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I’d had enough. I grabbed the coffee from the table and threw it in his face.
Watching the fury contort Jake’s features, I gave a scornful laugh. "You have this pathetic, simpering devotion for Emma, and now you're extending it to protecting her new boytoy. You enjoy debasing yourself, but don't drag others into it."
Jake froze, completely stunned.
He clearly hadn’t expected that I knew.
I had loved Emma so deeply, how could I not recognize the same blazing look in another man’s eyes when he watched her?
"Yes, you love the crow and its young," I spat. "You think Liam is so wonderful, willing to walk through fire for her. But what does that have to do with me? However 'great' Liam is, in my eyes, he's just the home-wrecker who destroyed my marriage."
I made no effort to hide the venom in my voice. "If you love Emma so much, you should be advising your precious Liam to stay the hell out of my sight. Otherwise, I won't mind making a scene and letting everyone sing praises about their dirty love story."
"As for Emma, she's garbage anyone can take. I've never found fighting over trash appealing. But as her predecessor, I’ll offer some advice: cheating only ever happens once, and then it never stops."
When I finished, Jake just stared, opening and closing his mouth several times, lost for words.
Before leaving, I reminded him, "Don't forget to tell Emma. Eight a.m. tomorrow. The courthouse."
The next day, I waited at the courthouse until ten. I called Emma four times. On the last call, Liam answered.
His voice was smooth, unable to conceal a proud, drunken slur. "Hey… Emma is in the shower. If it's urgent, you can tell me…"
"First, don't call me brother," I said in a flat, businesslike tone.
"Second, you want this divorce as much as I do. Get her down here to sign the papers now. I'll wait."
Liam was silent for a long time. Finally, there was a barely audible "mm-hmm" before he hung up.
Half an hour later, Emma didn't show. Instead, I got another call—my mother-in-law was critical.
It took me over two hours to get from the courthouse to the hospital. When I arrived, Emma and Liam were already waiting outside the operating room.
Seeing me, Emma’s red-rimmed eyes found their target. She charged at me. "What did you do to my mother?! Look what's happened to her!"
I ignored her, rushing to see the medical notice. The doctor wasn't discussing treatment options anymore, just offering heavy condolences, urging me to accept it.
My heart plummeted. My nose stung with unshed tears. As the doctor urged me, I picked up a pen to sign.
Emma snatched it away and threw it to the floor.
"Don't you dare sign! You've been waiting for her to die, haven't you?! So you don't have to take care of her anymore!"
Before I could respond, a watching nurse finally snapped. "Your husband has taken perfect care of her! Have you any idea what it's like to care for a patient non-stop for seven years?!"
"Your mother had incurable cancer! She lived this long only because of your husband's devotion! And you, her daughter? How many times have you visited in seven years? You can count them on one hand!"
The scolding jolted some sense back into Emma. She slumped, defeated. Liam couldn't stand it. "Emma's job is special! She didn't have time—"
"Had time for an affair but no time for her own mother?!" the nurse blurted out.
The hallway fell silent. A doctor pulled her back, and she shut up, still fuming.
Liam’s eyes welled up again, on the verge of tears.
But this time, Emma had no energy to comfort him. Her voice was hoarse. "Bring Max back. Let him see his grandma one last time."
A sharp, dense pain spread through my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut. "I can't bring him back."
