I could still see it so clearly: Edmund holding me in that hospital bed, his face twisted with grief, swearing it was all his fault. If he hadn't dragged me into his mess, I wouldn't have needed to go out for a night shift, and the accident never would have happened.
Five years together. I thought we were the closest two people could be.
But he'd only ever seen me as a free nanny. He'd built wall after wall around himself, guarding against me like I was a thief.
Rage flooded my chest until I could barely breathe. How dare he?
How dare he toy with my sincerity like that?
How dare the rich trample over other people's lives without a second thought?
I raised my hand high, but before it could land on Audrey's face, someone shoved me hard from behind.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
My knee was already injured. I lost my footing, and my body tumbled down the staircase.
A searing pain shot through my elbow. Something warm trickled down my forehead.
Blood smeared across my face.
Edmund stared down at me, eyes wide with shock.
"Louisa, are you okay? I didn't mean to—"
He started to rush down the stairs toward me, but Audrey clung to his arm, her voice trembling with practiced hurt.
"Edmund, Felix's class had a parent-teacher conference today, but the teacher couldn't reach Louisa no matter how many times she called."
"The other kids were calling him a motherless bastard. That's the only reason I went in her place. But she cursed me out, called me a meddling outsider, told me to get lost, and then tried to hit me."
"My sister is watching from heaven. If she could see me being treated this way, it would break her heart."
The words landed, and Edmund's face darkened instantly.
He stared at me, cold as stone.
"Audrey is Felix's biological aunt. She shares his blood. If she's an outsider, then what does that make you?"
"I don't even know what you're busy with all day. You can't even be bothered to show up to your own kid's parent-teacher conference. What kind of mother does that? Audrey steps in out of the goodness of her heart, and you have the nerve to hit her?"
I staggered to my feet, wiping the blood from my face.
A bitter laugh clawed its way out of my throat. Then another. And another.
"Edmund. Is this some kind of game to you?"