After My Husband Broke the Promise, My Son Died

I stood there, meeting Gilbert’s furious glare with defiance. "And what if I don’t?" I asked, my voice steady but cold.

His anger deepened, his voice dropping to a dangerous tone. "Lily, don’t make me angry."

In the past, I would’ve shrunk under that threat. I used to fear his anger, the way it could twist and control me. But not anymore. Not now. He didn’t deserve that power over me anymore. Angry or not, he had already done the worst—he deserved to face the consequences.

Lucy, never one to miss an opportunity to escalate, stamped her foot dramatically. "Gilbert, I don’t care about an apology. She slapped me and I want her to pay double!" Her voice dripped with venom, her eyes gleaming as she looked at me, daring me to react.

Gilbert’s eyes flicked toward me, his patience obviously wearing thin. I didn’t move. I didn’t flinch. My silence only seemed to infuriate him more. With a sharp gesture, he signaled to the two bodyguards standing nearby.

“Lily, this is your last chance. Apologize to Lucy, or else...” His words trailed off, but the threat lingered in the air.

I responded with a cold smile. Not one of rebellion, but one of sheer exhaustion—of being past caring.

That was enough to set him off. He gave the signal and the two bodyguards grabbed my arms roughly, pinning me in place. Lucy smirked, her victory evident as she approached. With cruel deliberation, she slapped me across the face—once, twice—the hard metal of her ring scraping my skin, leaving a searing trail of pain. I tasted blood in my mouth as my bodyguard released me and I fell to the floor in a heap.

Gilbert stood above me, twisting his wrist as if he were shaking off the distasteful act of watching it all unfold. "Why do you always insist on making things harder for yourself? If you’d just apologized, I would’ve pretended this never happened."

He sighed, as if inconvenienced by the whole ordeal. "Keenan wanted to go to the zoo, didn’t he? I’ll arrange it. And I’ll consider finding that expert you wanted so much. See? I can be reasonable."

I looked up at him through eyes blurred with rage, my voice trembling with fury. "You think this is something you can just fix? Dream on!"

Lucy scoffed from behind him, her smugness in full display. "See, Gilbert? I told you she was pretending. No mother who cared about her son would act like this. If her son was really sick, she’d be begging you for help, not talking back."

I glared at her, my face burning from the slap, but she flinched and took a step back. Her confidence was shaky now and even she knew she’d gone too far.

Gilbert’s expression hardened again as he studied my defiant face. "It seems you won’t learn unless I teach you a real lesson." He pulled out his phone and began dialing. "Pick up Keenan from the hospital," he ordered his assistant coldly. "He’s not allowed to see his mother without my permission from now on."

The assistant hesitated on the other end. "Mr. Morrisan, there’s something I need to tell you. The hospital called days ago—Keenan... Keenan passed away. Your wife arranged the funeral alone."