Chapter 3

3

"Adeline, what are you doing now?" Silas asked, his face full of annoyance. He clearly hadn't slept enough.

I instinctively stepped back, my hands trembling. "I was just..."

"Daddy, she pinched my face! She pulled my hair too! I told her I didn't want her here. she just hates Miss Elena, so she's taking it out on me!"

Aria cut me off, sobbing loudly with tears and snot running down her face. Elena pulled her into a hug, whispering sweet things to calm her down.

"Adeline, you know she doesn't like you. Why are you causing trouble? Elena handles these things perfectly. What is your problem? Are you trying to steal her job and kick her out?"

Silas continued, his voice sharp. "I've told you a thousand times, Elena is just doing her job. Can you please drop your petty, malicious thoughts?"

Silas had a terrible temper when he first woke up. The sound of Aria crying made him find me guilty without a second thought.

I wanted to scream that Aria was my daughter too, but the words died in my throat.

To Silas, I was a woman who would hurt her own child just to win a petty argument. If he thought I was that evil, what was the point of explaining?

"I'm sorry."

The thousands of words I wanted to say turned into a pathetic apology. Aria looked triumphant.

She smirked at me, grabbing Silas's hand with one side and Elena's with the other.

"Daddy, Mommy, let's go out for breakfast!"

She used those titles on purpose to hurt me. Elena froze, looking like she wanted to correct the girl.

But Aria was smart. As soon as she saw the change in Elena's expression, her lip trembled.

"I knew it. Nobody likes me. Mom hates me, and Miss Elena doesn't want me either. I'm just a kid nobody wants."

Faced with that, Elena could only give me an apologetic look.

"It's fine," I said at the same time Silas spoke.

"Ignore her," Silas snapped. "She can't even take care of a child. Even her own daughter can't stand her. She brought this on herself. Let's go."

The three of them walked out, looking like a picture-perfect family. I was left alone in the silence.

What could I even say? When I was pregnant with Aria, I couldn't sleep. I fainted constantly.

Silas used to cry for me. He begged me to terminate the pregnancy. He even knelt and swore an oath.

"I'll love you even if we never have kids. Adeline, I'm with you because of who you are, not because I want to be a father."

"I'm not saying I won't love the baby, but if I have to choose between you two, I will always choose you."

Back then, he loved me so much. He was a devoted husband. How did we get here?

Maybe it was the seven-year itch. We had been together since college, but our love had finally reached a dead end.

That afternoon, I was in the living room watering Aria's plants. Silas suddenly burst through the door.

He looked frantic, like a trapped animal looking for someone to bite. He found me.

"Adeline! How do you even call yourself a mother? Didn't you know she had a cold? Why didn't you say anything when we left? Do you want her to die? Get in the car. We're going to the hospital now!"