Chapter 2

At the KTV, Rosemary, my cousin, raised her glass and teased, "Surprised you're not at home serving the 'King' and 'prince,' Mrs. Dutiful. What happened?"

I smiled and nudged her. "Mind your own business. Next time something fun comes up, call me."

Rosemary let out a dismissive snort, "You really think you can leave? You sure you can ditch your king and your little prince?"

No wonder Rosemary didn't take it seriously. Over the years with Mason, I'd turned myself into an island.

Whenever friends invited me to hang out, I always said, "Next time."

The unfinished painting on my easel was covered in a thick layer of dust.

I hadn't even set foot in my favorite bookstore in ages.

I downed my drink in one go. "Yeah, I can walk away now."

Since they've moved on from me, I can move on from them, too.

At three in the morning, I stumbled home reeking of booze.

Mason was sitting in the living room, his eyes ringed with dark circles.

His suit was wrinkled beyond recognition, and his tie was hanging off to one side.

In five years of marriage, I'd never seen him look so out of sorts.

When he saw me, he let out a long breath, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"So you're back. Guess you figured out you can't stay away from Jamie and me after all, huh?

"Honestly, I thought you really had the guts to walk out on us. But since you can't, why not just be good and stay put, alright?"

I sat down next to him and let out a small burp.

His brows knitted together. "Veronica, you went out drinking in the middle of the night? Who were you with?"

Suddenly, I remembered all those nights when Mason would stay out late, drinking for work.

I'd wait up for him, catch the smell of alcohol as he walked in, and he'd always snap at me, annoyed, "I had to socialize for my job. Do you have to ask me about it every single time?"

Now, it felt like everything had flipped. He was the one interrogating me.

Jamie was woken up by our arguing and came out, his little feet bare.

He wrinkled his nose at the smell of alcohol and scooted over to Mason.

"Mom, you stink! Ms. Ward is nothing like you. She always smells so good, like she's some kind of fairy.

"She makes cakes and ice cream for me, but all you do is yell at me and make me do homework. You never let me eat anything fun, and you always look grumpy, and tonight you smell gross."

I looked at the two of them, my gaze empty, worn out to the core.

I carried him for ten months, and for five years, I've gotten up over three thousand nights to feed him.

Every time he had ice cream, his stomach would get upset—diarrhea, then a fever.

I spent night after night taking care of him, but he never noticed any of it.

He'd only seen Adele a handful of times, but now she was all he talked about.

Mason snapped on the overhead light, shooting Jamie a look of approval.

"Did you hear what Jamie just said? Are you even acting like a mother at all?

"Seriously, you're still making a scene over Adele? Don't you think you're just being dramatic? I've told you over and over, there's nothing between Adele and me. Why can't you just believe me?

"Whoever makes the money gets to call the shots around here. You work at that design firm, but your paycheck is basically nothing. Since I'm the one supporting you, you better remember who really needs who here—it's you who can't live without me and Jamie."

I couldn't stand another round of their accusations, so I stood up and headed back to my room. "Yeah, whatever you say."

Mason took a deep breath, his voice hoarse and raw. "Veronica, why do you always look so dead inside every time we argue? Do you even care about how I feel?"

I was so drunk my head was spinning, and I stumbled, my shin smashing into the coffee table as I went crashing backward.

Mason practically dove across the room, slipping his hand under my head just before it hit the floor. "Veronica! Why didn't that fall kill you instead?"

I braced myself against his chest and slowly sat up, my eyes showing nothing. "Don't touch me."

He stared at me in disbelief, clearly not expecting me to be this distant. Eventually, he backed off.

I went back to my room and passed out, dead to the world.

I woke up again at five in the morning.

Even with a hangover from last night, my body clock still woke me up right on schedule.

Mason loved freshly rolled handmade pasta, and Jamie only loved meatballs.

They were way too fussy. The nanny's food was never good enough—always "smells like the fridge," they'd say. And takeout? Forget it. They'd swear it was sour.

So every morning, I have to get up two hours early just to make sure they get something fresh and hot at seven.

But today, I made myself roll over and go back to sleep.

I had no idea how much time had passed when a knock at the door jolted me awake.

I pulled open the door, hair all over the place, and Jamie was standing right there. "Stinky mom! Bad mom! Why aren't you up making breakfast for Dad and me? I'm starving!"

I yawned. "I'm taking a break today."

"No way!" Jamie suddenly lunged at me, pounding on my nightgown. "Ms. Ward said even if a mom is sick, she still has to cook!"

"I'm not your good mom. If you're hungry, go ask the nanny," I retorted.

Jamie dropped to the floor like an angry little animal and started bawling his eyes out.

"The nanny's food is the worst. Dad, if Mom won't make breakfast, then call Ms. Ward! Her breakfast is the best, and she actually wants to cook for me."

Mason sat at the dining table, with dark circles under his eyes, looking like he'd been up all night.

"Veronica, don't take it out on Jamie.

"If you're too tired to cook, I can have Adele come over and make breakfast."

I didn't say another word. I slammed the door shut, washed up, put on my makeup, slipped into my suit jacket, then grabbed my car keys.

*****

I overheard Mason talking to Adele on the phone. As I was heading out, he suddenly grabbed my wrist.

"Going out? There's a hangover drink I made for you on the table. Drink it before you leave," he said.

I yanked my hand away. "Don't bother, thanks."

As the door closed behind me, it sounded like a cup shattered against the wall.

Guess Mason finally snapped.

I hesitated for a moment, but kept moving forward, not looking back.

I headed to the office.