Protected

I don’t want to be the horrible daughter who stands in the way of her mom’s happiness. Seriously, I don’t.

But when she dropped that bomb on me, I couldn’t keep my cool.

“What the fuck do you mean you’re getting married, Mom?” I blurted out before I could even think to filter my words. My voice came out way louder than I intended, and her eyes snapped up, meeting mine with a look that clearly said she didn’t appreciate the tone. But, come on—she had just blindsided me with this whole getting-married news, and she expected me to what? Clap my hands and throw her a party?

“No curse words, Camila,” she chided, almost calmly, as if we were talking about the weather and not her dropping an emotional grenade on me. She set down a plate on the dining table, patting it like this was all normal. “He’s a good guy, and I’m sure you’ll like him.”

“‘Good guy’? That’s all you’re giving me here?” I scoffed, throwing my hands up in frustration. “Who is he, Mom? Where did he come from? Are you sure about this?” My voice was laced with desperation because this was starting to feel like a bizarre dream—no, scratch that, a nightmare.

She sighed, clearly unimpressed by my dramatics, as she continued setting the table. “Yes, Camila, I’m sure. And his name is Greg. We’ve been dating for over a year.”

A Year! A whole damn year?

My jaw nearly hit the floor. “And you never thought to mention him once?” I demanded, crossing my arms tightly over my chest. “I thought we told each other everything!”

“Camila, you’ve been busy with school and your friends,” she explained gently. “I wanted to be sure it was serious before introducing him.”

Like that made it okay.

I just stared at her, dumbfounded. My mom had been a single mother for as long as I could remember. I never met my dad, and honestly, it never really bothered me. Mom made sure I didn’t lack anything; she was my everything. I got used to it being just us, and somewhere along the line, I had settled into the idea that this was our forever dynamic—just the two of us against the world. And now, out of nowhere, she wanted to bring in some guy named Greg?

Mom must’ve seen the look on my face because she reached out, patting my hand. “Sweetheart, you’ll love him. And he has a son, so you’ll finally have a sibling,” she said, her face lighting up like this was the best news in the world. “Isn’t that great?”

Wonderful? My brain short-circuited. “Wait — so I’m supposed to just accept this guy as my new dad and his kid as my sibling? Mom, this isn’t one of your romance novels!”

She actually laughed, which made me want to scream. “Camila, you’re overreacting. I’m not asking you to call him Dad. Just give him a chance. He makes me happy. Can’t you do that for me?”

I wanted to argue, to tell her that this was way too much, way too fast, and that I wasn’t ready for this kind of change. But then I looked at her, really looked at her. She was glowing, actually glowing. I hadn’t seen her this happy in years. And I hated that I couldn’t just be happy for her too.

“I don’t know, Mom,” I muttered. “It just feels… wrong. Like we’re supposed to be a team. What if he changes everything? What if it’s not the same anymore?”

She smiled softly and pulled me into her side. “It’ll always be you and me, Camila. No one can change that. But maybe it’s time we let other people in, too.”

I took a shaky breath, trying to make sense of it.

“Does his son even know about all this?” I asked.

Mom nodded. “Yes, he knows. He’s around your age, actually. His name is Ethan.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Great. So now I’m supposed to get along with some random guy I’ve never met before?”

Mom laughed softly, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “You’ll be fine, Camila.”

“You don’t get to tell me that!”

“Camila…”

“You know I’m not good with new people!”

“CAMILA!”

Her voice echoed as I flinched, shook my head, and bolted upstairs.

“Camila!” she called again, but I slammed my door shut and pressed my back against it, sliding down until I hit the floor.

My whole body was trembling.

I knew I was being selfish. I knew.

But I just couldn’t shake the feeling that everything was about to change… and not in a good way.