Abandoned at Sea

With a sharp tug, I yanked the hem of my shirt out of his grip.Grabbing my grocery bag, I kept walking, heading straight into the run-down heart of the neighborhood.Ben Hoffman, however, refused to give up, trailing close behind me. In his limited-edition sneakers, he tiptoed around the puddles with every stride."Mom! Stop ignoring me!"He shouted from behind, his voice heavy with grievance.I cut into a narrow alley where the plaster on the walls was peeling away, exposing the blackened brick underneath.Ben hurried to catch up, his brows knit tight as he looked around in total disgust."You live here?"He pointed up at the chaotic web of overhead power lines and the dripping clotheslines hanging beside us."Just to throw a fit at Dad, you’ve reduced yourself to looking like this? Is it really worth it?"I looked at him, my expression cold.Five years had passed since I last saw him. He was taller now, his features the spitting image of Armie Hoffman’s. Even that arrogan

I ended up stumbling across Rosie's social media post, where she had uploaded an old photo from a yacht party five years ago.In it, she was in a bikini, snuggled against Armie's chest with a radiant smile. Ben sat between them, glued to a handheld game console with a matching grin.And off to the side, my blurred figure was caught bending over to clean up empty wine glasses.Her caption was insufferably melodramatic:[Some love transcends life and death. Treasure the people right in front of you. Don't wait until you've lost them to regret it.]The comment section was filled with envy and warm wishes, along with a few people guessing whether that blurry figure in the background was the family nanny.I looked at the photo, almost wanting to laugh.It was clear she went out of her way to post something like this for no other reason than to trigger me or flex her position.Unfortunately for her, she miscalculated.That past was nothing more than dead flesh to me. Cutting it away

Ben stumbled back two steps from the shove, total shock written across his face.He stared at me in utter disbelief, the delight in his eyes collapsing into panic."Mom, who is she? Why is she calling you Mommy?"His voice shook uncontrollably, his finger trembling as he pointed at Hazel.Armie's eyes fixed on Hazel's tiny face, which bore a faint resemblance to mine, and his expression instantly darkened."Freya, what is the meaning of this?"He gritted his teeth as he demanded an answer, acting as if he’d caught me in the middle of an affair."Whose b*st*rd is this?"I snapped my head up, my eyes piercing through him like knives. But before I could even open my mouth, a broad, warm hand wrapped firmly around my waist, and a faint scent of ocean breeze enveloped me."Watch your mouth."Liam Carpenter's deep, commanding voice sounded from right above me, heavy with absolute authority.He was tall and built like a tank, wearing his search-and-rescue uniform with every line

"How could you abandon your own child for five years just for some guy? And now that you're back, you won't even look at your own son while he's suffering?"The surrounding streamers leaned in, phone lights flashing as they recorded every second."What kind of monster does that?""Abandoning her own biological son just to marry into wealth?""I heard her current husband is some big shot. She definitely ditched her family to climb the ladder!"Rosie shoved Ben forward.Looking at me with hollow, desperate eyes, he gave in to Rosie's force and collapsed to the floor by my feet.He grabbed my trousers, sobbing until his voice went completely hoarse."Mom! Do you really not want me anymore? Are you truly abandoning me? "I'm your Ben! Come home with me, please... I miss you so much."…The crowd grew larger and larger.The streamers shoved their phone cameras right into my face.The live comment feeds refreshed frantically, every single message blasting me as a venomous, heart

"To get your mistress onto that boat and lighten the load, you pried my fingers off with your own hands and kicked me right back into the sea!"My collarbone slammed against the iron hook, turning the water red. You watched me struggle and sink into the cold water, caring about nothing except escaping with her in that boat."Gasps of utter shock rippled through the crowd.In an instant, the tide completely turned in the live comment section."Oh my god! Isn't that literal attempted murder?""Killing his wife for a mistress? He's a total monster!""That scar looks painful as hell. She really was kicked off."I stepped closer to Armie, my eyes piercing into his."Armie, is this what you meant when you said I wouldn't mind anymore? Is this what you called 'moving on'?"That was my life you tried to take! For five whole years, the cold, ruthless look in your eyes on that boat haunted every single one of my nightmares."Then I turned my gaze toward the shivering Rosie."And just