"Am I?" Stella shot back. "Because last I checked, your real family is Lana and that bastard son of yours."
"Stella—" Alicia tried to stop her daughter before she went too far, but it was already too late.
The words hung in the air like a gunshot. The room’s temperature dropped instantly.
William’s face darkened as he stormed forward, and before Stella could move...
Slap!
The sharp sound echoed in the room.
"You ungrateful woman!" William roared. "Don’t you ever speak about him like that! He’s Walters! He’ll carry on my name. While you..." he pointed at her, trembling with rage, "...you are not!"
"William... what the hell are you doing?!" Alicia shouted, shoving herself between them just as he raised his hand again.
"Don’t you dare slap her, William!" she screamed. "If you’ve lost all sense of decency, then hit me! Go on! Hit me, you bastard!"
Her voice cracked, trembling, but she didn’t move.
William froze. For a second, he actually looked stunned. Alicia, his wife, had never raised her voice to him before, much less cursed him.
"You..." he growled, eyes red, "move, Alice. Move, or I swear I’ll..."
"No." Her voice was calm this time. Cold. Final.
William stared at her, chest heaving.
Alicia stood there like a woman who’d already lost everything and decided she had nothing left to fear.
The man in front of her, her husband, the father of her children... But it felt like a stranger wearing a familiar face.
"You’ve already done enough," she said softly. "I kept silent for years while you humiliated me, lied to me, and cheated behind my back. I told myself it was for the family... for our daughters. But Stella was right, our family doesn’t exist anymore."
Her voice shook, "You destroyed it."
For the first time, William didn’t know what to say. His lips twitched, but no sound came out.
"It’s okay, Mom," Stella said quietly, touching her mother’s arm. "You’ve done enough for us."
Alicia turned to her daughter, her eyes glassy with tears.
"Mom," Stella said, meeting her gaze, "that man isn’t our family anymore. He’s not your husband. He’s not my father. He’s just... someone who lost his way and doesn’t even realize it."
"I know," Alicia whispered, wiping her tears roughly. "And I don’t see him as my husband anymore. He betrayed everything we built."
Then she turned back to William. Her voice dropped lower, "William Walters, if you ever lay a hand on my daughter again, I’ll ruin you in ways that no scandal ever could."
William’s jaw clenched.
His voice came out low, almost a growl. "You’re both making a huge mistake. You think you can survive without me? You both will come and beg for my mercy!"
Stella smirked faintly, crossing her arms.
"Then let’s see, shall we?" she said. "Because from where I’m standing, we’ll do just fine without you. And, probably YOU will come begging on your knees for mercy."
William glared at her, furious and speechless, and then turned toward the door. He slammed the door so hard behind him that the chandelier rattled.
Silence.
Alicia stood frozen for a moment before her knees gave way, and she sat heavily on the edge of the bed, pressing a hand to her chest.
Her eyes blurred, and hot tears spilled down her cheeks. "I can’t believe it," she whispered. "He really doesn’t have a heart left. Not for me. Not for you. He’s completely gone. He is insane!"
Stella sat beside her and nudged her shoulder lightly.
"You did great, Mom."
Alicia let out a weak, tearful laugh.
"You know... I think that’s the first time in twenty years I’ve ever yelled at that man."
"Well," Stella said with a slight grin, "you’ve still got it."
That earned a soft laugh from both of them, a shaky, tired sound, but genuine.
Alicia wiped her face with the back of her hand.
"I don’t know whether to cry or start throwing his clothes out the window."
"Let’s do both," Stella said. "It’ll be good for us..."
Alicia let out another laugh, a little stronger this time.
"Alright, Mom," Stella said after a moment. "Enough crying. He doesn’t deserve your tears. And anyway..." She smiled mysteriously. "You need to cheer up. Tomorrow, someone wants to meet you."
Alicia frowned, sniffling. "Someone? Who?"
"You’ll see," Stella said, lips curving into a smile.
...
The next day.
Stella drove her mother to a private Japanese restaurant her sister had reserved for them.
The place was quiet and elegant. It was the kind of spot where servers barely spoke above a whisper, and you had to make a reservation a week in advance to get a table there.
Alicia eyed the stone lanterns and manicured bamboo as they walked in.
"Stella, why didn’t you tell me who we’re meeting?"
"Relax, Mom," Stella said, trying to focus on parking without bumping the unbelievably costly car next to them.
Alicia narrowed her eyes. "You didn’t, by any chance, arrange a meeting with a divorce lawyer, did you?"
Stella almost choked on air.
"W-what? No!"
"Because if you did, I’m not mad. I actually need one. William Walters is going to pay A LOT of alimony. Fair still. But a LOT."
"Mom!" Stella coughed, half laughing. "Oh my God, you really are scary when you’re mad."
"I learned from the best," Alicia said dryly, patting her on the shoulder.
"Alright, alright, let’s go, Mrs. Soon to be Single." Stella grinned and opened the car door.
"Don’t call me that," Alicia muttered, though her lips twitched. "At least not until the paperwork’s done."
They walked into the restaurant, and Alicia’s eyebrows furrowed immediately.
The place was empty.
Completely empty.
Not a single customer, despite it being almost lunchtime.
"Why is no one here?" Alicia whispered. "Did you book the whole restaurant? Stella! Are you secretly rich?"
Stella rolled her eyes.
"Mom, please. I’m not that dramatic."
But she knows exactly why this restaurant is empty... it must be her sister or her crazy-rich brother-in-law who booked this place just for them.
Just then, a polite staff member appeared.
"Miss Stella?"
"Yes?"
"Please follow me," the woman said, leading them toward one of the VIP rooms.
When the sliding door opened, Alicia froze.