Chapter 2

The next morning, when I walked out of my bedroom, the quiet house was gone.

Mia and Lily were already awake. The kitchen smelled like butter and warm toast. Mia was standing by the stove, wearing an apron that did not belong to her. It was my mother’s old apron.

"Good morning, Avery," Mia turned around and smiled."I hope you do not mind. I made breakfast for everyone."

I did not answer. I walked past her to pour a cup of coffee.

Footsteps echoed on the stairs. Ethan walked down, wearing a soft grey sweater. Lily ran up to him and grabbed his hand. Ethan smiled down at her and picked her up.

"Morning, my little princess," Ethan said, kissing Lily’s cheek.

He looked over at me and kissed my cheek too. His touch felt cold.

"Mia is going to stay in the guest room upstairs," Ethan said, as if he were just telling me the weather. "And Lily is going to use the small room next to it."

That small room was the room I had cleared out for my new design office. It had the best sunlight in the house.

"That was going to be my studio," I said.

Ethan frowned slightly. He looked annoyed that I was complaining.

"Mia needs space for her and Lily," Ethan said. "Your design work can wait. Mia just went through a bitter divorce. She cannot handle stress right now."

I looked at him.

Three years ago, when we got engaged, he promised me that room for my work. Now, he gave it away without asking me.

After breakfast, I walked up to the master bedroom.

My wedding dress was gone.

The white silk dress I had spent months choosing was pulled out of the closet. It was stuffed inside a dark plastic bag and thrown into the hallway storage closet.

In the master bedroom, several of Mia’s dresses were already hanging in my wardrobe. Her shoes were lined up neatly next to mine.

A message from Ethan waited on my phone.

[The guest-room closet is too small. Let Mia use one side of ours for now.]

[And take off your engagement ring today. Lily is sensitive about families. We do not want her to feel left out or confused.]

I looked down at my left hand.

The diamond ring sparkled under the bedroom light. Ethan had put it on my finger three years ago, promising it was forever. Now, he wanted me to hide it so another man's child would not feel bad.

I took the ring off. The metal was cold against my palm. I dropped it into my jewelry box and closed the lid.

Downstairs, Ethan and Mia were talking in the living room.

"Ethan, do you think Avery is angry?" Mia asked. Her voice carried easily up the stairs.

"She is just quiet,"

Ethan answered. I could hear the confident smile in his voice.

"Avery always gets quiet when she is pouting. Give her a few days. She will calm down. She has nowhere else to go."

I stood at the top of the stairs with my bag.

They still thought I was just a child throwing a tantrum. They thought my patience had no end.

I did not go down to argue. I walked out the back door and drove to my real estate attorney’s office.

It took me twenty minutes to authorize an immediate cash sale.

The deed was solely in my name because my grandmother had left me the house before I met Ethan. I did not need his signature.

The agent already had several cash buyers looking for property in the neighborhood.

He promised to arrange a viewing the next morning and, if I accepted an offer, complete the closing by Saturday.

Next, I called the wedding venue and canceled our reception.

When I finished, I sat in my car in the empty parking lot. My hands were steady. The grief was gone, replaced by a cold, sharp freedom.

I drove back to the house late in the afternoon.

Mia was waiting for me in the hallway. She had a cup of tea in her hand. She looked at me with a look that was almost pity.

"Avery," Mia said softly, stepping closer to me. "I know this is hard for you. Ethan told me about the wedding."

I stopped and looked at her.

Mia smiled, her eyes shining with quiet triumph.

"Ethan promised Lily something yesterday," Mia whispered. "Next Saturday, when you both go to City Hall, he is going to bring us along. Lily wants to watch her Daddy get married."

Her words hung in the air. She wanted to stake her claim. She wanted me to know that even on my wedding day, she and her daughter would be the center of his world.

I looked at Mia. I did not look angry. I did not yell.

"Is that right?" I asked quietly.

"Yes," Mia said, looking pleased with my calm reaction. "Lily is so excited. She thinks of Ethan as her real father now."

"Good," I said, walking past her toward the stairs. "She should enjoy it."

I walked into my old bedroom. The room that no longer looked like mine.

I checked the calendar on my phone.

There were four days left until Saturday.

Four days until Damian was waiting at City Hall.