Chapter 2
“Are you sure about this, Remi? This isn’t exactly a weekend getaway”
“I’m sure.”
“Alright then. We’ll have someone contact you day after tomorrow with the details.”
I hung up and looked around at our home–the place we’d spent five years making perfect together. Now it just felt like a museum of lies.]
I started packing my stuff, then pulled out all our photos and the love letters he’d written me over the years. Ten to twenty–five, from school uniforms to wedding dress–every memory that had felt so real, so full of love.
I watched it all burn. Every photo, every “I love you” scrawled in his handwriting, reduced to ash.]
The flames reflected off my tear–soaked face, flickering like everything else in my world.]
My phone buzzed–Aria’s teacher.
“Hi Mrs. Cross, this is Ms. Parker. The sports festival is about to start–are you close by?“]
“Sorry, I’m running behind. I’ll be right there.“[]
I raced to the school, practically sprinting to the playground, only to walk straight into my worst nightmare.[]
Jaxon and Scarlett were playing some relay game with Aria, all three of them laughing like the world’s most perfect family.
This from the guy who used to groan about “kid stuff” and find excuses to skip every school event. Funny how different it is when you’re performing for your actual wife.[]
Aria spotted me first, his little face twisting up in annoyance.]
“Ugh, why are you even here? You can go home now–I’ve got Dad and Miss Scarlett.“[]
Before I could even begin to process that knife to the gut, Scarlett dropped to her knees and started slapping herself.]
“Please don’t blame Jazon! I just missed him so badly–this is all my fault!”
Jaxon immediately caught her hands, looking at her like she was made of spun glass, then shot me a look that could freeze hell over.[]
“You’re the one who couldn’t be bothered to show up on time. If Scarlett hadn’t stepped in, Aria would’ve been the only kid sitting alone. Maybe try saying thank you instead of starting drama.“]
Even little Aria planted himself in front of Scarlett like a pint–sized bodyguard.[]
“You’re not even my real mom! I want Miss Scarlett to be my mom instead!“[]
There they stood, a united front protecting her while taking turns shredding what was left of my heart.]
“Hold up,” I said, somehow finding my voice through the pain. “Didn’t you delete all her contacts? How exactly did you two just happen to bump into each other?”
Jaxon’s face went full deer–in–headlights mode.[]
“We just… she works in the area, so we ran into each other at-“]
Pathetic excuse, but I was way past caring about his lies.[]
“Great. Let’s all do the next event together then.“]
Maybe he heard how hollow I sounded, because his voice softened as he reached for my hand
“Hey, let’s just focus on having fun, okay?“]
But Aria looked at the like I was gum stuck to his shoe. It took Scarlett’s sweet voice convincing him for a solid minute before he grudgingly agreed to let me tag along
Five years of bedtime stories and scraped knee kisses, wiped out by some stranger’s sweet talk in five minutes.[]
I laugh bitterly
The next activity was beanbag toss. Aria’s eyes lit up with excitement, but something in my gut told me this wasn’t going to end well.]
Sure enough, every single beanbag he threw came straight at my body. These things were supposed to be soft, but they felt like rocks hitting me, each one leaving a sharp sting
The last one went straight for my head []
Chapter 2
THUNK
Warm liquid trickled down my forehead as screams erupted around me.[]
In all the chaos, Aria was literally jumping up and down with glee, running over to high–five Scarlett.]]
“Miss Scarlett, did you see how good my aim was?“]]
I stood there in shock, staring at them. The cut on my head hurt, but my heart hurt way worse.
“These aren’t our beanbags!“]
Jaxon picked one up, his face going white.[]
“We need to check the equipment room cameras. Now.“[
I locked eyes with Scarlett and caught the flash of panic before she quickly covered it up.
“Maybe someone just grabbed the wrong ones by mistake? We should get Remi to the nurse first.”
Scarlett grabbed Jaxon’s wrist, her expression weird and desperate.]]
Something about the way she looked at him made his face freeze up. He opened his mouth, then just gave a stiff nod.[]
“Yeah… let’s deal with the injury first. Everyone else can keep going.“|
“Keep going? Are you serious?” My voice got louder as I stepped closer. “This was assault. We need to figure out what the hell happened!“[]
Jaxon grabbed my arm hard enough to leave red marks, his voice dropping to a threatening whisper:[]
“Remi, do you really want to make a scene in front of everyone? It’s just a little blood. Stop being so damn dramatic.“]
Aria peeked out from behind Scarlett and stuck his tongue out at me.[]
“It’s your own fault for being too slow to dodge!”
A few other parents looked like they wanted to say something, but nobody stepped up. Just me, bleeding and outnumbered, facing down their little united front.
Standing there with blood streaming down half my face, I actually started laughing. They really were the perfect family–and I was just the pathetic outsider.
out:0
I turned to leave, and Jaxon moved like he was going to stop me,
but then Scarlett’s voice rang
“Jaxon, I think I got cut too! It really hurts!“]]
I heard his footsteps stop behind me. [
That was it. I was done–with him, with this whole charade, and honestly? With Aria too. Kid made his choice.
I decided to head home tonight and tell my parents I was calling off this whole arranged marriage disaster.[]
After getting stitched up at the ER, I drove home close to midnight, only to find the house packed with people. Jaxon was upstairs with my dad, looking way too comfortable.
Dad cleared his throat and announced to the crowd:]
“I want to thank the Cross family for helping us find my real daughter.“[]
Everyone went dead silent, including me. Then a familiar figure stepped into the spotlight.[
