So when class let out, Tommy pointed at the Rolls-Royce where Antony sat with his trendy American crew cut and announced to everyone within earshot:
"That's my other daddy."
Tommy sprinted toward Antony under the envious gazes of his classmates.
"Daddy!"
Antony grinned and scooped him up.
"Shameless." Annabel tapped her crimson nails against the steering wheel, laughing. "You're barely in your mid-twenties and already playing father."
"What's the matter?" Antony raised an eyebrow, pulled her into his arms, and pinched her waist. "Don't think I'm up to the task? Want to test me?"
Annabel giggled, her voice soft and coy. "I wouldn't dare." The sound of her laughter carried all the way to where I stood.
The two most important people in my life, both orbiting around Antony. I let out a bitter laugh and turned away.
I'd always believed that as long as I stayed, as long as I remained the one Annabel loved most, I could give Tommy an intact family.
But now it was clear. I was the one who didn't belong.
On the walk home, the sky split open and rain came down in sheets. I ducked under a bus shelter.
The last time I'd ridden a bus was the day Annabel and I graduated from college, dragging our suitcases through the city together. There'd been no empty seats, so I laid my suitcase flat and let her sit on it while I held her against me. Her fingers gripped the hem of my shirt so tightly. I thought I'd be the only person she'd ever need to lean on.
Back then, we were headed to a cramped rental apartment. Now I owned a penthouse and a publicly traded company, yet I couldn't hold on to the person who used to cling to me.
The thought drove me forward. I stepped onto the bus that had pulled up, but my rain-soaked fingers couldn't unlock my phone no matter how many times I swiped. The driver's face twisted with impatience. Meanwhile, Annabel's calls kept buzzing in, one after another.
The phone vibrated out of my grip and clattered onto the wet pavement. I stumbled off the bus into the downpour to retrieve it, and the driver muttered behind me.
"Pathetic."
The bus pulled away, its tires spraying dirty water across my pants, splattering dark mud up my legs.
On the other end of the line, Annabel's voice was sharp with irritation.
"What are you doing? I've been calling you nonstop."
"It's raining outside. Could you bring the umbr—"
"Enough."
She cut me off, her tone clipped and harsh. "I'm just letting you know Tommy won't be home for dinner. Antony's taking the little brat out for pizza."
"Tell him yourself," she said.
Tommy's small voice piped up. "I'm going to get pizza with Daddy Antony. Don't bother making that whole-grain porridge for me. It tastes gross."
Laughter erupted in the background. Antony sounded smug. "Told you no kid wants to drink porridge. You didn't believe me!"
"Fine, you win." Annabel's voice dripped with affection. "From now on, you're the boss of this house."
I could practically see the carefree grin on Antony's face. The contrast between him and the soaking, humiliated mess I'd become couldn't have been more stark.
"Got it," I said flatly.
When I shoved the phone back into my pocket, my fingers brushed against two coins.
Then I remembered. Annabel had once craved one of those candied fruit skewers from the vendor outside Tommy's school, but the old man who sold them didn't take mobile payments.
I'd gone out of my way to get cash just for her.
She'd ended up leaving that skewer on the dining table. The sugar melted into a sticky mess that took forever to scrub off.
I laughed quietly at myself. If the bus wouldn't have me, I'd walk. But I didn't go home. I went to a law firm instead.
I sat on the couch and waited until ten at night. I watched Annabel carry a sleeping Tommy to his bed, and then I told her.
"Annabel, I won't stand in the way of you and Antony anymore. Let's end this on good terms."
For once, that expressionless face of hers actually showed something.
"Mason, if this is because we didn't celebrate your birthday this year, I'm sorry."
"It's just that Antony's only in his twenties. It makes sense that I'd look after him a little more."
