Chapter 11
I stopped in my tracks and answered Zhou Zeyu calmly and methodically:
"First of all, I've been paying monthly alimony as outlined in our divorce agreement. I've done my duty as a mother. I haven't abandoned my child.
"Second, Zhou Yiran is also your biological son. You have full custody. It's your responsibility to ensure he lives in a stable, healthy environment.
"And finally, our marriage didn't fall apart because of me. You cheated. You're the one who destroyed our family. If anyone has truly wronged Zhou Yiran—it's you."
Zhou Zeyu's face flushed red with shame and fury.
He stood there for a moment, chest heaving, gathering some kind of misplaced courage. Then, almost defiantly, he said:
"Shen Xi… is this really necessary?"
I frowned. "What?"
"All of this. You shutting me out, staying cold and distant. You're doing this to make me regret, aren't you? You want me to say I was wrong. You want me to crawl back and beg."
He stared at me like he thought he had it all figured out.
"Fine. I'll admit it. I was wrong. I shouldn't have let Lin Yaqi seduce me. I shouldn't have let her come between us. I shouldn't have destroyed our marriage. I shouldn't have divorced you."
His voice was full of regret, but somehow it still sounded arrogant—as if he was doing me a favor by saying it.
"I swear, once Lin Yaqi gives birth and the law allows it, I'll divorce her. We can get back together. Start over."
I stared at him.
Absolutely speechless.
I hadn't expected much from him—but even so, this level of delusion left me stunned.
"I know you've been single for the past two years," Zhou Zeyu continued. "You've been studying, taking classes, working out, keeping yourself in shape… All that effort, isn't it just to make me see you differently? Isn't it to make me regret everything?"
I laughed. A sharp, bitter laugh that cut through the tension.
"So you really think I've been living my life these past two years just to impress you?"
"Shen Xi, we're not young anymore. Let's not play games. I don't have the time or the patience," Zhou Zeyu said impatiently. "I still have that large flat in the city. You and Yiran can move there first. Once I divorce Lin Yaqi, I'll move you both back into the villa."
I just looked at him.
Didn't speak. Just smiled.
Zhou Zeyu's expression twisted. "What are you smiling at? Are you that happy?"
"I'm just amazed. Truly. That someone could be this brazen."
"Shen Xi!" he shouted, furious now.
"Where do you get the confidence to think I'd ever want to remarry an arrogant, unfaithful, selfish bastard like you? Do I look insane to you?"
His face went pale with anger.
"Think about what you're saying. I'm only giving you this chance for Yiran's sake. Don't push it too far."
"You can keep that 'chance' and give it to someone else," I said with a smirk. "I couldn't care less."
"Don't act so high and mighty," he snapped. "You're a thirty-something divorcée with a kid. What man would seriously want a woman like you? They're just playing with you. No man's going to marry someone like that."
"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "But you get to remarry? You get second chances, but I don't?"
"It's not the same. Men and women are different. A man can always bounce back. But a woman?" Zhou Zeyu sneered. "No one wants used goods."
Ah.
So that's what this was really about.
This was the reason he had cheated so easily, so repeatedly—because he believed that being born a man gave him the right.
He believed women were disposable. That their worth expired with age and motherhood.
How proud he must've been, carrying that sense of superiority around like armor.
But the saddest part?
He actually thought I'd still want him back.