Chapter 6
After the incident with the drawing, Chloe became even quieter than before.
She stopped drawing altogether. Whenever Richard tried to give her new crayons or paper, she would politely refuse and say she didn’t feel like drawing anymore.
It broke Richard’s heart.
One afternoon, while Chloe was at school, Richard went into her room. He wanted to clean up a little and maybe find a way to encourage her to draw again.
As he was tidying her desk, he noticed something sticking out from under her mattress.
He pulled it out carefully.
It was another drawing.
This one was older and more wrinkled. It showed the same three figures under a rainbow, but this version was more detailed. Chloe had even tried to write their names at the bottom in her messy handwriting.
“ Daddy - Chloe - Mommy ”
Richard stared at the drawing for a long time.
He realized then that Chloe had been holding onto hope. Even though Elena had never been kind to her, Chloe had still wanted them to be a real family. She had still wanted a mother figure in her life.
And Elena had crushed that hope without a second thought.
Richard carefully folded the drawing and put it in his pocket.
That evening, after Chloe went to bed, he knocked on Elena’s door.
She opened it with an annoyed expression.
“What is it now?” she asked.
Richard didn’t waste time with pleasantries.
“I want a divorce,” he said calmly.
Elena’s eyes widened.
“What?”
“I’m filing for divorce,” Richard repeated. “And I’m going to fight for full custody of Chloe.”
Elena let out a sharp, bitter laugh.
“You’re joking, right? You think a judge is going to give you full custody after everything that’s happened? You’ve been absent for years. I’ve been the one raising her.”
Richard looked at her with cold eyes.
“No, Elena. You’ve been the one making her life miserable. And I have proof.”
He pulled out his phone and played one of the recordings he had secretly made over the past few months — conversations where Elena had spoken cruelly about Chloe when she thought no one was listening.
Elena’s face went pale.
“You recorded me?” she whispered.
Richard nodded.
“I should have done it sooner.”
Elena’s expression twisted with rage.
“You’ll regret this,” she spat. “I’ll make sure you lose everything.”
Richard looked at her without any emotion.
May you like
“The only thing I care about losing is the time I wasted letting you hurt my daughter. That ends now.”
He turned and walked away, leaving Elena standing in the doorway, shaking with anger.
