LOGINLydiaI nodded. “Yes, sweetheart.”“Well, she has a new friend now.”I waited.“And I feel left out. I don’t know how to explain it, but sometimes I feel like she doesn’t want me around anymore. Like she doesn’t need me in their friendship. Whenever I see them together, I feel like an outsider.”My heart tightened.She continued, occasionally glancing at me.“I know she’s allowed to have other friends. I know that. But sometimes, when I try to join them, I feel like I’m disturbing them. They have their own jokes, and they talk about things I don’t know anything about. I don’t want to keep following her around when she clearly has someone else she’d rather spend time with.”“Oh, sweetheart.”“And there’s something else.”Her voice became quieter.I squeezed her hand.“I’m listening.”“I overheard some girls talking about me in the bathroom.”I frowned.“What did they say?”She hesitated.“They said my best friend was settling for less by being friends with me.”I felt my jaw tighten.“
Lydia’s POV“Come here, both of you.”The children exchanged a quick glance before walking towards me.“Where are we going, Mom?” Eli asked.“To your room.”“Is something wrong?” Ava asked quietly.“Come on, sweetheart.”I led them upstairs, and when we entered their bedroom, Eli immediately looked between us.“Mom, what’s up?”Ava tilted her head. “Mom, what is it?”“Sit down, babies.”They both settled on the bed, and I pulled a small stool closer before kneeling in front of them.I looked at their faces for a moment.My babies.How had I allowed myself to become so distracted that I hadn’t noticed what was happening in their little worlds?I reached for their hands.“My babiesss, I’m so sorry for making you both feel neglected.”Eli looked at me, confused, while Ava’s expression softened.“Ava, I’m especially sorry, princess. I apologise for every moment I’ve made you feel like you didn’t matter, or like whatever you wanted to tell me could wait until I was less busy.”I squeezed t
LydiaTheir teacher.I frowned.Why was she calling me?I checked the time of the call, wondering whether it was something that had happened during the school day.My first thought was Eli.I thought that boy was finally becoming responsible. Had he done something again? Had he gotten into trouble with another student?Honestly, I needed to reinforce strict parenting with that boy. He was getting too comfortable.I returned the call.She picked up on the first ring.“Hello?”“Good afternoon. Am I speaking with Ms Lydia?”“Yes, this is Lydia. Good afternoon.”“Good afternoon, ma’am. Thank you for returning my call. I’m calling regarding something that happened during today’s English lesson. I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time.”“No, not at all. Is everything okay with the children?”“Yes, they’re both fine. Nothing has happened to them physically. However, I wanted to discuss something concerning Ava.”My fingers tightened around the phone.“Ava?”“Yes, ma’am. We had an essay exe
Lydia’s POVToday had been one of those days.The kind that made me question why I had willingly chosen a career that involved dealing with other people’s problems while occasionally creating a few of my own.I had been downstairs in my home office since morning, going through reports, reviewing proposals and attending meetings with my team. I was supposed to have finished most of the pending tasks before lunch, but apparently, the universe had other plans.My first meeting was with two interns whose assignments I had reviewed the previous evening. They were bright, enthusiastic and, unfortunately, still had a tendency to confuse writing a lengthy report with writing a good one.“So, let’s go through this again,” I said, turning my laptop towards them. “Your research is good. The problem is that you’ve given me six pages of background information before telling me what you actually recommend.”One of them laughed nervously.“I know you’re excited about the research, and I appreciate t
AvaI took a breath and finally wrote my first sentence.I think my dad stole my mom from us.I stared at it.Hmm.That sounded a little dramatic.But it was how I felt, so I continued.Before Dad came back, Mom was always there. I could tell her anything, even the smallest things that happened during my day. Sometimes, I would walk into her room just to sit with her, and she would stop whatever she was doing to listen to me.Now, everything seems to revolve around the wedding.There are phone calls with Aunt Anna, pictures of flowers, discussions about dresses, venues, cakes and things I didn’t even know people needed to plan before getting married.I think Mom is excited, and I’m happy for her. I really am. But sometimes, I wish she would be excited about spending time with me too.I paused, chewing the end of my pencil.Was that too harsh?I continued.Yesterday, I wanted to tell her something important. I went to her room, but she was sleeping. Later, when I called her, she explai
Ava POV I immediately shook my head. No. That wasn’t right. Mom wasn’t a thing. She couldn’t be stolen, and Dad wasn’t doing anything wrong by loving her. I knew that. I loved seeing them happy together, and I was happy that Mom was getting married. I really was. But sometimes, I missed having her all to myself. Before Dad came back, Mom and I had our little routines. I could walk into her room whenever I wanted and tell her about anything that happened at school. She would listen, ask questions, and sometimes make funny comments that made me laugh even when I was upset. Lately, there were so many things happening. The wedding, the planning, the phone calls with Aunt Anna. Mom always seemed to have something to do. And when I finally had something important to tell her, she was either busy or tired. I didn’t want to be selfish. I knew grown-ups had responsibilities. Still, I missed her. I sighed, pulled my physics textbook towards me, and decided to occupy myself until it
Lydia POVOh.That was… unfortunate.Because he was beautiful.In a sharp, expensive, dangerous kind of way.Dark suit.Sharper jaw.Dark eyes that looked almost black under certain lighting.Everything about him looked controlled.I clicked another picture.Still no smile.Another.Same expression
Lydia POV“You’re getting married to Dave Ashton tomorrow by eight a.m.”Those were the words that ended my life as I knew it.One sentence.One Tuesday evening.One announcement delivered with the same emotional weight my father would have used to ask someone to pass the salt.For a moment, I hone
Bernard stepped in, hands clasped neatly in front of him.“I apologize for disturbing you, ma’am. I came by earlier, but there was no response.”I rubbed my eyes. “I was asleep.”“Yes, ma’am.”He said it so respectfully that I almost felt bad for sounding irritated.Almost.“Would you like dinner?”
Lydia’s POVThe inside of the house was even worse than the outside.Worse, because now I had to physically stand inside it and accept that this was where I was expected to live.The space swallowed me the second I stepped in.The entrance opened into a massive living area with floors so polished I







