I Watched My Mother Kneel For His Family, Then I Ended His Chapter 04

I Watched My Mother Kneel For His Family, Then I Ended His Chapter 04

I dialed Celia’s number, pressing so hard on the screen my finger hurt.

One ring, two, three…

“Hello?”

“Celia, where are you?”

“Home. What’s wrong?”

“My mom saw the divorce agreement. She’s heading over to the Guzmans’ right now to apologize—stop her!”

Silence fell over the line for a second.

“Where is she now?”

“She just left the house, so she shouldn’t be at the Guzmans’ yet. You’re closer to them. Drive over, wait at the gate, and intercept her.”

“I’m on my way. You hurry over too.”

I hung up and bolted to the garage.

My hands trembled violently as I started the engine.

My mother’s words echoed in my head, “I’ll get down on my knees again if I have to…”

She didn’t realize—the more she humbled herself, the more the Guzmans would push.

Every time she swallowed humiliation for my sake, she was telling Dillen that this tactic worked—that he could go even further next time.

When I reached the entrance of the Guzman estate, I spotted Celia’s white SUV parked sideways right outside the gate.

Celia stood beside the car, hands holding my mother by the shoulders.

My mother was struggling to break free. Small and frail, wearing the same faded jacket from yesterday, with traces of iodine still on the cuffs.

I parked and ran over.

“Mom!”

She froze when she saw me, then panicked anew.

“Elva! Let me go! Let me go to your in-laws and tell them this was all my fault. I’ll apologize. I’ll make it right.”

“Mom, get in the car.”

“I won’t! Elva, listen to me…”

“Mom, please.”

My voice went raspy.

I took her hands; her fingers were icy cold.

“Mom, get in the car with me first. I have something to tell you. Just listen to me once before you decide. Okay?”

She stared at me, her lips trembling.

Finally, she stopped resisting.

I helped her into the back seat. Celia slipped into the driver’s seat and drove down the road, parking well away from the estate.

The car fell silent.

I turned around to face my mother.

She crouched in her seat, wringing her jacket cuffs, refusing to meet my eyes.

“Mom.”

“I’m listening.”

“The Guzmans have never treated us as equals.”

Her hands stilled.

“Think about it. In the five years since I married Dillen, has Frederica ever treated you like family?”

She said nothing.

“Every gathering, where did they seat you? At the far end. Even their housekeeper sat closer to the table than you did.”

“That’s… that’s because I’m nobody…”

“Mom, you’re my mother. I’m Dillen’s wife, which makes you their equal. That seat wasn’t something they gave you—it’s where you belonged all along.”

She kept her head down, her fingers starting to shake.

“Now think about this—every time Dillen cursed at you or raised his hand, what was it really for?”

“Because… because I didn’t raise you right…”

“No.”

My voice was quiet, but crystal clear.

“The first time, it was because you put too much salt in the food. He was testing the waters.”

“The second time, it was because I spent New Year’s with you instead of going to the Guzmans’. And the third time, it was simply because I disagreed with him at work.”

“Mom, have you noticed? He’s never laid a finger on me.”

She looked up at me.

“He only hits you. Because he knows that slapping you once works ten times better than hitting me.”

My mother parted her lips, tears overflowing.

“He wasn’t disciplining me, Mom. He was using you to control me.”

“Every time you endured it, every time you apologized for me, it convinced him that as long as he targeted you, I would fall in line.”

“That’s why he grew more brazen. From yelling to hitting, to crushing our dignity in front of everyone.”

The only sound left in the car was my mother’s broken sobbing.

Celia handed over a pack of tissues.

I took it and wiped my mother’s face.

“Mom, let me ask you something.”

She raised her red, swollen eyes to look at me.

“If one day you’re not here—if there’s no one left to take it for me—what do you think Dillen would do to me?”

The question struck like a needle, piercing a reality she had never dared to face.

Her eyes widened in shock. “He…”

“He’ll hit me, Mom.”

“When you’re gone and he hits me, there won’t be anyone to take the blow for me.”

My mother’s body shook violently.

She covered her mouth to stifle her sobs, but she couldn’t.

“It’s my fault…” She doubled over, her forehead almost touching her knees. “It’s all my fault…”

“I thought if I just endured it, things would be fine… I thought as long as he didn’t hit you…”

“I’m sorry… I’ve been dragging you down all this time…”

She was shaking all over with sobs.

I pulled her into my arms.

I was crying too.

For five years, this was the first time I had broken down like this in front of her.

But this time was different.

Before, I cried out of helplessness.

This time, it was because she finally understood.

After a long while, the weeping in the car quieted down.

My mother sat up and wiped her face with a tissue.

She looked at me, her eyes heavily swollen, but her gaze no longer wavered.

“Elva.”

“Yeah?”

“Divorce him.”

I nodded.

She stayed silent for a moment before asking, “After the divorce… what do we do? What about your job at Guzman Group?”

I smiled. “Mom, I resigned today.”

“Then what about after…”

“Mom, your daughter is far more capable than you think.”

I squeezed her hand.

“Let’s go find a place to stay first.”

Celia glanced at me in the rearview mirror and started the car.

Half an hour later, we checked into a hotel downtown—a business suite with two bedrooms, quiet and clean.

I told my mother to have some rest.

Exhausted, she drifted off to sleep within minutes.

I quietly shut the door and walked into the living room.

Celia sat on the couch, her laptop already open.

“The license revocation notice was sent out at ten this morning.”

She turned the screen toward me.

“All twenty-seven design patents—Guzman Group’s usage rights are completely revoked. Effective today at five p.m.”

“Which means, starting at five this afternoon, every item currently on sale in Guzman Group’s ‘Elva’ Collection becomes unauthorized, infringing merchandise.”

I took a seat.

“What about the business partners?”

“I sent simultaneous notices to all distributors and platforms, informing them of the license termination. If they keep selling, they bear the legal consequences themselves.”

She pushed up her glasses.

“Elva, you know what this means, right?”

“I know.”

“The ‘Elva’ Collection accounts for forty-three percent of Guzman Group’s womenswear revenue. Just last quarter, they signed supply contracts with six major clients, and the goods have already shipped.”

“With the licenses revoked, every single one becomes a breach of contract and an infringement. Partners will demand returns, compensation, and hold them accountable.”

“The Guzmans will know before tonight.”

I leaned back against the couch and closed my eyes.

“Good. They should have known years ago.”