For moments like this. For Lily's smile. For the zoo trip we're taking tomorrow.
A man walks past the bench—tall, dark jacket, hands in pockets. My spine goes rigid. But he keeps walking, pulling out his phone, completely uninterested in the paranoid woman clutching her overpriced coffee like a weapon.
Get it together, Kristen.
Jack's with his mistress. He's not lurking behind playground equipment like some B-movie villain. He's just... being Jack. Making threats he may or may not follow through on. Keeping me off-balance because that's what he does.
I learned something about control during those years. The person doing the controlling? They don't actually have to do anything most of the time. They just have to make you believe they might.
My phone buzzes.
I glance down automatically. Some stupid ad for a furniture sale, the kind of notification I should have turned off months ago. I swipe it away and lift my eyes back to the climbing structure.
Lily's not there.
My heart stops. Actually stops, like someone reached into my chest and squeezed.
I'm on my feet before I consciously decide to move. My eyes scan the swings—empty. The slide—a different kid, blonde, too tall. The spinning thing?—
Where is she where is she where is she?—
Then I see him.
His back is to me, kneeling on the wood chips near the edge of the playground. Broad shoulders in that navy peacoat he bought last winter. The one he said made him look "approachable" for client meetings.
I'd know that back anywhere. I spent eight years staring at it while he walked away from conversations he didn't want to have.
Jack is hugging my daughter.
The world narrows to a single point. I'm running before I can think, my boots slipping on the damp ground, my lungs burning with cold air and pure, primal terror.
"Lily!"
Jack stands smoothly as I approach, turning with that ridiculous smile. "Hey, Kris. Relax. I was just saying hi to my daughter."
Lily looks up at me with confused eyes.
"How did you—" My voice cracks. I grab Lily's hand, pulling her behind me. "How did you know we were here?"
"Your mom mentioned you were taking Lily to the park today." He shrugs, casual as anything. Like this is normal. Like he didn't just appear out of nowhere. "I thought I'd surprise her."
Mom.
Of course. Of course she told him.
Movement behind Jack catches my eye. A woman steps forward. Oh God, he brought her here. I don't care, but Lily can't handle all these at once.
She doesn't even look at me. Just smiles at Lily like she's auditioning for stepmother of the year.
"Hey, sweetheart," Jack says, crouching back down to Lily's level. His voice drips with that manufactured warmth. "How would you like to come stay with Daddy this weekend? We could go to that indoor water park you love. Get ice cream. Maybe see a movie?"
Lily's grip tightens on my fingers.
"I don't wanna leave Mommy alone," she says quietly.
Something cracks open in my chest. Pride. Heartbreak. Love so fierce it hurts.
Jack's smile falters for just a second. "Mommy can come too?—"
