Chapter 8 % While serving champagne near the garden tables , I tried to disappear into the shadows . The guests were lounging in white chairs with golden trim , sipping like royalty , laughing like their lives were perfect . Six different times , I caught murmurs . Quiet praises . About how good Torren and Ruby looked together . " They're such a power couple . " 3 " She glows next to him . " " Their son is so well - behaved . You can tell she raised him right " " They're meant to be . " % " She's so graceful , even while pregnant . " " " Torren finally got it right . " I pretended I didn't hear a thing . Just kept moving between the tables with the silver tray balanced in my hands , fingers cramping from how tightly I gripped it . I felt small in that plain black dress they forced me to wear . Everyone else sparkled with sequins , silks , and gemstones passed down through generations . Then it happened . Jude stuck his foot out . I saw it too late . The toe of his polished shoe caught the edge of my heel and I stumbled forward . The tray tipped , and everything fell with it . Flutes crashing . Champagne exploding . One glass shattered against a woman's ivory gown . Liquid spread like a stain of shame across her hip . People gasped . The music faltered . Conversations froze . I stood still in the center of it all , my hands shaking . But I didn't cry . Jude stood proudly beside his seat , chin lifted like a little prince . " She ruins everything , " he said , loud and clear . " Just like she ruined my baby brother . " L Silence swallowed the air . All eyes turned to me . My throat felt like it was closing . My knees wanted to buckle . Ruby stood slowly , placing a hand on her stomach . Her voice was soft , fragile . Practiced . " Please , " she said , looking around . " He's just a child . He's scared . Scared for me and the baby . Ever since that cursed um , he's been having nightmares . " } Gasps echoed through the crowd . Someone whispered , " The um ? Oh God . " I opened my mouth , but nothing came out at first . Then I whispered to myself , so quiet no one heard me . The cursed urn where my son's ashes were destroyed by all of you . " Nobody flinched . Maybe they didn't hear . Maybe they pretended not to . Then I saw Torren cutting across the ballroom . His face dark with fury . He grabbed my arm so tightly I almost dropped to my knees . He dragged me . " You embarrassed me tonight ," he hissed . His breath was hot with anger . " You ruined Ruby's mood . " Before I could speak , his hand came down across my face . I tasted blood . My lip split open . I didn't fall . I wouldn't . Footsteps approached ! Ruby again . One hand on her stomach , the other raised in innocent worry "Please , babe , don't hurt her , " she said softly . " She's still the mother of your child ! " Torren's parents came next . His mother's face was cold stone . " Divorce her now , Torren , " she snapped . " I don't want a bitch like that in this family . " I didn't look down this time . " No need ," I said , voice trembling but steady . " I already filed for divorce . You can have your son back . " Torren blinked . Like he didn't understand . Like his brain couldn't register that I was the one leaving . His mother didn't give him time to respond . She slapped me . Hard . My head turned with the force of it . " How dare you speak in this house ? " she yelled . Around us , whispers floated in the air . Like poison in a room with no windows . " Is she serious ? * % " She's mad ." } " A divorce ? " I " She can't raise a child alone ." X " She should be locked up again . " % My phone buzzed in my pocket . I pulled it out . The screen lit up with one sentence : Your divorce has been finalized . I stared at it for a moment . Then I smiled_X It wasn't happiness . It was freedom . The kind that comes after years of being buried alive . 1/2 P I stared at it for a moment . Then I smiled . It wasn't happiness . It was freedom . The kind that comes after years of being buried alive . I wiped the blood off my lip and straightened my back . Then I turned around and walked toward the grand gate . The path felt endless . My feet ached . But I didn't stop . " Where are you going ? " Torren called out behind me . I didn't look at him . " To choose my life . This time . " He lunged for my wrist . But then Ruby sighed . A perfect , dainty collapse . Right on cue . Everyone rushed toward her . Cameras clicked . Glasses were dropped . Someone called for water . Another yelled for the nurse . Nobody stopped me . Back at the glass mansion , the maid opened the door like she saw a ghost . I didn't speak . Just walked in , dragging the torp dress behind me like a second skin . Upstairs , Cleo's room was still untouched . His scent lived in the corners . A sweetness I could never explain . I opened the small drawers . Packed the toys he used to carry everywhere . The ones he chewed on . His picture books with the teeth marks still visible . I folded his tiny clothes . Held each one to my chest . Then I took off my wedding ring and left it on his pillow . The maid watched me from the hall . She didn't ask questions . She didn't stop me . I walked to my old car . Closed the door behind me . Started the engine . Through the windshield , I stared at the glass mansion . All that cold beauty . I whispered , " Goodbye forever , Torren . Wait for my reckoning . " My phone rang . Then again . Then came the texts . " Come back . You embarrassed me . " " You ungrateful witch . Apologize now or I'll make your life hell . " I smiled and opened my keyboard then sent him a single emoji . A middle finger emoji . Then I drove .