Chapter 33
Clause One: The husband must give his wife three hugs a day.
Clause Two: The husband must kiss his wife on the forehead before leaving.
Clause Three: The husband must give his wife one genuine compliment every day.
Clause Four: The couple must be intimate at least four times a week.
Estela couldn’t keep reading. Her face flushed hot with shame and
anger.
She wanted to crawl out of her skin.
‘What is wrong with him?‘ she thought.
“This is what you were so eager for me to come back and sign?” she asked, stunned.
She even started to doubt her own memory. ‘Is it possible he’s mixed up the documents?‘
She remembered all too well: back when she’d first shown him this, Vance had barely glanced at it before throwing it in the trash.
She could still picture the disgust on his face.
“Don’t ever let garbage like that cross my desk again.”
‘So why is he pulling it out of the safe now?‘ she thought.
There was no mistaking it. The handwriting was hers.
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“Of course,” Vance said with a slight nod, eyes gleaming as he stepped toward her. “Isn’t this what you always wanted? I’m willing to meet a few of your demands–within reason.”
“But you need to quit with the games. Stop using the kids, my family, or anyone else to play tug–of–war.”
“I don’t have time for that anymore.”
“Sign this, and we put an end to this nonsense. Move back home tonight, and we’ll start following the rules.” His hand settled on her shoulder, voice low and firm.
Estela felt a wave of nausea rise. She jerked away from his touch.
“You think all of this was just some kind of manipulative act? Some game of hard to get?”
Vance looked down on her, condescending. “Wasn’t it?”
“I’ve never been more disgusted by you than I am right now.”
He had used the divorce agreement to lure her back, only to humiliate her with this–this dusty old contract she’d written in a moment of blind hope. A slap in the face disguised as a favor.
Estela shredded the page in her hands, ripping it to bits.
Vance’s expression darkened instantly. His voice dropped, barely restrained. “What the hell are you doing? Don’t mistake my patience for weakness.”
Estela didn’t bother replying. She was shaking with anger as she grabbed her bag, turned on her heel, and slammed the door behind her.
‘If he doesn’t want to sign? Fine. I’ll wait out the separation period, then take it to court,‘ she thought.
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Behind her, Vance exploded, “Estela! If you walk out that door, don’t bother coming back!”
He genuinely couldn’t understand. I’ve already met her halfway. What else does she want?‘
But Estela didn’t stop. Didn’t look back. Her steps only grew faster.
Behind her, his fist slammed into the desk with a heavy thud.
‘Fine. Be stubborn. Let’s see how long that pride of yours holds up,‘ she thought.
Just outside the study door, two small heads had been pressed against the wood, listening in.
“Is Mommy moving back in?” one of them whispered. “But if she does. what about Phoebe?”
“They’re fighting,” said the other. “It sounded bad.”
At that moment, Estela stormed out of the room, her anger still simmering.
The two little eavesdroppers, startled, lost their balance and fell backward with a yelp.
“Ah!”
Estela quickly reached out, grabbing the back of their collars just in time to keep them from hitting the floor.
Estela forced herself to stay calm, her anger barely contained as she set the two children down.
“What are you doing here?” she asked quietly.
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Her eyes landed on the bits of torn paper stuck in Rowena’s hair.
Out of habit, she reached out to brush them away–but Rowena flinched like she’d been burned, dodging the touch with a glare.
“Don’t try to hit me!” she snapped, frowning at her.
Phoebe had told them a story once–about a wife who, after being ignored by her husband for years, secretly abused their children just to get his attention. She’d made them sick and hurt them, all to earn sympathy.
Rowena thought Estela looked just like that crazy woman from the story.
Estela opened her mouth, but the words caught in her throat. One look at their guarded, distrustful eyes, and whatever she was going to say turned into a cold, bitter smile.
They were afraid of her.
‘When you’ve failed as a mother this badly, there’s nothing left to say,‘ she thought.
Rowena and Josh stood stiffly, ready to scream the moment she moved.
But instead, they watched Estela turn around and walk away without a word.
They stared at her retreating figure, confused.
“She just left?” Rowena whispered. “That’s so weird.”
