Se connecterMARY'S POV:I stood there in the hallway staring at the bright screen, my mind spinning in a hundred different directions at once. Her favorite dress was stained and ripped. She was keeping her mouth shut. She wouldn't tell anyone what went down. And the nanny, who had been watching her for some days and knew every single one of her little habits, was genuinely scared for her.Could my little girl be getting picked on by the other kids at school?A cold wave of fear washed right over me. I had been so wrapped up in my own terrible marriage, my own deep pain, and my crazy fight to get away from Alistair that I hadn't even noticed something bad happening to my own child. I was so busy dealing with Vesper, fighting through the divorce papers, and trying to keep my own head above water that I had left the most important person in my world completely unguarded. In the middle of trying to save my own life, I had let my guard down with hers.I felt frantic with a heavy, sickening worry.
MARY'S POV:"Mommy, you finally came to pick me up!"My daughter's small voice rang out across the busy schoolyard, so bright and clear that it instantly cut through all the noise around us. She came running straight toward me on her short legs, her arms stretched wide and a huge smile spreading across her sweet face. The afternoon sun hit her hair, making it shine like gold. Her yellow backpack was bouncing hard against her back, and her little shoes were making quick scuffing sounds against the hot concrete with every single step she took.I dropped down to my knees, pulled her right into my chest, and pressed a hard kiss against her warm cheek. She felt so tiny in my arms, so fragile, like something made of thin glass. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, smelling the familiar mix of her shampoo, the fresh air, and that faint sweet smell of fruit snacks she always had for her afternoon break. She wrapped both of her little arms around my neck and squeezed me with all the sma
MARY'S POV:The soft orange lights from the radio lit up the dark car which showed his handsome face as he climbed into his side.He pulled his door shut and rested both hands on the top of the steering wheel. He didn't turn the key right away. He just sat there in the seat and looked over at me with an expression I couldn't quite read as I shrugged.He pulled the car out of the drive, and we drove away down the dark road without either of us saying a single word about what had just happened to Alistair back in that house.The bright streetlights of the city blurred together outside my window and I love what I was looking at. We were driving down the exact same roads I had used for years, but tonight everything looked completely different. It felt like the streets belonged to a whole different person, someone I used to be a long time ago. The tall buildings passed by one by one, the streetlamps dropping big spots of yellow light onto the wet asphalt ahead of us.Just as the car h
MARY'S POV:She was telling me it was okay to walk away from her son. She was giving me her blessing to leave, assuring me that she would still love me even if I never came back to this house.I didn't even know how long I stood there in that hallway.The minutes seemed to blur into one long moment, the time slipping past without me noticing. I was completely trapped in my own head, playing back every single thing that had just happened, every harsh word and every fucking promise. The sound of Beatrice's soft voice, the warm smell of her jacket, the heavy truth of her words, all of it kept spinning around inside my head like a slow storm.I didn't even notice the room changing until Marl suddenly walked up right in front of me and waved his broad hand back and forth in front of my eyes."Hey, where did you go just now?"I jumped a little and blinked hard, pulling myself back to the present. He was standing right there in the light, looking relaxed, his dark eyes shining with that
MARY'S POV: The words dropped straight into my chest like a heavy stone falling into a quiet pond. Beatrice stepped in and pulled me into a real, tight hug, her arms wrapping around my shoulders and holding me close to her warm body. She tapped her hand against my back in that slow, steady rhythm she always used, the same way she did when I was sick, when I was completely overwhelmed by life, or when I was hurting so bad I couldn't stop crying. The feeling was so warm and familiar that the tears I had been fighting back finally burst through, running hot down my face. "I made a promise to protect every child I could," she whispered, her voice heavy against my shoulder. "But I cannot go around hurting my own daughter just to protect someone else's mistake. Not anymore. I let you get hurt before, didn't I? And I am so very sorry for that. Maybe I really was thinking only about my family back then, God forgive me, but..." I wrapped my arms right back around her neck, holding her
MARY'S POV:Vesper's face twisted up into pure rage. "Don't hit my baby!" She made a huge show of dropping her shoulders, covering her stomach with both hands and pulling her body into a ball like a poor, helpless victim. Her fingers pressed tight against her belly, her eyes wide with fake horror. "I am pregnant! You could have hurt my child!"But Beatrice did not even turn her head to look at her.She turned back to me, and all the sharp anger left her eyes, leaving them soft and warm instead. She reached out and grabbed my cold fingers, her hands feeling warm and familiar against mine. Her grip was tight and solid, the very same hand that had held mine through long nights, through bad sickness, and through some of the hardest days of my life."I believe you, sweetheart," she said softly, her voice catching just a little in her throat. "You don't need to explain a single thing to me. You never have to do that with me."Her words felt like a heavy coat wrapped around my shoulders







