Chapter 3

The Hayes' Long Island estate was a monument to ostentatious wealth. The christening party was in full swing, a sea of pastel dresses and expensive suits. Ethan felt like an exhibit, the discarded husband. Victoria's parents, Elitist and image-conscious, offered him tight, insincere smiles.

Victoria was radiant, holding one of the twin boys, her arm linked with Liam's. Liam. No longer the nervous intern. He wore a tailored suit, a confident smirk playing on his lips. He was living in the penthouse now, Ethan had heard.

"Ethan! So glad you could make it," Liam said, his voice dripping with false sincerity. He held out the baby he wasn't holding. "Here, you should hold your... well, you know."

Ethan recoiled internally. He didn't want to touch the child, this symbol of his wife's betrayal.

Liam pressed, "Go on. He won't bite." He practically thrust the small, bundled infant into Ethan's unwilling arms.

The baby was tiny, fragile. Ethan felt a strange pang, quickly suppressed. As he awkwardly adjusted his hold, Liam bumped his arm, "accidentally."

The baby lurched. Ethan caught him, but it was clumsy. A collective gasp went through the nearby guests.

Liam snatched the baby back, his face a mask of horror. "Oh my god! Ethan! How could you be so careless?" He cradled the infant, checking him frantically. "Is he okay? Is he okay?"

The baby, startled, began to wail.

Victoria rushed over, her face pale. "What happened?"

"Ethan almost dropped him," Liam said, his voice shaking with feigned terror. "I don't know what he was thinking."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Ethan saw the judgment in their eyes. He was the clumsy, resentful outsider.

Victoria looked at Ethan, not with anger, but with a cold disappointment that cut deeper. "Perhaps it's best if you... give us some space, Ethan."

Later that evening, she called.

"The Long Island house isn't working for you, Ethan. It's too... much. I think it's better if you stay at the city apartment. The smaller one. It'll be quieter for you."

Sentenced to a smaller cage. Humiliation burned in his chest. He was being systematically erased.