I Was Never The Stepmom But The Scapegoat

Synopsis

The second the jumbotron lit up, the father-daughter photo hit me like a slap. The lights were blinding. Two hundred cameras rose from the press pit in one motion. I hadn't even registered the little girl in Harrison Goodman's arms before the shutter burst went off like gunfire. Harrison stood center stage in a black suit, collar buttoned to the top. He held the child close, one hand pressing gently against her back, as if shielding her from the flashstorm. He murmured something to soothe her, then lifted his gaze. Across the entire room, he found me. "Winnie, take off your ring first," he said. My left hand was still on my knee. The engagement ring caught the stage light and blazed. There was a second of silence. Then the press corps lost it. "Mr. Goodman, what are you saying?" "Is that actually your daughter?" "Aren't you and Winnie getting married next month?" "So is this a paternity announcement or a broken engagement?" I sat in the front row, still in the white dress meant for our joint interview. Two hours ago, the glam team laughed, saying the internet would break when Harrison put that diamond back on my finger. They weren't wrong about the internet breaking. But I wasn't the one being introduced.