Chapter 20 \u2013 Once Broken\u00a0<\/p>\n
SERA\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment we walked through Mary\u2019s front door, I knew tonight was going to be a disaster.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vivienne had already told me, right after she apologized that she would make my life hers, whispering the words the second Darius had turned away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And now here she was, doing exactly as she\u2019d promised.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cathy was already there, sitting in the living room with a glass of wine in her hand. Darius\u2019s sister had always been beautiful in that sharp, intimidating way \u2013 all angles and perfectly styled dark brown hair. Tonight she was wearing a red dress that cinched around her curvaceous frame. Overdressed for the occasion but that was just\u00a0<\/p>\n
her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her face lit up when she saw Vivienne walk in behind Darius.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cVivienne!\u201d Cathy jumped up from her chair, nearly spilling her wine, clearly tipsy. \u201cOh my God, I can\u2019t believe you\u2019re here. You look amazing!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
They hugged like old friends, Cathy holding on longer than necessary while she shot me a look over Vivienne\u2019s shoulder. Her eyes were cold and satisfied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019s never liked me and never bothered to hide it either and I was trying to understand why she hated me so much even after five years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHi, Cathy,\u201d Vivienne said softly. \u201cThank you for being so welcoming. I wasn\u2019t sure if I should come,\u201d Vivienne added with a soft sigh, glancing in my direction momentarily before looking away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course you should come! You\u2019re family.\u201d Cathy\u2019s voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. \u201cYou\u2019ve always been family to us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt my stomach twist. Luna ran over to hug her aunt while I stood in the entryway like an unwelcome stranger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mary appeared in the doorway, wiping her hands on her apron. She was a small woman with gray hair and kind green eyes, but tonight she looked tired yet pleased by our presence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was nothing like what one would expect a billionaire\u2019s widow to be. She was warm and preferred to handle all of her cooking herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSera, dear,\u201d she said, coming over to give me a hug. Her embrace was warm and genuine, and I had to fight back tears at how much I\u2019d missed her kindness or any sort for that matter. \u201cHow are you holding up?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m okay,\u201d I lied, my voice coming out rough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next twenty minutes were torture. Cathy dominated the conversation, asking Vivienne about her health, her treatments, her plans. She spoke to her like they were best friends while barely looking at me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember when we used to have sleepovers in high school?\u201d Cathy laughed, refilling her wine glass. \u201cYou and me and Darius would stay up all night watching movies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember,\u201d Vivienne said with a wistful smile. \u201cYour mother would make us those amazing chocolate chip\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 20 Once Broken\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
pancakes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe still does,\u201d Cathy said pointedly. \u201cFor family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sat on the couch, my hands folded in my lap, feeling invisible. Nobody was talking to me. Nobody was even looking at me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Mary called us for dinner, Cathy immediately took charge of the seating.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cVivienne, you sit next to Darius,\u201d she said, patting the chair to his right. \u201cAnd Luna can sit next to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That left me at the far end of the table. Mary took the seat next to me, her face tight with disapproval.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The food was delicious, but everything tasted like cardboard in my mouth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is incredible, Mrs. Blackwood,\u201d Vivienne said, taking a delicate bite. \u201cI can see where Darius gets his good taste.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease, call me Mary,\u201d she replied politely, but I could hear the strain in her voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cVivienne\u2019s been learning to cook,\u201d Cathy announced. \u201cShe wants to be able to make home\u2013cooked meals while she\u2019s going through treatment. Isn\u2019t that sweet?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been practicing on Darius and Luna,\u201d Vivienne said with a shy smile. \u201cThey\u2019ve been so patient.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My fork clattered against my plate. \u201cYou\u2019ve been cooking for my family?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The table went quiet. Everyone turned to look at me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJust a few times,\u201d Vivienne said softly, looking hurt. \u201cWhen Darius was working late and Luna was hungry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course it was okay,\u201d Cathy jumped in before I could respond. \u201cIt\u2019s not like you were there to do it yourself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words hit me like a slap. \u201cI was working.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRight. Working.\u201d Cathy\u2019s voice dripped with sarcasm. \u201cPlaying around in New York while your family needed you here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCatherine,\u201d Mary\u2019s voice was sharp with warning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Cathy was just getting started. The wine had loosened her tongue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Mom, someone needs to say it.\u201d She turned to face me directly, her eyes hard and cruel. \u201cNow that Vivienne\u2019s back, maybe it\u2019s time for some people to learn when to step aside.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My chest felt tight. \u201cWhat\u2019s that supposed to mean?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLook around, Sera.\u201d Cathy gestured toward Luna, who was chattering happily to Vivienne. \u201cEven your own daughter prefers her company. Maybe that should tell you something.