Absent Mother?

{The Next Evening}

By the time I was done with work for the day, my whole body felt heavy. The subway ride had been nothing but a blur of voices and stops, but my mind had never stopped racing. Work, deadlines, numbers, clients—always pulling, always demanding. But tonight wasn’t for them. Tonight was for Liam.

I held tighter to the little gift bag in my hand. The dragon figurine was inside, wrapped in simple paper. It wasn’t just a toy. It was proof. Proof that I remembered. Proof that he mattered more than anything else.

I pushed the door open, already picturing his face when he saw it. But the sound that greeted me made me pause. Laughter. Liam’s laughter. A sound so rare these days that it nearly knocked the air out of my chest.

I stepped inside quietly, and then I saw them.

William stood at the counter, a bowl in his hand, stirring icing with Liam beside him. And next to them, Olivia, Liam’s nanny, was smiling warmly. The three of them together looked like something from another lifetime. My old life. My old family.

For a moment, I couldn’t move. The bag in my hand suddenly felt foolish, like nothing compared to what I was seeing. My son glowing with happiness, William in my kitchen as if he belonged, and Olivia fitting into the picture like she’d been there all along.

Liam turned first. “Mommy!” His face lit up as he ran to me. “You’re here!” He hugged me tight before pulling back. “I’m glad you’re back now. Daddy says you only care about work.”

The words cut straight through me. I froze, staring down at him, the smile I tried to hold trembling at the edges.

“Liam,” I said softly, brushing his hair back, “that’s not true.”

“But Daddy said so.” His small voice carried no malice, only innocence. He believed what he heard.

I lifted my eyes, meeting William’s. He leaned against the counter casually, arms crossed, a smugness in his tone when he finally spoke. “I was just being honest with him, Viv. You’re never around. Somebody had to explain why.”

My chest burned. “You don’t get to walk in here after years of silence and pretend you’ve been the voice of reason. You don’t get to do that, William.”

He shrugged, calm, as if my anger didn’t touch him. “I’m here now. That’s what matters, isn’t it?”

Liam tugged my hand. “Mom, come see the cake! Daddy helped me. And Olivia too. Look!”

I followed him to the counter, my throat tight. The cake was small, uneven, but his pride was enormous.

“He’s been such a helper,” she said. “We thought it would be fun for him to do the frosting.”

I forced myself to nod. “It looks… wonderful.”

Liam’s excitement was unstoppable. “Mom, can Olivia be in the pictures too? We’re gonna take family photos! Daddy says she’s more like a mommy than you right now.”

The words hit like a knife. My whole body went still. I looked at my son, so innocent, so unaware of what he’d just said. My heart twisted, aching, but I couldn’t let him see it.

“Liam,” I whispered, my voice breaking though I tried to keep it steady, “I am your mommy. No one else.”

He blinked, confused. “But Daddy said—”

“Enough, Liam,” William cut in lightly, patting his shoulder. “Go get the camera.”

Liam ran off happily, leaving silence in his place. I turned to William, my voice low and shaking. “How dare you put those words in his mouth? How dare you make him doubt me?”

William smirked faintly. “I’m just telling him the truth. You’ve buried yourself in work for so long, Viv. He needs someone present. Someone he can see.” He glanced at Olivia, then back at me. “And maybe that isn’t you anymore.”

The gift bag was still clutched in my hand, crumpled now from how tightly I held it. My dragon figurine felt small compared to the picture they had painted in my own kitchen. My son’s laughter filled the air again as he returned with the camera, pulling Olivia close, tugging William’s arm.

And I stood there, frozen, watching the family photo form without me.

My eyes burned, but I refused to cry where they could see me. I decided to step outside, giving them the excuse that I had forgotten something in my car. I wrapped my arms around myself, the chill biting my skin, but it was better than staying inside.

I leaned against the wall of the building, the little bag with the dragon figurine still tight in my grip. The handles dug into my palm, but I held on like it was the only thing keeping me steady. I felt like a stranger in my own home.

The door creaked open behind me. I didn’t have to turn to know it was him.

