MainNovel"Mom, I'm your real son! How can you only want Daisy and not me?"
Henry's words cout in a choked sob, pain tightening his chest until he could barely breathe. He'd never felt
this miserable in his whole life.
Jessica's voice was cold as steel. "Didn't you already decide you wanted someone else to be your mother? Go be
their son, then. | don't have a son like you."
She pulled her hand free of his, brushing him off with a flick of her wrist. As she turned to leave, Sallie stormed
forward, hand raised, ready to slap Jessica across the face.
But just as Sallie's hand was about to cdown, Herbert stepped in front of Jessica and Daisy, blocking the
blow.
Timothy moved quickly too, inserting himself between Sallie and the rest. Sallie's slap landed squarely on
Timothy's cheek.
She was furious-her hand hit hard. Timothy, already unsteady on his injured leg, lost his balance and crashed to
the ground, his cane clattering away.
Jessica's heart lurched. She had never seen Timothy-usually so dignified and untouchable-look so helpless.
Sallie and Timothy had been born on the exact sday, even the shour, but she'd always doted on him.
The moment her hand struck his face, regret filled her. She hurried to help him up, as did Henry, who rushed to
his father's side. Sallie also picked up the cane and tried to steady Timothy.
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Jessica looked away, turning to Herbert. "Let's go."
She wanted nothing more to do with their family . Today was supposed to be a fun day at the amusement
park with Daisy, and running into them had been nothing but bad luck.
Timothy watched as Jessica walked away without so much as a backward glance. The emptiness inside him
widened until he could barely stand.
He got to his feet, bracing himself with his cane. Sallie fussed over him, brushing dust from his clothes and
muttering, "Timothy, I'm so angry my stomach hurts. What's becof us? Not so long ago, everything was
fine, the family was happy. Now, in just a couple months, everything's fallen apart."
The Lawsons used to be the picture of harmony. And the Gilded Whisper Estates -Jessica had always kept things
running like clockwork. Sallie couldn't accept how much had changed.
"I told you a thousand times, treat her better. Why did it cto this?"
Timothy pushed Sallie away, not wanting her to fix his jacket. "Can you really blme? Did you hear what she
said? What kind of mother says that to her own child?"
"If you want to blsomeone, blyourself. She's speaking the truth. You should talk to Henry!"
Henry burst into tears, his sobs loud and raw. After the things his mom said, now even his dad was blaming him.
It was more than he could handle.
"You're not blameless either. All you ever do is scold the child," Sallie said, quickly putting her arms around Henry
to comfort him. "Let's not bother with them, sweetheart. Auntie's going to take you to have sfun."
Sallie scooped Henry up and walked away, determined not to let him suffer any more. The two adults-honestly,
neither of them had any sense.
"Auntie, does Mom really not wantanymore?"
"Oh, sweetheart, of course she wants you. She gave birth to you-nothing can change that. No matter what
happens, you'll always be her son. Daisy doesn't have a mom or dad, so your mom just feels sorry for her and
wants to help her out, that's all."
"But Auntie, you're lying... She just said she doesn't have a son like me."
Sallie paused, thinking it over, then pressed on gently, "Listen, Sheila is your dad's aunt-she's your great-aunt,
not your mom. How
could you call her 'Mom'
mom
was already upset about Daisy, and then you went and called Sheila 'Mom'-of course she was hurt! Next time
you see Sheila, you have to call her 'Aunt Sheila," okay? As soon as you do that, your mom will forgive you, |
promise."
"Really?"
"Absolutely."
The two of them chatted as they made their way toward the rides.
Back by the roller coaster, Timothy stood leaning on his cane, watching Jessica and Herbert's retreating figures.
His eyes stung. The sun felt all wrong today-far too bright, far too harsh.
They boarded the roller coaster, just the three of them-Herbert, Jessica, and Daisy, who sat in the middle.
Timothy hobbled closer as the ride started watching the car speed away until it disappeared from view. Even so,
when the track dipped and whirled, he could still hear Daisy and Jessica's excited laughter echoing through the
air.
It wasn't a long ride. Soon enough,
the roller coaster returned, their
er
laughter still ringing, their smiles more dazzling than ever-each one a stab to Timothy's heart. His grip tightened
on the cane, knuckles white with anger that burned in his chest, threatening to explode.
Herbert lifted Daisy out first, then offered Jessica his arm to help her down.
Timothy couldn't hold back any longer. His voice was icy. "Jessica, do you even notice that | exist?"
Jessica met his frosty gaze head-on. Her voice was even colder: "Did you ever? Even before we talked about
divorce, did you ever really matter? How can you even askthat?"
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