My second brother stepped forward. "Let her do it. Lettie knows her limits. If she gets uncomfortable, we stop." He glanced around. "Besides—do you really think we'd let Rhys bully her with all of us here? The sooner she cuts him loose, the better."
His logic won them over. Jack threw open the door.
Rhys didn't even make it through first. His mother, Josephine, barreled past him, voice screeching.
"Where is he? Where's my big, fat grandson?"
My mother stepped in front of the crib, blocking her path. Her expression was ice.
"There is no grandson. It's a granddaughter."
"Granddaughter?"
Josephine's face collapsed. She snatched her hands back as if the crib were contagious, excitement replaced by indignation.
"A girl doesn't count! Listen to me, Scarlett—this one's a write-off. Once your confinement month is up, you need to get pregnant again immediately! The Abbott family has had a single son for three generations. We will not let the line die because of your incompetence!"
In the past, whenever his mother went on these tirades, Rhys would rush to shield me, claiming he preferred daughters anyway.
But today?
Rhys stood behind her, limp and spineless. He tugged at her sleeve in a half-hearted attempt to silence her, not daring to meet my eyes.
"Mom, Lettie just gave birth. Can't this wait?" Rhys pleaded, exhaustion dripping from every word.
"There is no later."
I cut him off. My second brother stepped forward and produced the divorce agreement he'd prepared days ago. I slapped the document onto the bedside table.
"I bought the house before the wedding. The car was part of my dowry. You get neither." My voice was flat. "Full custody of the child goes to me. Your salary and savings? Keep them. I don't want a single cent."
I stared him down. "Read it. Sign it."
Rhys froze. He'd clearly assumed my earlier threats were just postpartum hormones. But seeing the legal documents in black and white, reality finally crashed down on him.
"No... Honey, wait," he stammered, panic flaring in his eyes. "I just helped a neighbor park her car. How did we get to divorce? I don't agree to this!"
He reached for my hand, dropping his voice and putting on that pathetic puppy-dog expression he always used to manipulate me.
My eldest brother and Jack stepped in immediately, blocking his path like a human wall.