Hank and Alex both ran to Suzanne’s side to help her, leaving me standing alone in isolation.
Hank smiled warmly at Suzanne as he helped her rinse vegetables.
Meanwhile, Alex, competing for attention, grumbled, “Dad, I want to help Ms. White too! Stop hogging the work!”
Suzanne laughed, patting his head in amusement. “Don’t worry, Alex, I’ve got an important job just for you.”
She smiled sweetly while casting a deliberately disdainful glance my way.
I met her provocative stare in silence.
But Suzanne pressed her advantage, feigning distress. “Adrienne, I have no idea why they keep hovering around me. If it bothers you, I can send them back.”
C
7:14 PM
<
Her posture radiated the air of a hostess, and it actually made me laugh.
I smirked coldly. “No need! They’re just a couple of nuisances.”
Meanwhile, the live comments lit up with outrage.
[What’s up with Adrienne’s attitude? She’s just a washed–up star, what’s she got to be so arrogant about? How dare she talk to Suzanne like that?]
[No wonder her husband and son both like Suzanne better, she’s got some serious issues.]
Time had changed things; my fans had disappeared during my years of retirement.
Suzanne, evidently aware of the comments, allowed a triumphant glint to show in her eyes. “Sorry, Adrienne, but it looks like Hank and Alex don’t want to leave.”
Even as Suzanne and I argued, Hank never spared me a glance.
He gently rested his hand on Suzanne’s back, leaning in to whisper something.
He didn’t speak aloud, but I understood.
He said, “Don’t bother with her. She’s just a shrew.”
Chapter 4
I turned my gaze elsewhere, swallowing the churning emotions stirred by the word “shrew“.
When Alex was a baby, born prematurely, he was often ill.
I remembered the time he burned with fever, his tiny body aflame and trembling with convulsions.
Panicked, I frantically called Hank, who was filming at the time. Overcome with emotion, my voice cracked and shrilled, “Hank, come to the hospital, something’s wrong with Alex!”
I could hear his irritation over the phone. “I’m working. Handle it yourself. I’m not a doctor, what good would I do?”
Clutching Alex, I froze in place, fury boiling over. “Is your movie more important than your son?!”
He sighed, weary. “Why are you acting like a shrew?”
He hung up, leaving me alone to dash around the hospital with our fevered child in my arms.
Even as Alex’s fever worsened into pneumonia, Hank never showed up.
Disillusionment doesn’t hit all at once, it builds, piece by piece.
I wrenched myself out of the painful memory, focusing on preparing my dish.
Since children were the judges, I felt confident in my chances.
After all, even my picky, delicate Alex had grown up healthy on my cooking.
Unlike Suzanne’s fancy seafood spread, I opted for simple but universally loved buffalo wings.
It had been Alex’s favorite dish. He would devour every last bite, licking the plate clean as if he could swallow it whole.
When the dishes were finished, each was divided into small portions for the children to taste.
Surrounded by gourmet meals, the kids flocked to my buffalo wings. Every vote was mine, except for Alex’s.
He stepped in front of the others arre
7:14 PM
<
“My mom’s buffalo wings are terrible. I’ve had them so many times and hated every bite. I’m her son, trust me!”
Hesitation rippled through the children.
Finally, Jesse, the younger brother of Aaron Banks, spoke up. “But… they smell really good.”
I watched as Alex blocked votes against me, then eagerly promoted Suzanne’s dish.
It was obvious he simply didn’t want me to win.
But fate didn’t favor him this time.
When the rankings were announced, I claimed first place and chose House No. 1 without hesitation.
Suzanne’s seafood feast was difficult for the children to eat and earned only two votes from Alex and Vicky. She ended up stuck with House No. 6.
The moment the rankings were revealed, Suzanne’s face turned pale, her eyes pleading as she glanced at Hank for help.
I had no interest in their wordless exchanges and only wanted to rest. But just as I turned, someone grabbed my arm.
Hank frowned slightly, speaking with unwarranted authority. “Adrienne, give House No. 1 to Suzanne. She’s not in good health and can’t stay in House No. 6.”
Chapter 5
My actions froze instantly. I turned and stared at him, unwavering.
It felt as if my heart had been gouged out, the continuous stabbing pain numbing me into weary acceptance.
I laughed bitterly in my fury. “Why should I?”
He frowned slightly, as though I were being unreasonable. “Adrienne, can you stop being so selfish? It’s just a room.”
Alex rushed over, his face stern. “You’re so cruel! Dad already said Ms. White isn’t well. What if she gets sick in that awful place?”
“And what about me?”
With the last thread of hope, I ignored Alex’s fists pummeling my stomach, and locked eyes with Hank.
He only remembered Suzanne’s frail health but had conveniently forgotten my severe allergy to mosquitoes.
Once, during a film shoot deep in the mountains, a mosquito bite sent me into anaphylactic shock. I collapsed, my heart stopped, and I nearly died.
The incident even made the headlines.
Back then, Hank had clutched my hand tightly, his eyes full of regret and sorrow. He’d promised me, “Adrienne, I’ll never let you go through something like this again.”
But now? When had he forgotten even that?
My emotions toward Hank’s farewell were not something that arose in an instant. It was the sudden provocative video, Hank’s repeated distant and evasive gazes, and more importantly, the fact that he gradually started to forget the details of our relationship.
A flicker of memory seemed to surface in Hank’s mind.
He pressed his lips together and avoided my gaze. For a brief moment, his face turned pale.
If I wasn’t mistaken, there was even a trace of guilt in his eyes.
7:14 PM J
<
Then, Suzanne let out a delicate cough and spoke in her soft, considerate tone. “It’s fine, Hank. If Adrienne doesn’t want to, I can stay in House No. 6. It’s no trouble.”
Her words only strengthened Hank’s resolve. His eyes hardened as he turned back to me. “Adrienne, stop being childish. Suzanne isn’t someone you can compare to.”
After the numbness came calm acceptance and then surrender.
I didn’t feel the sorrow I had anticipated. My voice was cold, my smile sharper. “No. Why should I hand over the room I earned?”
But I had overlooked one crucial thing.
The right to choose belonged to the children.
Alex reminded me of the rules, a triumphant gleam in his eyes. “I pick House No. 1 for Ms. White.”
Once again, and for the final time, I looked into Alex’s face as he eagerly sought Suzanne’s approval. Deep within my gaze, I buried my disappointment and farewell.
Without warning, I spoke clearly and decisively. “Hank, I want a divorce.”
1
Though my voice wasn’t loud, it landed like a stone shattering the surface of a still pond.
All the cameras turned toward me. Hank’s smile froze. In his usually calm, expressionless eyes, I saw a flicker of shock.
I chuckled softly and repeated, “We’re getting a divorce.
“The papers are already signed. I don’t want anything but the money and the real estate.”
The comment section fell silent. Moments later, it exploded in a frenzy.
[Adrienne must be doing this for publicity. Who divorces on a parenting show?]
[This is just a stunt. Without her, Alex and Hank can still film the show perfectly fine!]
[Good riddance! Now Hank and Suzanne can finally be together openly.]
