LOGINScarlette. I didnāt even realize we had reached the mall.If I was being honest, I hadnāt been listening to a single word Liam was muttering under his breath the entire drive. His complaints faded into background noise, drowned out by my own thoughts and the quiet hum of the road. I only became aware we had arrived when the car slowed and came to a full stop.Then my phone buzzed.The sharp little sound snapped my attention away instantly. I picked it up and smiled when I saw the notification.Vic: Iām here.Perfect.I had texted her earlier, somewhere in between Liamās grumbling about his clothes and my own internal victory parade, asking her to come help with the shopping. I knew Iād need backupāsomeone who understood me, who wouldnāt let me settle for āgood enough,ā and who wouldnāt hesitate to tell me the truth if something looked awful on me.It had been a long time since weād seen each other in person.Most of our connection lately had been through video callsālate nights, ti
Scarlette. For the next few hours, the mansion felt like a graveyardātoo quiet, too still, as though even the walls were holding their breath.There were no sharp heels clicking down the hall. No belligerent calls for coffee. No tantrums about the temperature being too hot or too cold, no maids scrambling to correct imaginary offenses. Claudiaās voice, which usually filled the house like a siren, was nowhere to be heard.I hadnāt heard a peep since that confrontation earlier, and honestly, it suited me just fine. If anything, it was a small victory, proof that Iād finally rattled her enough to shut her up, at least for a few hours. She better stay in her place, stewing in whatever bitterness she carried. I couldnāt bring myself to care one bit. I didnāt care what she was doing or where she had retreated to. If this quiet meant she was finally licking her wounds, then it was well deserved.I had done something today.Something no one had ever dared.But rest? That was the last th
Scarlette. āClaudiaā¦ā Ethan repeated slowly, disbelief flickering across his face as he looked at her.Motherās lips curled with bitter contempt. āYou see now, Ethan? She calls me by my name. Sheās lost every shred of respect she ever pretended to have. And Liam just stands there, watching this insanity unfold.āEthan turned fully to me, his expression darkening. āSince when did you start calling my mother by her name? Have you finally lost your mind? Or are you just stupid? Maybe itās the pregnancy hormonesāIād like to believe thatābut thereās a limit to this nonsense. Claudia? You donāt get to do that.āThen he rounded on Liam.āAnd you,ā he snapped, voice sharp with disbelief. āYouāre just standing there? Letting her disrespect our mother in her own house? Have you lost your goddamn mind? How can you be here and not control the woman youāre with? Tame her, for Christās sake. Put her on a leash if you have to, because this madness is getting out of hand. Honestly, the best thing
Scarlette.I was ready to turn the entire place upside down. Ready to tear the walls down brick by brick if I had to. If rage could become fire, this mansion would have burned to ash already. No one here deserved peace. No one deserved calm.āLiam,ā Mother said sharply, her voice slicing through the room, āhow can you stand there and let another woman insult your mother this way?āShe straightened, pride stiffening her spine. āI didnāt raise you to be this gullible. This shaken. This pathetically invested in a woman.āHer eyes flicked toward me with open contempt.āYour emotions are clouding your judgment. Ethan would never allow this.āLiam laughed, but there was nothing amused in it. It was bitter. Cutting.āWell then, good,ā he said coldly. āBecause Ethanāyour favorite sonāwould also never allow you to be questioned about something you and he have been hiding for years.āThe room seemed to still.āI donāt want to ask again,ā Liam said, his voice rising, his hands gripping her ar
Scarlette. āMother⦠listen,ā I said softly, my expression shifting into a smile so strained it felt like it might split my face in two.āI made you lunch.āI turned slightly, gesturing toward the food tray on the table. āIāve been waiting for you all day. I wanted you to eat this.āI walked closer to it, my fingers hovering over the lids. āMadam Julie didnāt prepare it. I did. I told herāwhat was the point of me being here if I couldnāt prepare a simple meal for my mother?ā I let out a quiet breathless laugh. āI mean, you were my mother-in-law for years. And soon, youāll be my mother-in-law again. Iāve always seen you as my mother in fact⦠because I never had one of my own.āMy voice faltered for a fraction of a second before I forced it steady again. āItās just unfortunate that youāre so cruel.āI waved the thought away as if it didnāt matter. āAnyway⦠come see what I made. Itās your favorite.āI lifted the lid.The aroma reached me first.And then pain did.Her hand clamped arou
Scarlette.I have replayed every version of this moment in my head so many times that it almost felt rehearsed, like a scene from a play I had memorized down to the last breath. In every version, Motherās face twisted with the same familiar contempt, her lips curling as she spat out words designed to cut deeper than knives. I had imagined her voice rising, sharp and triumphant, telling me how lucky her son Ethan was to have left me. How fortunate he was to have divorced a woman like me. How, if he had stayed married to me, he would have become the biggest joke of the year, a man shackled to a barren wife who could give him nothing.I imagined her laughing, that cold, superior laugh she always used when she thought she had won, when she believed she was standing on higher ground. I imagined her accusing me of trapping Liam, of seducing the āgoodā son after failing to keep the first. I imagined her saying that if Liam did not leave me soon, I would ruin him too, turn him into some







