Chapter 4

The air in the room grew thick and still. Gavyn stared at me, his face a mixture of disbelief and contempt. Then, he let out a short, humorless laugh.

"Don't want them? Alex, don't be ridiculous." He shook his head, as if dealing with a petulant child. "I know what this is about. You're afraid Iliana is going to replace you. You're feeling insecure."

He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "You don't need to be. You are Mrs. Gavyn Dunlap. That is your position. Iliana is just... a friend."

His reassurances were like ash in my mouth.

"Now," he said, standing up and straightening his perfect suit. "The children's birthday is next week. I need you to start planning the party. Spare no expense. It needs to be perfect."

My mind flashed back to the bank, to the trust fund I had tried to create for them. A birthday gift from their loving mother. A mother who didn't legally exist. A bitter taste filled my mouth.

"Oh," Gavyn added casually, as he walked to the door. "It's Iliana's birthday on the same day. We'll celebrate them all together. It will be a grand event."

My hands clenched into fists at my sides. I could feel my whole body start to tremble with a rage so profound it almost choked me.

The same day. Of course, it was the same day.

I remembered being in the hospital, begging the doctors to induce labor. I was two weeks past my due date, swollen, and in constant pain. But Gavyn had insisted I wait. "Let them come when they're ready, Alex," he' d said, stroking my hair. "It's more natural."

He wasn't waiting for them to be ready. He was waiting for Iliana's birthday. He had made me suffer for days, just so his children, her children, would share a birthday with the woman he truly loved.

The sheer, calculated cruelty of it was breathtaking. I felt a hysterical laugh bubble up inside me, but I swallowed it down. It was all so horribly, monstrously perfect.

The day of the party arrived like a death sentence. I couldn't escape it. Gavyn insisted I play the part of the happy hostess, the lady of the manor.

The garden was transformed into a fairytale landscape. But the fairytale wasn't for me. Iliana was the queen of this court. She arrived in a custom-made gown that shimmered under the party lights, a diamond necklace that I knew cost more than my entire existence before Gavyn glittering at her throat.

She didn't arrive alone. Kennith and Kaelynn flanked her, each holding one of her hands, looking up at her with worshipful eyes.

The guests, all part of Gavyn's high-society circle, buzzed with whispers.

"That's her, Iliana Dudley. His first love."

"She's the real mother, you know. The wife is just a surrogate."

"Look at them together. They look like the perfect family. The wife is just... baggage."

The words floated towards me, sharp and painful. I turned away, escaping to the quiet of the veranda overlooking the lake. The cool night air did little to calm the fire in my veins.

"It's a beautiful party," a soft voice said from behind me.

Iliana.

She glided to a stop beside me, a triumphant smile on her face. "You did a wonderful job. You're a very good... housekeeper."

I stared out at the water, my expression blank. "If you'll excuse me."

"Oh, don't go," she said, her voice dropping. "I wanted to thank you. For taking such good care of my children. And my man."

She leaned in, her perfume cloying and sweet. "But your services are no longer required. I'm back now. And I will let nothing and no one stand in my way."

I finally looked at her, my eyes cold. "He's all yours."

Her smile faltered, surprised by my lack of a fight. Then her eyes narrowed with anger. She ripped the diamond bracelet from her wrist, a gift I'd seen Gavyn give her on his secret blog. "This was a gift from my mother," she hissed. "But you... you're not worthy to even look at it."

With a dramatic flourish, she threw the bracelet. It arced through the air and landed in the dark water with a faint splash.

Then she screamed. "Help! Somebody help! She threw my bracelet in the lake!"

She clutched her bare wrist, fat tears rolling down her perfect cheeks. "My mother's bracelet! She threw it in the lake!"

Gavyn was there in an instant, his face a thundercloud. "Alex! What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," I said, my voice calm. "She threw it in herself."

Gavyn hesitated. For a split second, I saw a flicker of doubt in his eyes. He knew me. He knew I wasn't capable of such a petty, dramatic act.

But then Iliana let out a heart-wrenching sob. "Gavyn, it was the bracelet my mother gave me before she died! The one you had repaired for me! It meant everything to me!"

Gavyn's face changed. It went from angry to cold, hard fury.

I knew about that bracelet. It wasn't from her mother. It was a cheap trinket he had bought for her when they were teenagers. But it was a symbol of their "unbreakable bond." A symbol of his unending devotion.

"There are security cameras all over the veranda," I said, my voice level. "Let's just look at the footage."

I saw a flash of panic in Iliana's eyes. Gavyn paused, his gaze shifting from me to her. He was starting to see it. He was starting to question.

But before he could say anything, a small body launched itself forward, standing protectively in front of a sobbing Iliana.

It was Kennith. Kaelynn was right behind him.

"She's lying!" Kennith shouted, pointing a trembling finger at me. "I saw her! She grabbed the bracelet from Iliana's wrist and threw it in the water! She's a jealous monster!"