CELINE
i nestled deeper into Nathan's protective embrace, peeking through feigned tears as Layla stormed out, face crumpling like wet paper. The bathroom door slammed behind her, echoing triumphantly in my chest. I hid my victorious smile, letting soft sobs shake my shoulders instead, perfectly timed, perfectly pitched. It had been easy. Too easy.
Well, not entirely effortless. There had been months of meticulous groundwork: turning Aven against his absent mother with calculated tenderness, becoming the flawless surrogate. The poor boy, starved for a mommy's love after being seperated from her for months on end had soaked up affection like parched earth drinks rain. Toys that lit up his world, surprise school pickups alongside Daddy.
The things that he had never experienced with Layla. It had been like taking candy from a baby.
It had been a whole new experience for him and he basked in the new life he was living. He no doubt saw that Layla's arrival would only disrupt all that he had been enjoying.
Layla's prolonged absences had been my greatest ally, turning voids into opportunities. Every bedtime story whispered, every scraped knee kissed, every "I love you, Celine" had chipped away at Layla's place in his heart until I was the only mother figure he wanted.
At first, spotting Layla at the party had jolted me. Unannounced, uninvited, a ghost crashing my victory lap. No one had expected the factory drone to show, least of all on Aven's big day. Despite Nathan and the Savants' clear preference for me, the radiant influencer over the frumpy outsider, Layla's presence cast an ugly shadow. Reminded everyone I was the interloper, the "other woman" stealing a married man's heart. Unacceptable.
So I struck first, playing the victim with Oscar-worthy flair: the sweet girl helplessly in love with a mistreated husband and son drowning in maternal neglect. It had been perfect, everyone had eaten it up.
"Celine, please stop crying," Aven's worried little voice broke through my reverie, his chubby hands patting my cheek. Green eyes, so like Nathan's shimmered with genuine concern.
"It's okay, sweetie. I'm fine now," I reassured him, planting a gentle kiss on his furrowed brow.
"I hate mommy!" Aven declared, making my heart soar but i schooled my features and looked at him sadly.
"You shouldn't say that Aven." I said soberly. "Your mommy loves you."
"Well, i don't like her." He retorted angrily.
"Layla has to always make herself the center of everything," Eloise huffed angrily from the doorway, arms crossed over her designer gown. "Just look, she ruined Aven's party for everyone."
I dabbed her eyes delicately with Nathan's handkerchief. "She must have felt so sad. Aven is her son, after all. We must remember that." my voice quivered just so… empathetic, above the fray.
Nathan's arm tightened reassuringly around my waist, his jaw still clenched. "She has always been dramatic, manipulative."
"Alex, you should divorce her already," Mark, one of Nathan's closest friends blurted from the cluster gathering outside. "Put an end to this circus. Life's too short."
My heart soared, wings unfurling in my chest. I could never demand it myself, that was too tacky, too desperate for an influencer of my caliber. But friends? Family? Perfectly respectable pressure. I bit her lip demurely, eyes downcast.
"Let's not dwell on unpleasantness," Nathan murmured, kissing my temple. "We can't let anything ruin Aven's party."
I smiled inwardly. Too late for that, darling. It's already perfect.
LAYLA
I almost ran from the estate, tears blurring the grand driveway into a shimmering nightmare. My heels sank into the gravel like anchors, each step a desperate bid for escape. The cab I managed to flag outside the gate smelled of stale coffee and vinyl seats, but it was sanctuary enough.
"Airport. Fast," I choked out, slamming the door on the life I had foolishly clung to.
No more. I had originally planned to stay a few more days, savor stolen moments with Aven despite the venom of the house but distance was my only salvation now. Aven's constant rejection, Nathan's blind fury, Celine's serpentine victory... it stripped me bare. By the time the plane touched down at Saint Fran hours later, numbness had settled like frost in my bones.
She quietly eased myself into the town house which greeted me with it's usual silence, an old Savant property that sat a little distance from the factories, it had been my home since I had been banished here after the marriage with Nathan and I could count on one had how many times he had visited.
I moved like a ghost, stuffing a duffel with essentials: faded photos of Aven's baby days, my mother's locket, work credentials. From the office desk, my lawyer's fax hummed. Divorce papers I had demanded on the flight back.
I immediately signed the documents which stated that I was leaving with nothing from the Savant's and was ceeding custody of Aven to his father. There was no need fighting a battle I would not win.
No point chaining myself to a marriage that had long ago become a torture chamber. I had only endured for Aven's sake, the sleepless nights defending their bond, the factory overtime to prove her worth, the forced smiles amid endless humiliations. But he had chosen my replacement. Let him have the glossy fairy tale he craved: Daddy, Celine, endless toys. I had only been holding him back, a shadow mother in "ugly clothes."
With trembling hands, I sealed the papers in a crisp manila envelope, Nathan Savant's name etched boldly across it. Final. Irreversible.
Mrs. Schmidt the housekeeper answered my knock at the cottage in the back of the house the next morning, her kind eyes widening at my disheveled state hair limp, bags heavy at my feet.
"I did not expect you back so soon, Ma'am." Mrs Schmidt said appologetically.
"That's alright Mrs. Schmidt, please could you give this to Mr. Savant when he returns," I said, pressing the envelope into her weathered hands. My voice held steady, but inside, fractures spiderwebbed her heart.
The housekeeper eyed the luggage, then me, concern etching deeper lines on her face. "And if he asks where you've gone, ma'am?"
I forced a bitter smile, the truth tasting like ash. "He won't ask so there is no need to tell him anything."
'If anything he will probably dance in celebration and damn me to hell.' I thought bitterly.
Mrs Schmidt nodded slowly, clutching the envelope like contraband. "Safe travels, dear. And God bless."
As I turned away, the house I had spent many pleasant days with Aven stood before me one last time the garden I had had tea parties with Aven mocking my shattered dreams. Nathan would be relieved, toasting with Celine over champagne, Aven giggling at their feet. The perfect family.
The cab pulled away, city lights blurring into streaks. For the first time in years, I breathed free. But beneath the relief simmered something darker, a spark of resolve.
I had spent too long wasting over people who did not care for her that i had forgotten the oath i had made eight years ago. From then on, she would only do the things which filled her life, things she had abandoned in her foolish quest to be the perfect wife to Nathan Savant.
I picked up her phone and dialed a number.
"I'm back, I'm on my way to you."