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCathy, stop,\u201d Darius said, but his voice was weak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy should I stop? It\u2019s the truth.\u201d Cathy\u2019s voice got louder. \u201cVivienne\u2019s been more of a mother to Luna in the past month than you have. She\u2019s been more of a wife to Darius too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 20\u2013Once Broken\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tears burned behind my eyes. \u201cThis is my family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it?\u201d Cathy laughed coldly. \u201cBecause from where I\u2019m sitting, it looks like you\u2019re the outsider here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She leaned forward, her words like poison. \u201cYou want to know what I really think? You\u2019re nobody, Sera. You were nobody when Darius married you, and you\u2019re nobody now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room went completely silent. Luna looked confused and scared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re just some orphan girl who got lucky,\u201d Cathy continued. \u201cNo family, no connections, no class. How Grandfather ever approved of this marriage is beyond me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Each word cut deeper than the last. Every insecurity I\u2019d ever had was being dragged into the light.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cVivienne is everything you\u2019re not,\u201d Cathy delivered the final blow. \u201cShe\u2019s educated, sophisticated, from a good family. She and Darius belong together. They always have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My vision blurred with tears I refused to let fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEven your own daughter loves her more than you,\u201d Cathy said with surgical precision. \u201cWhat does that tell you?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCatherine Elizabeth Blackwood!\u201d Mary\u2019s voice cracked like a whip. \u201cThat is enough!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She stood up so fast her chair fell backward, her face flushed with anger. \u201cHow dare you speak to Sera that way in my house!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cathy shrank back. \u201cMom, I was just-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were just being cruel.\u201d Mary\u2019s hands were shaking with rage. \u201cSera is my daughter\u2013in\u2013law. She\u2019s the mother of my granddaughter. She\u2019s family, and you will treat her with respect.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Vivienne-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cVivienne is a guest,\u201d Mary said firmly. \u201cSera is family. She belongs here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mary came around the table and put her hand on my shoulder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t listen to her, dear,\u201d she said quietly. \u201cYou\u2019re a wonderful mother and wife. Don\u2019t let anyone tell you otherwise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the damage was done. Cathy\u2019s words echoed in my head, confirming every fear I\u2019d had about not being good enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked around the table. Darius wouldn\u2019t meet my eyes. Luna was still pressed close to Vivienne\u2019s side. Cathy was glaring at me with hatred.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And Vivienne was watching me with something that looked like pity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI need some air,\u201d I whispered, standing up on shaking legs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I made it to the garden before the tears finally came. Great, gasping sobs that I\u2019d been holding in for weeks. I collapsed onto a wooden bench.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 20 Once Broken\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everything Cathy had said was true. I was nobody. Just an orphan who\u2019d gotten lucky. And now that Vivienne was back, everyone could see how much better she was than me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I heard footsteps and looked up to see Mary approaching with two cups of tea. She sat beside me and handed me one, not saying anything while I tried to pull myself together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s wrong, you know,\u201d Mary said finally. \u201cAbout all of it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wiped my eyes. \u201cIs she?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d Mary\u2019s voice was firm. \u201cYou\u2019re not nobody, Sera. You\u2019re one of the strongest, kindest people I know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why doesn\u2019t he act like it?\u201d The question came out as a whisper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mary sighed. \u201cMen can be fools, dear. They get confused by shiny things that aren\u2019t always good for them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone loves her. Darius, Luna, Cathy-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cReal love is what you give them every day,\u201d Mary said. \u201cReal love is showing up even when it\u2019s hard.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if I can keep showing up,\u201d I admitted. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I can keep fighting for a family that doesn\u2019t want me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mary reached over and took my hand. \u201cDon\u2019t let Vivienne ruin your home, dear. This is your family. Don\u2019t give up on them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She squeezed my hand gently. \u201cI hope you\u2019ll stay and fight. But whatever you decide, I\u2019ll support you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked at this woman who\u2019d shown me more motherly love than anyone ever had. The tears came again, and this time I couldn\u2019t stop them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t hold on much longer. The weight of it all was crushing me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mary sighed, pulling me into her arms like I was her own daughter. \u201cOh, sweetheart,\u201d she whispered. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry this is happening to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But as we sat in her garden, I couldn\u2019t shake the feeling that it might already be too late. Some things, once broken, couldn\u2019t be fixed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
COIN BUNDLE: get more free bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Souls Remember What Matters \u2014 Corey Gibson 20 Chapter 20 \u2013 Once Broken\u00a0 SERA\u00a0 The moment we walked through Mary\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-day-i-signed-the-papers-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23466\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}