From Divorce to Dominance: Ex-husband Regret

~Ariela~

It was my son's sixth birthday_ well, step-son, anyway, but I'd prefer to call him my son even though he practically doesn't see me as his mother.

I was in the kitchen. Making sure everything goes perfectly, as I worked alongside the cook to prepare his favorite meal, macaroni and cheese.

My attention was suddenly drawn outside when I heard the screeching sound of Alfred's car wheel.

'They're back, ' I exhaled calmly.

Making sure everything was in perfect order, I excitedly rushed to the sitting room to welcome them.

Alfred had earlier taken him out to God knows where without caring to know if I could join them, perhaps they needed a father-son moment, I assumed.

But as I approached them, my face faltered. Alfred and Daniel walked in alongside Loela. Daniel was clinging to her like his mommy without even noticing my presence.

"Happy Birthday, Daniel!" I exclaimed, but he barely acknowledged my presence; my heart ached, I was practically on his face, but his attention was totally drawn to whatever Loela was whispering to his ear.

I tried to hide my hurt and stepped closer, perhaps he could finally notice my present.

With a wide grin, I crouched down to his height and whispered, " Happy Birthday, baby. Mummy has prepared your favorite to celebrate your special day."

"I'm not hungry, Aunty Loela already fed me my favorite snacks," he said with an indifferent expression.

His rejection felt like a punch to my throat, and I gulped hard. A pang of pain gnawed at my chest as I realized that all my efforts in the kitchen were for nothing.

I decided to try one more time to see if he could really look at me.

"Look, mummy got you a present, your favorite toys," I brought out the gift I'd got for him earlier and stretched it towards him, but he flung it away.

"This is ugly, it is for babies, and I'm no longer one. See, Aunty Loela got me my best birthday gifts," he swayed the boxes of gifts in his arms.

A spasm of sadness and jealousy coursed through my veins, witnessing Daniel choose Loela, his father's secretary, over me, again and again.

A flicker of disappointment clouds my expression, another reminder that he might never see me as his mother.

Even though I wasn't his biological mother, I've done nearly all I could within my capacity to earn his love and warmth. Maybe he could see me as his mother, but all my efforts couldn't crack the wall of his heart.

How would it?

When Alfred practically twisted his son's perception of me, inscribing on the wall of his heart how unworthy I am to be a mother.

Every step I took to reprimand Daniel for any wrong, Alfred sided with him, thereby undermining me and making it look like I was a wicked mother

I had met Alfred Tyler with a month-old Daniel shortly after his first wife's death. I saw a single father yearning for a nurturing environment for his child, a mother for his son, and a woman to call his wife. So I blindly took the opportunity despite my mother's heartfelt warning not to build a tent on another woman's home.

But I allowed myself to be swept away by Alfred's gorgeous and magnetic appearance, falling helplessly in love with him. I practically put my blossoming career on hold to ensure I cared for my new family, prioritizing the safety and well-being of Daniel.

A wave of chill washes over me.

I wished he could see through me as his mother, and perceive me as someone very important, but no, he has always chosen her from the very first day she set foot into the house.

I clenched my chest in pain as the weight of the realization that I've been fighting for his love bore down on me, casting a shadow of loneliness and undesirability.

When I thought I could bear the pain of Daniel's rejection, Alfred hurled a brown envelope towards me with a stern face and a voice void of emotion, he demanded,

"Sign it."

I looked utterly bewildered, staring at the envelope like a lunatic, "What is this, Alfred?"

"It's a divorce paper. Sign it. I'm not interested in this shenanigans called marriage anymore. It's clear we don't need you in our lives again, " his voice laced with so much ice.

His words cut through the air like a shard of glass, slicing through my fragile heart.

With trembling hands, I opened the envelope 'DIVORCE AGREEMENT BETWEEN ALFRED AND ARIELA' written boldly on it.

"Alfred, how could you think of divorcing me after I sacrificed everything for this family?" My voice cracked as tears threatened to spill.

"Isn't it obvious that you aren't needed in this home? I have made my choice, so also Daniel, just send the damn paper and save yourself all this stress," He snarled.

His words twisted a blade in my heart. I stare at Loela, her lips tugged in a smirk, she is obviously taking satisfaction in my agony or perhaps satisfaction for finally taking over everything I had nurtured, pruned, and grown into a family.

I searched the eyes of Daniel, hoping to find a trace of love and warmth that we once shared as mother and son, but what I found instead was an icy distance, a void that sends shivers down my spine.

I instinctively reached out to grasp his hand. Maybe he could see the love I'd have for him, but he flinched, stretching out his hands for Loela instead.

"Aunty Loela could take me to my room," he said with a voice filled with love and tenderness.

I bite my lower lip in humiliation.

Absorbing yet another rejection from him.

I watched as he gently followed Loela upstairs, leaving me with Alfred, who was staring at me disdainfully.

Alfred was never like this in the first few months I met him. He was sweet, a caring father, and a loving partner. Always had his way of igniting my most sensitive spot. But everything changed after his secretary, Loela, who went on a three-month vacation, resurfaced.

She skillfully stole him away from me in the guise of working on an important project.

I had hoped that perhaps raising Daniel with him could ignite a spark within him again, but it seems destiny has other plans, firmly aligning Daniel's affection with Loela instead of me.

The sight of Daniel giggling so hard in the arms of Loella as they climbed the staircase stung my heart, not only from the rejection but also from the realization that I had lost his affection to another woman.

Daniel's next statement to Loela shattered the little hope I'd held onto.

"I want you to be my mummy," he giggled.

His words pierced my heart, breaking it into pieces. My knees gave out, I had to lean against the wall to stay upright. A cold numbness spread through my chest, replacing the pain.