Chapter 1My husband always makes our daughter give up her favorite for his first love's brat.
Today: "A Jellycat for each of my two precious girls."
I finally snapped. "We only have ONE daughter."
Grayson's face darkened.
"Aurora, Stella's a struggling single mom. Life's HARD."
"Can you stop being selfish for once?!"
Before I could respond, Stella's daughter snatched the pink one.
My five-year-old froze. Then forced a smile.
"I'll take this blue one, Daddy."
"If I give things up like mommy... will Daddy stay home?"
I froze.
All these years, I'd given up EVERYTHING.
The master bedroom. Vacations. Wife's dignity.
Even caught Grayson balls-deep in that bitch—I ignored it.
All for a fake happiness.
But I forgot—kids repeat what they see.
She learned to erase herself.
Now watching her hold that blue doll she hates?
I'm DONE taking this shit.
...
Hearing my daughter's words, my nose stung and tears fell.
"Mommy, why are you crying?"
Rosie frantically wiped my tears away, voice shaking.
"Did I do something wrong?"
Her little hands were so soft, but her eyes were filled with fear and anxiety.
My throat closed up.
She wasn't always like this.
She used to be bold. Confident. Bright.
On her first day of preschool, all the other kids were crying and clinging to their parents.
Not her.
She waved proudly:
"Don't miss me too much, Mommy. I'm going to school now!"
At preschool, she was the liveliest kid.
She loved dancing, loved singing.
Every show, every performance—she was front and center.
When did she become so quiet? So scared?
My throat tightened. It took me a long time to get the words out.
"Rosie... Mommy was wrong."
I shouldn't have let her see me shrink myself in this marriage.
I should've only shown her the good things.
I sat in the living room until past midnight before I finally heard Grayson's car pull up.
He walked in and looked surprised to see me.
"You're still up?"
There was a time when we were happy.
He used to come straight home after work, carrying my favorite cake.
We'd lie on the couch together, binge-watching shows, talking about nothing.
But three years ago, Stella showed up in our lives.
And I got used to Grayson coming home late.
He always had excuses.
Daisy had a fever.
He had to read her a bedtime story.
She had nightmares after falling asleep.
I'd screamed at him once. "Who's your wife? Who's your daughter?"
His answer was ice-cold.
"Stella's raising a kid alone. Do you have any idea how hard that is?"
"Aurora, don't you get it?"
I shut up after that.
Because when I was six, my parents got divorced.
I knew better than anyone how hard it was for kids in broken homes.
I took a deep breath and kept my voice calm.
"Rosie's about to start at Manhattan Elite Academy."
"You said you'd handle it. How'd that go?"
Grayson frowned, clearly annoyed.
"There's no spot."
"It's just elementary school. What's the big deal?"
"The school's far anyway. You won't have to drive her."
"Besides, can't she just study at a regular school?"
I was about to argue when a faint sound came from the bedroom.
Rosie stood at the doorway, clutching her teddy bear.
Looking at Grayson with hopeful eyes.
"Daddy... there's a parent-child sports day at school this weekend."
"Can you come with me?"
Grayson didn't even hesitate.
"I already promised I'd go with Daisy."
"Rosie, you're the big sister. You need to let Daisy have her turn."
"Daisy doesn't have a dad. People will laugh at her."
I felt like I was losing my mind.
"What gives you the right to go to Daisy's event?"
"WHOSE father are you?"
Grayson's face hardened.
"Stop overreacting. It's just kids' stuff."
"Rosie sees her dad every day. Daisy's dad is gone."
"Aurora, can you show a little compassion? Set a good example for once."
He turned and walked into the guest room.
I heard the lock click.
My heart went cold.
Daisy was the same age as Rosie.
They went to the same preschool.
Grayson cared about Daisy getting laughed at for not having a dad.
But he never once thought about how Rosie felt—watching her own father become someone else's daddy.
I looked at my daughter's scared little face and swallowed my anger.
Coaxed her back to bed.
She fell asleep, but there were still tears on her cheeks.
I wiped them away silently, my chest aching.
My daughter was only half a month older than Daisy.
But Grayson kept forcing her to give things up.
Her favorite snacks. Her toys.
Even her own father.
My phone buzzed. I opened the notification from work again.
The transfer to Miami.
Chapter 2
So Rosie wouldn't have to watch her own father team up with another kid, I called her in sick on parent-child sports day.
Took her to the amusement park instead.
Watching her smile for the first time in so long, I finally felt relieved.
My phone buzzed.
A message from a friend.
