Ignore Hubby and Son's Regret Shining Now novel Chapter 4

Chapter 4 I’m Done with This Ungrateful Brat

After setting a date with Phoebe to hand over the studio, Demi went home.
She gave herself two weeks. Ten years was such a long time. There were too many loose ends to tie up before she could walk away for good.
The biggest issue at hand was the household itself.
The huge 5,000-square-foot villa didn’t have a single helper because Nevin complained they were noisy.
So, Demi handled every bit of cleaning herself.
If she was going to leave, she wanted to do it gracefully—like a professional, like the perfect secretary she’d always been. That was her pride as the heiress of the Snows.
Rhea, of course, wasn’t the type to do chores. Demi decided to find a good maid for her husband and son.
All day, she interviewed candidates. She asked them to cook soups the way Nevin liked them. That night, while Demi was having dinner, a panicked shout came from the door.
“Bill! Call the family doctor—now!”
It was Nevin’s voice.
Demi froze. Being pregnant, the faint smell of blood made her sick.
Her heart twisted with worry.
What happened? Is he hurt?
She hurried toward the entrance—only to see Nevin rushing in, carrying a woman in his arms. Snow was falling outside, clinging to his hair and coat, but he didn’t seem to notice.
Nevin laid the woman on the couch, voice tight with anger. “Where is the doctor? Get the doctor here, now!”
Demi didn’t even have to look at the woman’s face to know who she was.
Rhea.
Wrapped in a thick bedrobe, Demi stood aside and asked calmly, “What happened to her?”
The two had argued that morning, and Nevin barely spared her a glance now. His voice was sharp and cold; he wasn’t in the mood to talk.
“She ran into a debt collector. Got stabbed in the shoulder.”
“Debt collector?” Demi frowned. “Whose debt?”
She couldn’t help but wonder—was the mighty CEO of Blackwell Group in financial trouble now?
Before Nevin could respond, Rhea—her face pale—spoke up weakly. “I’m sorry, Demi. This is all my fault.”
“My dad owes money from gambling. Somehow those people found out I’m Mr. Blackwell’s secretary. They tried to grab me on my way home. I fought back and got hurt. Luckily, Mr. Blackwell was working late and happened to be there. Otherwise, I might’ve been killed.”
“Cut the crap!” Nevin interrupted sharply. “Don’t say that. As long as I’m here, no one will hurt you. But your apartment isn’t safe anymore. I’ve called the police. Until they catch the men, you’ll stay at my house.”
“No, she can’t live here,” Demi said firmly, without hesitation.
Nevin glanced up at her.
Her face was pale too, but hers was a healthy tone. Maybe because she’d finally quit her job and cleared things up with her friend, she actually looked lighter today.
Demi’s cheeks held a soft flush. Her silk robe hung loosely over her frame, soft and elegant, like a lazy Persian cat basking in comfort.
The anger that had been simmering in Nevin all morning suddenly faded when he heard her refusal.
He turned his head slightly, a hint of mockery in his tone.
Of course. Another one of her little games—pretending to be calm while hiding her jealousy of Rhea.
His voice turned cold, and he warned, “Demi, this is my house.”
He was the man of the house.
Whoever he wanted to keep—stayed.
“Still no,” Demi replied, her voice sharp and steady.
“There aren’t enough rooms. She has nowhere to sleep.”
The villa was huge, three stories tall, but there were only three bedrooms suitable for sleeping.
One for Orion, one for Demi, and one for Nevin. That was it.
When they first married, there had been plenty of guest rooms, but Nevin—full of affection back then—had remodeled them all.
Now the villa had a luxury nursery, a walk-in closet, rooms for her art and yoga, and even a green room.
But no extra bedrooms.
All three bedrooms had once been planned by Nevin—for the son and daughter they hoped to have someday.
Back then, neither of them could’ve imagined that one day, their marriage would grow so cold that they’d sleep in separate rooms.
He hadn’t expected Demi to use that as her reason for refusing Rhea to stay. Nevin’s face darkened instantly.
His voice tightened with barely restrained anger. “Demi, you’re sleeping in the master bedroom.”
The meaning was clear. Nevin expected them to share a bed again.
After all, no matter how strained things had become, just three months ago they’d still shared that bed.
How else would the child in her stomach have come to be?
Demi no longer cared about this. That night three months ago had only happened because he was drunk.
There was no love, not even hate, just emptiness.
She stood her ground, refusing to budge. Her silence and defiance made Nevin’s anger boil over.
Just then, a small voice broke through the tension. “Dad? Mom? What’s going on?” Orion came down the stairs, rubbing his sleepy eyes. “I heard you two fighting again.”
His words trailed off when he saw Rhea on the couch, her arm bandaged and a trace of blood still visible. His drowsiness vanished.
“Rhea!”
He ran to her side immediately. “What happened? Are you hurt? Does it hurt? Are you okay?”
Rhea smiled softly and patted his head. “I’m fine, cupcake. Go back to bed.”
“No! You’re hurt! I’m not sleeping until you feel better!”
The boy insisted, clinging tightly to Rhea’s arm and refusing to let go.
Watching him clutch Rhea so affectionately, Demi let out a smile. “Don’t worry, Orion,” she said lightly. “Rhea will be staying with us for a few days. But since we’re out of bedrooms, she’ll have to share a room with you. Is that okay?”
“Really?!” Orion’s eyes went wide with excitement.
“That’s awesome—”
He suddenly covered his mouth mid-sentence.
“Wait—no, Mom! That’s not what I meant.”
He’d completely forgotten—Demi hated it when he got too close to Rhea. Once, he’d spent too long playing with Rhea and lost track of time. When he finally came home, Mom was furious.
From that day on, Dad taught him something. Never let your mom know how much you like Rhea or how kind she really is.
“It’s fine. You can mean that,” Demi said darkly.
Her cold hands slipped under her nightgown and rested on her stomach.
Now she finally understood what it meant to give birth to an ingrate.
She still remembered the day Orion was born. Demi had been in labor for two days. The doctors told Nevin they could only save one—her or the baby.
Nevin’s eyes had turned red as he shouted outside the operating room, “Save Demi! Just save her!”
But she refused. Crying and begging through the pain, she asked the doctors to save the baby. She would give up everything but not the child she shared with Nevin.
In the end, she pushed through the pain. Demi gave birth to Orion naturally, without a dose of anesthesia.
She gave up her career and devoted herself completely to raising him.
And what did she get in return? A son who adored another woman and wished he could trade his mother for her.
Demi was exhausted.
Truth was, she hadn’t even wanted this new baby. When the test came back positive last week, her first thought was to end it.
Life had already drained every bit of hope from her. She didn’t want to give Nevin another child.
But now that she was leaving, a sliver of hope flickered inside of her again.
Without the weight of this family holding her back, maybe she and the baby could start fresh—live free, live better.
Realizing this, Demi decided to stop wasting her time and walked away.
Orion didn’t understand why his mom was acting that way. He just stood there, staring blankly as she walked away. For a long time, he didn’t move or make a sound. Then, the boy suddenly broke down crying.
Kids were sensitive, even when they didn’t understand much.
But somewhere deep inside, through that invisible bond of blood, he felt it. His mother was leaving him for real.
“Waaah—!”
Rhea jumped at the sound, rushing over to comfort him. “Don’t cry, Orion. I’m with you. Don’t be scared, okay? I got you.”
She looked up at Nevin, her big tearful eyes full of quiet accusation.
See? Demi made him cry again.
Nevin’s face darkened. He glanced up toward the second floor, his gaze cold and heavy. Eventually, he said nothing.