. Only for me to find out you threatened her-that you said if she had been pregnant, you would have made her get an abortion."

I shot up from my chair, my breath coming fast, my nose flaring. "Is it my fault that I don't want to have anything to do with her? She forced herself into this marriage!"

Her face crumpled, but then hardened. I pressed on, bitterness pouring out. "You know what, this is your fault, Mother. You went out of your way and got me a wife I never asked for. You pushed her into my life, and now you want to blame me for not loving her? That's on you."

She ran her hand through her hair, frustration etched deep in the lines around her eyes. "I just wanted the best for you, Simon. I wanted you to be happy."

The word happy cracked something open inside me. A laugh escaped, low and humorless. "Don't you dare hide behind that word. You don't get to say you wanted me happy when you took happiness away from me-just like you took it away from my father until it killed him."

"Don't bring your father into this," she snapped, too quickly.

My anger ignited into flame. "You took Sarah away from me. Yes, we had our issues, but you had no right-no right-to blackmail her out of my life. Just like you've always interfered. You kept my friends away from me when I was a boy, the same way you isolated Dad from his friends. Your selfishness, your need to control everyone around you-" my voice broke into a shout-"that's what killed my father. You killed him!"

The slap landed before I could register her hand moving. The sound cracked across the study walls, echoing in my ears before the sting lit up my cheek. I clenched my jaw, forcing myself not to flinch. I'd expected it. My father's death had always been the one landmine between us, and I'd just stepped directly on it.

"You know nothing about what happened with your dad," she spat. "Don't you dare jump to such horrible conclusions."

Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her lips trembling before she forced them into a firm line. "I expect you to apologize to Tina. For the way you've treated her. She has nothing to do with our godforsaken mother-son mess. She's just an innocent woman who got dragged into this family's drama. She loves you, Simon-despite your coldness."

Her words caught me off guard. For half a second, something inside me faltered. But I shoved it down, scoffing, letting the sneer shield me. "I don't care if she loves me. I'm not interested in opening up my heart to anyone. And I made that clear to you when you got us engaged."

As if summoned to save me from her relentless needling, my phone buzzed. An email notification. My eyes skimmed it and a smile tugged at my lips.

"Well, look at that," I said, unable to resist twisting the knife. "Your grand plans to separate me from Sarah have failed. She's coming back tomorrow. And when she's here, I'm kicking Tina out of my life for good."

Confusion flickered across her face. "But... I thought you two broke up. You had a shouting match, Simon. You told her to get out-that you couldn't deal with her anymore."

"So you even know the contents of my private conversations now?" I asked dryly. "Not that it surprises me. Maybe I should fire a few of the maids, so they learn not to gossip."

"Private?" she scoffed. "The whole house could hear you two screaming."

"Yes, we fought," I admitted. "But we've made up. She apologized. We're giving our relationship another chance. I know that's the last thing you want to hear."

My mother's eyes widened. She quickly masked it, but I saw the tremor. "Do you even know why she left in the first place?"

"Yes." My voice was steady, even though my heart thumped hard in my chest. "I know exactly what you blackmailed her with. And I don't care. Her past has nothing to do with me."

Her face fell, then hardened like stone. "Fine. Do whatever you want. But don't say I didn't warn you." She stormed out, the door vibrating on its hinges as she slammed it shut.

The silence she left behind pressed on me. I ran a hand through my hair, grabbed my phone, and dialed Sarah. Straight to voicemail. Again. My frustration boiled over-I hurled the phone against the wall, watching it shatter.

The next morning, as I drove to work, my phone-patched together just enough to function-rang. An acquaintance from M&K Law Firm. His words made my stomach clench. I slammed my fist against the steering wheel, turned the car around, and sped home.

I stormed up the stairs and flung open the door to Tina's room. She froze, eyes wide, a travel bag at her side. Her hand clutched the handle as though she'd been caught mid-escape.

My gaze fell to the bed. A brown envelope sat there, glaring at me against the white sheets. The M&K Law Firm logo glinted on the corner. My pulse roared in my ears. Without thinking, I snatched it up and tore it apart, shredding the papers inside along, not caring about the sticky note attached.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Tina's voice shook with outrage.

I raised my hand-not to hit, but to silence her. "What the hell is wrong with me? No-what the hell is wrong with you? To think I had begun to feel some sort of remorse for how I treated you. But no. You deserved every single thing I said and did."

"You never change, Tina. You let me find out about our marriage on TV. And now you let me find out about our divorce through a stranger"

"You love someone else, don't you, I did it for you", Her face crumpled, pain etching her features,

Her words pierced deeper than I wanted to admit. For a heartbeat, shame rose-but I buried it in fury. "Don't you dare say you did it for me. Don't you dare use that word. You sound just like my mother. The both of you, pretentious lots. You got what you wanted from me, and now you want to leave? Just like that?"

Her eyes glistened. "What else do you want from me? I tried, Simon. I tried to hold this marriage together despite your coldness, despite the way you belittled me. But you love someone else. Someone you're willing to give a second chance."

Her voice cracked, and for a moment, her tears almost got to me. Almost. I forced my expression into a sneer. "Don't give me those crocodile tears. You put yourself into this. Don't act like you were forced. You smiled for the cameras when the whole world announced a union I knew nothing about."

I could still see her on that stage in my mind, smiling, radiant. Pretending. Fooling the world-and maybe even fooling me.

"You and my mother forced me into this. So if anyone wants out, it'll be me. If anyone's filing for divorce, it'll be me. So you'd better start unpacking."

I didn't wait to see her reaction. I turned on my heel and stormed out of the room, the sound of my own heartbeat louder than the slam of the door behind me.