She tilts her head, smiles wanly. “Not expecting you to fix a damn thing, Aiden.”
Did she just saydamn? My wife doesn’t swear—for the love of God,she never swears.
Something is wrong. I know it. And I’m scared I already know exactly what it is.
CHAPTER 7
Mia
The dining room at Bliss is dressed to impress.
Polished oak gleams under candlelight, the crystal glasses catch the firelight just right, and the centerpiece is a monstrosity of winter florals, cranberries, and silver antlers. It’s all curated, like everything in the Winter world. Beautiful and cold.
Theamuse-bouchewas “something” foie gras. The appetizer was oysters prepared in three different ways.
The main course is roast goose with an orange glaze, sweet potato gratin, fig and arugula salad, and a dish called ‘deconstructed stuffing’ that tastes more like breadcrumbs with an identity crisis.
I help myself to a modest portion, and smile politely at the server.
Gianna's daughter Ellie is on my lap, her sticky fingers in my hair as she tries to whisper secrets in my ear. She's three and doesn't understand volume control. Iadore her. Her innocence is a balm in this tension-wrapped house.
The kids gravitate toward me.
My in-laws suggest it has something to do with me being a kindergarten teacher. I think it’s got to do with me being human. I don’t ignore children and pretend they’re less than because they’re little people, like their parents do.
In the Winter household, kids are meant to be seen and not heard.
Ellie is too young to understand that, and since she usually stays quiet when she’s with me, no one protests.
Like my father-in-law once said, “If she wants to play nanny, let her.”
I’d thought I was being a good family member, but he reduced me to the help. It had cut deep back then. Now, I know nothing this man says or does can touch me anymore.
Even the thought of letting go of this toxicity feels cathartic. I can only imagine how freeing it will be when I’m done with this family for good.
Aiden sits across from me. His eyes flick to me every few minutes like he's trying to read a language he never bothered to learn.
I’ll miss him. I know that.
I love him—that didn’t end the moment I saw him kiss another woman, and it won’t end when I hand him the divorce papers. But it will take work—real, gut-deep work—to get past these last six years…especially the last two, when my husband all but left me for someone else. Ittook seeing them together—physically intimate—for the reality to finally jolt me into action.
Love blinds you to the flaws of the person you want.
But love that isn’t returned is worse. It makes you ignore the flaws youdosee, because asking for more—more time, more care, more of him—might scare him away. And deep down, you already know the truth: he doesn’t love you the way you love him.
“You know, Mia, a kindergarten teacher is low on the totem pole. Have you ever thought about teaching older kids?” Tristan wants to know. Well, he actually wants to insult me, but wraps it in a question.
“Tristan,” Aiden barks.
I kiss Ellie’s hair and take comfort in her. "Sometimes I do. But I find it more rewarding to shape young minds before the world teaches them to smile while insulting people."
The table goes quiet.
“What did you say?” Tristan is all pumped up chest and whatnot.
He thinks I don’t know about him. But I do. Aiden used to vent to me when he was frustrated, so I know precisely who Tristan is—a complete loser, riding on the family name. He draws a salary without lifting a finger, and let’s be honest, he’s got a weak zipper on top of it.
But then again, don’t all the men in the Winter family?
