Chapter 2

The next afternoon, I carried a cake to the psychiatric hospital.

When I saw my mother, I forced a smile onto my face.

"Mom, I came to see you."

Her back stiffened against the bed, but she didn't turn around.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, opened the box, and set it on the small table.

"Mom, it's your birthday today. It's strawberry, your favorite."

"Have a little piece, okay?"

I spent four hours baking it. Just take one bite, Mom.

This is the last time...

Before I could finish, a sudden weight struck the back of my head.

The next second, my face was shoved violently into the cake.

"Get out!"

My mother shoved me frantically toward the door.

"Go die! Go die and keep Leo company!"

The frosting smeared across my eyes, nose, and mouth, thick and suffocating, making it hard to breathe.

I tried to speak through the sticky cream.

"Mom..."

My foot caught on the threshold, and my body slammed against the doorframe.

My mother screamed hysterically:

"So what if Julian was sleeping with Veronica? You should have just pretended you didn't know! Why did you have to throw a tantrum, Daisy?"

"How did I raise such an ungrateful, useless bitch!"

"Daisy, go die! Just hurry up and die!"

Tears broke free, spilling hot down my sticky cheeks. My hands shook uncontrollably.

Once, she had loved me more than anyone in the world.

She used to hold me close and say, "No matter what you want to do, Daisy, our family will always have your back."

Now, she hated me to the point of madness. She wanted me dead.

Was everything I did over the last five years really a mistake?

I kept my head down, staring at the linoleum floor. It took me a long time to find my voice.

"Okay."

I'll listen to you. I'll die.

Maybe it was the utter lifelessness in my voice, but she froze for a second.

Then, with a loud slam, she shut the door in my face.

I stood frozen in the hallway for what felt like hours until feeling returned to my limbs. Step by step, I dragged myself to the public restroom to wash the frosting off my face.

As the freezing tap water splashed against my skin, my mind cleared.

I stared at the pale, hollow face in the mirror.

Marrying Julian five years ago was the biggest mistake of my life.

Tonight, that mistake would finally end.

When I walked out of the hospital, the sky had turned grey and heavy with rain.

I had no umbrella, and I didn't bother calling an Uber.

I walked aimlessly through the cold drizzle. By the time my clothes were soaked through and my teeth were chattering, a tall shadow stepped in front of me.

The rain abruptly stopped falling on my head.

I looked up. Julian was holding an umbrella, his dark eyes staring down at me with an unreadable expression.

Behind him, through the floor-to-ceiling glass of an upscale lounge, sat Carter, Veronica, and several of their wealthy friends.