“Viv,” William’s voice slid out smooth, like it always had—practiced and polished. “You don’t have to run off like that.”

I didn’t look at him. “I needed air.”

He stepped closer, his shoes scuffing the concrete. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been in the same room like that. Felt almost normal, didn’t it? The three of us together… Liam smiling, laughing. It was good. It could be good again.”

I let out a short, bitter laugh. “Normal? You think that looked normal?”

He reached for my hand, brushing it lightly with his fingers. “We were good once, Viv. We could be good again. Don’t shut me out.”

I pulled my hand back like his touch burned me. My voice came out sharper than I meant, but I didn’t care. “Good? Do you really want to talk about good, William? Because when I think of good, I don’t see you.”

He opened his mouth, but I didn’t give him the chance.

“Where were you when the bills stacked up so high I thought I’d drown under them? Where were you when I had to sell my wedding ring to cover Liam’s treatments? Where were you on his last three birthdays? Because I didn’t see you. Not once.”

His easy smile slipped, but I kept going.

“You want to talk about family? Family doesn’t walk out the moment life gets hard. Family doesn’t vanish without a single phone call. Family doesn’t reappear years later, thinking one cake and a few smiles erase everything.” My throat tightened, but I forced the words out steady. “Your absence defines you more than your sudden desire to ‘be here’ now.”

He looked at me, stunned, his charm cracking at the edges. He didn’t have an answer ready.

I straightened, my grip on the bag tightening. “You don’t get to rewrite history, William. Not for me, and not for my son.”

I turned away before he could recover, before he could find words to patch up the silence. I didn’t go back inside.

My stroll led to the to Supermarket just around the block where I decided to get some groceries. When I walked to the register, ready to pay, my phone buzzed, the screen lit with Susan’s name.

I answered, and her warm voice filled my ear. “Viv! Where are you?”

I tried to laugh. “Supermarket. Last-minute birthday mission.”

“Of course you are,” she teased. “Listen, I’m just around the corner at that little restaurant on Fifth. Come by for a drink.”

“I don’t know,” I said, shifting the bag in my hand. “It’s getting late, and I—”

“You’re going home to stare at the ceiling, aren’t you?” she cut in. “Don’t lie to me. One drink. I’ll have wine waiting.”

I hesitated. My whole body begged for sleep. But the thought of going home to the silence made my chest ache. “Fine,” I said. “One drink.”

“That’s my girl.”

I joined Susan shortly. The restaurant was small and glowing with warm light. Susan waved me over, two glasses of wine already on the table.

“You weren’t kidding,” I said, sitting down.

She grinned. “I never kid about wine. Now, spill. Promotion, merger, billionaire boss—all of it.”

I rolled my eyes, taking a sip. “It’s chaos. I barely know which way is up. But, hey, I’m Director Hartley now. That has a nice ring, doesn’t it?”

Susan smirked. “Sure. But the real question is when was the last time you slept more than four hours?”

I groaned. “Don’t start.”

“I will start,” she said firmly. “Because I can see it all over you. You’re running on fumes, Viv.”

I laughed weakly. “If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry. And if I cry, I’ll never stop.”

Her eyes softened.

For a little while, the heaviness eased. We talked, we laughed, we remembered old times before everything became this hard. For an hour, I let myself breathe.

But then I glanced at my phone and felt guilt punch through me. “Shit. It’s late. I need to go. Liam.”

Susan caught my hand. “Don’t drown in this alone, Viv.”

I hugged her tight. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

The apartment was quiet when I returned. Too quiet. I set my keys down carefully, trying not to make a sound. Liam must already be asleep.

But something felt wrong.

I stepped into the living room and froze at the sight of familiar clothes scattered across the couch and floor.

Then I heard it.

I took the stairs two at a time, my pulse pounding. Dread clawed at me with every step.

I threw the bedroom door open and there they were. William, half-naked, moving over Olivia in my bed. In my house. With our son asleep down the hall.

For a moment, the world blurred red. My body shook, rage boiling up so fast I thought it would break me.

The words tore out of me before I could stop them, sharp and final.

“What the fuck, William?!”