His Brother’s Bride
All because my father brought home my mother’s best friend—pregnant, five months, with a child that wasn’t hers.
Ethan.
My throat closed. Emily’s room blurred with the image of Beatrice trying to pretend everything was fine, even while her mind was unraveling and her heart was already gone.
And now Emily—sweet, stubborn Emily—was doing the same thing.
Pretending.
Hiding.
Breaking.
“Emily,” I said quietly.
She sniffed, turning her face away. “I’m fine, Alex. It’s nothing.”
It was the same lie my mother whispered every time she tried to shield me from her own suffering, until she finally went half senile, now I am left to clean up the mess.