Her Life Beyond the Walls

That memory sent a chill through me.

"The divorce papers were crystal clear—I want nothing from the Harris fortune. Not the cash, not the houses, not the people."

"You..."

James was floored by my outburst, stumbling over his words before he managed to say, "Emma, what's going on? We're family. We need to talk about whatever's happening to fix it together."

"Family?" I rolled the word around like it was a joke. He hardly ever included me in that circle, despite parading me around as Mrs. Harris. Frankly, I was always more of an outsider, a glorified butler at best.

Mandy, Chester, Calvin, Julia, even his ex-wife—they all made the cut. Me? I was never part of that picture.

"Mr. Harris, did you ever see me as family?" I asked, sporting a smirk of irony. "If I remember correctly, every member of the Harris family is supposed to get at least a three-percent stake in Harris Group.

"Your ex Ms. Scott and your brother-in-law Mr. Clark have their shares, don't they? So, tell me, as your current wife, where are my Harris Group shares?"

James's hand curled into a fist without realizing it, a telltale sign he was feeling the heat.

"Emma, you're not like them, you don't get the ins and outs of the company."

"Oh, really? So, to wield the Harris family shares, I'd have to strut into the boardroom and start calling the shots? Or maybe I need to be a hotshot CEO first?"

He was caught off guard by my comeback, his face flashing a moment of awkwardness.

"Emma, I had no idea this mattered to you. We can discuss your shares with the others once we're home."

I laughed derisively. "Save it, Mr. Harris. You're missing the point yet again. This isn't about bargaining with you, it's about me saying I'm done playing Mrs. Harris.

"I want nothing from you, just a divorce. Please, take your precious family and get out of my life!"

James's face turned a shade of deep red, probably not used to being rejected so bluntly after years at the top.

He spun on his heel and stormed off, but not before throwing one last line over his shoulder.

"Tomorrow morning, ten o'clock, the County Clerk's Office. Be there."

When James walked through the door, his mood was so heavy he could not even talk. All he wanted was to vanish into his study.

However, Calvin, still too young to read the room, asked with wide-eyed innocence. "Dad, can you get Mom to come back? I miss her taking me to school and reading picture books with me."

His older brother chimed in, concern etched on his face, "Dad, she's okay, right?"

James glanced at his three kids, who should have been asleep at this hour. They were up, waiting for him because of her, and it just made him feel worse.

In his head, he thought, 'You're all so eager for her to return, but to her, you're just a nuisance.'

He opened his mouth, at a loss for words on how to break the news that he was getting divorced, that she would not be coming back.

"She's fine. Opened up a flower shop down south," he managed to say, dodging the real issue.

"Well let's go get her then, Dad," said Calvin with the hopeful simplicity only a child could have.

Feeling a wave of helplessness and recalling her distant attitude, he steeled himself and said, "She's not coming back. We're going to the County Clerk's Office tomorrow to make it official."

"What?" It was Mandy's turn to be shocked. "Why would you do that? Everything is fine. Why get a divorce?"

"Mom," he said softly, "don't worry about it."

However, recalling her disdain for them, he could not help adding, "Besides, she never really was a true Mrs. Harris. It's better she's decided to leave us alone."

Mandy looked like James's words had hit her hard, and it took her a moment to find her voice. "James, she's really tried her best as your wife all these years. Let's not bring up that old mess again, okay?"

However, James was on a roll like he was dumping all the frustration he had been holding in all day. "We're better off divorced. I don't want her bad influence rubbing off on Chester and Calvin.

"Mom, think about Calvin. How is he going to feel growing up with her, knowing his mother did whatever it took to get ahead? That's going to hurt."

He was about to keep going, but Mandy cut him off.

"That's enough, James. Just stop."

James could not remember when Mandy had ever stood up for Emma like that.

Before he could even wrap his head around it, Mandy's eyes filled with tears.

"James, I should've told you this a long time ago, but... well…

"You made me see today that I shouldn't let my own wants get in the way of you and Emma making peace."

Mandy struggled to speak like they were too difficult to say. "You've never forgiven Emma for that night at the party when she drugged you, and you ended up having to marry her."

She turned to her grandson Chester, who she adored. "And Chester, you've been holding onto that grudge too, haven't you? It's kept your parents from getting back together.

"No matter how nice she's been to you, how much she's cared and loved you, you've just been indifferent to her, not even willing to call her 'Mom'.

"Listen, you've got it all wrong. That drug wasn't her doing—it was me. The whole thing was a mix-up, and even Emma got hurt by it."

The trio's eyes widened, and Chester could feel a slight shiver run through him.

He had despised Emma for so long, blaming her for drugging his father and shattering any hope of his parents getting back together, of ever having a whole family again.

However, if it was all just a big misunderstanding, what about all the things he had done to her over the years?

He could not bear to think about it.

Mandy kept going, "You see, I was trying to play matchmaker for James and Chester's mom. Your split was a joke, and you two weren't on bad terms, so I figured with both of you being so headstrong, I'd step in and help out.

"At that party, I had the drug ready for James and Chester's mom, but somehow, Emma ended up with the drink that was meant for her.

"I first thought she was playing dumb, taking advantage of the mix-up on purpose. However, then, chatting with Kelly one day, we pieced it together—it was our blunder that got the drinks swapped.

"By then, Emma had Calvin, and I was worried she'd be indifferent to Chester if she had her own kid. I figured with this secret hanging over her, she'd have to at least pretend to care for Chester, so I kept quiet all this time."

"Grandma," said Chester, the word tasting bitter in his mouth.

He stood there, his neck rigid, as if holding onto the last shred of defiance. "Then why didn't she clear her name? Why did she quietly take the blame all these years?"

"She tried to tell us, but we wouldn't believe her," said James, the words seemingly weighing heavily on him.

For some reason, he remembered a night long ago when he had too much to drink and was on top of Emma. When she pushed him away, saying she did not want it, he felt a sting of anger.

That day, after being upset by something outside, he saw the rejection in Emma's eyes and blurted, "Didn't you always dream of being with me? Now that it's happening, why are you acting all high and mighty?"

He could still see the way Emma's eyes dimmed when she replied, "James, I like you, but I've never played games with you, and I never wanted to just sleep with you."

He had just scoffed and kept going, not believing her, not caring about her feelings.

All those years, had anyone in their family truly cared about Emma? They had judged her guilty without a second thought and slapped a nasty label on her.

Only Calvin seemed lost, asking carefully, "So, Grandma, you mean that Mom didn't break up brother's mom and Dad? Mom isn't the other woman?"

Chester could not take it anymore. He wrapped his arms around his little brother and said, "Calvin, all those things I told you before, and what we heard from grandma, from our aunt about your mom... it was all wrong. We lied to you, we all did.

"Your mom isn't the other woman. She's not a bad person at all! She's really, really good..."

Chester's voice broke, and he could not finish his sentence, overcome with emotion.