A P

d, Jena began to wear he

replace the navy blue curtains in the main li

stairs and said nothing. I let

eep in my bones. I was polishing a silver frame, my thumb tracing the familiar, smiling faces w

felt utterly alone. I ran my sleeve over the glass, wiping away a smudge that wasn't

, tearing through the living room under his mother's indulgent gaze. S

of me, his eyes fixated on t

he demanded, reaching fo

ctive barrier. "No, Kaden," I said, my voice q

was immediate and theatrical. "

ed on her face. "Avia, it's just an old thing

ting hers. The placid lake wa

aid

ing at the edges. She was

ter air with him. He took in the scene in an instant: me, clutching the f

avon, wrapping his arms around his leg.

avon, I was just trying to encourage Kaden to be friendly with Avia,

t ask what happened. He didn't ca

the fram

e never once glanced at the frame. He never checked if it was fragile or valuable. He never looked at my face to see if I was hurt. He did not ask what Kaden had done. He simply

ncurling one by one,

phant grin. He started running around the ro

ed into a smug,

it ha

ped. It arced through the air, a silver

e hearth with a

b of fractures spreading across

noise escaped my throat. I lunged forward, wanting to

avon wa

bing the boy's hands, inspecting his fingers with fr

over the child who had just destroyed my most preciou

angely light. I looked at the b

ize," I said, my vo

led. "He's just a chil

tep toward me, his face a mask of fury. He shoved me, hard. "Th

connected sharply with the corner of a sid

ry. I didn

urious gaze, and my own eyes were

lked up the stairs w

n his study, buried in paperwor

, my fingers steady and careful. Each fold had been deliberate-the last act of a wife who had once believed in giving. I set the box in the exact center of his desk, dire

d anniversa

and he seemed to have expected my continued silence. I saw a flicker of something in his

lready back on his wor

touched the doorknob, a smal

rejection agreement f

as already on