DEAR EX, THE VERSION OF ME YOU LOST.

Vivian’s POV

“Your mom looks so ordinary. Her dress is cheap and simple. Someone might think she’s your maid.”

One of Ashley’s friends said it loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. I was busy fixing the decorations on Ashley’s birthday cake, trying to make it perfect so they could take pictures. I didn’t look up at first.

The girl who spoke was only a year older than Ashley, but she already had that mean, nasty attitude. I glanced at Ashley. Her eyes were glassy, and her lower lip was trembling. She looked like she was about to cry any second.

“Looks like your family isn’t as rich as they say,” another one of Ashley’s friends added with a smirk. “Your mom can’t even afford a nice dress for your fifth birthday.”

Ashley’s face twisted. Before I could stop her, she shoved the huge cake with both hands. It slid off the table and crashed onto the grass.

“Ashley!” I yelled, shocked. The sound made everyone in the garden turn and stare at us.

“Shut up!” she screamed back at me. Tears were running down her cheeks now. “You’re such a disgrace! Why couldn’t you wear a beautiful dress today? Now you look worse than the maid, and my friends are making fun of me because of you. I hate you so much!”

She didn’t wait for me to answer. She turned and ran into the house, sobbing.

The garden went quiet for a moment. Some of the guests gave me pitiful looks. Others looked satisfied, like they’d been waiting to see me humiliated.

I heard fast footsteps behind me. Kate Stark, my husband’s grandmother, walked up to me. Her face was red with anger.

“You could never do a single thing right in your entire miserable life,” she snarled the second she reached me. “You just ruined her birthday and disgraced us in front of our guests. You stupid gold digger, couldn’t you find a more fitting dress for this occasion?”

She didn’t wait for me to respond. She shoved past me and stormed into the house after Ashley.

I stood there for a second, feeling everyone’s eyes on me. The shame burned, I couldn’t take it anymore. With tears streaming down my face, I turned and walked into the mansion too.

I wore this dress because it was the only beautiful one I owned that seemed good enough for the party. It was simple, but it was the best I had.

You would think that after almost six years of being married to Lyon Stark, things would have gotten better between us. But they haven’t. They have only gotten worse.

His family treats me like trash. And Lyon treats me even worse than they do. To them, I’m the girl who tricked Stella Stark — Lyon’s mother — into forcing her son to marry me. They blame me for her death too, like I was the one driving the car that crashed into her in Paris.

I stood in the kitchen, staring at nothing. “Ma’am? Do you need something?” One of the maids asked softly. She looked worried, probably because I’d been standing there without moving for too long.

“Nothing,” I said, shaking my head. I forced my voice to sound normal. “Just make sure everything is perfect when you serve the guests. Please.”

She nodded quickly. “Yes, ma’am.”

I didn’t want to be down here anymore. I turned and headed upstairs to Ashley’s room, I needed to talk to her. To hold her, even if she pushed me away again.

I stopped at her door when I heard voices inside. Ashley and Kate.

“Ashley, sweetheart, calm down,” Kate was saying.

“Vivian is the reason Dad didn’t come to my birthday!” Ashley’s voice was sharp, angry, thick with tears. “He didn’t come because he couldn't stand her. He can’t stand being in the same room as her!”

My hand froze on the doorknob. I couldn’t breathe.

“That’s not true,” Kate said, but her voice was softer than usual. “Your dad didn’t come today because he went to pick up someone important.”

“Someone important?” Ashley yelled, and I heard something hit the wall. “Someone more important than me? Is it because Dad had me with a wretched woman like Mom?” Her voice cracked. “If he hates her so much, then why did he punish me? Why did he make me come into this world through her?”

The pain hit me like a punch to the chest. My knees almost gave out. I pressed my hand to my mouth to keep from making a sound.

Heartbroken, that was the only word for it. Ashley saw me as a stain. Not as the mother who stayed up with her when she had fevers. Not as the mother who loved her from the second she was given to me after her mother abandoned her barely one month after birth.

“Shh, Ashley, calm down,” Kate said again, and I could hear her moving, probably sitting on the bed with her. “Your dad loves you more than anything in this world, more than anything. Soon you will understand why he wasn’t here on your birthday. I promise.”

“I don’t care what the reason is,” Ashley snapped, her voice muffled like she’d buried her face in a pillow. “I hate him, I hate him for not being here!”

My heart dropped further, she hated him now too, because of me.

“Ashley, don’t say that,” Kate said sharply. “You don’t hate your dad, never say that.”

“Yes, I do!” Ashley yelled back. “He left me on my birthday! He let those girls laugh at me and didn’t come to stop them!”

Kate’s voice went low, almost soothing, but there was an edge to it. “Your dad wasn’t at your birthday because he went to pick up someone more fitting to be your mom.”

The hallway went silent, and even my breathing stopped.