"Leave me? You can't even find a job. What are you going to do, take your daughter and beg on the streets?"
"Unless you've got the power to bring down both the Weiss family and the Perrys, what right do you have to stop us?"
I stood there, speechless. My body went cold.
If only I'd known. If only I'd known... I hated my younger self for being so blinded by love, for believing every honeyed lie that came out of that worthless man's mouth.
I hadn't just ruined my own life. I'd dragged my daughter down with me.
The thought squeezed the air from my lungs.
No.
There was still time.
Mia Perry was young. I could find a way to take her and leave the Perry family behind, far from all of this.
But my plans fell apart almost immediately.
Mia came home from school that afternoon. I tested the waters, asking casually: if Mommy and Daddy got a divorce, who would she rather stay with?
She didn't hesitate. She threw herself into Lambert's arms, beaming.
"Daddy, obviously! I see how hard he works to give me a better life. What have you ever done?"
"When I grow up, I'm marrying into the Weiss family and living the good life. If you want to go suffer, go ahead. I'm not going with you."
"And Aunt Grace is going to be my mother-in-law! Just thinking about it makes me so happy."
The ground dropped out from under me. I stared at the daughter I'd raised with my own two hands. She'd always been so sweet, so obedient. Always clinging to me, saying Mommy works the hardest, I love Mommy the most. My little angel. How had she turned into this?
Could a child this young really fake it so perfectly? Fool a grown woman without a single crack?
"If you're going to leave, then leave already. Nobody's stopping you. But don't go back on your word!"
"Aunt Grace gets upset every time she sees you. Once you're gone, she can come over and spend time with me and Daddy."
Every word from my daughter's mouth was a blade, slicing my heart into ribbons.
"That's my girl. Good taste and good judgment!" Lambert crowed, puffing up with pride. The words landed like a slap across my face.
So Mia was willing? She actually wanted this? Then what had all my sacrifice in my past life been for?
No. She was just a child. She didn't know any better. I couldn't hold it against her.
I stumbled forward, desperate to hold her, but she darted behind Lambert like a startled animal.
"Don't touch me! Get out of this house!"
"If you really cared about me, you wouldn't be standing in my way, acting like you know what's best for me."
"Daddy, make her leave! I don't want her anymore!"
After all that, the divorce was inevitable.
Lambert used Mia's rejection as his excuse and threw me out the door.
"Minnie, we were married. I wasn't planning to be this cruel. But you've got no one to blame but yourself. Your own daughter can't stand the sight of you. If I were you, I'd walk into traffic and save everyone the trouble."
Mia grabbed a fistful of her allowance and tossed it on the ground at my feet, looking down at me like I was nothing.
"Consider that my contribution to your retirement fund. Don't come back looking for me. I'm sick of seeing your face."
"Daddy, call Aunt Grace! I can't wait to tell her the good news. Hee hee!"
I stood in front of the closed door for a long time, unable to move.
I drifted through the streets like a ghost, deaf to the noise and bustle around me.
I found myself standing by the river, watching the churning water, my mind completely blank.
After being reborn, I'd been holding on by sheer willpower, determined to get my daughter out before things spiraled to their worst.
But she didn't want to come.
Rod Weiss. Pinecrest General Hospital. ICU.
A text from an unknown number. Cryptic, out of nowhere. It shattered my trance before I could even think about who sent it. The words on the screen hit me like cold water, and suddenly I was wide awake.
