Chapter 1
The Words That Started It
“Mommy, can Aunt Lila be my second mommy? She makes Daddy and me so happy!”
The words land in my chest like a fist. My breath stutters, but I force a smile, smooth and steady, the kind I’ve perfected over seven years of pretending everything’s fine. Inside, I crack.
We sit around the dinner table—my husband- Mark, my son- Caleb, and me. The silence hums, broken only by the clinking of forks and soft chews. Mark barely looks at me; his eyes flick between his plate and his phone, his attention half a world away. Caleb on his own, six years old, eyes bright, but tonight they cut like knives.
“Caleb,” Mark says without looking up, voice clipped. “Don’t be disrespectful.”
But it’s hollow. He doesn’t meet my eyes. He hasn’t done that in a while.
Caleb tilts his head, frowning. “But you always look so sad? Aunt Lila laughs and plays with me.”
I turn to my son, keeping my smile fixed, “I’m not sad, baby. Just tired.”
“You just sit there. Tell me to not eat candy and not play. Aunt Lila says that I’m a child and children need plenty amount of play.”
I sigh, my mind running with list of things to say to Caleb, “Lila is ----.” I stutter
Mark clears his throat, finally glancing at me for a brief moment. His face is unreadable. “Enough.”
But it’s never enough.
Aunt Lila. That name stings. She’s the one Caleb adores, the one Mark prefers, the woman who slipped into our lives as my best friend.
And Mark gently reprimanding Caleb only happens when Lila is involved. Like always.
I glance down at my plate—bland chicken, green beans wilting. I used to cook meals that lit up this table, that filled this house with warmth. Now everything feels cold. Dull.
I reach out, my fingers trembling as they brush against the edge of the table. Seven years of marriage. Seven years of love, sacrifice, hope. And now, these words, these silences, this replacement.
The dinner ends. Mark heads to his office without a word, phone already in hand.
Caleb skips off, giggling with Aunt Lila somewhere down the hall.
I sit alone at the table, the empty plate mocking me. My eyes fall on the divorce papers resting where Mark left them on the counter earlier. Cold, stark, final.
I pick them up, tracing the bold letters with my fingertips. The weight of those sheets crushes me. I want to scream, to cry, to fight—but the tears stay buried, the scream swallowed.
I’m not the woman I used to be. I’m a shadow.
A memory flickers—our wedding day, bright and full of promises. Mark smiling at me like I was everything. Caleb’s tiny hand in mine at birth.
I was so certain leaving the career atmosphere and living for them both would be worth it. And why wouldn’t it? They were my favorite people on Earth. One swore to protect me till forever, and I swore to protect the other one till forever.
Now, those dreams lie shattered at my feet.
I stand, clutching the divorce papers. The house feels hollow, echoing with the laughter that’s not mine.
The clock ticks, slow and cruel.
I stare out the window at the city lights, blurred by tears I won’t let fall.
I’m broken, but I’m still here. For Jackson. For me.
And somehow, somewhere deep inside, a flicker of fire remains.
……………
“I’m done with this. Sign the papers and let’s go our personal ways. I have provided for you for several years for your life and I should be given accolades for that.”
I stare at the unsigned divorce papers for hours, remembering the words Mark said to me yesterday before dinner.
The afternoon sun slants through the high windows of the study, casting long shadows across Mark’s heavy oak desk. It's eerily quiet, save for the occasional tick of the grandfather clock in the hallway. Every time it clicks, it's like a countdown to the end of this life I gave everything for.
The silence stretches—loud, oppressive.
I don’t cry. Not anymore.
A soft knock makes me flinch. “Judith?” It’s Lila’s voice.
Of course it is.
“Mark said you were in here,” she continues, stepping into the room without waiting for an answer. Her heels tap against the polished floor. She’s all warmth and sunshine—at least on the surface. Her honey-blonde curls are effortless, her makeup subtle and glowing. She’s wearing one of my aprons. My damn apron.
Like she’s already the wife. The position I dropped my career for.
“Need anything?” she asks, brushing nonexistent lint off her fitted blouse. “You look pale.”
I look up slowly, my eyes blank, “You’re wearing my apron.”
She glances down, feigning surprise. “Oh! I must’ve grabbed it by mistake while baking cookies with Caleb. He asked me to help.”
Cookies. With my son.
I nod, emotionless. “Right.”