Chapter 4
When my friend dropped me off at home from the hospital, the house felt so empty.
"Mom?" I called out.
No one answered.
I collapsed onto the couch and grabbed my phone, ready to call her.
As soon as the screen lit up, a trending topic from my city popped up.
[Famous blogger Sophie exposes her best friend's mom for knowingly being the other woman]
[Like mother, like daughter: both homewreckers]
Sophie's avatar was front and center.
She dropped a long post, every line full of accusations.
Sophie Lane wrote: [Some people are born with a gene for stealing what belongs to others. I always thought of her as my best friend, but I never imagined her mom was a repeat homewrecker.]
She added: [No wonder she turned out like that. I don't want to use that word to describe my best friend.]
She attached the so-called evidence. Forged chat records, blurry screenshots of transfers, and a photo of my father's marriage certificate to another woman accompanied the post.
The comments were a flood of vicious abuse.
[Oh my god, poor Sophie. She's stuck with such a venomous friend.]
[Like mother, like daughter. No wonder she's always chasing after other people's boyfriends. Last time I bumped into Sophie at the escape room, that girl was sneaking behind, spying on Sophie and her boyfriend.]
[Someone should leak their address.]
I felt ice cold, my hands shaking so hard I could barely hold my phone.
Back then, my dad lured my mom into a lavish wedding, making her believe everything was real.
He kept stalling on getting the marriage certificate until his mistress-turned-wife stormed in, waving her marriage certificate right in my mom's face.
That was the moment my mom realized she was the other woman all along.
The woman showed up with her crew, hung banners, and splattered red paint all over our neighborhood, making a huge scene.
My mom broke down. She swallowed an entire bottle of sleeping pills in her despair.
I was the one who sat by her hospital bed day after day, pulling her back from the brink, bit by bit.
I only ever told one person about what happened to my mom.
Only Lucas knew.
My hands were shaking as I dialed his number.
"Anna, are you calm now?" Lucas asked.
"What's going on with that trending topic?" I asked.
There was a brief silence on the other end.
"You smashed Sophie's camera, and she wouldn't stop crying. I was out of options, so I told her about your mom to try and make her feel better," Lucas said.
"I never thought she'd go and post it online," he added.
I gritted my teeth. "Tell her to take it down."
Lucas sighed heavily.
He said, "Anything else, I'll do for you. Not this.
"Sophie's a blogger. If she deletes it now, it amounts to an admission that she fabricated the claims. Do you want to destroy her career over this?
"The trending topic will fade in a few days. Netizens forget quickly. As for your mother, that is all in the past. She is older and does not use social media. This will have no real impact on her."
I couldn't listen to another word. I hung up.
I started calling my mom over and over, frantically, but her phone was turned off.
Her desperate eyes from that night, the look she'd had right before swallowing all those pills, flashed through my mind. I raced up to the rooftop, stumbling and barely able to keep my balance.
"Mom," I cried out.
I fell to my knees, stretching my hand toward her.
"Mom, please, come down. I'm begging you, please come down," I pleaded.
My mom shook her head, a bitter smile tugging at her lips.
"Anna, if I'm gone, you'll still have Lucas," she said.
"He might not always get it right, but I know he truly cares about you. He'll take care of you," she added.
I screamed, my voice raw with desperation, "No, that's not true. Lucas did all of this. He doesn't love me at all. The only one he cares about is Sophie."
My mom froze, and in that split second of hesitation, I lunged forward and yanked her back to safety.
She hugged me so tight, sobbing uncontrollably. "Anna, I'm so sorry. I never saw their true colors. I should've protected you."
I buried my face in her neck. "Mom, let's go."
Back home, I threw our documents and whatever essentials we needed into a suitcase as fast as I could.
We grabbed a cab to the airport.
From now on, Lucas Reed was out of my life for good.