I was startled by the question.
B5 vouchers
My mouth didn’t move. My fingers tightened slightly around Lena’s hand, my eyes stayed locked on him onger than they should’ve.
He lifted a brow and that was when I realized I’d been staring without saying a word.
Rick looked at me like I was a stranger. Calm, straight–backed, one hand loosely in his pocket, the other resting against the side of his thigh.
blinked once, pulling myself together.
My family had never known about us, not the restaurant visits or the nights we met in secret, the plans he made and broke.
He had to be putting on a show, I straightened my shoulders. “No, we haven’t.”
He watched me for a second longer, “you seem familiar.”
That caught me off guard but before I could answer, his eyes shifted slightly, just a flick, but it landed irectly on Lena.
felt my body shift closer to her. One hand instinctively rested on her back. He didn’t know, I never got he chance to tell him and I wasn’t ever going to after he threw me out like shit.
His gaze lingered a moment too long.
Then my father’s voice cut through everything. “It’s impossible,” he said, stepping forward. “I’m embarrassed to even admit she’s my daughter, she doesn’t walk in spaces you would’ve been.”
He waved his hand toward the hallway. “Come on, let’s go in and start the proper introductions.”
We stepped into the house. Lena’s hand was still in mine.
Her other hand tugged gently at the edge of my shirt, she looked around, eyes wide.
The living room was decorated like they were trying too hard, flowers, lights and some kind of gold fabric hanging from the staircase,
I looked past it all.
My stepmother was by the fireplace, one heel slightly popped, fingers wrapped around a drink, she saw me, looked me up and down, then scoffed.
I didn’t look away.
Rick stood off to the side, just behind my father. He was watching the room, nodding slightly at something being said, arms resting at his sides like this was all normal.
Chapter 3
My stepmother’s voice came sharp behind me.
“Oh, look who decided to come back.”
I stopped walking.
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“I never thought you’d return,” she added, her voice louder now, “especially not with a bastard child.”
Lena flinched, hiding behind me instinctively.
I turned around, immediately taking steps toward her, startling her enough for her to shift back, “she has a name,” I said with a frown.
My stepmother blinked, surprised I answered so quickly.
“She’s not a ‘bastard. She’s my daughter and if I hear you call her that again, even once, I won’t just leave, I’ll make sure you remember what it feels like to be embarrassed.”
My stepmother’s mouth opened, then shut.
“I didn’t ask this family for anything,” I said, my eyes on hers, “and I’ll die before I let any of you talk down to her.”
Lena stayed close to me, my hand rested lightly against her back.
“Let’s get this bullshit over with,” I scoffed, heading to sit on the table, reminded of why I left to begin with.
We sat around the dining table, the clink of silverware and glass filling the gaps between forced conversation. Lena sat quietly beside me, swinging her feet under the chair, her fingers curled gently around the edge of her plate. I placed a hand on her back without thinking, grounding myself through the steady rise and fall of her breath.
Across the table, Rick leaned in as my father spoke, his head tilted slightly, his jaw flexing as he laughed. I watched him laugh at something my father said, saw the way his lips curved with ease, the way his fingers wrapped casually around the stem of his glass as he lifted it to his mouth.
I couldn’t stop looking at him, did he really not know who I was?
Every time he turned his head, I found myself still staring. My eyes dropped, but my pulse was already moving too fast, pressing at my throat. I looked away, pretending to adjust Lena’s napkin, but that moment of distraction didn’t last. I felt it, the pull of someone watching. When I looked up again, Rick was looking right at me.
His eyes didn’t move, his expression didn’t change. He just stared like he was trying to figure something out, like something in his brain was working too slowly to catch up.
I blinked, once, and then Marissa’s voice broke through the air
“Why do you keep staring at him?”
Her fork clattered against her plate. Everyone turned toward her. She pushed her chair back with too
2/3
8:40 pm E
Chapter 3
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much force, arms crossed, eyes locked on me. “Is something wrong with you? He’s my fiancé. Stop looking
at him like that.”
I snapped back to reality, my hand slid away from Lena’s shoulder as I stood up.
“I need the bathroom,” I said, my voice calm, tight, almost too quiet.
I stepped out of the room without waiting for permission, the hallway cooler and quieter than I expected. My heels moved faster than I wanted them to, and by the time I reached the bathroom, my hand was already reaching for the sink.
I turned on the tap, splashing cold water on my face. My fingers gripped the edge of the counter, holding myself steady. I leaned closer to the mirror, eyes wide, throat dry.
I took a breath, then another, “you’re fine,” I said quietly, wiping my face with the towel. “You’re fine.”
I opened the door and stepped out, and froze.
A hand grabbed mine hard and pulled me sideways.
My back hit the hallway wall, my breath caught instantly.
Rick stood in front of me, one hand still gripping my wrist, the other planted firmly on the wall beside my
head.
AD
