Chapter 3: A DramaThe Child Between Us

I swiveled and walked off before he could do anything.

When I came back home with the printed divorce papers, he was in the living room, playing with building blocks with Cece. It was a heartwarming scene, and they looked like an actual father and daughter.

It took me waking up from my fantasy to finally notice that I was the stranger, the outsider.

He didn't even raise his head. Instead, he ordered matter-of-factly, "Where'd you go? Come on, make some snacks for Cece. Strawberry tart, her favorite."

We had nannies and childcare experts for those jobs, but he insisted that I did everything myself. He claimed that earnest feelings were always rewarded. I used to lap that story up like a good pup. Now, I merely raised my hand and interrupted him.

Then, I shoved the divorce papers into his arms and went to my room to pack my things.

He froze for a moment. Tim's face fell, and he stormed after me. "If this is your idea of a joke, it isn't funny. Zoe's coming back to treat Cece, and you're her mother. You should be happy for her, not threatening divorce. What are you, twelve?"

He was trying to be pushy, but he didn't grab my hand that hard. It was just that the IVF treatments I'd undergone had messed my body up. Every little bump could leave a bruise that would scream its pain across my whole body.

Still, I didn't flinch. Instead, I arched my eyebrow and asked him, "Who's Cece's mother?"

He froze, his eyes filled with surprise. "You're up to more nonsense again."

I wasn't going to waste my time on this. "If you won't sign, then I'll just have to tell everyone who Cece's real mother is when Zoe comes home."

He grabbed my wrist with a lot more force now. His eyes were on me, and they were crimson. "Stop this nonsense!"

I could feel cold sweat beading my forehead due to the pain, but my eyes remained firmly on him as well. There were a lot of emotions in his gaze that I didn't care enough to decipher. In the end, he grabbed a pen and signed the papers, though he refused to pull it off right away.

"Divorce is not a game. Think it through."

He was talking to me and not to me at the same time. Something flashed through my mind. Something impossible.

I thought that maybe he didn't want the divorce, but then I was reminded of Zoe. I was reminded of their tangled past, and I was forced to remember the lies they'd spun around me. So, I shook my head and said nothing more.

Tim noticed my response, and he slowly gave the papers back to me. I took them calmly. My right hand was numb and in agony from his grip. I barely had the strength to even pick up a pen, but he heaved a sigh of relief for some reason and went back to play with Cece.

I packed my stuff up and was about to leave when the door swung open. It was the nanny, and she had a bowl of soup.

"Mr. Brook said you needed the soup to calm down."

Tim never loved me, and everyone in this household was a weathercock. She shoved the bowl over to me unceremoniously, and the steam nearly scalded my face. I arched back and told her to leave.

She refused to listen. Instead, the nanny pinned me down and shoved that soup down my throat. It trickled down my throat and burned everything along the way.

Agony flared, and I slapped the nanny. As we tussled, the bowl flew across the air and crashed into the girl who'd just come in.

She cried her heart out. I darted ahead to check on her, but someone yanked me and flung me back.

"Move!" Tim stared at Cece's reddening calf, and the edges of his eyes went red. He swiveled and glowered at me, his chest heaving. "You're evil! You can't even tolerate one little girl under your roof?"

He didn't notice the burns on the corners of my lips and my chest. I wanted to explain, but he refused to listen. Tim locked me up and gave me not a single scrap of food nor a drop of water for three days.

The burns festered, and high fever burned me up until everything was groggy and I was almost delirious.

The nanny was outside, gloating smugly, "Stop acting like you're the lady of this house. You'd scram if you know what's good for you. There will be no place for you here once Ms. Wilson returns. And now you're seen as Cece's tormentor.

"Mr. Brook will kick you out sooner or later. Then, Ms. Wilson will move in!"

That woman had bought out the nanny. The soup and that whole drama were something she had set up, all so she could frame me so I'd earn Tim's absolute ire and get me kicked out of this house.

I banged on the door and called for Tim with the last of my strength, but only silence answered me. He never even showed up.

Just when I thought the fever would finish me off, Henry's voice echoed from the other side of the door.

I woke up again four days later.

Henry had a stubble around his chin, and his eyes were bloodshot. "Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"