Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband?

Chapter 541 There was no reply. After Mila sent off her last message, she looked up at Sophia, her gaze calm and even. "Is that it? Can we talk business now?" The air in the room turned icy.

Layton, standing off to the side, felt his heart nearly stop. He wished he could vanish into thin air.

To his surprise, Sophia-who was notorious for hating interruptions at work— simply fixed Mila with a cold stare for a moment. Then, without a word, she scanned the papers, scribbled her signature, and tossed the file to Layton.

It felt like a royal pardon. Layton, clutching the documents, gave them both his most professional smile, offered polite goodbyes, and made his exit in a smooth, well-rehearsed sequence-turn, step out, close the door. Silence crept back into the hospital room.

"What's left to discuss?" Sophia asked, her voice flat, her finger pointing to the bandage around her own neck. "No matter the reason, your son hurt mine. That's a fact. And you hurt me, too. You both need to take responsibility." This woman. Mila forced herself to stay calm. Don't get angry. She drew a slow breath, looked Sophia straight in the eye, and finally spoke. "Do you have any idea what your actions are doing to Julian? How far you're pushing him?" The sterile room was so white, the curtains fluttered gently at the window.

Since they were finally talking about the kids, Mila laid everything out-all she'd heard from Adrian, from the school, everything she knew. By the end, her gaze was sharp as a blade fixed on Sophia.

She couldn't be sure of everything, not yet. But from what the teachers had said about Julian at school, and seeing the boy himself-so gaunt and hollow-eyed in that hospital bed it was painfully clear: this woman hadn't taken proper care of her child. And that was before you factored in her partnership with a lunatic like Lysander, cooking up this twisted "break them to make them stronger" scheme.

Maybe this tit really was just a slip, an accident. But if they kept going like this, sooner or later they'd drive that kid over the edge. It was only a matter of tbefore he broke completely. How could anyone be so cruel? Absolutely unforgivable.

Sophia listened to all this in utter stillness. She shook a cigarette from a tin, raised it to her nose, and inhaled the scent, her face unreadable. Mila frowned at the display.

Mila was about to speak again when Sophia suddenly cut in, voice dripping with mockery. "That's quite a story." "But do you have proof?" "What makes you so sure what gives you the right to say your child is telling the truth?" Sophia bit down on the unlit cigarette, sitting up on the hospital bed and looking down at Mila with a sneer. "You know, your kid is an awfully good liar." A child who lies as easily as breathing-how much truth could there be in anything he says? A flash of anger crossed Mila's face, but she stifled it quickly. Getting mad was pointless. She'd expected Sophia not to believe her this was just evasion, nothing more.

But that wasn't the point.

She raised her eyes and fixed Sophia with a hard stare, every word striking straight at the heart of the matter, refusing to let her dodge it for even a second.

"This happened because of you-because of Lysander-because of both of you. You're adults. Own what you've done. Don't shove all the blonto the kids and pretend you're blameless. Don't you find it shameful to have so little courage? Act like an adult for once? Don't hide like a coward. Can you manage that?" Her face was expressionless.

The room was dead silent.

The next moment, Sophia grabbed Mila by the collar, yanking her close. "Coward? You think I'm a coward? Do you have any idea what I've done?" Her eyes burned, the cigarette in her mouth trembling with rage. "Yes," Mila said quietly, lifting her gaze.

She stared into Sophia's furious eyes, but she saw something else behind the anger-something deeper, hidden beneath the fire.

After a few seconds, Mila went on in a steady voice.

"Sophia, you've done things I'd never have the guts to do. I admire your decisiveness and your nerve. But it cost you six years of your life behind bars. Everyone makes their own choices, and I'm not here to judge that." sŵ

"But the person who betrayed you was your husband. You couldn't let it go, you couldn't bear to see him dead of alive-but none of that means you get to dump your Tel leftover hate onto an innocent child. Using him to carry your grudge and then refusing to face up to the consequences-that's real cowardice." "You're pathetic. A coward, through and through."

She didn't even finish the sentence before Sophia's face twisted in fury. In a flash. Mila was yanked onto the bed, Sophia lunging at her, hands clamped around her throat. Luckily, Mila had seen it coming and was ready.

There was a scuffle, a tangle of limbs and sheets. But in the end, Mila-quick e and sure despite XOeverything managed to pin down Sophia, who was already injured. Both of them were sweating and out of breath. Mila gasped, "You always do this. And what does it solve?" "Hurt someone else and do another stint behind bars?" "Sophia!" "How many more six-year sentences do you think you have left?"