Chapter 2

Molly’s POV

Eva is already asleep in my arms when I stride in through the doors. The poor child had to wait up for me at the hospital for another three hours, and right now, I do not exactly feel like the best mother in the world.

But the moment I step in, more serious matters take over.

Amanda is seated on my couch, her perfectly manicured nails pressed against her lips as she stares straight at me, silently asking that I should not make a noise.

My husband, Jason, has his head on her thighs, his eyes closed, and his breath shallow. And Amanda's fingers knead through his tresses.

I don't say a word, taking Eva up to her room first. I cannot wake her up to have her bath, so I lay her down on her bed and tuck her in before returning to the living room.

Amanda and Jason are still in the same position. 

“Urghhh!” She groans when I appear again. “Can you stop making so much noise with your feet? Jason has been up all day taking care of my daughter.”

“Right,” I murmur, rolling my eyes. “And it was only logical for him to have left my daughter in school still 8 pm. She was scared and tired, Amanda. Yet, you both were here all this while.”

Jason groans from his sleep, thrashing on her thighs. 

“Hey,” Amanda whispers. “Jason, shhhh, it’s just me.”

The sight makes me want to puke. I have been married to Jason for five years, and this didn't start happening until two years ago. Still, I persevered, thinking it was what was going to save my marriage. 

But right now, the last thing on my mind is to let this go again. 

Jason's eyes open slowly. They land on her first, and a small smile spreads on his lips. He doesn't notice me until I scoff. The smile on his face disappears.

“Molly,” he murmurs, sitting up. His eyes find the clock hanging above the door. “Where have you been?”

"Picking Eva up," I mutter, hoping that is enough to remind him that he should have been the one doing it. But nothing changes in his features as he scoots to the edge of the seat, bringing Amanda with him.

He speaks slowly, but I can see the muscle working in his jaw. 

"That doesn't answer my question, Molly, and you know it." And then, he snaps. "Where the fuck have you been all day?"

His loud bass rings through the entire building, and I look towards the staircase, scared that he is going to wake Eva up. Amanda looks at me with a sneer on her face. She is enjoying the scene. 

The fucker.

“You really don’t have to yell at me to communicate, Jason,” I say in an eerie calm tone. Maybe I should not have said that, because I never speak back to Jason.

And he knows it, with the sudden arch of his brows and his sharp intake of breath. But how long does he expect me to put up with this act? I have been trying desperately to understand him, but it keeps getting worse every day.

“What did you just say?” His tone turns darker as he rises to his feet. Amanda does the same, her hands on his shoulders.

"Jason, you shouldn't get upset with her," she says in a sweetly sick tone. "She looks like she has had a long day, and you did, too. It's just the tension of the night."

“You should count yourself lucky Amanda is spending the night here,” my husband mutters, shaking his head at me like I am filth on his shoes. “If not, you would have been out of my house by now, returning to whatever man’s arms you have been in all day.”

A disbelieving chuckle escapes my lips. "Man's arms? The double standard in here is crazy, Jason. I practically walk into our home to meet your head on another woman's thighs, and you dare accuse me of cheating on you?"

“Not again!” Amanda sighs, rolling her eyes. She takes her hands off Jason and returns to the couch, pressing two fingers against her temples. “Aren’t you tired of having this conversation?”

“This is nothing like what you are doing out there,” Jason spits at me, taking a menacing step forward. “Amanda and I are just friends. We have always been that.”

“Friends?” Another chuckle escapes my lips. “Jason, you left your own daughter all alone in school, while you were here, playing father to her own child. Did you even know that she had a recital today and was expecting you to show up for her?”

A sudden realization passes through his eyes, but before I can hold on to it, it fades into nothing, the sneer on his face back. 

“Eva was fine,” he blurts, like he is talking about some child he picked up on the road and not his own daughter. “Did you even bother to ask about Amanda’s child, Lila? You know she has been ill for a while now and needs all the care and attention she can get.”

Right on cue, Amanda sniffles. "Lila had a crisis today, and Jason was just so nice to take her to the hospital. He couldn't leave me knowing what an emotional mess I was, and offered to stay with me throughout the day. 

"Molly, don't you care about my child's life? She's dying, and you're here, making so much noise about a healthy child. I'll do anything to have Lila healthy again."

For a moment, I stand there, unable to say a word. Both of them watch me like I am the enemy, and for a second, I feel like I am.

An apology finds its way to my lips, and I am really about to pour it out. I cannot believe I have just been made the villain in my own home.

“Daddy,” a small voice suddenly cuts through the tension. “Why don’t you love me anymore?”

I spin towards the staircase. Eva stands there, her teddy crushed to her chest and her eyes shining with unshed tears. 

"Oh no, baby," Jason's tone immediately changes as he rushes towards her. "Is that what your mother has been telling you?"

"Jason!" Amanda shrieks, rushing towards the door at the opposite end of the room. I watch as my husband's eyes grow wide with alarm, abandoning Eva and her question as he races to join Amanda. 

A frail girl stumbles out of my own bedroom, her skin anything but pale, yet with a hospital bracelet still clinging to her wrist. Her eyes meet mine, and I can swear I saw a smile in them before she sways and collapses to the ground.

“Lila!”