Leaving was the Only War I Won

No one knew what Grady said to Zeth, but she suddenly burst into laughter.

She even glanced in Marcella’s direction.

A wave of helplessness rose from the soles of Marcella’s feet. For the first time, she felt that the past seven years of her life had been utterly meaningless.

She averted her gaze from the ‘ex-lovers’ and was about to walk around the two and return to her room when a small hand grabbed her.

Before she could see Seth’s face clearly, she heard his reprimanding voice.

“You’re not allowed to go in until you apologize to Aunt Zeth!”

Seth shoved past his mother and ran to Zeth’s side, naturally wrapping his little arms around her waist.

When he looked up again, his eyes were filled with such intense disgust for Marcella that it was nearly overflowing.

“I was using the bathroom just now! That’s why Aunt Zeth went to the master bedroom’s bathroom instead! You barged in yelling without knowing the situation! What if you scared Aunt Zeth? You gotta apologize!”

Marcella stared at Seth’s aggressive stance, her hand clutching her lower back trembling uncontrollably.

She never imagined that the child she had painstakingly given birth to would one day turn against her.

It had only been seven days, and Seth was already desperate for Zeth to become his new mother.

Marcella closed her eyes, forcing back the tears welling up in them.

When she opened her eyes again, her gaze toward Seth was completely indifferent.

“Mind your own business. It’s not your place to tell me what to do.”

Seth hadn’t expected his mother to scold him like that, leaving him completely stunned.

Even Grady was taken aback. He felt that something about the Marcella before him was different.

But that feeling was quickly pushed aside, replaced by even greater dissatisfaction.

“Marcella! What’s wrong with you? Seth is just a kid!”

“So what? He’s not my son?”

With just one sentence, Marcella shut Grady up. Seth, too, widened his eyes and stared at her in shock.

Before Grady could respond, Marcella took a step forward.

With a bang, she shut the bedroom door, locking all three of them outside.

Through the door, she could still hear Seth’s choked and tearful voice.

“Aunt Zeth, when can you stay here forever and be my mom?”

‘Oh, perfect! I don’t want to be your mom anymore either!’

Marcella thought bitterly, but as she turned her head, her eyes caught sight of a few strands of red hair on her pillow.

The same color as Zeth’s.

Marcella’s gaze drifted to the messy bed sheets and the trash bin, where used tissues wrapped around discarded condoms lay in plain sight.

It was then that she collapsed onto the bed, drained of all strength.

The moment the memories of last night flooded her mind, her stomach lurched.

She barely had time to react before she threw up all over the floor.

‘So it’s not just Grady who’s been lying to me, huh?! Even my own son knows everything but plays dumb to deceive me!’

Hearing the sound, Grady hurried in, his face filled with concern that didn’t seem fake.

But as soon as his hand reached out to her, Marcella flinched away.

“You’re like this, and you’re still being stubborn…”

Grady trailed off, momentarily stunned when he met Marcella’s icy gaze.

He had never seen her like this before.

For the first time, a strange sense of panic crept into his heart.

Before he could think any further, the sound of shattering glass echoed from the living room.

Seth rushed into the bedroom, his brows tightly furrowed.

Grabbing his father’s hand, the boy tugged anxiously.

“Dad, Aunt Zeth burned her hand! Come and check on her!”

From beginning to end, Seth never once checked on his mother.

He even covered his nose in disgust as he stood near Marcella.