Chapter 1

I stood up silently without saying a word. I left the living room a second before my tears fell. Behind me, I could hear my son complaining unhappily, "What's wrong with her? She's such a buzzkill."

Emery Grant remained stoic and said without much emotion, "No idea. Let her be. This isn't the first time anyway."

The words came so easily from him that I froze in my tracks.

It was my son's seventh birthday, and I got up early to shop for ingredients. I made a cake for him and decorated the house for the party, but when Emery picked up our son and returned home, he brought along his ex-girlfriend, Winnie Linberg, who had left the country seven years ago.

He said, "Winnie just returned home, and she doesn't have any friends, so I brought her back to have some fun with us."

This continued the entire night.

Winnie was afraid of balloons, so Emery pulled down the decorations I had spent the entire day putting up. When she wanted a drink of water, our son, Micah Grant, ran up and down to serve her the drink.

Even my mother-in-law, Marsha Grant, who was always stern, held Winnie's hand while smiling brightly.

We played a game of 'Guess the Person' not long after.

When Micah drew my name, everyone started pitching in on the description.

"Big temper."

"Control freak."

"Not presentable."

Every description hurt me.

When Winnie's name was drawn, Micah heaped praise on her.

"Very pretty. Charming. Dad likes her a lot. I want her to be my mom."

I turned pale, thinking that I had misheard him.

Emery glanced at me. "Children can be blunt."

Marsha smiled. "You can't be mad at a child."

Winnie placed her hands daintily on her lap, and she gave me an embarrassed smile. She sat there quietly like a pretty flower.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Nora. You can't take what a child says seriously."

Her voice was soft, but I could tell that she was gleeful about what happened. She made it seem as if everything they said about me was true, that I had a big temper and was a horrible, petty woman.

I clenched my fists at the thought of that ridiculous exchange, and I walked up the stairs.

Laughter exploded in the living room as everyone continued the game. When it was Emery's turn, he described Winnie seriously.