“I don’t want to hold him right now.” My voice came out cold, like ice shattering in the air, so cold it scared even me.
Jonathan froze.
Ethan, unable to reach me, cried harder, so hard he nearly choked.
Jonathan’s face twisted with disbelief, bloodshot veins spreading across his eyes like spiderwebs.
His voice shook as he demanded, “What… what did you say? Ethan is your child! Angela, how can you be so heartless?”
The shop erupted at once.
“Angela, are you insane? The child is crying like this, and you won’t even hold him?”
“All this, just for a divorce? You’d even abandon your child? Is your heart made of stone? What sin did your husband commit to end up with a woman like you?”
The boss stamped her foot, her face tight with agitation. “Angela, you’re confused! Whatever the problem is, talk it out. Why let the child suffer like this?”
Jonathan held Ethan tighter, his arms rocking with the boy’s sobs. His gaze locked on me, and the last flicker of light in his eyes dimmed, leaving only the gray hollow of despair.
“You can even turn your back on Ethan…” His laugh came low and brittle, like shards of ice cracking. “Fine. Isn’t divorce what you want? I’ll give it to you.”