Chapter 2
I stepped between Ethan and Victoria.
My voice was ice.
“Get out.”
Victoria’s eyes went wide.
She reached for my arm, her diamond bracelet digging into my skin.
“Honey, wait, you can’t mean that. He’s just confused. He’s been so fragile since Sarah died—”
I flinched away like she’d burned me.
Don’t you dare say my wife’s name.
Lena shifted Ethan behind her, her small frame straight, shielding him like a lioness.
Victoria’s mask cracked.
Her lip curled.
“You’re choosing a maid and a brat over me? After everything I’ve done for you? I gave up my career, I moved here, I put up with his whining for months—”
“Get out.”
I said it louder this time.
Heard footsteps on the stairs.
My best friend, my mom, a handful of guests poking their heads up, confused.
Victoria saw them.
Her face crumpled into perfect, practiced tears.
“I don’t understand. I was just trying to make the day perfect. He was throwing a tantrum, I didn’t want him to embarrass you. I locked the door for five minutes just to calm him down, that’s all. Why is everyone turning on me?”
My mom stepped forward, her face soft.
“Darling, maybe we should all just calm down. Weddings are stressful—”
“Mom.”
I cut her off.
I turned to Ethan.
He was still hiding behind Lena, peeking out, his thumb in his mouth.
The same habit he’d broken when he was four.
It had come back in the last three months.
I’d never even noticed.
“Ethan,” I said, my voice as gentle as I could make it.
“Can you tell Grandma what she said to you? The part about Mommy?”
Ethan shook his head hard, pressing his face into Lena’s back.
Victoria let out a sharp, triumphant sob.
“See? He won’t repeat it because he made it up! He’s jealous, that’s all. He doesn’t want to share his dad—”
“I heard her.”
Lena’s voice was quiet.
But steady.
Everyone turned to her.
She lifted her chin, even though her hands were still shaking.
“I was outside the door the whole time. I heard every word. She told him his mom was gone and no one loved him anymore. That if he made a sound, she’d make sure he never saw his dad again. I tried to open the door three times. She stood in front of me and told me if I said anything, she’d have me fired and arrested for stealing.”
A murmur went through the crowd.
Victoria’s face went from sad to furious in a second.
“You lying little thief! I never said any of that! You’ve been after him from the start, you gold-digging little—”
“Enough.”
I walked up to her.
I pulled the wedding ring off my finger.
Held it out to her.
She stared at it like it was a snake.
“You’re making a mistake. You’ll regret this. No one will ever love you like I did. You and that little freak will be alone forever.”
I didn’t flinch.
“Get off my property. If you ever come near me or my son again, I’ll call the police. Now.”
She stared at me for a long, ugly second.
Then she slapped the ring out of my hand.
It clattered across the marble floor, spinning into a corner.
She turned and walked down the stairs, her head high, screaming at the guests to get out of her way.
No one moved to stop her.
No one moved to help her.
I knelt down to pick up the ring.
My hands were shaking so bad I dropped it twice.
When I stood up, Ethan was standing right in front of me.
He’d left Lena’s side.
He looked up at me, his eyes red, his lip trembling.
“Daddy?”
My throat closed up.
I opened my arms again.
This time, he didn’t run away.
He stepped into them.
Wrapped his little arms around my neck as tight as he could.
And sobbed into my shoulder like his heart was breaking all over again.
I held him.
I held him so tight I was scared I’d break him.
Downstairs, I heard the guests leaving.
Heard the music stop.
Heard the doors slam.
But I didn’t care.
All that mattered was the little boy in my arms.
The little boy I’d almost failed.
Lena stood a few feet away, giving us space, wiping her eyes.
I looked up at her.
“Thank you. If you hadn’t said something…”
She shook her head.
“I couldn’t let him be scared anymore. He’s such a good boy, sir. He just needs someone to listen.”
I nodded.
I stood up, Ethan still clinging to me, his legs wrapped around my waist.
“Lena, would you come home with us? I don’t think either of us should be alone right now. And… he trusts you. More than he trusts me right now, I think.”
She didn’t hesitate.
“Of course. Whatever you need.”
I carried Ethan down the stairs.
Past the abandoned wedding cake.
Past the wilting white flowers.
May you like
Past the life I’d almost built on a lie.
And I didn’t look back.
