My Husband Accused My Family of Stealing His Mother’s Gift Chapter 07

My Husband Accused My Family of Stealing His Mother’s Gift Chapter 07

The cake sat in the center of the table, its black swan gleaming beneath the lights.

Tyler poured Dad a full shot of bourbon and raised his own glass with both hands.

“Happy sixtieth, Dad. Here’s to good health and many more years together.”

Dad picked up his glass, but his hand was still shaking, and a few drops spilled over the rim.

He knocked it back in one swallow. The burn made him grimace, but his smile stretched so wide

that his eyes nearly disappeared.

“Thank you. Thank you.”

Tyler reached behind him and pulled out another box. The wrapping paper was bright and uneven, making it obvious that he had wrapped it himself.

“Dad, this is your birthday present.”

Dad opened it and found a dark-gray cashmere scarf inside.

The fabric was incredibly soft. Tyler had saved several months’ pay to buy it.

Dad was overjoyed. He wrapped it around his neck and refused to take it off.

“It’s warm. Maybe a little too warm.”

Yet he still would not remove it.

Mom laughed at him, though tears still clung to the corners of her eyes.

I raised my glass and sat down beside Dad.

“Dad, having you, Mom, and Tyler in my life is the greatest blessing I could ever ask for.”

Dad’s eyes reddened again.

He nodded hard and raised his glass, then lowered it without drinking. In the end, he only took a

small sip.

“I feel the same way, Sienna. Having you and Tyler has made my whole life worthwhile.”

Dinner lasted for hours, and Tyler shared several more drinks with Dad.

The two of them traded stories from years ago. They talked about the time I rode my bike into a drainage ditch as a child and the first time Tyler failed a test and was too afraid to come home.

Mom and Dad laughed until they nearly doubled over. Then, somehow, the laughter turned into

tears again.

My phone suddenly chimed twice.

I picked it up and saw a WhatsApp message from Maya.

A photograph filled the screen.

They were sitting around a table at an expensive hotel restaurant, surrounded by lobster tails, oysters, and prime rib.

Adrian sat in the center. Maya was pressed against his side, one arm wrapped intimately around his.

Linda sat on his other side, while Noah stood behind them flashing a peace sign.

They looked like one big happy family.

Another message immediately followed.

Maya: [Mrs. Mercer, please don’t take this the wrong way. I only posed for the picture because Noah wanted one before he left the country. Mr. Mercer was just trying to give him a proper send-off.

Please don’t misunderstand.]

She added a pleading-face emoji.

I stared at the photograph.

Adrian looked genuinely happy.

Without me there, he could finally be with Maya openly.

He no longer had to hide their relationship or worry about my reaction.

How wonderful for him.

Without changing my expression, I opened Maya’s WhatsApp profile, blocked her, and deleted the

chat.

Then I tossed my phone onto the couch and did not look at it again.

Once the settlement was signed and the court finalized our divorce, I thought Adrian and I were finished for good.

A man as arrogant as Adrian would never be the first to back down.

But one evening, I returned from work and spotted a figure leaning against the planter outside the entrance to my apartment building.

It was Adrian.

He wore his charcoal cashmere coat with both hands tucked into the pockets. Several cigarette butts lay scattered near his shoes.

It looked as though he had been waiting for a long time.

When he saw me approaching, he straightened and brushed some dust from his sleeve.

“Had enough time to cool off yet, Sienna?”

“If you have, come home with me.”