Chapter 5
I didn’t answer.
Instead, I tossed my SIM card into a nearby trash bin and boarded the plane bound for the other side of the world.
What statement? It didn’t matter anymore.
What mattered was my unwavering resolve.
All I wanted now was to completely sever ties with Hunter and my former life of quiet submission.
On the plane, I enjoyed the first peaceful sleep I’d had in years.
In my dreams, I revisited the moment eight years ago when I first fell for Hunter.
I saw myself cradling the twins, my face glowing with happiness.
But when I woke, all that love and hatred–everything–had dissipated like the dream itself.
Standing on this foreign soil, I suddenly felt something I’d never experienced before: an overwhelming sense of liberation.
“This must be how Sloane felt eight years ago when she abandoned everything to forge her own path abroad,” I thought.
I stretched languidly, filled with anticipation as I stepped into a brand–new world and my brand–new life.
Back in the States, Hunter sat staring at the note in his hand, lost in thought.
The handwriting was elegant, but the message was devastating.
In eight years of marriage, they’d barely had any serious arguments.
He never imagined that the woman who had always been so yielding would choose such a drastic way to end their marriage.
Sitting on the couch, Hunter tried to untangle the mess of his thoughts to pinpoint where things had gone wrong.
But for some reason, since Brooke’s departure, his mind had become a jumbled mess that he couldn’t straighten out.
Messages from the divorce attorney, business matters large and small, the relentless questioning from family and friends… everything piled up like a mountain, crushing him until he could barely breathe.
He stood up and walked to the table, reaching for a cup of tea.
The overnight tea was bitter and unpalatable.
He was about to snap in anger when he realized Brooke wasn’t there anymore.
“Sloane, have you found a housekeeper yet…?” he began irritably, but was interrupted by the sound of children crying.
Hunter rushed to the twins‘ room.
The scene was chaotic–Ryan lay on the floor covered in red hives, while Maya wailed beside him.
29.45
My Husband’s Back with His Ex… So I Fake a Scandal & Flee!
50.09.
Sloane looked helplessly at Hunter. “I don’t know what happened to Ryan.”
“I just brought them some food, and after a few bites, he got like this.”
Hunter didn’t waste time talking. He quickly scooped Ryan up and rushed him to the hospital.”
After examining the boy, the doctor gave Hunter a reproachful look.
“What kind of parents are you? How could you not know your child is allergic to fish? You’re lucky you brought him in early. If you’d delayed, his airways could have closed up and caused suffocation. Be more careful in the future–don’t feed him anything with that fishy smell.”
Hunter nodded repeatedly, absorbing the doctor’s words.
The chaos of recent events combined with this sudden emergency had pushed his mood to rock bottom.
As they left the hospital room, the critical words slipped out automatically.
“How could you take care of Ryan so carelessly? Can’t you even handle this simple task?”
He’d forgotten that the person beside him wasn’t the ever–tolerant Brooke.
It was Sloane, who had always been prickly and defensive.
Sloane, who had been feeling guilty, immediately flared up at Hunter’s accusatory tone.
She glared at him, refusing to back down. “Who are YOU to blame ME? These aren’t even my kids!”
“You’re their FATHER and you don’t even know the basics about their daily needs. What right do you have to make demands of someone who’s practically a stranger to them?”
Hunter was stunned, unable to formulate a response.
Brooke would never have spoken to him like that. She would have quietly handled everything, shielding Hunter from any domestic troubles.
But now, Hunter found himself speechless.
Looking at the sobbing Maya and pale–faced Ryan, he felt an unfamiliar headache forming,
Rubbing his temples, Hunter reluctantly softened his approach.
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“You’ve never taken care of children before, so this isn’t your responsibility.”
“We should find a nanny as soon as possible. Ryan and Maya are too young to go without proper care.”
Sloane shot Hunter an irritated look.
“Find one yourself. Don’t involve me in this mess.”
“I was trying to help you by watching your kids, and look what happened. If my parents weren’t pressuring me, I wouldn’t touch this thankless job with a ten–foot pole. I’m done–figure it out yourself.”
Sloane, who had grown accustomed to her freedom, had no intention of being trapped in the drudgery of daily chores,
candal & Flee!
Chapter S
She had initially come over because she found the twins clever and adorable, wanting to spend time with them.
Now she had the perfect excuse to wash her hands of the responsibility.
Having said her piece, Sloane grabbed her purse and left, ignoring both Hunter’s furious expression and Maya’s wailing
Hunter had no choice but to have his assistant urgently search for a nanny.
But as soon as potential nannies heard the Mitchell name, they all balked, refusing the job regardless of the pay offered.
When his assistant inquired why, they all gave the same answer:
“Mrs. Mitchell was easygoing and pleasant, but those kids are hellions, and Mr. Mitchell is impossible to please.”
“We may be working for a living, but we still have our dignity. We’d rather earn less than be treated like doormats.”
Hearing this feedback, Hunter fell into a long silence.
He looked down at the wrinkles in his shirt, belatedly realizing that Brooke had endured this kind of treatment for eight years.
A strange feeling welled up inside him.
The note in his pocket suddenly felt like it was burning a hole through the fabric.
In the midst of his turmoil, the jarring ring of his phone interrupted his thoughts.
Chapter 6
Chapter 6
