Mr. Fluffy Took My Place

Yara was sobbing into Natalie's arms, but Natalie barely even hugged her back.She was too busy playing defense, all soft-spoken like she was saving the day.Then she turned to me with this fake brave smile. "Babe, just... say something, okay? Whatever it is, I'm here.""If you're mad, I'll change. Let's not do the whole divorce thing, yeah?" Her voice was all shaky by the end.She was laying it on thick—loyal wife, unbothered queen, totally clueless.And me? I just stared at her like she was a stranger.Next to her Oscar-worthy performance, I looked like the villain.Of course the crowd ate it up.Tanya looked like she couldn't help feeling exasperated by her blind love but kept it together.Instead, she spun toward me, trying to play mediator. "Luke, it's Yara's parent-teacher meeting. Can't you chill—for her?"I didn't flinch. My voice cut like glass. "She's not my kid. Why would I care? Move. I'm done here."Tanya went full volcano, shaking with rage. "You're just some f

The livestream chat blew up.[Cheating's cheating—emotional or not.][Bet he's bluffing.][Psych abuse? Wasn't he the one who hit her?]I'd already dropped my evidence.First—hundreds of photos.Natalie dragging Yara and that stuffed freak everywhere.Wedding shoots. Family portraits.She even forged a marriage license with the doll and faked papers making the three of them look like a real family.The chat went off.[Wait—faking documents is a crime, right? And she's clearly obsessed.][Honestly, I just feel bad for Natalie. Her husband's trash and all she's got is a stuffed doll to lean on.][But a doll can be emotional support for people like us...]Natalie went pale—she hadn't thought I had those pics. All of it, done behind my back.Tanya frowned but still jumped in. "How's this emotional cheating? It's just pretend play! People marry virtual idols all the time."Besides, she was pushed here! If you'd been a real husband, would she even need a doll to replace you?

"Exactly," someone added. "If she was still hung up on him, why would she marry you after he died? She'd be way too heartbroken, right?"I laughed, sharp and cold. "Sure. Then why's her cotton doll a custom twin of the dead guy?"Natalie yanked up a pic of the doll, ran a quick image search, and held her phone like it was proof of her innocence."Aren't all these dolls kinda the same? Black hair, round face—look, there's a million of them online in different colors. How can you say mine's modeled after him?"She swiveled to Yara."And she's five. Kids get stuff wrong all the time. The internet's full of stories about little kids saying weird things because they don't get it yet."Tanya jumped in."I told Natalie not to bring up her old relationships. You swore it didn't matter, and now you're dragging her dead ex into this to grab her money. Pathetic."The crowd online started leaning their way.[The guy's dead and this jerk's still bringing him up? Gross.][So Luke is just a

And that was just the start.To Yara, I wasn't just the bad guy—I was pure villain material.It got so bad that every time I came home and tried talking to them, they'd straight-up ignore me.Back then, I still loved Natalie, so I kept making excuses—maybe they didn't hear me.But nope. It was on purpose.One time, Yara—totally brainwashed—stuffed pushpins in my shoes because I wouldn't let her eat ice cream with a cold.My feet came out looking like a crime scene.Even after I learned the truth, I told myself to hang in there for her sake.At least try to steer her back.Didn't matter what I did—nothing stuck.One day, Yara got so fed up with me she turned to Natalie and said, "Mom, this guy's so annoying. Why don't we just poison him?"Natalie didn't even flinch—she actually looked proud, like, 'wow', 'parenting goals.'That was the day before the parent-teacher meeting.When I heard that, I was done.If they hated me enough to joke about killing me, I might as well wal