My legs gave way, and I collapsed onto the floor as the sobs finally broke free, the weight of everything crashing down all at once. My hands trembled as I pressed my palms to my face, but the tears slipped through my fingers anyway. It felt as though something had been ripped out of me, something I had not even realized I was still holding on to.
Hope, maybe.
Or the foolish belief that I still mattered.
I thought of my mother. Of the quiet strength she carried even when life drained the color from her eyes. She endured abandonment, grief, and loneliness, and still tried to hold ourfamily together. And now, here I was, standing in the very place where my history began, being told I no longer belonged.
A broken laugh escaped me before turning into another sob.
Replaced.
That was the word that hurt the most. Replaced as a daughter. Replaced as family. As if blood and memory could be erased by time and convenience.
Then another thought surfaced.
Triston.
My son.
I wiped my tears roughly, his face grounding me instantly. He was waiting for me. He needed me. And unlike the man who raised me, I would never walk away from him. I would never let him feel unwanted or forgotten.
Slowly, I forced myself to stand. My legs were weak, my heart still aching. I looked around the bakery, at the worn counters, the lingering scent of sugar and bread, the memories layered into every inch of this place.
This was not where my worth ended.
If I was being pushed out, then I would leave on my own terms. I would choose my son. I would choose myself.
But before I left this place for good, I would leave behind an impression. One that would haunt those who hurt me, accused me, and cast me aside.
Ashton, who abandoned me without granting me a fair trial.
Lynda, my backstabbing former best friend.
Amelie, my so called stepmother, convinced she deservedeverything she wanted.
And my dear father, whom she claimed I abandoned, when the truth was that he abandoned me first.
I would show them what it meant to live inside a scandal.
Morality, unquestionable?
Why not add another scandal to the year.
I would begin with my father.
He would learn a lesson that would stay with him forever.
She was done being careful.
Done being silent.
She was about to do something reckless.
Chapter 13
I knew it had been a bad decision. My emotions had already been spiraling the moment I chose to do something reckless.
That choice had landed me in handcuffs.
