Chapter 2

The line stayed silent for a long time.

I balled both hands into fists and forced my voice to stay level.

“I'm looking for Maisie Pruitt.”

“Oh, Maisie's asleep. Whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow.”

He didn't even wait for me to say anything else. The line went dead.

“What did Mom say?”

Meeting my son's hopeful eyes, I made myself smile and said gently:

“Mom said she picked up a big job today and won't be back until really late. How about we go ahead and eat the cake?”

In an instant,

his little face fell.

I was about to comfort him when he lifted his head again and smiled up at me.

“Mom works so hard. I should feel sorry for her. Let's eat half the cake and save the rest for her.”

“I'll make my wish first, then. I wish for our whole family to be happy. I wish Mom and Dad didn't have to work so hard. I wish that I could... spend more time with Mom and Dad.”

At his words,

something in my chest ached.

He understood more than anyone, and he knew his own illness better than anyone too.

I stepped forward and pulled him into my arms.

“It will. I promise.”

I didn't sleep all night.

When I turned over to pull the blanket up over him, I found tears at the corners of his eyes. Even in his sleep, he was murmuring:

“Mommy, is it because Robin was bad?”

At dawn,

Maisie quietly pushed open the door of our rented apartment.

The moment our eyes met, she froze where she stood.

“You... why are you up so early?”

“Who was that man? Do you have any idea how long our son waited for you last night? I... I saw all of it.”

She hadn't expected me to lay it all out without hesitation. She stood frozen, and the look she gave me was hard to read.

We faced each other in silence.

Then, finally,

Maisie reached out and caught my hand, softening her voice and coaxing me the way she had done so many times before.

“It's not what you think.”

“Didn't our savings get wiped out in that scam? I just figured I'd take on more work and earn it back. Everything you saw last night was only a job. That man hired me to play the kid's mother. He's paying me a thousand dollars when it's done.”

As she spoke,

Maisie pulled a thousand dollars from her pocket and pushed it into my hand.

“Consider this our living money for the month. We haven't had meat in ages. Buy some extra for lunch, treat ourselves a little.”

The words had barely left her mouth.

Before I could even respond, something seemed to occur to her. She turned and walked toward the couch, as if looking for something.

“Mommy! You're home!”

“Mommy, thank you for my birthday present. I love it so, so much. I—”

But before he could finish, Maisie strode over, snatched the plush toy from his hands, and started scolding him:

“Who said you could touch my things?”

In an instant,

the rims of his eyes went red.

I started to step forward, but the next second he caught my hand, his voice choking up.

“It's okay, Daddy. It's my fault. I shouldn't have touched Mommy's things.”

Then

he turned and walked to the fridge, carefully took out the cake, and carried that half of it over to Maisie.

“Mommy, this is the cake we saved for you. Your favorite, chocolate—”

But before he could finish, Maisie's phone rang.

“What?”

“Okay, I'm on my way.”

After she hung up, Maisie hurried toward the door, leaving nothing but one line behind:

“Something urgent came up. I'm off to make some money.”

She must have been in too much of a rush. As she brushed past, she slammed hard into our son.

The next second,

his little body toppled backward, and the cake in his hands fell with him, splattering all over him.

In an instant,

everything was a mess.

Maisie glanced back at the sound, but she didn't even slow her step, only tossing out a few words:

“Why are you still so careless?”