Chapter 3 She Wants a Divorce
1025 Words
Sebastian didn't come.
Still, a part of me held onto hope. Cradling Lillian's lifeless body in my arms, I turned to the funeral home staff, my voice barely above a whisper.
"The baby's father isn't here yet. Could we wait just a little longer?"
The kind-hearted staff agreed. But half an hour passed, and the entrance remained empty. Sebastian never showed up.
My heart sank. I knew then—he wasn't coming.
"I'm sorry, Lillian," I murmured, gently stroking my daughter's cold face before pressing one last kiss to her forehead. "Even for your final journey, Daddy isn't here to send you off. But don't worry, sweetheart. Mommy will always be with you."
I placed Lillian into the hands of the funeral home staff and watched as they took her away.
She was pushed into the cremation chamber. The fire roared inside, its heat so intense that it felt like it was searing straight through me. My chest ached, my eyes burned, and tears spilled down my face.
Yet, amidst the pain, a strange sense of relief washed over me—at least my Lillian would never feel pain again.
Before long, all that remained of her was inside a small urn.
I sat motionless in the funeral home, hugging the tiny urn for what felt like an eternity. Then my phone screen lit up.
It was him again.
99+ missed calls.
Sebastian hadn't come to our daughter's cremation. But now, he was desperately trying to reach me—for what?
For Isabella's dog.
How ridiculous.
Our daughter had just been reduced to ashes, yet Sebastian was running around looking for a dog. And that dog—it was the very reason Lillian was dead.
A sharp pain shot through my chest as I clenched my hands into fists.
The dog's name was Lucky. Sebastian brought it home a few days ago—it originally belonged to Isabella.
One day, Lillian simply reached out to pet it, but Ethan saw and started crying, throwing a tantrum.
Sebastian scolded me and Lillian for it. Then, he demanded that we take care of the dog until Ethan was satisfied.
It was a large breed. I was worried it might hurt Lillian, so I tried to keep it confined.
But Isabella said that would be cruel.
So Sebastian wouldn't allow it.
Then, last night, while Lillian was feeding the dog, it suddenly bolted.
Afraid her father would be upset if it got lost, Lillian grabbed the leash, trying to stop it.
But she was just a little girl.
The dog dragged her straight into the street.
And after that...
My Lillian became nothing more than a handful of ashes in a cold, tiny urn.
Tears blurred my vision again. I lifted my hand to wipe them away, but the icy touch of my fingers made me glance down—at the wedding ring on my finger.
My thoughts drifted back over the past seven years of marriage.
At the start, Sebastian wasn't terrible to me. He didn't love me, but at least he gave me the respect a wife deserved.
Ours was never a marriage of love. It was a convenient arrangement.
Back then, I had just been reunited with my biological family, the Everetts. Meanwhile, Isabella had run away from her arranged marriage with Sebastian.
As the real Everett daughter, I was forced to take her place as Sebastian's bride.
Sebastian once told me he was grateful. If I hadn't stepped in, the marriage between our families would have turned into a complete joke.
Later, when Lillian was born, he said he would love us forever.
For a while, I believed him.
No matter how busy he was, he always came home at night to be with us. He never forgot our birthdays, and he always had gifts ready for every holiday.
Having grown up in an orphanage, I had never experienced the warmth of a real home.
And for the first time in my life, I felt like I finally had one.
I cherished it.
I thought our happiness would last forever.
Then, three years ago, Isabella came back—with Ethan.
At first, Sebastian told me he could never forgive her for humiliating him, for abandoning him before their marriage.
But after seeing her struggle, he caved.
He defended her.
And from that moment on, Lillian and I became almost invisible to him.
One word from Isabella was all it took for him to drop everything and run to her.
Lillian's birthdays went uncelebrated, while Ethan's were grand occasions.
Our holidays stopped mattering, but he always made time to pick out gifts with Isabella.
Sebastian claimed he only pitied her, that he felt sorry for Ethan growing up without a father.
But did he ever stop to think—he had a wife and daughter too?
Did he ever pity Lillian, who barely saw her own father anymore?
Did he ever pity me, his wife, who spent every night waiting for him to come home?
In the end, he was rarely home. Even when I called him, it was always Isabella who answered his phone.
Even when our daughter was sick, he dismissed it as a trick to keep him by my side.
I had wavered before. I had been hurt, countless times.
But I couldn't deny the truth—Sebastian was the person who treated me the best in the world.
This was my first real home.
And I didn't want to lose it.
I didn't want Lillian to grow up in a broken family.
So I kept telling myself to hold on.
Just hold on a little longer. Maybe one day, Sebastian will turn around.
But now, Lillian died because of the dog he brought home.
And he hadn't even come to say goodbye.
At that moment, something inside me finally shattered.
I was done waiting.
I was done hoping.
This marriage was nothing but a cruel joke.
I had made up my mind.
Clutching Lillian's urn, I walked toward a law firm.
If Sebastian loved Isabella so much, then fine.
I'd give them what they wanted.
I was going to divorce him.
- Writer
