"Theo said... he hates me," Matty murmured. "He doesn't want you and me to be together. He said the only reason he came to the amusement park was to make up with you. That if he just acted soft and sweet, you'd forgive him. And then you'd stop paying attention to me. He also said... he said..."
Matty's eyes reddened suddenly. His voice caught in his throat, thick with the weight of something he didn't want to say.
Sharon leaned forward. "He said what?"
"He said I'm just a substitute," he whispered. "Sharon, am I really just Theo's replacement?"
His wide eyes shimmered with tears, like a stray animal left out in the rain—beautiful, fragile, and aching to be loved.
Sharon's heart tightened. And with it, her disappointment in Theo cut deeper.
A substitute?
Theo was just like his father. They liked to play substitutes. Like father, like son.
She knelt down to Matty's eye level. "You're not a substitute for anyone. You are yourself, Matty. That's more than enough. If you want an apo
