Sienna’s POV


    As the car door opened, Emily stepped out first. The click of her heels against the driveway echoed with quiet confidence. Her smile was sweet, almost polite—if only her eyes weren’t undressing me in that irritating, condescending way.


    “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to take your parking spot,” she said, raising an eyebrow. Casual, yet I could sense the sarcasm behind her words. “You don’t mind, do you?”


    I was about to respond, but Liam’s voice cut in from the other side of the car. His tone was t and cold, clearly aimed at me. “This parking area doesn’t belong to anyone. Anyone can park here. No one has the right to feel offended.”


    It was a silent warning. His eyes pierced through me—firm, as if I were the problem.


    Before I could breathe, Noah’s voice rang out, cheerful and bright, but to me… cutting deep.


    “Aunt Emily, don’t listen to Mommy. Her car is ugly anyway. I’m embarrassed when she parks here.”


    I froze. My heart took a brutal hit. For the past four years, I’d raised that child. I was the one who fed him during fevers, read him bedtime stories, kissed his forehead every morning. And now… he could say that so easily?


    Liam didn’t scold him. Instead, he smiled faintly and gently held Emily’s arm.


    “Come on, let me show you the room I prepared for you. It’s right next to mine.”


    The words cut even deeper.


    Noah cheered. “Yay! Now I have someone fun to y with! Aunt Emily’s so cool! Not like Mommy, she’s boring.”


    I stood still. No expression. Empty. Once, I would’ve argued, gotten angry. But now… what for?


    Liam finally turned to me. “Emily’s staying here for a while. Her lease expired, and… I thought this was the best solution.”


    I nodded lightly. As if it wasn’t me hearing those words. As if I wasn’t the wife of a man who had just offered the room next to his to another woman.


    Liam looked slightly confused, probably not expecting my reaction to be so t. Maybe he wanted me to explode. But I was already drained—shattered too many times to summon any rage.


    Emily spoke again, her voice feigning regret. “Maybe I should just stay at a hotel. After all, Sienna is your wife. I’m just an outsider.”


    Those words should’ve hurt. But I felt nothing.


    It was Noah who reacted. “Aunt Emily’s not an outsider!” he protested. “She was with Daddy first. If anyone’s a stranger here, it’s not her!”


    I almostughed. Bitterly. How easily roles can be reced—even in the eyes of a child I raised.


    “I bought this vi for Emily,” Liam said without hesitation. “She’s part of my life. Of course I don’t see her as an outsider.”


    Without waiting for my response, they went inside. Liam paused for a moment, reached into his pocket, and handed me something.


    Car keys.


    “Help Emily get her luggage from the trunk.”


    I stared at the keys for a few seconds.


    “She doesn’t have hands of her own?” I asked tly.


    Liam looked at me, speechless. Maybe surprised. Maybe offended. I didn’t care. My voice held no anger—just emptiness.


    “If you don’t want to, I’ll ask the staff—”


    “No need,” I cut him off. “I’ll do it.”


    I took the keys without expression. No resentment. No surrender. Just a void too wide to fill.


    As I dragged the suitcase into the house, the scene in the living room hit me. Noah stood there, holding a small box, his face lit up with joy.


    “This is for Aunt Emily!” he said proudly.


    Emily looked surprised. “Noah… is this…?”


    I recognized the box. It was one of the birthday gifts I gave him—five-gram gold bars, one for each year. Four in total. Not for their worth, but for the meaning behind them. A mother’s love, a prayer that he’d neverck anything.


    And now, he was giving them to another woman.


    “I love Aunt Emily,” Noah said simply. “She’s pretty and nice. I want her to keep this.”


    Liam finally stepped in. “Noah, that gift was from Mommy. You shouldn’t just give it away.”


    But Noah insisted, “But Aunt Emily’s not just anyone! She’s special to me! And anyway, it’s just some gold, right? Our family isn’t short on money.”


    Liam looked at me. Maybe expecting me to be angry. But I simply said, “Let him. Noah’s right. Those gold bars aren’t worth much. If he wants to give them to someone he loves, that’s his right.”


    Emily turned toward me, awkward. Liam looked like he wanted to say more, but I was already walking away. I left the suitcase in the hallway, climbed the stairs, entered my room, and quietly closed the door.


    Behind the door, I leaned back. The cold wall pressed against my back, but it couldn’t cool the burn inside my chest. I closed my eyes. No tears. No sound.


    Seven more days. Just seven more.


    Then I would leave. Leave this house. Leave Liam. Leave Noah.


    All that would remain… is me—and the life I choose for myself.