Chapter 2

But I knew it was all an act.

"Get out! Now!" Jason shouted as he rushed over and pushed me toward the door. "I don't want a Mom like you."

A jolt of pain stabbed through my stomach. It had only been ten days since I gave birth to Grace, and my incision had barely begun to heal. With Jason shoving me so hard, I was terrified the stitches would tear open all over again.

"Perfect, because I don't want to be your Mom anymore," I said, pushing Jason away, gritting my teeth against the pain. "Don't ever come to me for anything again. This is my house. You're the one who should be leaving.

"But you're still a minor, so I'm stuck with you. I won't throw you out, but if you want to keep living under my roof, you'd better learn to behave. Because from now on, I'm not your Mom."

Jason's stubborn, chubby face flickered with confusion. He was a kid, probably never imagined his Mom would stop loving him out of the blue.

But he instantly cheered up, ran over, and clung to Lydia. "Who cares if you don't want to be my Mom? I've got Lydia, and she's much nicer than you. She never forces me to do stuff, and she's not bossy like you," Jason snapped back.

Jason was getting out of line, and Henry was starting to lose his composure. He cleared his throat and said, "Enough, Jason. Lydia is Lydia, and your Mom is your Mom. Don't mix the two."

Lydia's face lit up with a flash of triumph, and when Jason wasn't looking, she shot me a smug glance.

I knew from the start she was scheming to worm her way into my family and my home, piece by piece. But I was done with those two deadweights. Let's see if she could survive long enough to share a roof with them.

She was not getting a single penny from me.

I turned and walked into my bedroom, pausing at the door to say, "I'll pay you for ten days' work. Now pack your things and get the hell out of my house."

I slammed the bedroom door and locked it tight, tuning out Jason banging on the door and Henry yelling his head off outside.

After a while, I could hear Lydia crying and Henry trying to calm her down out in the hallway.

"Henry, I wanted to repay you for all you did for me back then. I never thought the jaundice would get this bad. Riley was fine after hers, so I figured Grace would be too," Lydia said.

"Lydia, don't leave, okay? It's not a big deal. Grace is doing fine, isn't she? We need you here," Henry pleaded.

"I-I'm a nanny working here. Once this month is up, I was planning to move on anyway," Lydia murmured.

"I was thinking of talking to Anna about keeping you on for good. Jason can't get by without you, and I need you as well," Henry confessed.

"Henry, I should go. There's already a lady of the house here. There's no room for me," Lydia said.

Sounding lost in thought, Henry said with a long sigh, "Yeah, you have no idea how badly she might treat you in this house, Lydia."

Henry's voice faded away outside, and I didn't want to hear another word from that jerk. Just thinking about him made me sick.

I could tell something was off between Henry and Lydia back in my previous life. But after Grace died, I was drowning in grief and couldn't pull myself out of it.

Not long after, I got seriously sick myself, and I didn't have it in me to bother with them anymore.

I found the safe in my bedroom and pulled out the property deed. My name was the only one on it. This was something my parents left me before they died, way before I got married.

This time, there was no way Henry would get his hands on it.

When I got up early the next morning, I noticed that some of Lydia's things were missing. She had already left, and Henry was nowhere to be found.

Jason sat on the couch and glared at me, "You drove Lydia away. Now who's supposed to cook for me? Go make me something to eat, right now."

"As a kid, you've got zero manners. Don't tell anyone you're my son," I said, grabbing Grace's stuff and getting ready to head out to the hospital. There was only one chance to see her each day, and all I could think about was her.

Jason snapped, "You think I want to be your son? All you do is make me study, and nothing I do is good enough for you. If I had another chance, I would've picked Lydia to be my Mom. She would've made me happy.

"Maybe it would be better if Grace died. At least she wouldn't have to grow up like me, stuck playing the piano and studying all day, never getting to have any fun."

I stopped at the door and spun around to look at Jason, stunned. How could a twelve-year-old say something so cruel?

It felt as if I were back in that hospital bed, with Jason standing over me and telling me to hurry up and die.

"My new Mom wouldn't force me to study or play piano all the time. She wouldn't be like you, lazing around at home, looking like some tired old hag, and always mooching off Dad," Jason spat.

"Jason, shut up!" I turned and snapped. He shrank back, startled.

I didn't feel the slightest bit of pity. "If you want to die, do it yourself, but don't you dare curse Grace. If anything happens to her, I'll remember every word you said today, and I'll make sure you pay for it," I said coldly.

Jason's eyes went wide in disbelief. "What the hell are you talking about? I'm your son. Are you seriously saying I matter less to you than that newborn sister of mine?" he spat.

"Yeah, you're my son," I replied with a cold laugh. "That's why I could beat you within an inch of your life and nobody would care."

After throwing that out, I couldn't be bothered to look at Jason's devastated expression. I turned and walked out the door.

Grace was still waiting for me at the hospital.