Ex-Husband Begone novel Chapter 1

Ever since Bethany Zavala found out her husband, Terrence McConnell, was cheating on her, she’d been quietly planning a divorce.

Strangely enough, today Terrence suddenly asked her to attend their son’s school event.

There was a time when she longed to go to these parent-child activities, dreaming of the three of them spending a joyful day together.

But every time, Terrence wouldn’t let her go. And she couldn’t explain the reason to their son, leaving the boy disappointed every single time.

At 2 p.m., Bethany arrived at the school. She pulled out a small notepad from her bag, wrote a polite message in neat handwriting, and handed it to the guard.

“I’m the mother of Emery McConnell from Class 1, Grade 3. I’m here for the parent-child event. Please let me in.”

She had made a point of wearing a brand-new outfit. She knew kids liked it when their moms looked nice at school events.

The guard glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. “Can’t you speak?”

Bethany nodded with a smile.

She wasn’t born mute. Years ago, a traumatic event had left her with selective mutism. Over the years, she had grown used to questions like this.

The guard pulled out the sign-in sheet, scanned it thoroughly, and then sized her up.

“She’s elegant and beautiful-what a shame she can’t speak,” he thought.

His tone turned less friendly. “The boy’s parents have already signed in. How could you pretend to be someone else’s mother?”

Bethany frowned and quickly wrote something on the paper. “Emery really is my son. Why would I pretend?”

The guard got annoyed. He held up the sign-in sheet again and pointed to Emery’s name. “Take a good look for yourself!”

Bethany’s gaze landed on the two names in the parent signature spot, and her heart ached.

She had endured years of mockery and snide remarks ever since that trauma stole her voice. She thought she had gotten used to it.

But this time, she could hardly breathe, not because of the guard’s words, but because of the name written there in Terrence’s sharp handwriting-Krista Gilbert.

Krista was the woman he was having an affair with.

Just then, a WhatsApp message came in.

It was from Terrence: “You don’t need to come to the event.”

Bethany froze, rooted to the spot.

She put down the sign-in sheet and walked forward in a daze. Behind her, the guard sneered, “Of all the children, you chose to pretend to be Emery’s mom? He already has one.”

The laughter of children echoed from the schoolyard. Thinking of Emery, Bethany couldn’t help but glance toward the sound.

Through the white fence, she saw the eye-catching father and son in the crowd.

But a graceful woman was standing next to them.

That must be Krista.

Red ribbons were tied around Emery’s ankles, linking him to both Terrence and Krista for the three-legged race.

Emery was beaming with joy.

And Terrence, typically stern and serious, now wore a faint smile, his eyes shimmering with warmth.

He stood tall and striking, with a chiseled face and sharp features. His thick hair framed his deep eyes, and every move he made radiated effortless charm.

Bethany had seen how confident, decisive, and commanding he was when handling business.

She’d been drawn to him from the moment they met, and before she knew it, she’d fallen hard.

But he had never given her that gentle, loving look.

Snapping out of it, Bethany turned to Krista. In a white dress that showed off her perfect skin, Krista looked graceful and refined, the image of understated sophistication.