My Son’s Bully Was His Old Flame’s Son Chapter 01

My Son’s Bully Was His Old Flame’s Son Chapter 01

When our son was born, my husband, Judge Joseph Sterling, immediately told me he wanted separate bedrooms.

“We will maintain the appearance of a family for the sake of the child,” he’d said. “But inside these walls, we are strangers.”

From that day on, even if I fell right in front of him, he refused to touch me for even a moment.

Opposing counsel and political hitmen had combed through his life with a fine-tooth comb, searching for scandals, yet they found nothing.

Even after ten years of marriage, we had never kissed, held hands, or embraced in public.

Whenever rumors surfaced questioning our relationship, Joseph responded coolly, “We value our sanctity away from the cameras.”

Online, everyone praised him for his discipline, his self-control, his supposed respect for his wife. Only I knew the truth. Ten years of an empty bed. Ten years of cold silence.

Then our son, Carl Sterling, was bullied at school so violently that he suffered intracranial bleeding and a fractured rib. He was rushed into the ICU.

As a judge, Joseph should have filed charges and pushed for trial immediately. Instead, he hid behind the excuse of fairness, delaying again and again.

Heartbroken, I rushed home, only to overhear Joseph speaking with a close friend.

“Joseph, if your wife knew you were delaying the trial because the boy who bullied Carl is your ex-girlfriend’s son, she’d definitely divorce you.”

“She won’t find out.”

Those light words dropped like a blade, slicing straight through my chest.

So he wasn’t impartial. He wasn’t righteous. His scales had simply tilted long ago for another woman.

…

Though it was on a blazing summer day, a chill still ran straight down my spine. Inside the study, Joseph’s voice was calm and unhurried.

“Even if she finds out, she wouldn’t dare.”

He was right. The moment Carl was born, I had resigned myself to living like a widow rather than utter a single word about divorce.

And Joseph knew. He knew I loved him. He knew I couldn’t bear to walk away.

His friend snorted.

“Unbelievable, Joseph. High school was ages ago, yet you still haven’t gotten over Julia Johnson, that little delinquent. Well, she was your only stain, Mr. Perfect.”

“I still remember the day you two were caught fooling around in the teacher’s office.”

“When they publicly reprimanded you, she asked you in front of the entire school if her lipstick tasted good. Funniest thing I’ve ever seen!”

Their laughter rolled on and on. My face drained of all color.

Fooling around? I never imagined that word being associated with Joseph, the man who had always looked so dignified, so noble, so rigidly self-disciplined.

The thought that this man, who sanitized his hands every time he accidentally brushed against mine, had once sneaked around a school indulging in someone else’s body…

A wave of nausea rushed up my throat. I bolted into the bathroom, retching over the sink. Nothing came up except bile.

Ever since Carl’s accident, I hadn’t been able to eat or sleep. I ran between the police station and the hospital every single day, barely staying upright.

But Joseph, Carl’s biological father, still had the energy to sit here reminiscing about his high school fling.

Ridiculous. So ridiculous it was laughable.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, Joseph was alone in the study. His eyes flicked briefly over my tear-streaked face and bloodless cheeks. His tone remained level.

“The current evidence is disputed. The trial has to be postponed. Being anxious won’t change anything.”

The same excuse. The same lie. If I hadn’t overheard his friend earlier, I might still have believed him. I stepped forward, ready to enter the study.

“Joseph, what will it take for you to proceed with the trial?”

His brow tightened. Before he could give me another evasive answer, I let out a soft laugh.

“If you push the case forward, I’ll agree to a divorce.”

For a moment he looked stunned, almost delighted, as if the force of that unexpected joy short-circuited his mind.

Then reality snapped back, and his expression darkened like an oncoming storm.

“Sierra, if every law enforcement officer’s family resorted to threats and manipulation like you, what fairness would remain in this world?”

“Carl was bullied most likely because he inherited your selfish nature.”

I froze. My pupils contracted. I could barely comprehend the words coming out of his mouth.

He was abusing his authority to protect his ex-lover’s son. And now he dared to blame me and our injured child?

I stepped forward, wanting to argue, but he slammed the door shut with a deafening crack. The sound reverberated in my chest long after it ended.

I stumbled downstairs in a daze. My phone rang. It was Carl’s defense attorney. His voice was hesitant, just like the previous lawyers.

“Mrs. Sterling, I… I can’t take this case. Please hire someone else…”

My grip tightened on the phone, the taste of metal rising on my tongue.

“Mr. Collins, did someone say something to you?”

“Mrs. Sterling… please don’t ask.”

He hung up quickly. But I already knew. In the entire legal world, who had the power to make attorney after attorney refuse my case? Who else but Joseph?

I steadied my breath and called Mr. Collins again.

“Mr. Collins, if you can’t take this case, that’s fine. But there’s another matter you definitely can take. I’d like to hire you… to represent me in a divorce lawsuit.”