Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband? novel Chapter 323

A suffocating sense of dread filled the air.

Gaye recoiled, her neck shrinking into her shoulders, her earlier outburst dissolving into quiet, hiccuping sobs.

Mila said nothing. She forced a strained smile onto her face, trying to keep things calm as all eyes bore down on her. Gripping her mother's arm, she steered the woman out of the school.

She couldn’t let Gaye cause another scene here.

…

Once outside the school gates, Mila realized it wasn’t just her mother who had come for her. Her father, Simon Sutherland, and her uncle were there too.

It was obvious they hadn’t come with good intentions.

Ignoring Gaye’s complaints about booking a hotel, Mila instead reserved a private dining room at a nearby restaurant and led them all there.

She and Gaye arrived first.

The moment they stepped inside, Gaye clung to her hand, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Oh, Mila, after all these years with no word from you, I thought I’d lost you—I cried myself to sleep every night. Now that I see you’re doing so well, I can finally rest easy.”

She looked the picture of motherly affection, as if she hadn’t just been threatening to kill herself and blaming her daughter back at the school.

Mila yanked her hand away, her voice cold. “Cut the act. Don’t pretend to care—it’s disgusting.”

“Oh, how can you talk to your mother like that? I went through so much to bring you into this world and raise you, and instead of being grateful, you insult me?” Gaye’s voice cracked as she started to sob again.

Please. Gave birth to me? Raised me?

If Mila hadn’t run away, she’d have starved or been beaten to death by now—or worse, sold off to buy her idiot brother a bride.

After a while, seeing Mila remain unmoved, Gaye’s eyes flickered with calculation. She reached out to stroke Mila’s yellow winter coat.

“This is such a nice jacket. You’re living the good life out here, aren’t you? Why didn’t you ever come home to tell us, let us stop worrying? You don’t know how hard things are for your father and me back home.”

Mila shoved her away.

Gaye stumbled, stunned, her eyes instantly reddening. She turned and wailed just as a middle-aged man walked in.

“Simon, look at your daughter! After all these years, she’s turned ungrateful—she even pushed me!”

“Looks like you need a lesson. Forgot how to respect your elders, have you?”

Simon’s face darkened. He raised his hand and slapped hard. Mila jerked away, but his fingertips still caught her cheek, leaving a thin, bleeding scratch.