My Son Called Another Woman Mom, So I Walked Away for Good Chapter 05

My Son Called Another Woman Mom, So I Walked Away for Good Chapter 05

When my plane landed in Montclaire, my parents were waiting for me. 

The moment Mom saw rne, tears filled her eyes. 

She hurried over and pulled me into her arms. 

“You’re home. That’s all that matters.” 

Dad took my suitcase without asking a single question. 

“Let’s get you something to eat.” 

Chicken soup simmered in the kitchen. 

The warm lights made my eyes sting. 

When I sat down, my fingers brushed the edge of my bowl and I 

realized I was trembling. 

Mom set the soup in frort of me. 

“Eat first. You don’t have to explain anything yet.” 

I lowered my head and took a spoonful. 

My eyes burned instantly. 

Halfway through dinner, Dad’s phone rang. 

He checked the screen and declined the call. 

A few minutes later, Sybil Bellamy called again. 

Mom answered. 

Sybil sounded frantic. 

“Odette, Briar’s with you, isn’t she? Every marriage has its problems. 

How can she just walk out on her own child?” 

Mom glanced at me. 

I shook my head. 

Her voice cooled. 

“Briar needs rest.” 

Sybil kept going. 

“Kellan cried all night. He hasn’t eaten anything today.” 

Mom replied calmly, “He had no trouble eating birthday cake when 

he was calling another woman Mom.” 

Silence. 

Mom ended the call and set her phone facedown. 

Dad slid a folder across the table. 

Inside were information and contacts for French classes and career training programs. 

“If you want to stay in Montclaire, your mother and I will help you 

get settled here. If you want to go back to Graymont and handle the divorce there, we’ll go with you.” 

He paused. 

“But don’t go back to the same life that broke you.” 

I nodded. 

The next morning. I turned my phone back on. 

Messages flooded in. 

Cormac had sent dozens. 

[Where are you?] 

[Kellan has a fever.] 

[Are you really going to be this cruel?] 

[We need to talk. Divorce isn’t something you decide overnight.] 

Below them were voice messages from Kellan. 

In the first, he was crying so hard I could barely understand him. 

“Mom, please come home.” 

In the second, his voice was hoarse. 

“I won’t call her Mom anymore.” 

The last one came much later. 

“Mom… I want your tomato pasta.” 

I listened to all three. 

Then I set my phone facedown. 

Mom sat beside me. 

“Hurts?” 

I lowered my eyes. 

“Yes.” 

She took my hand. 

“Then let it hurt. Just don’t run back because it does.” 

That afternoon, my attorney sent me a screenshot. 

Cambria had posted on social media. 

[Just because someone came first doesn’t mean they get to trap everyone in the past forever.] 

The photo showed an IV in her hand. 

The comments were full of sympathy. 

Some people called me unstable. Others said I was the other woma 

trying to break up a legitimate relationship. 

I called my attorney. 

“Can we do something about this?” 

“Preserve everything. We’ll deal with it together.” 

That night, Cormac sent me a long message. 

He said the video had been deleted. 

He said he would handle his friends. 

He told me Kellan was orly ten and begged me not to hold a child’s 

mistakes against him. 

His final sentence was: 

[You’re his mother.] 

I stared at it for a long time. 

Then I replied: 

[I was a person before I was a mother.] 

I blocked him. 

On the third day, a company back in Graymont called. 

“Ms. Ellison, may I ask whether the online claims that you broke t another family are true?” 

“I’m his wife.” 

Silence. 

“I’m sorry. We don’t think we can move forward with your application.” 

After the call ended, I sat motionless in the living room. 

Mom came over and touched my hair. 

“You can cry.” 

I shook my head 

*I have something else to do.” 

messaged my attorney. 

[Go ahead with the defamation suit against Cambria Locke.] 

[Start preparing the divorce filing.] 

Then I added one more line. 

(I’m willing to let Cormac have primary physical custody.] 

My hand still trembled after I sent it. 

Mom covered it with her. 

“Briar.” 

I looked at her. 

“I can’t go back just because he cries.” 

She nodded. 

“I know.” 

That evening, Dad placed my newly translated résumé in front of me. 

“Your experience didn’t disappear just because you stopped working.” 

He tapped the name at the top. 

“You’re still Briar Ellison.”