The Fairness I Never Got Novels & Stories

"We need to have a talk." Madison's POV When Mommy used that fake-nice voice, it meant something bad was about to happen. She sat down on the bed across from us, trying to smile, but her smile looked like it hurt her face to make it. "Madison, sweetheart," she said, "do you remember how I used to tell you stories about fairness? About how sometimes good people don't get what they deserve because other people take it away from them?"

Escape from all the heartache, the pain, the memories. I felt the warm tear trickeling down my cheek, stopping to gleam at the onlookers, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care who saw or what they thought. It just wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that when my happiness was supposed to start at last. When my happy ending was in reach that it got ripped away with so much force. It wasn’t fair that my whole life I had to work my ass off for what I needed and got treated like rubbish by my own mother. It wasn’t fair that when I atlast met my father that he had to die and that I wouldn’t get to know him for who he truly was but only by how other people saw him. It wasn’t fair that I had to fall in love wit

"It's not just the name. It's that you're useless. You're a middleman with no backbone, no courage, and no loyalty. You took my money, you took my information, and then you made a unilateral decision to water down the attack because you were scared. Not because it was the right strategic call — but because you were afraid of being discovered getting your hands dirty." "That's not fair —" "Fair?" I let out a short, humorless laugh. "You want to talk about fair? I’m pregnant. I’m living in a house with a man who doesn't love me, while his child is growing inside me, smiling at dinner while he stares at the door like he's waiting for someone else to walk through it.”

“That after everything you’ve done, you still think you’re the victim.” “I’m not saying I’m the victim.” “Then what are you saying?” “I’m saying you’ve never understood how unfair everything has been!” I stared at her. “Unfair to whom?” “To me!” Her voice cracked with frustration. “I’ve had to sit back and watch you get opportunities I would have killed for. Do you knowmany times people have praised you while barely noticing me? We went through university together. We went through law school together. We studied the same things, took the same exams, and worked just as hard. Yet somehow, you always managed to stand out.”

] The letters looked like actual waves, curling and crashing, speckled with white dots like sea foam. I didn't know the first thing about hand lettering, but those strokes hit different—like they sliced right through the dark. The whole canvas glowed under the lights. Then this little girl walked onstage. Her voice was soft, but steady. "My life's been pretty easy so far," she said. "But I know some people have it rough. I just want everyone to remember—even when things suck, it won't stay that way forever. You just have to keep believing." No one had ever said stuff like that to me.

"And he still couldn't do it." Neva looked at her daughter for a long moment. Then she said quietly, "He didn't deserve the version of you that he got. And he certainly doesn't deserve the one standing in front of me now." Something in Corinna's chest loosened. Just slightly. Just enough. She nodded once. Then she straightened her jacket, looked at the desk across the room — her desk — and said, "Tell me where we are. The Northaven deal. The restructuring. All of it. I want to know everything."

she said. “And you have a conscience,” I replied. “Whether you like it or not.” She stared at the cash again, then tossed part of it back at me. “Take it,” she muttered. “I don’t need charity.” “I’m not offering charity,” I said as I opened the car door. “I’m offering fairness.” Beth scoffed. “Fairness doesn’t exist.” “It does,” I said, stepping out. “That’s why I’m here.” I closed the door and stood there for a second, steadying myself. Inside the station, voices echoed, phones rang, and footsteps moved quickly.

“It isn€™t fair,”I admitted. His grip on the table tightened.“It never was. It’s not as if life always has to be this way. It was unfair when I was younger. It wasn’t fair when I was older and I thought I understood it more completely.. It hasn’t been fair since the day I was cursed.” He lifted my chin gently. “I don’t live at your expense, Elaris. ” I swallowed hard and nodded absently. “I know.”

I stepped back before she could touch me. "I understand perfectly," I said. "I understand that everything I thought I had was never actually as solid as I believed. I understand that the moment it became inconvenient for you to keep me, you found a way to make it profitable instead." "That is not fair, Tatiana." "Nothing about any of this is fair," I said, my voice breaking on the last word despite everything I did to hold it together. "Nothing has been fair since the day I was born, apparently, so I don't know why I expected this to be any different."

Three months after my patron sent me to finishing school, I ended our eight-year arrangement myself. "I'm done being your kept woman." Duncan paused. "Is someone at school giving you a hard time? If you want another present, just say so. You know I hate it when you play hard to get." I looked at my savings, barely double digits, and thought about the math my classmates had done for me. So I told him the truth. "They get tens of thousands a month and only have to show up to two parties. "I get five hundred, and I take care of Grandma, go to your business dinners, and keep track of your stomach medicine. I ran the numbers three times, and it still doesn't add up. "Isn't that why you sent