My Son Wanted His Fathers Last Name and They Cried When I Agreed Chapter 03
After my father’s ashes were laid to rest, Walter gathered our sons and the Carter relatives and led them away.
Only the extended Bennett family stayed behind with me.
Great-Uncle Henry’s eyes filled with tears as he tried to comfort me.
“Evelyn, your parents worked hard their entire lives. None of us expected the Carters to move against you the moment they were gone.”
“All you can do now is try to accept it. Those boys may not have your last name anymore, but they’re still your sons. Whether you can make peace with it or not, you still have to go on.”
I nodded. “I understand. I can accept it.”
I could accept anything. I knew exactly what the Carter family was planning.
Changing my sons’ last names was only the first step.
Next, they intended to take everything the Bennett family owned.
They thought that, as a woman on my own, I’d be easy to control.
In Walter’s mind, I was nothing more than a pampered heiress who’d relied on her parents her entire life.
He was wrong.
A family like mine didn’t raise helpless little girls, and I had never been one.
After the relatives left, I lit one final memorial candle for my father.
“Dad, please don’t blame me. I’m only trying to protect the last things you left behind.”
A breeze swept past, lifting the ashes from the burned memorial notes into the air. They spiraled around me as if my father were answering.
When I returned to the Bennett family home, I’d barely reached the courtyard when I heard Frank Carter speaking inside.
“It’s been over twenty years, Walter. You finally made it through. There was a man in some old story who endured years of humiliation before getting his revenge. I think he was a prisoner or something.”
Nathan supplied the answer. “The Count of Monte Cristo.”
“That’s right! Our Nathan really is well-read. Walter, you endured more than twenty years of humiliation, and this day has finally come. I’m so proud of you. The Carter family can finally hold its head high again.”
They all laughed, and the sound grated on my ears.
Walter had accepted my family’s marriage arrangement when his family was struggling to survive. Yet in their eyes, he was the victim, a man who had spent decades patiently waiting for revenge.
My own son had even helped them twist the knife.
Just as I reached for the courtyard gate, I heard uncertainty in Ethan’s voice.
“Do you think Mom will be even angrier when she finds out we already changed our last names behind her back?”
My breath caught.
They had already changed them.
That was even more humiliating than being told at the last minute.
Not knowing the truth, I’d let them lead my father’s funeral procession as Carters.
The Bennett name had meant more to my father than anything. Yet even at his own funeral, they’d denied him that last shred of dignity.
“Walter Carter!”
I couldn’t hold back any longer. I kicked open the courtyard gate.
They all jumped.
Nathan and Ethan were too guilty to look me in the eye. Both instinctively stepped back.
After a lifetime of acting weak, Walter suddenly found his backbone. He stepped in front of our sons to protect them.
“What are you yelling about? So you heard us. What does it matter? They were going to change their names sooner or later. What’s wrong with doing it sooner? You agreed to it anyway.”
After everything I’d been through that day, a dull ache spread through my chest.
But I knew I couldn’t let them push me into an early grave.
If I died, there really would be nothing left of the Bennett family.
I forced myself to take deep breaths until I had my emotions under control.
It wasn’t until I’d completely calmed down that I spoke again.
“Since you’ve all made your decision and gone through with it, it’s time I told you mine.”
I looked directly at Walter.
“Walter, I want a divorce.”
