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Chapter 2

Author: Fortune Kitty
Vince's face went pale, and that alone told me the answer.

That night, Ariel had promised she'd come home early to spend my birthday with me. Instead, I waited up the whole night. It wasn't until early morning that she finally showed up, her face streaked with tears.

I thought she'd been hurt and tried to rush her to the hospital, but she ignored her injuries and pulled me straight into her arms instead.

"Edwin, don't move. Just let me hold you. I missed you so much," she said softly.

So that sudden burst of affection had only been guilt over cheating on me.

Every overlooked detail I'd brushed aside came flooding back all at once. No wonder Vince had moved apartments right after that night. He'd claimed his old place was too dark, that it wasn't safe for his girlfriend to visit him there.

Turns out his girlfriend was Ariel.

"Edwin, we're still friends," Vince said, stepping forward to put an arm around my shoulder.

I sidestepped him.

I let out a bitter laugh. "The kind of friend who sleeps with whoever's wife he wants?"

A cup of water hit me square in the face out of nowhere. Cold water dripped from my lashes, and when I looked up, Toby was glaring at me, furious.

"Edwin, you think Vince doesn't suffer too?" he snapped. "A rich boy like you will never understand what it's like at the bottom. No wonder you've never had a single friend in your whole life."

Something in my chest ached, over and over.

I swallowed back everything I wanted to say. Forget it.

Ariel appeared and handed me a tissue, her tone gentle, the kind used to soothe a child throwing a tantrum over candy. "Edwin, that's enough. Casey's waiting for you in the car."

All my anger snapped right back into place.

Right. I still had my daughter. Now wasn't the time to tear everything apart.

Just as I turned to leave, a dog suddenly came charging straight at us. In a split second, without a moment's hesitation, Ariel grabbed a wooden stick and threw herself in front of Vince to shield him.

Startled, the dog veered and knocked me down instead. I hit the ground hard, scraping my hands and knees. It took a security guard rushing over to finally get the dog under control.

Ariel gently helped Vince to his feet, then glanced back at me, indifferent. "You're okay, right?"

I didn't answer. She spoke again. "I'm taking Trinity to the amusement park tonight, so I won't be coming home."

A cold evening breeze drifted past.

I should have known better than to expect anything, shouldn't I?

I walked over to the car. The moment I opened the door, Casey threw herself into my arms and asked, crestfallen, "Daddy, why didn't Mommy protect you? Why did she protect Vince instead, when you were the one in real danger?"

Even a five-year-old could see it. Ariel couldn't, or wouldn't.

I choked down the bitterness and stroked my daughter's hair. "Because Mommy's farsighted. She can only see things that are far away."

Casey nodded, only half understanding.

For days after that, Ariel didn't come home at all. Then, one day, she called me out of nowhere.

"Edwin, Vince hasn't been feeling well lately. We've been to every hospital, run every test there is, and nobody can find anything wrong with him."

Before I could get a word in, she went on, her voice cold. "I brought in a geomancer to look into it. He says the root of the problem is in the cemetery. Your mother's grave and Vince's mother's grave sit too close together, and the clashing energy between them is smothering his luck and keeping him sick."

My fingers tightened around the phone. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "What are you saying?"

"Move your mother's grave."

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