Custody transfers after divorce are common enough that the clerk processed everything without comment.
Once both parties signed, the clerk filed the updated records on the spot. Ethan Blackwood and Julian stood holding the court-stamped custody paperwork. Only two names were gone from the family records, yet the thin folder in their hands felt like an abyss.
Empty. Cold. The warmth and beauty of the past could never be recovered.
Tears flooded Julian’s eyes. He grabbed the edge of Naomi Sinclair’s coat without caring who saw. “Mom, please don’t abandon us. Dad and I will change please…”
His voice broke. Between the still-childish brows and the shape of his eyes, Naomi could see traces of herself. For years she had endured everything because this boy was her son. She had yielded, compro
