The auditorium went silent for a beat.
The smile on Ethan’s face froze.
The chubby little boy ignored his parents’ attempts to stop him and stood up.
“A few days ago, Mia showed me your picture. She said you were her dad.”
A stunned silence fell over the entire auditorium.
The boy’s parents hurriedly covered his mouth, laughing awkwardly as they apologized.
“Sorry. He’s just a kid. He doesn’t know any better.”
The principal quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
“Wait, are Mia and Leo siblings?”
Ethan opened his mouth, clearly intending to say yes.
But Leo suddenly shouted in outrage.
“No! I’m not that brat’s brother! Dad is mine! She stole my dad!”
The words detonated across the auditorium.
Whispers broke out everywhere.
“What’s going on? Is Mia’s mom the other woman?”
“That’s awful. So he was cheating on both of them?”
I couldn’t bear to imagine what would happen if Mia had been sitting here listening to this.
Thankfully, she wasn’t.
Ethan suddenly waved Renee and Leo over.
Renee led Leo onto the stage, and the three of them stood together.
They looked like a perfect little family.
Ethan put on a deeply pained expression.
“Teachers, parents, there’s something I need to explain. And honestly, I’m ashamed that things have come to this.”
He paused before continuing.
“Mia’s mother, Vivian Sinclair, and I divorced a long time ago. We stayed under the same roof for Mia’s sake, but our marriage had already ended.”
Sitting among the crowd, I clenched my fingers until my nails dug into my palms.
Ethan gently wrapped an arm around Renee.
“And Renee was my first love.”
Their eyes met.
The emotion between them looked so convincing that, if I hadn’t been one of the people involved, I might actually have believed their love story.
Ethan’s voice grew thick with emotion.
“Back when I left town for college, Renee stayed behind and helped take care of my parents. I’ll always be grateful to her.”
He sighed heavily.
“Later, I got the opportunity to study abroad. We lost touch, and I honestly thought she’d moved on and gotten married. It wasn’t until six months ago that I learned the truth.”
His gaze fell on Renee.
“She had never married because she was still waiting for me. And she had given birth to our son.”
Renee remained silent, lowering her head as tears slipped down her cheeks.
The whispers around the auditorium gradually changed.
“Oh. So that’s what happened.”
“They really have been through a lot.”
“I don’t think Ethan did anything wrong. If he was already divorced from Mia’s mother, what’s wrong with getting back together with his first love?”
Renee’s eyes reddened at exactly the right moment.
“Ethan, please stop. If Leo hadn’t gotten sick, I never would have come back and disrupted your lives. I’m a woman too. I understand how another woman would feel. Even if Vivian divorced you, she still wouldn’t want you getting too close to me. She’ll blame me for everything.”
Her voice was soft and restrained, as though she were desperately trying not to make trouble for anyone.
Leo seemed to understand only part of what was happening.
He suddenly yelled at Ethan.
“Dad, don’t be with that mean woman anymore! She secretly called Mom a freeloader. She said we were just poor relatives coming here to take advantage of you!”
“Leo, don’t say that!”
Renee hurriedly reached for him.
But her reaction only made the audience misunderstand me even more.
Ethan looked heartbroken.
He immediately promised Renee and Leo that he would never let them suffer again.
I watched the two of them play their roles as the tragic lovers who had finally found their way back to each other.
My stomach churned.
Years ago, Ethan had hidden Renee’s existence from me because he wanted to marry me.
Now that he’d built his career and become successful, he suddenly remembered that he’d left a sweetheart back in his hometown?
A few parents nearby began whispering.
“Mia’s mom always seemed pretty controlling. I can’t believe she’d even try to control her ex-husband after the divorce.”
“Exactly. They’re divorced. If he and his first love want to get back together, it’s not like he cheated on anyone. Why is she interfering?”
Just then, my phone buzzed.
It was a message from my attorney.
[Everything is taken care of. Don’t worry. Ethan Bennett illegally transferred assets, and the funds have been frozen. I’ve also filed the divorce claims you requested…]
A smile spread across my face as I locked my phone.
Ethan was in the middle of a massive business deal.
He was expected to invest hundreds of millions into the project.
Now that his funds were frozen, there was no way the deal could move forward.
The real show was about to begin.
Amid the uproar, I pulled out the miniature speaker I’d prepared earlier and spoke into it loud enough for the entire auditorium to hear.
“Funny. I don’t remember getting divorced.”