Chapter 3

By the time Richard arrived, the funeral was almost over.

Everyone who had come to say goodbye was gone.

Only I remained.

I wanted a little more time with Chloe.

She'd always been clingy.

And she was afraid of the dark.

"Richard, see? I told you Selena was lying. If this were really a funeral, why is nobody here? This is obviously another stunt to get you to come home."

Grace's voice cut through the silence.

Richard's face darkened.

"Selena, I never thought you'd go this far. You actually staged a funeral? If Grace hadn't told me, I wouldn't have believed it. What gives you the right to curse Chloe like this?"

Grace and David stood behind him.

Neither of them wore black.

Bright colors stood out against the gray sky.

Grace slipped her arm through Richard's and held David's hand with the other.

Like she'd won.

"Richard, don't be mad," Grace said softly. "Selena only did this because she loves you and wants you home more. She's just confused."

Then she turned to me.

"Selena, please don't misunderstand. We're new here. We don't know anyone. Richard is the only person we can rely on, so we've had to bother him a lot."

She sighed dramatically.

"But you really shouldn't use Chloe like this. We're both mothers. How could anyone joke about a child's funeral?"

She reached for my arm.

I shoved her away.

"Ah!"

Grace stumbled backward.

Richard caught her instantly.

"Grace, are you okay?"

The concern in his voice was immediate.

Grace shrank into his arms and looked at me.

The fear on her face lasted only a second.

The hatred underneath it didn't.

"Selena!" Richard snapped. "That's enough. How can you put your hands on someone?"

I looked at them.

At how naturally they stood together.

At how easily he protected her.

They'd crossed every line a long time ago.

A tired sigh escaped me.

I was exhausted.

Completely exhausted.

"Richard, let's get divorced."

"What?"

Everything went still.

The anger vanished from his face.

Shock took its place.

He immediately let go of Grace and grabbed my freezing hand.

"Selena, stop. Divorce isn't something you throw around. Grace and I are over. I have you and Chloe now. I would never—"

"I'm not joking."

I cut him off.

"I'll have Paul send you the papers. Let's end this."

Paul was my butler.

I pulled my hand away and turned to leave with Chloe's urn.

Then something slammed into my back.

Pain shot through me.

I lost my balance and crashed to the ground.

The urn slipped from my hands.

"No!"

I lunged for it.

But before I could reach it, a foot kicked it away.

"Bad woman! You bullied my mommy! I hate you!"

David.

The urn hit the ground.

The lid popped off.

Ashes scattered everywhere.

My heart stopped.

"No... no..."

I scrambled across the ground, desperately gathering Chloe's ashes with shaking hands.

"Waaah! Mommy, it hurts!"

Grace rushed over and pulled David into her arms.

Her eyes filled with tears.

When she looked at me again, her gaze was pure venom. "Selena, no matter what happened, you shouldn't touch a child. He's just a little boy.

"Besides, why keep pretending? Richard already knows this funeral is fake. Who even knows what's inside that thing?"

Just like always, Richard stood beside her.

Without a second thought.

"How did you become so vicious?" he snapped. "You'd even hurt a child."

I hugged the ashes I'd managed to save tightly against my chest.

"Get out!"

My voice cracked on the scream.

I wasn't wasting another second on people like them.

Holding Chloe close, I turned and walked away.