I listened to the sound of the engine rumbling outside before slowly dragging my stiff legs toward the window.
Once, every time Cooper left, he couldn’t bear to be away from me. He’d cling to me, reluctant to go, as if his heart was tethered to mine.
But now, it had become a ritual; his departures were swift and without hesitation.
Not long after, another message from Kaia flashed across my phone.
It was a picture of Cooper’s back as he worked in the kitchen, busy and absorbed in what he was doing.
She wrote, “Baby was crying, but the moment Daddy showed up, he quieted right down. Don’t you think that’s what they mean by a bloodline connection?”
I didn’t reply. Kaia didn’t need my responses; she sent message after message, her words dripping with pride and taunting.
As long as Cooper was with her, she would keep sending her little provocations.
I saw everything but said nothing.
What I wanted now wasn’t confrontation; I simply needed to wait for the right moment, to slip away quietly, to disappear somewhere no one could find me.
I couldn’t bring myself to compromise, not like my mother had. I wouldn’t settle for a life of misery, enduring a man who had long since fallen apart.