Chapter 3: The Hospital

Julia’s POV

Andrew walked away, and the surrounding guests also dispersed. I heard them whispering about ‘that poor woman’.

They were all sympathetic to Charlotte.

It was clear that no one cared about me. Why should they? Most of the guests were there to curry favor with Andrew. I wasn’t of any use to them. And they seemed to know that Andrew didn’t care much for me. If my own husband didn’t care about me, why should they?

I looked down at the shard of glass in my leg. It actually looked pretty bad.

Just then, I heard an unfamiliar voice.  

“Excuse me, but…do you need medical attention?” he asked. “Perhaps a trip to the ER?”

I looked up to see a handsome man. His blue eyes were flooded with concern. I didn’t recognize him at all. I assumed he was an executive from a rising company.

“Oh, I, um…” I stammered. He was gazing at me so intensely, it caused me to stumble over my words. “I’m fine, really,” I managed to say.

“Are you sure? Because that looks like quite the cut. I’d be happy to take you to the hospital to have it looked at.”

I shook my head.

“I’m just going to go home. But thank you,” I told him.

I left the banquet without even saying goodbye to Andrew. I climbed into the cab, with both my leg and my heart stinging.

At home, I removed the shard of glass and applied some antiseptic to it. Then I poured myself a glass of wine and collapsed onto the couch.

Andrew had just assumed. He’d come over to us as soon as the chandelier crashed to the floor, and just assumed that I’d pushed Charlotte.

I couldn’t get his cold, accusatory eyes out of my head.

He didn’t ask me what had happened. He never tries to understand.

He’d just assumed that I was at fault.

My leg was throbbing, but the way Andrew had acted hurt a hell of a lot more.

I don’t know how I fell asleep, but when I woke up, I was still holding my phone, and no one had reached out to me. Andrew didn’t ask what happened to me.

And he didn’t come home all night.

Fine.

I should've known that he never cared about me.

I guessed Charlotte was still at the hospital. That was what she was good at, wasn’t it? Pretending to be some gravely wounded victim.

Alright then, I would see what kind of act she was putting on this time.

Charlotte was sitting in a hospital bed with Andrew, my step-mother Cecile, and my own son huddled around her bedside.

“Oliver?” I asked. “How did you get here?”

But he frowned at me and then turned away.

Cecile got up from the bedside and marched right over to me. Before I could process what was happening, she slapped me hard, right across the face.

“You are a vicious and heartless woman,” she sneered at me.

“How dare—”, I brought my hand up to my cheek, shocked.

She lifted her hand again, but Andrew caught her hand in mid-air.

“That’s quite enough, Cecile,” he said, his voice stern. “We’re in a hospital.”

“Nothing like some early morning theatrics to take my mind off my injury,” Charlotte said, pretending to try to lighten the mood. She sat up, but then she let out a whine. “Ow,” she cried out. “I must have jostled my injury.”

“Don’t try to move. Lay back down,” Cecile said, turning her attention to Charlotte.         

         

Oliver placed a pillow behind her head. “Does this help?” he asked, still not even acknowledging me. He was acting as though Charlotte was his real mother.

“Yes, it does, thank you, sweet Oliver,” Charlotte smiled gratefully at him.

“I have a special gift for you,” Charlotte then said to Oliver. “It just came in the mail.

"It’s an exclusive, globally limited edition model car set. I know how much you like model cars.”

“Wow, that was exactly what I wanted! Thank you, Auntie Charlotte,” Oliver said happily.  

I felt a knot twist in my stomach. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they looked like a perfect little happy family. My husband, my son, my step-mother, and my step-sister.

I hated seeing scenes like this, as if I were the only outsider here.

“Since you’re fine, I’ll be going,” I said coldly to Charlotte.

“You take Oliver home. I have a meeting to attend at the company,” Andrew said. His expression toward me never changed from beginning to end.

“Oh, don’t go,” I heard Charlotte say from inside the room. “Come in, please, Julia. Stay with me. It’s been so long since we’ve had a real heart to heart.”

Her tone made me sick. Before I could say anything, Andrew said, “Alright, Oliver, let’s go. I’ll have the driver take you home.”

Oliver stood up sullenly, and when he passed by me, he didn’t even spare me a glance.

“What exactly are you trying to do?” I asked her the moment everyone else was gone.

“I’m not doing anything,” Charlotte scoffed.

“You’re trying to steal my family,” I said, anger in my voice.

“I’m doing no such thing. It’s not my fault that you’re boring and unlikable. It’s really no surprise that your husband and son resent you. I would too if you were my wife or mother.”

“Shut up,” I snapped at her, overcome with fury.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” she said, cutting me off.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked her.

“I guess I never really got over losing Andrew all those years ago. I hate losing, you know? So I fixed my face and now I’m back. I’m determined to win this time. I WILL take your husband. Oliver too.”

I was so mad, I was seeing red. I knew that if I didn’t leave immediately, I might do something I’d regret, like hit her…or worse.

“No way!" I shouted.

I stormed out of the hospital and went home. I calmly steadied my emotions, trying not to let her affect me.

But when I got home though, I found Oliver in the kitchen. He clutched the toy car Charlotte had given him, yet he threw away the gift I had made for him with my own hands.

I’d spent hours scouring the internet, trying to find him the most unique set I could.

“Oliver,” I gasped. “What are you doing?”

It hurt me to see the gift in the garbage.

But his next words didn’t just hurt.

They broke my heart.

“I hate you. I don’t want your gift,” he said bluntly. “I don’t even want you to be my mother. Charlotte is a hundred BETTER than you.”