Chapter 1

Back then I got pregnant before we were married, and my husband, Brent James, promised we'd file all the paperwork the moment the wedding was over.

But five years dragged by. He put it off with one excuse after another, and our daughter's registration was never sorted out.

When Brent got his promotion, my in-laws threw a family dinner to celebrate.

Most of the relatives had already arrived when Margaret Acevedo pulled out the household registration book, frowning at the blank page.

Everyone started chiming in, pushing him to get it done.

"Evelyn James's almost six. This needs handling right away."

"Exactly. She's not really one of the James family until she's on the books."

I held my daughter and waited for Brent to come back, so I could use the chance to bring it up again.

But the food had nearly gone cold by the time he finally strolled in, a strange woman and her daughter trailing behind him.

"This is my coworker, Violet Fox. She helped me a lot with the promotion."

"Vi's daughter starts elementary school next year, and we've got a home in the good school district. Let's put the girl on our household registration so she can borrow a spot."

"Call it my way of thanking Vi for looking out for me at work."

The table turned awkward. Only Violet, thrilled, gripped Brent's hand and thanked him over and over.

The cold spread through me inch by inch.

He'd forgotten. My Evelyn started elementary school next year too.

I wasn't going to make my daughter wait any longer.

I took out my phone and contacted a lawyer to draw up the divorce papers.

……

Margaret's chopsticks paused mid-serving. Harold Abbott's face went uncomfortable too, but with all the relatives there, neither of them could say anything.

Brent, though, was perfectly at ease, waving Violet over to the seat beside the head of the table and telling everyone to keep eating.

Whether from excitement or on purpose, Violet clung to Brent's arm and wouldn't let go, using her other hand to nudge her daughter closer to him.

"A single mom like me," she said, and her voice carried, "if Brent hadn't been looking out for me all this time, honestly I wouldn't know what to do."

The whole table went quiet.

A few relatives froze with their chopsticks in the air, glances darting back and forth.

I set down my cup and slowly lifted my head. "Brent, tonight's family dinner is for your promotion."

I put real weight on those two words: family dinner.

A flicker of displeasure crossed his face, then he tossed off a reply.

"What about it? Violet did me a huge favor this time. I only got promoted because of her."

"Besides, her daughter's about to go on our household registration, so she's practically family."

Violet took the opening and looped her arm through mine, her voice sweet enough to turn my stomach.

"Sis, once you're too busy to manage, I'll cook for you every day, I really would."

"We're all family here. No need to stand on ceremony."

My arm stayed stiff. I didn't move.

Family? That tone of hers was like something out of the old days, a concubine carried through the door to pay respects to the first wife.

I didn't answer. I slid my arm free and picked up my teacup.

The rest of the meal was tense.

The relatives took the hint and dropped the subject of the registration.

Margaret kept Evelyn on her lap the whole time, peeling shrimp, serving her food, coaxing her to eat.

After everyone left, she quietly pulled me into the corner of the kitchen and lowered her voice.

"Layla Bennett, don't take it to heart. Evelyn is a James child. I'll talk to him later, and I won't let her be shortchanged, not for a second."

She patted the back of my hand.

I knew Margaret meant every word.

But the identity a child should have from birth, the one I'd been waiting on, still hadn't come through after all this time.

I pulled my mouth into something like a smile, my throat tight, and couldn't force a single word out.

As the party broke up, Brent insisted on driving Violet and her daughter home.

He carried her bag in one hand and held her daughter's hand with the other, easy as a family of three.

The woman from the next unit came back from walking her dog and said offhand, "Oh, Evelyn's gotten this big already?"

Brent stalled, then gave a sheepish laugh. "A friend's kid. Just helping out."

I stood in the shadow of the stairwell a few steps away, watching, too cold inside to speak.

When he came back from dropping them off, Brent wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder.

There was a laugh in his voice. "It was dark, the neighbor just saw wrong. Don't let it bother you."

"Once Violet's kid is enrolled next year, I'll register Evelyn right away. One more year won't hurt."

I shook his arms off and turned around.

"Brent," I said, "why would I be upset over the neighbor?"