Fireworks for His Bastard, Ashes for My SonChapter 3

Ninety-five degrees out and the back of my neck was ice cold.

Then a jacket landed on my shoulders.

Nolan. Eyes full of concern.

"Are you getting sick?"

"You're already fragile. And you had to come out here and cause a scene."

"I'm sending you home."

I shoved his hand off. Pointed up at the massive LED screen on the building across the street.

Two million dollars an hour. A countdown timer ticking down to his baby's christening moment.

Less than three minutes left.

"You're really gonna miss it? What kind of father does that?"

He frowned.

"Don't take it out on a baby."

"I'll explain everything when I get home."

He nudged me toward the car. As the door closed, fireworks exploded over the Hudson.

A drone formation lit up the sky. Nolan, Selina, and their baby — a perfect little family, spelled out in light.

Every person on the street stopped to take photos.

It went viral within minutes.

"Nolan Vance is the total package — rich AND devoted. Where do I find one?"

"Heard they were high school sweethearts. You can't fake that kind of love story."

"I'm jealous of that baby. Born into old money. Gets a whole building when she turns eighteen."

Then the internet did what it does — started digging.

While I was home with a fever, rewriting a business proposal — Nolan was scuba diving in the Maldives with Selina.

Three days after he proposed to me, he vanished. I almost called the cops. Turns out he was on a pre-honeymoon trip. With her.

The car reeked of perfume. Not mine. I gagged.

A hard brake sent me stumbling out the door. I doubled over, ready to throw up —

And Mom grabbed me by the hair.

"Was it you? Did you leak those posts?"

The internet was sharp. While it dug up Nolan and Selina's love story, it also dug up his betrayal.

The thread was trending. Thousands of reposts. Millions of views.

On the day of Selina's baby's christening, the internet was calling that baby a bastard.

Thinking about that — I laughed.

"Serves you right."

"So what now, Mom? You're gonna put me on trial for someone else's kid?"

Her lips moved.

"If you'd just behaved yourself —"

"I DID behave! For years! And what did you all do behind my back?"

All those details that never quite added up — they finally clicked into one ugly truth.

"My first two miscarriages. That was her too, wasn't it?"

The first time — someone pushed me down a flight of stairs. When I asked for the security footage, Mom had already signed a settlement and made it disappear.

The second time — someone swapped my prenatal vitamins for pills that induce miscarriage. When I tried to get fingerprints off the packaging, Blake got there first. Ripped up the wrapper so there was nothing left to test.

"Why? Why would you do this to me?"

I was screaming.

Mom didn't even flinch.

"We did it FOR you. Otherwise you'd have given birth to three bastards. You think we wanted that kind of shame on our family?"

While I stood there, stunned, Blake walked up.

"Nolan and Selina have been legally married for years. They only held off on the wedding for YOUR sake. You think anyone's gonna believe your little exposé?"

He shoved a phone in my face.

Nolan had posted their marriage certificate from his verified account.

The internet flipped overnight. My photos hit the trending page.

The tags — "homewrecker," "shameless," "trashy slut."

Someone even photoshopped candles around my picture. A funeral shrine.

"Light one up, y'all. Her babies were just clearing the path for the REAL Mrs. Vance."

My vision went white.

I looked down at my wedding ring. Turned it slowly.

On the inside — an engraving I'd never noticed.

N♥S.

Even the ring was a hand-me-down.

I stared at it. And something inside me — the last thread holding me together — finally snapped.

Fine. I believe it now. Every word of it.

If that's my future, then I'm done fighting for it.

I'm done fighting with any of you.