Chapter 6: The Breaking Point

I couldn’t help wondering how I could get in touch with Dustin.

He was a busy CEO, and it would be impossible to meet him outside his company.

Suddenly, I remembered that he had once handed me his business card at a banquet I attended with Zachary.

After that night, I had casually thrown the card into one of my handbags.

Thinking of it, I immediately went to the cloakroom and began searching through the cabinets that filled the entire wall.

Over the past five years, Zachary had bought me countless luxury handbags.

Ninety percent of them had never even been used.

I never deluded myself into thinking those bags were meant for me.

They were not for me—they were for Mrs. Mason.

If he hadn’t married me, he would have bought them for someone else anyway.

The Mason family expected their daughter-in-law to look elegant and match their status.

While I was searching, Charlee suddenly walked in.

"Are you packing?" she asked casually.

"Take your things and leave as soon as possible. I’m planning to expand this cloakroom. It’s far too small for my belongings."

She spoke as if she were already the rightful mistress of the house.

When she looked around and saw the items in the room, her expression changed.

"Patek Philippe, Loewe, Ralph Lauren, Jimmy Choo… Did Zachary buy all of these for you?"

Her eyes filled with jealousy.

I replied indifferently, "I don’t want any of them. They’re all yours."

Charlee sneered.

"Are you trying to humiliate me? I’ve never worn second-hand clothes in my life. Zachary will buy me brand-new ones when I marry him."

She was confident—completely certain that Zachary would choose her.

After all, he had always been distant toward me.

"Since you don’t want them, I’ll destroy them," she said suddenly.

She picked up a pair of scissors and cut through a black Chanel dress.

In an instant, the room was filled with torn silk and fabric.

Clothes worth tens of thousands of dollars were reduced to scraps.

I didn’t react.

I simply ignored her madness and continued searching.

Soon, I found Dustin’s business card.

Without another glance, I turned to leave.

Charlee remained behind, tearing apart the wardrobe like a madwoman.

Just as I was about to walk out, something caught my attention.

It was a custom-made Dior T-shirt.

Last year, the housekeeper had given it to me, saying it was from Zachary.

I hadn’t paid much attention and had left it in the cloakroom.

Now that the box was open, I finally saw it clearly.

It was a white T-shirt printed with Erik’s drawing.

In the picture, a blue star and a pink star held hands under a green sky.

Erik had once told me that it represented me and Zachary.

It was a child’s pure and innocent love.

I couldn’t bear to see it destroyed.

So I stepped forward and stopped Charlee.

But she had completely lost control.

Her beautiful face twisted with anger, her eyes blazing.

"Didn’t you say everything here is mine?" she shouted.

"Then I’ll destroy it all! I’m Erik’s real mother. I should be the one who married Zachary. How dare you steal five years of happiness from me?"

In the struggle, I grabbed the scissors from her hand.

Charlee collapsed onto the floor, her hair disheveled.

"Mom!"

Erik suddenly ran into the room.

He rushed to her side and helped her up.

Charlee hugged him tightly and began crying.

"This woman bullied me! She tried to kill me with the scissors! Tell me, baby… who is your real mother? Hurry!"

Erik’s lips trembled.

His eyes filled with tears.

"Mom… you are both my moms…"

"No!" Charlee screamed hysterically.

"You can only have one mother. I carried you for nine months. I gave birth to you. If you call her Mom again, I’ll leave you forever!"

Erik gasped for breath, his chest rising and falling violently.

Tears streamed down his face.

I couldn’t bear to see him like that.

It was too cruel to force a child to make such a choice.

"Don’t be afraid, Erik… I…"

I held his hand, about to tell him that I would be leaving soon.

But before I could finish, he suddenly shook my hand off.

"You’re not my mom!"

My heart shattered instantly.

A sharp pain spread through my chest, reaching deep into my bones.