Chapter 3

I don't know when I fell asleep. Russ Walter had gone off with Kent, so there was nothing left for me to look after.

I was sleeping deeply when a hand yanked me up by brute force.

Kent was home.

"Anita, well done. We called you how many times and you didn't pick up a single one, and here you are, sleeping like a log."

"Do you have any idea how humiliated we were at the hotel?"

That was the line he threw at me most today, all of it blame and abuse.

Russ had already gone back to his room, but he must have heard the noise, because he ran back out, watching us with tears in his eyes.

"Daddy, Mommy, don't fight. Please don't fight."

His voice was thin with fear. Kent and I didn't fight often. We rarely even raised our voices.

So this, us like this, had probably frightened him.

"Kent, put Russ to bed first."

I bore the pain of his hand around my throat, almost pleading with him.

There was a hard edge coming off Kent. He turned to look at Russ, and though he didn't say a word, Russ was already scared enough to shrink back fast.

Watching my son slip quietly away, I felt something dull and heavy press against my chest, like it had been stuffed with cotton.

In that moment I felt like a complete failure of a mother.

Furious, I wrenched free of Kent's grip.

"Wonderful, Kent. All you can see is your family being humiliated. What was done to me, you didn't see at all."

He glared at me, his eyes full of disgust.

"What was done to you? Mom just brought up the bracelet, that's all. And yes, I did mention it to Jared once—"

"You mentioned it. Even if you'd bought it, I wouldn't have minded. The problem is you didn't buy it, and your mother took it out on me, and you watched the whole thing and didn't say one word for me."

I cut him off. Thinking back to that suffocating feeling at the birthday party, my chest still clenched with the fear of it.

Kent frowned, like he thought I was making a mountain out of nothing.

"I didn't speak up for you, but you aired my dirty laundry in the group."

He said it like he had every right to.

That was the moment I finally saw Kent for exactly what he was.

I gave a bitter laugh and pulled out my phone to show him. "Just because I aired your dirty laundry in the group, your mother kicked me out of your family group chat. Relax, from now on nobody will ever make you lose face in front of your relatives again."

I didn't want to say another word to him. I got up off the bed. I had to go comfort Russ.

After hearing that, Kent scrolled through his phone again. At first he didn't believe I'd been removed from their family group chat.

Only when he couldn't find me in the member list did he finally believe it.

Then he came after me, phone still held up.

"Anita, could you not be so petty? Mom probably clicked the wrong thing. It's just a group chat. If it bothers you that much, I can add you back right now—"

"Don't. Whatever you do, don't. If your group has some big secret and I happen to overhear it and it leaks and something goes wrong, I can't take the blame for that."

I stopped just short of saying I wouldn't want back into that miserable group of yours anyway.

I cut him off and walked into Russ's room.

Russ was curled up under the covers with his head hidden, and only when he heard me move did he carefully poke his little head out.

"Mommy—"

Hearing him call for me, my tears spilled over at once. I climbed onto the bed, gathered him into my arms, and patted him gently.

Kent followed and stood in the doorway, about to say more, when I threw a pillow straight at him.