The Ex-Wife's Ascent

When Sophia Brown woke up, her forehead was burning hot.

"Harry..." she called out hoarsely, "Could you get mommy a glass of water?"

Harry White didn't respond.

Sophia waited for a while, but there was still no movement.

She threw off the blanket, and the moment her feet touched the floor, a wave of dizziness hit her hard.

She grabbed onto the nearby table and forced herself to push open the bedroom door.

The door to the children's room was slightly ajar, and Harry's excited voice came through.

"Aunt Alice, do you like the gift I gave you? Dad and I worked on it for so long."

Sophia stopped in her tracks at the doorway. Through the crack in the door, she saw Harry talking to his phone watch.

"Aunt Alice, can you come with me to the parent-child sports day in a few days?"

"I don't want Mom to go. Last time she came to school, she dressed so outdated and insisted on wiping my sweat. All my classmates laughed at me..."

"It would be so great if you could come. You're so pretty, and you can speak so many languages!"

Sophia felt the dryness in her throat spread to her eyes.

She stood there, her fingertips trembling badly.

If she hadn't heard it with her own ears, she wouldn't have known this was how she looked in Harry's eyes.

She dressed in outdated...

But before, she used to shine on stage too. It was only because she married Benjamin White that she became like this.

Not caring about her appearance, her skin aging and haggard...

She looked at Harry. Despite his young age, his features looked so much like both her and Benjamin.

But ever since Alice came back, Harry, who used to love hugging her and calling "mommy," hadn't talked to her properly in a long time.

Her throat tightened. She was about to leave when Harry saw her.

The smile on Harry's face instantly froze, and the next second, he became angry.

"Mom, why are you eavesdropping on me!" Harry's little hand quickly ended the call, his face flushing red. "The teacher said eavesdropping on others is rude!"

Sophia looked at the resistance and wariness in his eyes and opened her mouth. "I'm sick, I wanted to ask you to get me a glass of water..."

"Can't you get it yourself?" Harry said huffily, then lowered his head to continue fiddling with his watch.

Sophia's chest ached badly.

She held back her tears, holding them in again and again, then asked unwillingly, "Harry, the parent-child sports day at school, can mommy go with you?"

Harry's little face scrunched up, somewhat resistant. "But I don't want you to go. I already told Aunt Alice. I want Aunt Alice to go with me."

"But I'm your mother."

"Who says only mothers can go?" Harry complained. "Mom, can you please stop being so petty?"

Sophia's body swayed. She felt a chill seeping out from her bones.

She nodded, unable to say another word, and turned around.

Her gaze paused when it swept across the desk.

On the desk was a half-eaten cream cake.

"Harry," she instinctively spoke up, "your stomach isn't good, you can't eat so many sweets. At night you'll..."

"You're so annoying!"

Harry completely lost his patience, looking at her with reddening eyes.

"Don't you have anything of your own to do? Are Dad and I your prisoners? Why do you have to put all your attention on Dad and me?"

He was only 4 years old, but every word stabbed at Sophia's heart like a knife.