"Did you drop Felix off at school?"
"Baby, since nobody's home, can we go another round?"
"Cut it out. Get some more sleep first, then I'll take you back. If Louisa finds out, she'll make a scene."
Edmund said no, but he didn't push her away.
The girl curled her lip in contempt.
"So what? That washed-up frump is nothing but a free nanny you brought in to take care of Felix for my sister. The marriage certificate isn't even real."
"I'm not your little sister-in-law anymore, you know. I'm your legally recognized wife." She poked his chest playfully. "So when are you going to get rid of her? I want to live with you out in the open."
Edmund paused. Then he reached over and gently stroked her hair.
"Taking care of a kid is exhausting. Louisa grew up rough, so she's better suited for that kind of thing."
"All you need to do is exactly what you're doing now: enjoy yourself, and be my carefree little princess."
A roar filled my skull. The phone shook violently in my grip.
Staring at the girl's familiar face, it finally clicked.
Edmund's first wife, the one who died in a car accident. This was her younger sister.
Audrey Pruitt.
Because there was no money, our wedding had been a modest affair—just a few tables at a small banquet.
I'd long since cut ties with my family, so every guest there was a friend of Edmund's.
Audrey had come too.
She'd lifted her chin and spoken to me in a tone that was less request than command.
"You'd better take good care of our Edmund and little Felix from now on."
At the time, I'd told myself that a sister-in-law was still family. Even though her words left a sour taste in my mouth, I said nothing.
Now, looking back, the arrogance in her eyes was unmistakable. She'd looked at me the way a lady of the house looks at the hired help.
I stumbled home in a daze and found the front door slightly ajar.
Edmund sat on the couch. A man in a tailored suit stood beside him, his tone deferential.
"Mr. Mason, Miss Pruitt has been taken home safely."
"It's just... yesterday was your anniversary with Louisa, after all. Are you sure you don't want to give her something a little more... substantial? You bought Miss Pruitt a luxury condo for her birthday."
Edmund shook his head, indifferent.
"No need. Louisa's the type of woman who crawled out of some backwater nowhere. If she ever found out there was money, she'd get greedy—start bleeding me dry, funneling cash back to her family."