Chapter 2 After cooling down a bit, clinging to my last hit of hope, I texted him, fantasizing he'd tell me it was all bullshit. [When did you and her get together?] [What's done is done. This is on me and I'll make it right. That little island you liked last month? Already bought it. But don't go causing drama in front of Vivian-she doesn't know jack about this.] His reply was like ice water killing the last spark of anger in my heart. If I'd been confused and furious before, now my heart felt like it got tossed in a freezer. Suddenly I felt absolutely nothing. Yeah, I'd actually picked up on it in all the little ways we'd been getting along. We hadn't been that can't-keep-our-hands-off-each-other couple for ages. He used to go overseas one month every other month, then later spent most of each year gone, only coming back for holidays to throw me some scraps of attention. I should've seen it. I thought he was just really driven. I never fought him on it-I even cheered him on to chase his dreams. Lack of time together was one thing, but betrayal? Unforgivable. He didn't text back, and I'd lost interest in beating answers out of him. First thing next morning, my mother-in-law called. 'Sophia Carter, I heard you went and caused drama in front of Vivian. Can't you just act right?!" My mother-in-law's lecture left me speechless. She'd always been sweet with me-never used that tone before. I bit my lip and looked down at the floor. "I didn't, Mom." 'I didn't do that." 'You know to call me Mom, but do you get that Vivian's the mother of those kids? Listen-get your ass home now. Don't let Vivian find out about you and Lincoln and get all worked up." Toward the end, my mother-in-law's tone got softer: "She gets emotional easily with the kids. Since you don't have any, be the bigger person and don't et her off." could barely hold my phone. Turns out my mother-in-law was even sweeter to Vivian than to me. she'd even snap at me for Vivian's sake. 'But I'm Lincoln's wife, Mom." Taking a deep breath, I carefully tested where she stood. She immediately lost it: "Can't even pop out a kid-what kind of real wife are you?! Lincoln hasn't divorced your ass yet out of respect for all these years, so don't push it." Back when Lincoln was depressed about his mom forcing him into business school, I was the one pumping him up to take over the family company. Later when Lincoln said he didn't want kids and got on his knees for three days straight, I spent two days playing peacemaker. She even said I was smart for not giving her headaches. After marriage, I handled all the housework for years, hung on every word from my mother-in-law and Lincoln, became even more sweet and obedient. Chapter 2 But just because I didn't squeeze out babies, I became someone who was "pushing it." And my mother in-law, who I thought treated me better than my own parents, had known about Lincoln's kids the whole time and helped him keep me in the dark. I was just some outsider. Fighting back tears, I said my last words: "Fine. We will get divorced then." Want me to make room for Vivian? You got it.