Chapter 4

Alex POV

The invitation to the twins' birthday party had taunted me from the fridge for weeks.

It was being held at the Dunlap Estate, a sprawling, sterile mansion that had always felt more like a museum than a home.

I knew better than to go.

But a part of me-the foolish, masochistic part that still bled for the life I'd lost-needed to say goodbye to Kenneth and Kaylin.

I arrived in a simple black dress, looking more like I was attending a funeral than a seventh birthday party.

The backyard had been transformed into a carnival, a riot of color that clashed with my mood.

Gavin was holding court near the chocolate fountain, looking dashing in a crisp linen suit.

Eliana stood right beside him, draped in a white dress that looked suspiciously, aggressively bridal.

She was beaming, playing the role of the gracious hostess to perfection.

The guests-a shark tank of Gavin's business partners, social climbers, and fair-weather friends-were already whispering.

I could feel their eyes on me like physical weights.

The pity.

The amusement.

The wife who didn't know she was already a ghost in her own life.

Gavin's gaze landed on me, and his jaw tightened. He frowned, clearly annoyed that I had shown up to ruin his carefully curated tableau.

"Alex," he said, walking over. Eliana trailed behind him like a possessive shadow. "I didn't think you were coming."

"It's the twins' birthday," I said, my voice steady despite the trembling in my hands. "I raised them, remember?"

"Of course," Eliana interjected, her smile saccharine and sharp. "And we appreciate all your... help. But Gavin and I have it under control."

Gavin turned to Eliana, ignoring me completely, and pulled a velvet box from his pocket.

"For you," he announced, his voice projecting loud enough for the nearby guests to hear. "For being such an amazing mother figure."

He snapped the box open.

A diamond necklace.

It was huge, gaudy, and cold-exactly the kind of ostentatious display I had always hated.

But Eliana gasped as if he had given her the moon.

"Oh, Gavin! It's beautiful!"

She turned, sweeping her hair aside so he could clasp the heavy chain around her neck.

I felt sick.

Then, the sound of running feet broke the tension.

The twins.

Kenneth and Kaylin.

My babies.

Or so I had foolishly thought.

They skidded to a halt, their eyes darting from me to Eliana.

"Mommy!" Kaylin squealed.

My heart leaped, then shattered as she ran past me to hug Eliana's legs.

"Happy birthday, sweetie," I said, forcing the words past the lump in my throat. I stepped forward, holding out the small, thoughtfully wrapped gifts I had brought.

Kenneth looked at me with a sneer that looked terrifyingly unnatural on a seven-year-old's face.

"We don't want your presents," he spat.

"Kenny?" I asked, stunned, the box nearly slipping from my fingers.

"Eliana said you stole her bracelet," Kenneth shouted, pointing an accusing finger at me. "She said you're a thief and a liar and you want to take Daddy away!"

The music seemed to cut out.

The entire party fell into a suffocating silence.

"I didn't..." I stammered, looking around at the sea of judging faces.

"You did!" Kaylin yelled, her voice shrill. "Go away! We hate you! Eliana is our mommy now!"

Gavin stood there, watching the spectacle.

He didn't correct them.

He didn't defend me.

Instead, he placed a protective hand on Eliana's shoulder, solidifying their unit against me.

"Maybe you should leave, Alex," Gavin said, his voice ice-cold. "You're upsetting the children."

"I'm upsetting them?" I asked, my voice rising in disbelief. "You're poisoning them!"

"She's hysterical," Eliana said to the crowd, her voice trembling with a fear that was entirely performed. "Please, someone help."

I stepped toward the twins, desperate to explain, to make them see the woman who had tucked them in every night for years.

"Kenny, Kaylin, it's me. It's Alex. I love you."

"No!" Kenneth screamed.

He rushed at me.

He was just a child, but he hit me with the force of pure, unadulterated hatred.

He shoved me.

I was standing at the very edge of the shallow stone steps leading down to the patio.

I lost my balance.

My heel caught on the uneven stone.

I tipped backward.

Time seemed to warp, slowing down into a nightmare frame-by-frame.

I saw Gavin's face.

He wasn't reaching for me.

He was holding Eliana tight.

I hit the steps hard.

My head cracked against the stone with a sickening thud.

Pain exploded in my skull, followed instantly by a sharp, tearing agony in my abdomen.

I rolled to the bottom, gasping for air that wouldn't come.

I lay there on the cold patio, staring up at the indifferent blue sky.

Gavin looked down at me from the top of the steps, like a king surveying a fallen peasant.

He didn't move.

"Come on, kids," he said, turning his back on me without a second glance. "Let's go cut the cake inside. Alex is just making a scene."

"Bye, bad lady!" Kaylin yelled.

They walked away.

They left me lying in the dirt.

I tried to sit up, but the world spun violently.

Then I felt it.

A wetness between my legs.

Warm.

Sticky.

I touched my hand to my leg and brought it up to my face.

Blood.

Bright, red blood.

The baby.

My hand went to my stomach, clutching at the emptiness.

The final connection to Gavin.

The innocent life I had been conflicted about, the life I was going to end anyway.

But having it taken from me like this... violently, by the children I raised, under the gaze of the man I loved...

It broke the last string holding me together.

I lay on the stone, bleeding out my future, while inside the house, they began to sing "Happy Birthday."