Logan held out his hand as we walked into the company.“Hold my hand,” he said softly.I looked at him and shook my head with a small smile. “We’re at work.”“So?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.“I don’t want people staring. We’re already being watched,” I whispered.He sighed but nodded, slipping his hand back into his pocket. “Alright. But I’ll hold it later.”I gave him a look. “You always say that.”He smirked. “And I always do.”We walked into the building together. People greeted Logan as we passed. Some smiled at me. Others just stared too long.I wasn’t used to this.Logan’s office was at the very top. It was big, but what I liked most was the little cubicle he had set up for me beside it. Not too fancy, but private. Cozy. Just for me.I placed my bag on the small table, turned on the tablet, and started sketching.Then, the door opened.A woman walked in.She had shoulder-length black hair and wore a sharp white blouse tucked into a pencil skirt. Her heels clicked softly again
“Lily!” I gasped, laughing as I watched her proudly smear more tomato sauce onto Logan’s grey loungewear.Her little spoon moved like a paintbrush, the bright red sauce streaking across his chest like some kind of edible war paint.“Look, Daddy! You're pizza now!”Logan’s eye twitched. “Pizza,” he repeated slowly, staring down at the mess spreading across his shirt. “Great. Just what I wanted on a Monday morning.”“I can be the cheese,” Lily added proudly, grabbing more sauce.“Okay, okay,” I said quickly, reaching to stop her. “Lily, sweetheart, maybe we—”Before I could finish, a blob of cold tomato sauce landed on the side of my head.I froze.The room went quiet.Lily stared.I turned my head slowly, and there stood Logan with the biggest smirk on his face and an empty spoon in his hand.“Oh, you didn’t just—” I gasped.“I did,” he said smugly, backing away slightly. “And I regret nothing.”“You’re dead,” I warned.“Daddy’s gonna get it!” Lily cheered.I lunged at him.Logan darte
Susan's POV:I used to tell myself that I was free.Free from the crying of babies. Free from bedtime stories. Free from the weight of little hands reaching out for someone else. But lately, freedom felt more like a punishment.Lily chose Haley over me without a second thought. It shouldn't have hurt. But it did.I sat on the edge of my bed that night, staring at nothing, replaying the scene at the playground.Lily hadn’t looked at me with love. She looked at her with trust, comfort, peace. The way a child should look at her mother.And Haley… she just took it in stride, like she belonged there. Like she’d always belonged there.I had money. I had everything. Clothes, cars, beauty, control. Haley had none of it, yet she was the one everyone looked at. The one they listened to. The one they defended.Lily chose her.Sebastian defended her.Even Jordan, that sweet little boy, stood in front of her like a loyal guard dog.And me?I was just noise. A stranger with the wrong tone of voice.
The air was quiet in the car as I drove Lily home. She sat in the back seat, bundled in a blanket, hugging her stuffed rabbit. Her eyes were tired, swollen from crying, but she didn’t say a word.“Do you want to listen to music?” I asked gently, glancing at her through the mirror.She shook her head without looking up.I didn’t press her.When we got home, the butler opened the door right away. “Welcome back, miss,” he said with a soft nod. “Sir is on his way.”Lily slipped off her shoes and went straight to the couch, curling up without speaking. I sat beside her and rubbed her back slowly.The door opened again.“Where is she?” Logan’s voice filled the room, low but full of worry.“She’s right here,” I said softly.He rushed to the couch, kneeling beside us. “Hey, sweetheart,” he said gently. “I heard what happened.”Lily looked up, her eyes wet. She sniffled and leaned into me.“She had a panic attack,” I whispered. “It was bad.”Logan’s gaze turned to me. He didn’t look angry. In
Everything felt light, peaceful—until a sharp cry cut through the air.“Lily!”I turned just in time to see another child bump into her. Lily stumbled back, her little arms flailing before she landed hard on the rubber padding with a dull thud.She didn’t cry. Not at first.But Susan’s voice exploded across the playground.“Hey! You! Watch where you’re going!”The boy who’d bumped into Lily—a freckled kid, maybe seven or eight—stood frozen. His face drained of color as Susan marched toward him.“You don’t just shove people like that!” she yelled. “What’s wrong with you? Are you blind?”“Excuse me?” said a woman wearing a Playground Attendant badge, hurrying over. “Ma’am, please calm down. What happened here?”“That boy pushed my daughter!” Susan said, gesturing wildly. “She hit the ground hard! That’s not okay!”Another attendant, younger, with a clipboard in hand, approached us. “Is the little girl alright? Who’s her parent?”Lily had quietly gotten up and run to me, clinging tightly
The sun peeked through the branches above, casting speckled shadows across the grass. A light breeze rustled the leaves, and in the sandbox, Lily and Jordan were lost in a world of towers and moats.Jordan looked up, sand clinging to his cheeks. “Mommy,” he called with a grin, “look! I made a castle for you!”I smiled, brushing my hair behind my ear. “It’s beautiful, sweetheart.”Just then, Jordan scrambled out of the sandbox and ran to me. His little hands grabbed my cheeks and he planted a kiss on my forehead.“I love you,” he whispered.“I love you more,” I whispered back, squeezing him tight.Susan approached from behind, her presence gentle but firm. “Alright, prince,” she said with a playful lilt, “back to your kingdom. Lily’s waiting.”Jordan hesitated, then turned and ran off with a carefree laugh.I watched him rejoin Lily, and a strange ache settled in my chest. He listened to Susan so easily. There was no resistance, no need for coaxing. Something about the way she guided h