Ashes of Betrayal

At this point, I felt that no further explanation was needed.

So, I nodded faintly.

“Think whatever you want. You must be disappointed to see me alive, right?

“But it’s fine…”

I looked up and met his calm gaze.

“Williams, let’s get a divorce.

“I’ll set you free so that you can pursue your true love.”

I turned and shifted my gaze to Lucas.

“I’ll stop being your mother as well, just as you wish.”

I smiled as I saw their shocked faces.

How wonderful. We were all finally free.

I turned and started to leave, but Williams grabbed my wrist.

His voice trembled slightly as he spoke. “Christelle, what do you mean? You want to divorce me just because I saved Leia first?

“You aren’t hurt, and you even lied about being pregnant. I haven’t even begun to blame you, yet you want a divorce? Is that really necessary?”

I could not be bothered to argue with him; I just silently pulled away.

However, he held on even tighter, and my wrist started to turn red.

Lucas had been standing beside me, and his eyes started to well up.

He furiously pried Williams’s hand open and shielded me behind him. “Don’t you dare touch my mother! She just had surgery, and she’s still very weak. You’re hurting her!” he shouted.

I held back my laughter. He was glaring at the man before him like a little tiger cub. He was determined to protect me.

Unfortunately, Lucas was too small. When James ran over and struck him, he easily got pinned beneath him.

Then, James started punching him.

“You liar! She’s my mother, not yours!”

Lucas could not fight back, and he covered his head as he dodged the punches. However, he still refused to give in.

“She’s not anymore. She said you didn’t want her. Besides, you left her behind in the fire and hoped for her to die!

“She told me that I saved her, and from now on, she’ll be my mother!”

James was stunned, and he began to tear up.

He looked down and saw a customized silver necklace on Lucas’s neck. Right then, he went back to being angry.

He pulled the necklace apart and gripped it tightly in his hand.

His face had turned red with rage.

“This belongs to my mother. Who do you think you are to wear it?!”

James raised his head and looked at me with pleading eyes.

“Mom, didn’t you say this was a gift for me? Why is he wearing it?!”

I smiled and reached out to him to help him up.

However, I did not hug him. Instead, I gently moved him aside.

After that, I helped Lucas up and brushed off the dirt on his clothes.

I pulled him into my arms and snatched the necklace from James.

“You had the same necklace. You’re the one who threw it into the bin because you thought it was ugly,” I reminded him flatly.

I had spent half a month crafting two identical necklaces for his birthday last year. and My hand bled from all the continuous hammering.

I even gave him the prettier one and wore the other around my neck.

Despite that, he threw it away without even bothering to look at it.

He held on to the latest Lego set that Leia had given him and said with disdain, “Mom, don’t give me such worthless things anymore.”

I stared at the discarded necklace in grief. But all I could do was smile awkwardly and nod in agreement.

After all that, he still wanted to snatch my necklace from Lucas?

Seeing my refusal to help him, he started crying.

“Mom, I want this one. Can’t you give it to me—”

“If you like it so much, just ask your father to get you one.” I calmly interrupted him.

Following that, I held Lucas’s hand and prepared to leave.

As I turned, my eyes met Williams’s piercing gaze.

“Christelle, the boy mentioned that you had surgery.

“What surgery was it?”