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Serena always hated me, telling herself the narrative that Lan chose me over her. And when we were young, I tried to be her friend, not that it worked. So I brushed off her unwarranted jabs as childish jealousy, but now, even in our twenties, her behavior screamed absurd.

Not being able to take it anymore, I excused myself. “I’m going to rest for a while. You guys chat,” I said, nodding to Lan and sliding Luka a small smile before I retreated to the bedroom.

When I closed the door behind me, it felt like I could breathe again.

I was busy knitting a row of seed stitch when frustrated voices started to leak into the room.

Frowning, I paused and listened closer.

“No, that’s Katiew’s and mine. You can’t take that.” I heard Luka’s loud voice shriek.

And I immediately dropped my knitting needles and rushed out in a panic.

My eyes flew to Luka and Serena in the kitchen. Lan was nowhere in sight.

“No, give it back,” Luka screamed, his face pinched in an angry frown.

“Stop shouting, you stupid kid,” Serena yelled and yanked Luka’s tiny fingers that were circled around her wrist and flung him away.

The motion almost made his tiny body lose balance and fall backward if not for me catching him in time. Luka immediately started to cry and hid himself behind my knees.

My blood was boiling so high that I was ready to murder her.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I screamed at her.

She glared at me. “I was just trying to have a fucking drink.” She waved to the half-open milkshake cup on the counter. “And it was your brat who started to claw at me. I don’t know from which corner you dug—”

I didn’t even let her finish the sentence as the sharp resounding sound of my slap slithered through the room.

She gaped, cupping her red cheek like she couldn’t believe what I’d just done.

“You don’t ever talk about my son that way,” I roared, not even feeling the burn in my palm. “He ismyfucking son. Now, get the fuck out of my house.”

LAN

Loud voices snapped my attention from my phone call.

“Fuck. Let me call you back,” I told my brother, who was just about to tell me there was new information from that night at Fairmount. I’d just stepped inside Luka’s room to take the call and hadn’t even been gone for five fucking minutes.

When I stepped out of the hallway, my eyes widened when Katy’s hand raised through the air and slapped Serena’s left cheek.

“You don’t ever talk about my son that way,” Katy shouted, her face red. “He ismyfucking son. Now, get the fuck out of my house.”

My eyes lowered to Luka, who was clinging to Katy and crying streams of tears.

I didn’t have to ask what was wrong as I stepped between them.

“Lan,” Serena breathed like she was glad to see me. “Katy… Katy just fucking slapped me. I didn’t do a thing.”

“Don’t you fucking lie, you bitch,” Katy bit out like she was about to destroy Serena once and for all.

“No,” I said firmly to Katy. “Take Luka to his room. I invited Serena and I will settle this.”

“What settling is there to do, Lan?” Katy’s wide eyes flew to me. “She called our son stup… stupid and pushed him around.”

My jaw ticked. “Katy,” I said more softly this time. “Take Luka. He’s crying.”

That made her snap out of her fury and she reluctantly nodded.