Page 10 of Shattered Dreams

I already know she’ll be beautiful, Roman has always had exceptional taste in women.

Ha.

But what does she have that I don't?

Smooth skin, probably. Youth. Endless energy. She’s all shiny and fucking new.

Urgh, I can’t think about this.

I need answers, but dread settles in my stomach—I know I'll discover the truth without hearing it from Roman. I can't even think of his name without retching, and tomorrow Poppy will ask where he is.

I'll have to lie. I'll tell her he's training. Anything but the truth.

Daddy didn’t see you because he was with another woman. A woman who’s not Mommy.

White-hot anger slices through my body as fresh tears stream down my cheeks, head shaking as I moan into the sodden pillow.

Eventually, I must've fallen asleep to dreams of Roman with some young, hot thing I could never compete with.

I went to sleep crying and woke up crying.

What an existence.

4

AVA

"MOMMY!"

I wake with a jolt to see Poppy bouncing at the bottom of my bed, her face lit up with excitement. My eyes drag open, swollen and tired, my body heavy.

She's got chocolate smeared across her mouth, her curls wild, her grin impossibly wide.

"Poppy, why have you got chocolate all over your mouth?" I ask, panic fluttering in my chest—visions of her raiding the kitchen while I lay comatose upstairs.

"Aunt Jane said I could have chocolate spread on toast," she states proudly, plopping onto her knees as I reach for her hands to steady her.

"Hello, love."

I glance up at my aunt's soft voice. She's standing in the doorway holding a steaming cup of coffee, her gaze gentle and sad. My throat tightens, tears prickling instantly as she crosses the room and sets the mug on the nightstand before pulling me into her arms.

"Are you sad, Mommy? Do you want chocolate spread on toast too?"

Poppy's little fingers curl into mine as I pull her close, breathing her in, fighting the desperate ache in my chest. I'd hoped last night was a nightmare. That I'd wake up to find none of it was real. But Aunt Jane's presence here tells me otherwise.

Her eyes meet mine as she strokes my hair. Then she turns to Poppy, smoothing her curls.

"Go see Uncle Scott in the kitchen, sweetheart. He's taking you to stay with him and Aunt Amanda for the weekend."

Poppy claps her hands, squealing with excitement before hopping off the bed and sprinting down the hall, calling for my cousin, Scott.

The fuckingshame. The humiliation.

"How did you know?" I rasp, my lungs aching like I've been holding my breath for hours.

Aunt Jane presses the coffee into my hands. I sip it, flinching at the sweetness.

"You need the sugar. It's good for shock," she murmurs, then quietly adds, "It's all over the news."