"Alex, I've told you a thousand times. Victoria and I are nothing like what you're imagining. Can we please stop this endless interrogation?"

Amy's response was icy, detached. "Whatever you and Victoria have is no longer my concern. I've signed the divorce papers. When can we make this official?"

"Divorce?" Alexander let out a bitter laugh. "Amy, you've been a stay-at-home mother for five years. Without this marriage, how will you survive? You won’t even be able to afford rent on your own."

"And as for Liam—you won’t get custody. The courts won’t side with a woman who has no job, no income. A smart woman knows when to fold. Push too hard, and you’ll regret it."

A cold dread settled in Amy’s chest. All her sacrifices had become weapons turned against her.

Even Liam, the child she had raised with her own hands, now looked at her with resentment.

What a fool she had been.

She met Alexander’s gaze head-on. "No job? No income? Before Liam was born, I had a career. A good one."

"You all insisted I quit. Said you didn’t trust strangers with our son."

Alexander’s frown deepened. "And what did that salary amount to? Nothing compared to what I provide. You were better off at home."

Amy clenched her fists. "Maybe I didn’t have the Blackwood fortune, but I could have supported myself."

"At least then, I wouldn’t have had to endure your family calling me a gold-digger. Or your friends sneering at the 'useless housewife' living off your money."

How pathetic. She had given up everything for them, only to be despised for it.

Alexander’s expression darkened. "Amy, why do you care what people say? Besides, Nathan didn’t mean anything by it."

Didn’t mean anything? Victoria’s cruelty was a viper in silk, subtle and lethal. Nathan’s was a blade, sharp and unapologetic. Yet Alexander dared to call him harmless. Was he blind—or just refusing to see?

Amy smiled, cold and sharp. "If you’re so noble, why do you care what I say to Victoria? Besides, I meant no harm to Ms. Langley, Mr. Blackwood. It was just a joke."

The last traces of warmth drained from Alexander’s face. "Amy, do you really want to take this that far?"

Perhaps pain had a limit. Words that once shattered her now barely stung.

Her voice was steady. "Alexander, this divorce is happening. I won’t change my mind."

For a moment, he looked stunned. Then his composure returned. "Remember what you’re saying today. Don’t come crawling back later."

Amy’s laugh was brittle. "Don’t worry, Mr. Blackwood. That day will never come."

Alexander studied her, his voice dangerously calm. "Mrs. Blackwood, you should know better than to burn bridges. It’s always wise to leave yourself an exit."

Amy held his gaze, a faint, knowing smile on her lips. "You’re right. But you’ll never be mine."