Chapter 36 Betrayal tastes bitter
SIENNA
“Get back with him, Sienna,” she uttered, gazing at me seriously. “You can’t divorce him without my permission.”
Nothing readied me for my mom’s statement. What astonished me more was her expression; she was neither shocked nor confused, as though she already knew about my breakup with Ethan. Deep down, I knew that was just my assumption. There was no way she knew anything about us. She never cared.
I chuckled, finding it unthinkable. “What do you mean, Mother?” My voice shook. “You didn’t even ask me what he did wrong.”
Her hand was still on mine, now strangely cold. “I don’t need to pry into your marriage, honey. Disagreements are inevitable in marriages, and how you handle them is what matters,” she said.
My eyes quivered as I scoffed. I couldn’t believe the woman sitting in front of me was my mother. Yeah, everything about her seemed like my mother except the words she spewed.
Withdrawing my hand from under hers, I muttered, “Where is this coming from, Mother? What’s happening? I suppose you hated Ethan.”
“That’s in the past. Yeah, I didn’t like him for you before now, but not anymore. I like him now, Sienna.” She paused. “You have to get back with him. He’s the only son-in-law I’ll approve.”
I thought she was joking… or I wanted to believe this was just her pranking me, but her eyes gave her away. The soberness and seriousness in them caused my heart to skip a beat. Never would I have thought there would be a day when my mother would pick Ethan over me. There was more to this… I knew that for sure, but I couldn’t discern what exactly it was.
Nibbling on my bottom lip, I took her hands into mine and pierced my gaze into hers. “Mother, you don’t know what Ethan did. You haven’t asked me about it. What he did is unforgivable. You are this way because—”
“Love forgives, honey. Nothing is unforgivable in marriage. Endurance matters,” she interrupted me.
Dismay glinted in my moist eyes, and I scoffed sharply. “What are you doing, Mother? Are you being sarcastic? Is this some kind of retribution for disobeying you in the past?”
A slow, soft smile formed on her lips, and she shook her head. “No, Sienna,” she mumbled. “I found out Ethan is a great guy. He loves you so much.”
I snorted and sprang up. “He cheated on me, Mother,” I revealed, my chest heaving up and down. “Ethan cheated on me with Bianca, my best friend.” Tears rushed to my eyelids, not because of Ethan’s cheating, but because I had to reveal something like this to my mother after everything she did to stop me from making this mistake. “Do you know what’s funny?” A few bubbles of sarcastic chuckles escaped my mouth. “He was already an asshole before I caught him sleeping with her. He’d ceased treating me like a wife but like a slave.” My voice rose at the last statement, and my breath became heavy and loud.
Silence followed. My mother lifted her gaze and fixed it on me for a few seconds, with no reaction. She just gaped. I assumed she was too speechless to find the right words. I mean, I was too. Anybody would be. The same son-in-law she had just forgiven and vouched for had already done something outrageous to her daughter. She was right to be perplexed.
However, I was wrong. The next utterance my mother made threw me off.
“I’m sure he has learned his lesson, honey.” I almost yelled at the statement, but I held back, digging my nails into my skin. “He made a mistake, and I’m sure he regretted his actions. Don’t lose a good man like him because of a one-time mis—”
“What are you saying, Mother?” I stomped my foot and raised my voice slightly. “How can cheating be a mistake? Wait… why are you even supporting him when you barely know what transpired between us?”
“I’m just trying to be a good mother. A good mother doesn’t ruin her daughter’s marriage.”
“But you aren’t the one who ruined it. Ethan did. He asked for a divorce; I never did, even after catching them.” My voice shook, my emotions taking over faster than I expected. It was just a conversation with my mother, but it felt like betrayal. You know the feeling you get from hearing disappointing words from somebody you regard highly? That was exactly how I felt, standing in front of my mother and listening to her.
“If he apologizes, then forgive him.” Her tone and demeanor were nonchalant about the whole thing, and it irked me even more—as though everything I said made no sense and it was all about him.
Throwing my head backward, I chortled bitterly, blinking back the tears in my eyes. “This is crazy,” I murmured, leaning forward. “Mother…” I called. “Ethan—”
“Mother, I’m here!!!” a familiar voice cut in on me before I could finish my statement. When I turned to see who it was, it was none other than my ex-husband, Ethan. My breath hitched.
His steps slowed when he saw me, and the wide smile on his face dissipated. For a second, I couldn’t believe it was real, so I pinched myself and felt the pain. It meant I wasn’t hallucinating, and Ethan was really in my parents’ home and had just called my mom “mother.”
“You didn’t call me before coming today,” my mother said, rising with a smile on her lips. She walked past me and took the bags of different brands from him.
“Yeah… I… CL’s Design just released a jacket; it’s limited, so I decided to get it for you today before it gets sold out,” he explained as my mother pulled him to the couch. He reclined in it, his eyes darting between my mother and me. “While at it, I checked the other stores you like and picked some things I think you would like.”
“Oh my God!” my mother gasped, putting the bags on the table and unlocking them. Her eyes glinted with satisfaction and covetousness. “I just thought of purchasing YL’s design today,” she muttered. “This must have cost a lot.”
“Anything to make you happy, Mother.”
“Aww… my son-in-law is the best.”
I stood there, shocked and conflicted. I couldn’t understand what the two were doing, but one thing was clear: my mother had been in touch with Ethan, and she definitely knew about my divorce before my visit. In fact, she invited me over so she could make me get back with him.
Call it sarcasm or craziness, but I couldn’t hold back my laughter after the whole tactic played out in my head.
I burst into frantic laughter. They both shared confused glances.
The more I glanced at the gifts on the floor and remembered my mother’s advice, the more the laughter surged within me. I didn’t think my next betrayal would come from my own mother.
“Is this the reason you want me to get back with a cheater?” I questioned amidst my laughter. “So you can keep getting designer bags and apparel from him?”
She put the bag on the table and sauntered toward me. Once she was in front of me, she tried to touch me, but I stepped back, making her hand hang in the air. She froze for a moment but later smiled indifferently.
“This isn’t about the gifts, honey. It’s about the intention behind them. He’s sincere. He wants to change. Give him a chance to prove himself to you,” she said.
I couldn’t react. I was horrified beyond words. I’d predicted everything but not this. She even had to justify her behavior.
I smirked, concealing the anger surging within me. “I’m quite disappointed in you, Mother.” My tone carried pain I couldn’t show. Tears rolled down my face. I couldn’t hold them back anymore.
“After catching Ethan with Bianca, I felt bad for disobeying you. I felt horrible for picking him over you. I thought I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself for that one mistake I made. So when you asked me to come back home…” My voice croaked at this point. I inhaled sharply and continued, “I was over the moon. I thought you wanted to mend the broken bridges between us. I thought I’d gotten the opportunity to make it up to you… I didn’t expect this.” I burst into tears. “I didn’t expect that you’d entertain a man who treated your daughter like a doormat.” My sobs overshadowed my words, but I was certain they understood me from the expressions on their faces.
“You sold your daughter’s remaining dignity for designers. You should be ashamed,” I spat, snatched my bag from the couch, and marched out of the house.