Whispers in the Night Rain
It was my son's engagement party. However, my husband stopped me from giving my soon-to-be daughter-in-law her gift. "His mother will do the honors. This is not your place."
I thought he was joking until he put his arm around his childhood sweetheart and sat down together around the main table. "I know Bianca mishandled your baby, but she had postpartum depression, and it was an accident.
"She gave you Jason to make up for her mistake. It's time for them to be a family again. She has atoned for her sins."
My nails dug into my palms hard enough to draw blood. Just when I was on the brink of losing it, my son raised a toast to her. "Someone has stolen your place for 30 years, Mom, but you'll never have to suffer again."
Right now, my husband and son were like strangers I'd never met instead of my family. A bitter smile curled my lips. We'd spent more than three decades together.
Time had left its mark on my graying hair, yet I was treated as nothing more than an outsider in a place I was supposed to call home.
Perhaps this home was too small to fit all of us. Since that was the case, someone had to bow out and that someone… was me.