Chapter 2 ~ Provoked

ANAYA

Screams and giggles woke me up earlier than usual. For a second, I thought I had left the TV on until the events from yesterday came crashing down on me like a nightmare.

I groaned, rubbed my temples, and dragged myself out of bed. My body was still heavy from the sleepless night, and my chest was aching from the decision I had made. 

I brushed my teeth, tied my hair up, and walked downstairs only to stop dead in my tracks.

My living room looked like a war zone.

My favorite pillows were scattered, feathers floating like snowflakes in the air. Juice was spilled across the cream-white couch, dripping onto the rug. And at the center of the chaos was Adam, Hellen’s son, laughing as he ran in circles around Jessica, our housekeeper.

“Adam, please! Be careful, you’ll knock over something!” Jessica begged, chasing after him, but he dodged her like it was a game.

My heart dropped as his little hands reached for the porcelain vase on the side table. It was the only gift I ever got from Nash personally, and I loved it.

“Adam, no!” I rushed forward, but it was too late.

CRASH!

The sharp sound of shattering glass echoed through the room, slicing straight into my chest. The vase lay in pieces as the little boy laughed like he had just done something good.

“Why didn’t you stop him?” I asked, my voice shaking as I turned toward Hellen, who sat comfortably on the couch, sipping orange juice, not even attempting to intervene.

Rage clawed at my chest, so hot it nearly burned through my skin. That vase wasn’t just a decoration. It was the first thing Nash had given me when he proposed. He knew I loved to collect artifacts like treasures, and I cherished them. 

What he had done was bad enough. But seeing him smile with no hint of guilt or his mother stopping him felt like mockery and provocation. 

She lifted her head lazily, with a fake pout tugging at her lips. “Oh, don’t be upset, Anaya. He’s just a child. Kids break things all the time. But I understand you wouldn't know that, seeing you have no child of your own!” She taunted.

Before I could reply, the front door opened and Nash walked in, his presence filling the room instantly. 

Hope bubbled inside my chest. He would see how chaotic these two were and definitely have them live in a different house. But the hope shattered as quickly as it came as I watched Adam run to his side with tears on his face.

“I’m sorry for the mess, Uncle! I didn’t mean to mess things up and break the vase…” 

Nash’s cold, sharp features softened into something I had never seen directed at me. He stroked the boy’s hair gently, his voice low and warm as he said.

 “It’s okay, buddy. It’s just a vase. Don’t cry.”

I blinked, surely I must have  been going deaf, or I wouldn't have heard Nash call my most loved possession 'Just a vase?’

“I’m sorry too, Anaya.” Hellen stood and walked over, her eyes glistening with a perfect hint of tears. “I should have been watching him more carefully. Please don’t be mad at Adam; it wasn’t his fault. I'll clean up the mess and work hard to buy you a better Vase, I promise. Just don't hurt my son.” 

She reached over and pulled my hand into hers, but I pulled away. 

What kind of nonsense was she pulling off?

“Anaya..” Nash turned to me, but not with understanding or comfort. His eyes were laced with quiet blame, as if I were the cruel one for caring about a shattered piece more than a child’s feelings.

“Anaya, he didn’t mean it. Let’s not make a big deal out of this.”

“Are you kidding me?” I was exasperated! “Can't you see the mess in the living room? Clearly, he did this on purpose!” I tried to reason with him, but the boy only clung to him tighter,

“I made a mess because I was so happy, but I'll clean I promise! I also didn’t break the vase on purpose.” His voice cracked. “When I saw the vase, I remembered how Dad used to hit Mom and felt sad. I’m so sorry, please don’t be mad at her. Punish me instead.”

The room spun. I turned slowly and found Nash standing there, his expression unreadable, his eyes fixed on Adam and Hellen like they were his entire world, and I was the outcast. The one tainting his perfect world. 

“Adam…” Nash crouched down, his voice softer than I had heard the whole time we were married. He rested a reassuring hand on the boy’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault. None of it is. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

Adam let out a broken sob and buried himself in Nash’s chest as if it were the safest place he knew.

Nash wrapped his arm around him in a protective hug. “You’re safe now. Both of you are. I’ll take care of everything.” His gaze then shifted to Hellen, “No one will hurt you ever again.”

Hellen joined them and sobbed in his arms while he held them both as if I were the monster he was protecting them from.

“Anaya, please ask Jessica and the others to help clean up the mess. Hellen has been through so much; it would be cruel to make her do chores when we have people for that.”

I stood in the chaos of what I believed would be my fairytale, but was forced to watch my husband hold his ex and her son like a perfect little family of three.

Three years of marriage. Eight years of loving him, and it finally dawned on me, no matter what I did, I would never be his first choice.