“Get out of here.”
I flicked his cheek and laughed.
After all these days, I finally understood.
This kid was doing everything he could to keep
me busy, so I wouldn’t have time to be sad.
I may have picked a bad husband, but I gave
birth to a gem of a son.
<
D
What was there to be sad about?
6
I decided to look for a job.
Tom had agreed to give me a million dollars
and promised to pay child support every month.
But a million dollars wasn’t really that much.
Alex’s tutoring alone cost twenty grand a year.
Not to mention daily expenses.
If I didn’t get off my butt, the money would be
gone soon.
I’d been a stay–at–home mom for over a
decade.
I thought I’d start with something easy and build
7:30
up some experience before changing jobs.
I told Alex about my plan.
I wouldn’t have as much time to take care of
him if I was working.
68
He thought about it.
“Of course, I support you working. But finding a
job is like dating, gotta plan it out first.”
I chuckled at his grown–up attitude and couldn’t
help but tease him.
“Have you been dating? Is that the same?”
He declared.
“What if you just settle for the first one and
then meet someone better? Would you break up
with the first one or waste time with them?”
I thought about it.
He had a point.
If I just took any job and then found a better
one, it would be a pain to ask for time off for
interviews.
Alex went on.
“No need to rush the job search. But there is
something we need to do.”
“What’s that?”
I asked.
“Quit my tutoring classes.”
“No way!”
I refused flatly.
“Mom!”
He whined.
“I have four tutoring sessions a day! I’m your
son, not an ass!”
7
く
After some friendly discussion, we decided to
cancel the language arts and English classes.
We’d keep math and physics for now.
If there was any progress, we could reconsider.
“Mom, you’re the best!”
Alex happily ran around me twice and even did
a set of English practice questions.
Our lives slowly returned to normal.
One day, I was browsing a link from my friend,
Sarah.
Alex took a look and suddenly asked me, “Does
Sarah make money doing this?”
“Kind of.”
I said, hitting the “buy” button.
Ho tugand on my hand
He tugged on my hand.
“Mom, I think you’d be great at this.”
My heart skipped a beat.
Sarah had always had an eye for trends.
She had been successful in e–commerce.
Now, she was trying a new social media
platform.
It didn’t have many users yet, but the shopping
experience was convenient, and the marketing
channels were flexible.
It had potential.
The most important thing was the “one–click”
feature. No need to worry about sourcing
products. Perfect for beginners like me.
“Okay, I’ll go ask Sarah for some tips.”
<
If I learned anything as a stay–at–home mom, it
was how to shop.
I was picky.
I paid attention to prices, but I also cared about quality.
I compared prices and products.
Friends always asked for my recommendations.
As Alex said, this platform might be perfect for
- me.
With Sarah’s help, I got my store up and running
quickly.
I was strict about the quality of the products I
promoted.
I had to try them myself.
So, even though I wasn’t making much money, I
<
7:31
68
So, even though I wasn’t making much money, I
quickly gained a loyal following.
A month passed.
Tom suddenly showed up at my door.
He said he wanted to withdraw the divorce
papers.
Chapter 2
8
I was stunned.
Even though I had brought up the divorce, I
knew Tom had been thinking about it for a
while.
Otherwise, why was he always picking at me,
always finding fault?
Besides, Linda’s belly was growing bigger by
the day. She must be pressuring him.
<
7:31
His sudden change of heart caught me off guard.
“Why?” I asked.
68
Tom looked away, avoiding my gaze. After a
long pause, he mumbled, “I…I don’t want to lose our family.”
I felt a wave of disorientation.
During Tom’s early years of starting his
business, he often traveled for work.
Before leaving, he’d always hug me and kiss our
son’s little cheeks.
“Honey, I don’t want to leave you guys. I’ll come
home as soon as I take care of things.”
When did he start to dread coming home?
Seeing my expression soften, he sat next to me.
<
7:31
and took my hand.
68
www.
“Honey, can we please just stop all this? Can
you really let your son have no father?”
I pulled my hand away from his grasp, a hint of
scorn in my eyes.
“Tom, you were the one who messed up. You
can’t just expect things to go back to normal.
That’s not how the world works.”
