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Chapter 3

Author: Slow Breeze
The day I got back, my hair started falling out even worse than before. Every time I washed it, I found a fistful in the sink. When I looked in the mirror, a patch above my forehead had already gone bare.

I bought a wig. Once I put it on, I went to the courthouse.

I wanted to divorce Stefan. Even if our marriage had all been a lie, I wanted to be the one to end it.

After the clerk checked the records, she pushed the marriage papers back across the counter and spoke in a flat voice. "There's no record of your marriage. This document is a forgery."

I stood frozen at the counter as a ringing filled my ears.

My friend had already admitted the truth over the phone, but hearing it confirmed still felt like a slap in the face all over again.

I hadn't spent the past five years as a widow. Even the marriage itself had been fake.

…

I took the forged marriage papers home with me. The moment I opened the door, I stopped dead on the threshold.

Angeline had answered the door. The instant she saw me, a complicated look crossed her face.

I glanced past her.

Now that I knew the truth, they had stopped pretending. They had all come back, every last one of them.

Fruit and soup sat on the coffee table. The whole apartment smelled of milk.

This was the home Natalie and I had shared for five years. Yet they sat there as if the place had always belonged to them.

Stefan was the first to stand. He watched me with a deep frown. "Where have you been off to now?"

I ignored him.

He paused before asking again, "Where's Natalie? Why haven't I seen her at all?"

That question again. As if he had only just remembered he had a daughter.

I opened my mouth, but my mother cut me off again, "She's out playing. She's having too much fun to come back yet."

Rachel rose with the baby in her arms and smiled at me. "Lauren, sit down first. You haven't met the baby yet, have you? Want to hold her?"

I looked down at the infant in her arms, a tiny bundle fast asleep.

Suddenly, an image flashed through my mind: Natalie just after she was born. Stefan had held her that day, his eyes red.

He had carefully laid her beside me and said, "Lauren, from now on, I'll take care of both of you."

Back then, I had trusted him with my whole heart.

But now, my daughter lay cold in the ground.

My eyes stung, and tears blurred my vision. I reached out without thinking.

Just as my hand was about to touch the baby, Rachel suddenly pinched her. The baby immediately burst into tears.

Rachel pulled her against her chest as her own eyes reddened. "Lauren, even if you're angry, you can't hurt my baby!"

Stefan rushed over almost instantly. He took the baby from her and stepped protectively in front of Rachel. "What do you think you're doing? Take it out on me if you have to!"

Angeline stood as well, her voice low. "Lauren, is this really how a mother behaves? If you can't stay calm, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

I remained where I was and didn't even bother to defend myself.

They had fallen into step far too quickly. They must have planned this from the start, ready to smear me the moment they had the chance.

The baby cried even harder. Her tiny hands flailed until one caught the edge of my wig.

The wig slipped sideways, exposing the thinning, bare patch on my scalp.

The living room fell silent.

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