Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband?

Chapter 528

In a daze, Mila seemed to hear a thousand voices and flashes of memory

ricocheting through her mind, each one making her hand tremble harder around the knife.

-Mom, I'm sorry.

-Mom, I'll be good.

-Mom, you smell so nice. Did you make something delicious for me?

-I understand, Mom.

I love your spicy chicken the most, Mom!

Wow!

-Mila! Stay calm, be careful!

-Mila!

At the end of it all, she saw Jade's face, eyes fierce with authority, a sharp command slicing through the cold, endless dark-snapping her awake.

What had she done?

The knife slipped from her grasp and clattered away. Her hands, still shaking, reached for Sophia's damp, sticky neck. Maybe she'd been out of her mind, because the cut was shallow, just a thin line of blood seeping slowly out. Realizing Sophia's life wasn't in danger, Mila collapsed, drained, and sank to her knees on top of her, arms falling limp to her sides.

She gasped for breath, lungs burning.

Her thoughts were still muddled, children's voices echoing in her ears: laughter and tears-baby talk in a cradle, a soft bundle giggling, that first wailing cry at birth-each memory rattling her chest.

never be cruel enough to treat life as

began to return, Mila spoke, her voice hoarse and raw in the darkness. "It's not your word I care about. I want to hear it from

a pawn was exactly the kind of thing he'd do. So she couldn't be wholly sure Adrian was innocent,

had to hear it from Adrian

stand beside him to face it. But whether he was involved or not, before any judgment was passed, she owed it to him-to herself as a mother-to be the last one to decide, even if the rest of the

hear Adrian

violent coughing beneath her. Reality pressed in hard, and shame swept over

What had she done?

She'd nearly-

made

ruined her

able to breathe again, Mila leaned down, lifting her head just enough to look into Sophia's face. Her eyes, bright and clear after all the tears, seemed to glow

She spoke again.

to do with me. If he really put our son up to this, I'll settle it

the collar and yanked her up

your child. Even if you didn't want him or couldn't care for him, you had options-you could have given him to his uncle or hired someone to look after him. There

the one thing you should never have done was help destroy him!

and you knew exactly

"How could you?"

...

Some time later.

light, was empty now except for Sophia. She lay on the floor, her beautiful face swollen and red, eyes staring blankly

stayed that way for a

her free hand, she fumbled in her pocket until she

and immediately fell into a fit of coughing so

the other clutched her burning throat. She didn't know if it was the smoke or the pain from her neck, but tears stung the corners of her eyes,