s leaning against the fireplace, trying t

ice flat. "What are y

ng smile playing on his lips. "Easy there, buddy. Ch

Chloe's house to be inviting her 'soulmate' into

s. It was Leo, his face red with fury. He started kicking my shins

hed down, not with anger, but with a firm, decisive motion. I caught his small leg mid-kick. He

with shock. He had nev

ce low and steady. I let go of his leg, and he

! How dare you! You la

calling another man 'Dad.' And I didn't lay a hand on him. I stopped him f

so used to me being a doormat that my sudden spi

. "I've finally gone sane. How does it feel? T

n that made my blood boil. "Alright, I think we should all just calm down. Et

nd take my place? You, the man she ran up hundreds of thousands of dollars in gambling debt

A flicker of anger crossed his face. "Yo

or it," I shot b

e loud, theatrical sobs. "Mommy, he's scaring me! Make him go

used on me a hundred times before. It always worked. My fear of

t wasn't the usual heartbreak. It was disappointment. A deep, profoun

e, then at Liam. This perfect

," I

nse seemed to

Chloe asked, h

ut," I

ed at me

rising with a power I didn't know I p

ed to t

. "You can't

ne. "My next call is to the police t

this is ridiculous. This is

o be a family somewhere else. Go to a hotel. Go to his pl

he grabbed Leo's hand and pulled Liam towards the door. She fumbled with her purs

d it. The silence that followed was the

my body trembling with adrenaline.

d spin some new sob story. I opened the bottom drawer of my desk to look for my old passport, the one I had before w

It was sealed. My name and Chloe's were written o

Inside was a s

rtif

nt of dissolut

ted three

ead it again. And a third time. My name. Her

ed. We hadn't been for a long, long time. The entire charade-the anniversaries, the talk of our future, her

t a long-suffering husband. I was jus