"Today is Nathan's birthday. You'd better be smart and bring him out to apologize. Otherwise, he can forget about ever celebrating his birthday again!"
Jake stood in the living room doorway with a mocking tilt to his mouth. The crystal lamp above cast patches of light and shadow across his smug face.
I stood still, arms wrapped around Nathan's urn. My fingers traced its smooth, cold surface as I looked up at him and gave a faint, hollow smile.
"As you wish," I said quietly. "Nathan is dead. He'll never celebrate another birthday again."
The color drained from Jake's face. Claudia, standing beside him in sky-high heels and a tight white blouse, gave a dramatic gasp and clutched at her chest like she was onstage.
"Oh my God, how could you be so cruel?" she shrieked. "You're even cursing your own son!"
Jake's patience snapped. In two strides, he reached me and snatched the urn from my hands like it was trash. He didn't even look at it before hurling it into the nearby bin.
"Wendy, can you just get it through your thick skull? Just because you gave birth to a son doesn't mean you can tie me down for life!"
The clang of wood hitting metal rang out. Something cracked inside me.
I rushed forward, nearly tripping and dug through the bin with trembling hands until I found the urn again. Cradling it to my chest, I backed away, breathing hard.
"Jake!" I choked. "If you hate me, then hate me! Why did you have to kill Nathan?"
His face darkened, eyes flashing. He stepped forward and slapped the urn from my arms with a brutal sweep.
"Enough of this crap!"
The urn hit the floor with a dull thud. The lid rolled away and pale gray ashes spilled out across the floor like a scattering of dust.
I dropped to my knees. My hands shook as I tried to gather the ashes, scooping them back into the broken vessel while tears blurred my vision.
"Nathan... Nathan..." I whimpered.
Jake stood over me, face like carved stone. His voice dropped to a frigid murmur.
"I'm giving you a month. Get your face fixed. I don't want to see Claudia in you—or the pathetic you from before. Looking at you makes me sick.
"From now on, stay quietly at the Lawrences' manor with your son. I'll show up once a month. That's more than someone like you deserves."
He turned away, the echo of his footsteps trailing toward the bathroom. I heard water running a moment later—he was washing his hands. Of Nathan's ashes.
Claudia hadn't moved. Her heels clicked lightly on the floor as she approached the spill, grinding ash underfoot. She leaned close, her voice low and poisonous.
"Trying to steal my man, aren't you? You deserved to lose your son.
"You think just because you wore my face, you could become me? Keep dreaming."
I looked up at her—at the face that mirrored mine. My body moved on instinct.
I stood and slapped her across the face, the sound loud and sharp in the still room.
Jake charged out of the bathroom. His hand clamped around my wrist like a vice.
He didn't hesitate. His palm struck my cheek with brutal force.
"Wendy! Apologize to Claudia!"
My head snapped sideways. Warm blood gushed from my nose and slid down to the corner of my lips. I wiped it away slowly, then turned back to Claudia and stared at her.
"Keep dreaming," I said coldly.
Then I dropped back to my knees. My fingers reached for Nathan's ashes, trying to keep the blood from dripping onto them—but it was too late. Red drops landed on the gray powder, blooming like wounds in snow.
I scrubbed at my nose, desperate. Nathan had always been scared of blood. I couldn't let him see it now. Not even like this.
Behind me, Jake's foot shifted. I looked up in time to see him raise it to kick me again—but a sudden buzz interrupted him.
He froze, pulling his phone from his pocket. His brows furrowed.
A message lit up the screen.
[Mr. Lawrence, the DNA comparison results are in. This time we used a different hospital. The samples from Nathan are a complete mismatch with yours.]
He turned the screen toward me slowly, like he couldn't believe it himself.
Then his foot came crashing down on my abdomen.
"Wendy, you dared lie to me for seven years?!
"Bitch! You made me raise another man's bastard?!"
The pain stole the air from my lungs. I slammed against the wall, my back hitting the hard surface with a crack. My nose, just beginning to clot, burst open again in a fresh wave of blood.
Feigning concern, Claudia rushed over, wrapping her arms around Jake, pulling him back with trembling hands.
