Chapter 3

Kelsey's POV

"Get out. Neither of you is welcome here," I snapped.

They ignored me.

As Winona grabbed one of the takeout cups, hot coffee splashed onto her hand.

Tyler immediately grabbed a silk scarf hanging from the coat rack by the door and used it to wipe her skin.

My chest tightened. "Give me that."

Dad had bought the scarf for Mom as an anniversary present the year he died. She treasured it and only took it out to wear from time to time.

Tyler didn't stop.

"Don't be so stingy. Winnie's skin is so sensitive that it reddens over nothing. I need to wipe this off before it gets worse."

When he was finished, he casually dropped the scarf onto the floor.

I crouched to pick it up. Coffee had soaked into the silk, leaving ugly stains.

I was so angry that my body started trembling.

At that point, Winona lowered her voice to soothe me. "Oh, come on. It's not that serious. That thing isn't even worth half what Tyler paid for my necklace. I'll reimburse you if you're that upset."

Tyler wore the same expression, as though I were making a scene over nothing.

"That was the last gift my dad bought for Mom," I said. "I've told both of you that before."

Winona's eyes darted away. "I-I didn't know."

Tyler looked briefly taken aback as well.

"How am I supposed to remember every little thing you've ever told me?"

He stepped in front of Winona protectively. "Stop making such a big deal out of it. Winnie already apologized."

A week earlier, I'd accidentally broken a little beaded keychain Winona had made for him.

Tyler had been furious. He accused me of being disrespectful of other people's belongings. Now, they were the ones who had hurt me and destroyed something precious to me, yet somehow I was still the one at fault.

No matter what happened, Tyler always took Winona's side.

Mom must have heard us arguing because she came out of her bedroom. The second she saw the scarf in my hands, her eyes reddened.

"Who did this?"

Winona apologized with complete indifference, "I reimbursed Kelsey for it. Please don't be mad."

She'd sent me 50 dollars.

When Mom saw the amount, she snapped and slapped Winona across the face.

"I don't want your damn money! And who told either of you that you could walk into my house?"

Winona covered her cheek, furious.

Then, she yanked the scarf out of my hands, grabbed a pair of scissors, and cut it into pieces.

"It's just something a dead man gave you! I should be upset after you made me wipe my hands with something so creepy!"

The sight of the ruined scarf devastated Mom.

Her breathing suddenly became labored. She clutched her chest and collapsed backward onto the floor.

I dropped beside her and called her over and over again, but she didn't respond.

"Give me a break," Winona muttered under her breath. "She had plenty of strength when she slapped me. Look at her, pretending to pass out."

Mom had high blood pressure. My first thought was that the stress might have caused a stroke.

I didn't have time to argue with Winona and looked up at Tyler instead.

"Help me get Mom to the hospital."

He didn't move. Instead, he gave me a mocking look. "Mrs. Arnold is a grown woman. Isn't she a little old for pretending to be sick? Tell her to get up before she takes this too far."

He paused before adding, "Kelsey, I like that you're not clinging to me anymore, but I'm not an idiot. I'm not going to go along with everything you say."

My eyes burned.

All those years of loving him suddenly felt wasted.

The man I'd loved for all that time turned out to be a complete asshole.

With shaking hands, I pulled out my phone and called 911.

Ten minutes later, the paramedics carried Mom out on a stretcher and loaded her into the ambulance.

Winona rolled her eyes. "Wow. She's really committing to this. She'd better hope she doesn't end up sick for real."

I turned around, grabbed the glass of water from the table, and threw it straight in her face.

"If anything happens to my mom, I will never forgive either of you!"

Winona stared at me in disbelief as Tyler's expression darkened.

"There's a limit to how far you can take this tantrum. Winnie has been helping us this entire time. Apologize to her, now!"

I laughed.

Winona had flirted with Tyler and inserted herself into our relationship, all while claiming she was doing it to help us stay together.

And Tyler actually treated her like some kind of hero.

"Tyler, don't you see that she's in love with you?" I asked.

He hesitated, but that split second of silence told me everything I needed to know.

Of course, he knew.

They had simply agreed to dance around the truth and enjoy whatever this was between them, all the while keeping me in the dark like some fool.

I didn't say anything else.

Instead, I turned and climbed into the ambulance.

As the doors closed, I caught one last glimpse of Tyler with his hand on Winona's shoulder, leaning down to say something to her.