"Aurora, I got an update on what you asked me to check."
"Your school district house HAS a spot at Manhattan Elite Academy."
"But... the spot's already been given to Daisy."
I gripped my phone.
It took me a long time to find my voice.
We'd paid a fortune for that house so Rosie could go to the best school in Manhattan.
My mom even dipped into her retirement savings to help us afford it.
All of it. For Rosie.
And now the house I paid for?
Was just another way for Grayson to please Stella.
Rage burned in my chest.
After I dropped Rosie off at home, I went straight to Grayson's office.
I needed answers. Face to face.
The door to his office wasn't closed all the way.
I was about to push it open when I heard a little girl's voice.
"Daddy Grayson, can I go to Manhattan Elite Academy?"
"All the kids at preschool are going. I wanna go too."
My hand froze mid-air.
Grayson's voice came next. Warm. Gentle.
"Of course you can, sweetheart. You're such a good girl."
"I'm taking you and your teacher out to lunch later."
"So you can get to know each other."
Daisy squealed with excitement.
Then Stella's voice.
"Grayson, thank you so much."
"I don't know how I would've gotten Daisy into a school like that without you."
"Don't mention it, Stella. It's the least I can do."
His voice softened even more. "After all... she calls me Daddy Grayson."
I smiled bitterly. My chest felt hollow.
He was always so gentle with Stella. So considerate.
He gave away our daughter's school spot.
He pulled strings to set up a lunch with the teacher so Daisy could "get familiar" with the school.
And my daughter?
She got NOTHING.
I could handle being second place in Grayson's heart.
But my daughter?
She didn't deserve that.
I pushed the door open.
The scene inside was like a dull knife carving into my eyes.
Grayson sat in his office chair.
Daisy was curled up in his lap, holding a lollipop, grinning ear to ear.
Stella stood beside him, one hand resting on the back of his chair. Close. Comfortable.
The second he saw me, the warmth drained from his face.
He frowned.
"What are you doing here?"
Like I was the one interrupting their perfect little family moment.
I let out a cold laugh.
"You're MY husband. This is your office."
"She can be here, but I can't?"
Stella's face went pale. She spoke softly.
"Aurora... please don't be upset. You've got it wrong—"
I cut her off. "Wrong about what?"
"About you stealing my husband?"
"About you taking my daughter's school spot?"
Before I could finish, Grayson shot to his feet.
He stepped in front of Stella, shielding her. His face dark.
"Aurora. This isn't the place for your hysterics."
"If you want Rosie to grow up in a stable home, get the hell out."
He was threatening me.
Using our daughter.
His own daughter.
I stared at him through tears. This man I'd been married to for eight years.
He felt like a stranger.
When we were in love, I'd told him everything. Every fear. Every wound.
He knew my weak spots.
He knew exactly why I'd stayed quiet all these years.
He'd promised me once.
"Aurora, don't worry. I'll never do what your dad did."
"I'll give you and our kid a home that's always warm."
But now, all those promises had turned into knives.
And he was using them to cut me open.
Chapter 3
Since there was no reasoning with Grayson anymore, I decided to find another way.
The house was bought after we got married.
It was joint property.
He couldn't just give away the school spot without my signature.
The policy was clear:
Direct children get priority.
Rosie was the legal resident child tied to that address.
I refused to believe there was no justice left in this world.
So I hired a lawyer and spent the entire afternoon at his office.
He adjusted his glasses.
"Mrs. Knight, once we confirm your marriage certificate, the school should approve your request."
I nodded. My chest felt a little lighter.
But when I went to get proof of our marriage, I was told something else.
"Ms. Hayes, your marriage to Grayson Knight ended three years ago."
"Now, his wife is a Stella Monroe."
I stood there. Frozen.
"What? That's not possible!"
"There has to be a mistake."
My hands were shaking as I pulled out my marriage certificate.
The clerk glanced at it. Then looked at me with pity.
"Ma'am, this certificate is fake. It has no legal standing."
I walked out of the office.
The sun was shining. Bright and warm.
But inside, I felt like ice.
Three years ago. That was right after Stella got divorced.
Grayson had told me, "Stella's an old friend. She's raising a kid alone. Let's help her out."
I didn't hesitate. Said yes.
Because I was raised by a single mom.
I knew how hard it was.
But I never imagined that by helping her, my daughter would lose her father.
And I would lose my husband.
I tried to laugh at how stupid I'd been.
But all that came out were tears.
The marriage I'd fought so hard to hold together?
It was fake. The WHOLE time.
Grayson and I weren't even married anymore.
