Greg Hoover POV:
I raced back into the living room, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Kiana?" I shouted, my voice raw with panic. The house was eerily silent. She was gone.
Josh came running in, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Dad? Where's Mom? Is she okay?" He looked small and confused amidst the chaos.
"She... she just went out for a bit," I mumbled, trying to sound calm. My mind was reeling. I couldn't tell him the truth. Not yet. Not ever. My old lie, the one about Kiana being "sensitive," felt flimsy, ridiculous.
I grabbed my keys, my jacket. I had to find her. The panic was a cold claw in my gut. I jumped into my car, driving aimlessly, searching every street, every corner where she might go. The park where we used to walk. The small cafe she liked. Nothing. She was gone. Vanished.
I thought back to her words, her haunted eyes, her accusation about the peanut butter. I remembered the pills. The sedative. The antipsychotic. My stomach churned. What had I done? I had dismissed her depression, her pain, as an inconvenience. I had gaslighted her into thinking she was losing her mind. And she had found out. All of it.
The lawyer. The fake marriage certificate. The blood on the floor. She knew. She knew everything. And she had left. Because of me. Because of my lies. Because of the cage I had built around her.
I returned to the house hours later, defeated. The porch was empty. The house was dark. As I stepped inside, I saw Brittany, holding a now-awake Josh. He was nestled against her, his head on her shoulder.
"Daddy!" Josh cried, his face lighting up. He didn't move from Brittany's embrace. He looked comfortable. Happy. With her.
Brittany smiled, a smug, possessive curve of her lips. "He asked for me, Greg. He said he prefers my hugs." She smoothed Josh's hair, her eyes challenging mine.
A wave of resentment, sharp and sudden, washed over me. This wasn't right. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Kiana was his mother. Not Brittany. Never Brittany.
"Josh," I said, trying to keep my voice even. "Come here, son. Let's go to your room."
He shook his head, burying his face deeper into Brittany's shoulder. "No! I want Brittany. She's more fun. Mommy's always sad."
The words were a dagger. My own son. Choosing her. My throat tightened.
Brittany looked at me, her smile widening into a triumphant sneer. She kissed Josh's head. "See, Greg? He made his choice."
The sight of it, the casual intimacy, the way she was staking her claim on my son, filled me with a sudden, violent revulsion. Brittany, with her painted smile and her manipulative games. The fun. The lie.
"Brittany," I said, my voice low and menacing. "Get out."
Her smile vanished. "What did you say?"
"I said get out," I repeated, my voice rising. "Now. Leave."
"But, Dad," Josh protested, looking up at me. "I want Brittany to stay!"
Brittany shot me a defiant look. "He wants me, Greg. You can't just kick me out."
"I can," I hissed. "And I am. This is over, Brittany. All of it."
"No, it's not!" Josh screamed, his voice dissolving into tears. "No! Brittany, don't leave!"
I ignored him, my eyes fixed on Brittany. "Go."
She glared at me, her face contorted in a mask of wounded pride. She stood up, gently putting Josh down. "Fine," she spat. "But you'll regret this, Greg. You always do." She stalked out, her eyes burning with hatred.
Josh was sobbing now, a heartbroken wail. "Daddy, why did you do that? I wanted Brittany!"
I knelt down, trying to gather him into my arms, but he pushed me away. "Because, Josh," I said, my voice strained, "Brittany isn't your mother. Kiana is."
He looked up at me, his face tear-streaked and confused. "But Brittany said she could be my fun mom! She said Kiana was just the rules mom!"
My blood ran cold. Fun mom. Rules mom. That manipulative witch. She had been twisting his mind. Filling his head with poison. Forcing him to choose.
"Brittany was wrong, Josh," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Kiana is your mother. She's the one who kept you safe. She's the one who always knew what you needed, even when you didn't know it yourself."
"But Brittany gives me peanut butter cookies!" he wailed. "And she lets me watch TV all night! And she said you and her were going to be a real family!"
My head felt like it was splitting open. Peanut butter. The allergy. The lie. The foundation of my betrayal. I had allowed this. I had encouraged it. I had used my son's life-threatening condition to fuel my own selfish desires.
All those years, Kiana had meticulously guarded him, educated everyone around him. And I, his father, had actively undermined her, using his vulnerability as a tool for my own deceit. I had been too blind, too selfish, to see the subtle ways Brittany had poisoned his perception of Kiana, little by little.
My heart ached with a crushing weight. The pristine image of Kiana, tirelessly dedicated, sacrificing everything, flashed before my eyes. And the bitter truth of my own actions. I had lost her. I had lost my family. And it was all my fault.
I had to fix this. I had to get Kiana back. I had to make things right for Josh.
I spent the rest of the night searching, calling, driving. But Kiana was gone. Completely. The house felt like a tomb, cold and empty. My chest ached with every breath. I had to find her. I had to make her understand. I had to atone.
