Going, Going, Gone

Silently, I passed by the restaurant they were in and went home alone.

James had told me he wanted fruit pie, so I went to the woods to pick the juiciest fruits just for him.

Even if I'd decided to break the mate bond with Ethan Volkov, I was still the mother of our pups, James and Katrina Volkov.

In a daze, I accidentally cut my hand while slicing fruit.

As I tended to my wound, I suddenly remembered James never liked desserts. Why would he specifically ask me to make a fruit pie today?

Just then, the pups' voices rang outside the villa.

With a bouquet in her arms, Katrina dashed into the kitchen and exclaimed, "Mommy!"

My heart melted. I quickly wiped the blood off my hand and held her.

But as soon as I pecked her cheek, she pushed me away.

"Mommy, you're squishing the flowers! I picked these myself for Zoe!"

My smile froze. Before I could say anything, Katrina zoomed out of the kitchen and handed the flowers to Ethan.

"Daddy, look at the flowers I picked! Do you think Zoe will like them?"

Ethan only gave a mild response and turned to head upstairs to the bedroom.

A dull ache bloomed in my chest.

"Kat, sweetheart… didn't you pick any flowers for me?" I couldn't help but ask.

All these years, she'd never picked even a single flower for me.

"Huh? What did you say?" Katrina gave me a brief glance before hurrying toward the door.

"Mommy, don't talk to me right now. I'm going to check on Zoe. Why aren't they coming in yet?"

Not long after, Katrina and James came in, each holding one of Zoe Hathaway's hands.

Katrina chattered away like a happy little bird, while James stayed quiet. But a bright smile lit up his face.

I stood silently in the kitchen doorway, watching how close they were to Zoe.

James glanced at me and frowned. "Mommy, is the fruit pie ready yet? Zoe's hungry."

Clutching my still-bleeding finger, I suddenly felt utterly drained.

"I'm sorry, James," I said. "I cut my finger. If you're starving, maybe you should head out to eat."

His gaze landed on my finger.

Sighing like an adult, he said, "An Omega's healing abilities are really terrible. You can't even heal such a tiny cut. Good thing we're not like you."

"That's why I like Zoe best," Katrina chimed in innocently. "She never gets hurt whenever she plays with us. Unlike Mommy, who's always getting hurt."

I froze.

I remembered how I once fractured my arm playing with the kids, and it took ages to heal. After that, they'd stopped playing with me and only wanted to be with their father.

Whenever I tried to join them, Katrina would say, "Mommy, stop bothering us. What if you get hurt again?"

I'd always thought they were being considerate and worried about me getting injured. But today's conversation made me realize they were actually tired of having a mother like me.

"What's going on? Isn't dinner ready yet?"

Just then, Ethan came downstairs, looking puzzled as he glanced at me.

"Ethan, Aria said she hurt her hand and told us to go eat out instead. Katrina and James are really upset," Zoe explained, then turned to me with a look of feigned sympathy.

"Aria, don't listen to them. Kids don't know any better; that's why they say they prefer me. But it's fine if you don't want to cook for me. You can just say so. No need to go so far as hurting yourself!"

She seemed to be comforting me, but the smug smile on her face said otherwise.