The countdown has begun

ZOE’S POV

I hadn’t expected him to run to me like that.

"Mummy!" Jamie shouted with so much joy like a child who had found his world again. His little arms wrapped around my waist so tight, so trusting like he had been waiting for this moment too.

Everything froze. The room blurred. All I saw—all I felt—was my son. My baby. Right there in front of me. Calling me the one word I ached to hear from him again.

I wasn’t aware of the glass breaking until Austin’s voice cut through the moment.

“Zoe!” he shouted and ran to her.

I glanced up.

Chloe stood frozen in the archway, wine glasses shattered around her feet. But just as quickly, she masked it, pasting on that polished, perfect smile she always wore when she was lying.

“Oh! Sorry. I… Jamie startled me. I thought he was calling out to me.” she said, laughing a little too loudly.

I could see the panic still flickering in her eyes. She was unraveling, bit by bit.

One of the staff hurried to sweep the glass, and Chloe stepped back, smoothing her dress and regaining control. Or trying to.

Austin turned to Jamie, who still had his arms around my waist.

He chuckled and bent down. “Hey, buddy. You’re a little confused, huh? Aunt Chloe looks so much like Mommy, doesn’t she?”

Jamie blinked up at him, then looked at me again, puzzled but quiet now. Austin gently pulled him back to his side, then turned to me with a sheepish smile.

“Sorry about that. He’s probably just a little confused.”

I forced a light laugh, trying to seem unfazed. “It’s alright. He’s not the only one confused.”

They all laughed. Even Chloe, though hers sounded like it had been dragged from her throat.

Austin led us to the dining table like it was any ordinary night. Just a dinner between family and new business partners. But nothing about this was ordinary.

Because my son had just called me Mummy, and I hadn’t stopped trembling inside since.

We took our seats, the table elegantly set, the scent of roast duck and red wine drifting in the air. Owen sat across from me, throwing me a reassuring glance. Chloe was next to Jamie, who sat beside Austin.

And me—I was diagonally across from my son. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

He looked so much bigger than when I left. Taller. His curls longer. His eyes brighter. He was laughing at something Austin said now, head tilted in that same familiar way he did when he was a baby.

It was breaking me. Piece by piece.

All I wanted was to hold him again. To explain everything. To scream the truth.

But I couldn’t. Not yet.

On the other side of the table, Chloe glanced at me and then at Jamie. She saw the way I was looking at him. She knew exactly what I was feeling.

She cleared her throat and leaned toward Jamie. She kissed him on his cheek. “Sweetheart, tell Aunt Chloe about that drawing you made yesterday. The one with the rocket ship.”

Jamie looked at her, distracted. “Oh yeah!”

He turned back to me. “I made a spaceship with three people in it—me, Mummy, and Daddy. We were going to the moon!”

I smiled, trying to hold it together. “That sounds amazing. I’d love to see it.”

Chloe interrupted quickly. “He’s been really into space lately. Wants to be an astronaut.”

“I want to fly and be the first kid to build a house on Mars!” Jamie announced proudly.

Everyone laughed again.

But I could feel Chloe’s desperation to steer the moment away from me. From us.

And it only made my resolve stronger.

I wasn’t going to let her keep pretending this life was hers. I wasn’t going to keep letting my son call someone else Mummy.

No matter how careful I had to be… no matter what I had to do…

I was taking my life back.

I saw exactly what she was doing.

Chloe, with her sweet voice and carefully crafted diversions, tries to draw Jamie’s attention back to her like a magnet. Like a mother.

But I wasn’t going to let her take this moment from me.

Not when I had just felt the warmth of my son in my arms again. Not when he had called me Mummy.

I leaned in just slightly, enough to see Jamie’s face as I smiled and said, “Your birthday is coming up in a few weeks, honey. I bet you're going to have a big party like you've always wanted, right?”

Jamie’s eyes widened, his little fork dropping onto his plate. He turned to Austin with excitement written all over his face.

“I’m gonna have a party?”

Austin blinked, clearly caught off guard. “Wait—you've never had a birthday party before?”

Jamie shook his head innocently. “Nope. Mummy says we just do cake and pictures, but no party.”

I didn't look at Chloe. I didn’t need to.

Austin’s expression shifted subtly—something between disappointment and confusion. He turned to Jamie, brushing a hand over his curls. “Well, that’s going to change this year. You can have whatever you want for your birthday, okay, buddy?”

Jamie beamed. “Really?! I want balloons and cake and a magician and maybe a pony!”

Austin laughed. “Done.”

But then he turned to me, curious now. “You remembered his birthday? After all this time? I’m impressed, Chloe. Especially with how busy you’ve been.”

I held his gaze, smiling softly. “How could I forget? I was the first one to hold him when he was born. His tiny little fingers, feet and those cute eyes registered in my memory as he cried. That’s not something you forget.”

On the other side, Chloe coughed on her wine. She quickly reached for her napkin and dabbed at her lips. Her hands were shaking slightly.

I looked at her then. Fully.

Her eyes locked with mine. And there it was: triumph. The ache. The fury. And the quiet warning that she wasn’t going to keep up this lie much longer.

Her stare hardened, but I didn’t flinch.

Owen cleared his throat lightly to break the silence, offering a neutral comment about party themes that Jamie quickly latched onto.

The table carried on. Laughter resumed. The food was passed around.

But deep down, the tension between Chloe and me grew. It was only a matter of time before trouble hit.

And tonight… The countdown has begun.