Chapter 1
643words
The woman wasn't striking, but as dappled sunlight fell across her face, there was a vulnerable tenderness in her expression that tugged at my heart.
"Hello," I approached with a practiced smile. "Are you Leo Miller's mother?"
The woman looked up, and when she saw me, her eyes widened with a flash of panic she couldn't quite hide.
"I am." Her voice tightened. "And you are?"
"I'm Andy Miller's mother, Iris Harrington," I said, gesturing toward my son chatting with Professor Davis nearby. "My husband is Nathan Miller. I noticed the registration form and thought—what a coincidence."
I let the words "my husband" hang in the air between us.
The color drained from her face. She grabbed Leo's hand and forced a smile. "Yes, quite a coincidence. We really must be going. Excuse us."
She tried to escape, but I wasn't about to let her slip away that easily.
I stepped forward, casually blocking her path while studying the boy.
Leo Miller. Seven years old. With features that mirrored my husband's so perfectly it made my stomach clench.
My heart twisted into a knot, each beat a painful reminder of what I was seeing.
"Little Leo is adorable," I said, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. "He looks just like Nathan did at that age."
Vivian's body went rigid.
Her name was Vivian Woods.
I knew her all too well.
Nathan's college junior who'd joined Cosmos Technology after graduation, only to suddenly leave for "personal reasons." I'd heard she'd become a full-time housewife.
Back then, I'd commented what a shame it was—a small-town girl who'd fought her way through college, throwing away her career to stay home.
Now I understood those "personal reasons"—being kept by my husband to bear his child.
"Mrs. Miller," Vivian's voice turned cold with a defensive edge. "What exactly are you implying?"
"Nothing at all," I smiled, fishing a business card from my purse and extending it toward her. "Since our boys will be classmates, here's my contact information. We should stay in touch."
Below my name, in elegant print, ran a single line: Director, Cosmos Technology.
Vivian's eyes locked onto those words, her pupils contracting to pinpoints.
She didn't take it. The card fluttered to the ground between us.
"No need." The words fell like ice between us. She grabbed Leo's hand and hurried away, her stiff shoulders betraying her panic.
I stared at the business card on the ground, the smile on my face hardening into something dangerous.
Nathan wasn't home when I arrived.
Andy bubbled with excitement about his beautiful new school and the kind teacher.
I ran my fingers through his hair, my heart frozen solid in my chest.
If Leo Miller really was Nathan's son, then what did that make my Andy?
Nathan stumbled in at ten, trailing the stench of whiskey.
As always, he wrapped me in a hug, his voice apologetic. "Sorry, babe. Important client dinner tonight. Couldn't get away."
I didn't push him away. Instead, I said quietly, "I saw Vivian Woods at school today."
Nathan turned to stone against me.
The air between us crystallized.
After what felt like forever, he pulled away, guilt flickering across his face.
"Vivian Woods?" He turned away, busying himself with pouring water. "What was she doing at the school?" His forced casualness wasn't fooling either of us.
"Enrolling her son," I said, each word a knife. "The boy's name is Leo Miller. And guess whose name she wrote in the father's column? Nathan Miller."
His hand froze mid-pour.
Silence swallowed our living room. All I could hear was the quickening rhythm of his breath.
Finally, he turned to face me, his expression a mask of exhaustion and guilt I'd never seen before.
"Iris, I'm sorry."
