Eliza found out about Casper and Susan's engagement from the media. The news hit the headlines just minutes after it was released, making it impossible for her to ignore.
She couldn't wrap her head around why Casper was in such a rush. Sure, he'd already transferred his share of the assets to her, and the money was in her account, but they still hadn't finalized the divorce. That seemed odd. She'd called the civil affairs office several times, but they kept telling her there was a network outage and to wait a bit longer. And while she was waiting, boom, Casper's engagement news broke.
It seemed he was more anxious than she was. Was the divorce agreement effective immediately after signing? Maybe the divorce certificate was just a formality. Otherwise, with the Torres family's background, there was no way he'd be getting engaged while still technically married. Perhaps he was too eager to give Susan a title, unable to wait for the divorce certificate and thus hastily announcing his engagement to the world. When she thought about it that way, it made sense. Love or lack thereof was glaringly obvious.
She turned off her phone and tried to pull herself together, preparing to take Brock to his new kindergarten. It was a boarding school, and she was reluctant to leave him, but with an elderly family member to care for at home and her painting, her energy was stretched too thin.
"Honey, Mommy will pick you up on the weekend. Be good at kindergarten, okay?"
Brock nodded obediently. "I will, Mommy. Don't work too hard."
"You're such a sweetie. How could Mommy be tired?" She lifted her hand, gently ruffling his hair. "Mommy is very happy."
"Mommy would be even happier with a daddy." The little guy finished speaking and instantly noticed the change in Eliza's expression. He shrank back, looking guilty. "Sorry, Mommy."
Eliza hugged him, her heart aching. He rarely mentioned 'daddy' in front of her. What was different today?
"Honey, you haven't done anything wrong. Without a daddy, we can still be happy, right?" She tried to soothe him but felt the sadness in her own words.
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