Chapter 2

The ferry bumped against the pier on the private island. I forced myself to stand, my legs unsteady, the sea-sickness churning in my stomach.

I walked to the small island shop and bought a bouquet of white lilies and some incense. Today was the first anniversary of my second child's death. Another baby I never got to hold.

Kaden's sleek black car was already waiting.

As I reached for the passenger door, a hand shot out and blocked me. It was Cali. She had already claimed the front seat.

She looked at me, her face calm, her voice even. "I'm not feeling well. The back seat is too bumpy."

She said it as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world. As if she wasn't deliberately stealing my place, on this day of all days.

"It's just for the ride up the hill," she added, a faint, mocking smile playing on her lips. "I wouldn't want to get in the way of Kaden comforting you." Her tone implied he wouldn't want to anyway.

I looked at Kaden, who was behind the wheel, his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. I searched for any sign of support, any hint that he would defend me.

He just shrugged, a silent signal of his surrender to her whims. "Just get in the back, Joyce."

My heart, already a bruised and tender thing, felt a fresh wave of pain. It was a dull, familiar ache now. I was nothing. My grief was nothing.

I climbed into the back seat without a word.

The car started up the winding, muddy road to the small, private cemetery Kaden's family owned. Through the rearview mirror, I watched him adjust the temperature for Cali, watched him hand her a bottle of water. I turned my head and stared out the window, a silent numbness settling over me.

I wouldn't interfere anymore. I wouldn't fight for my space. There was no space left for me to fight for.

We arrived at the top of the hill. As I got out, holding the lilies, Cali suddenly stepped in front of me.

"Let me help you with that," she said, reaching for the bouquet.

"No, thank you," I said, my voice flat. "I can manage."

She ignored me, her grip tightening on the flowers. She tried to pull them from my hands. "Don't be so stubborn. I'm just trying to be nice."

"I said no!"

The flowers were for my child. A child she had a hand in killing. I wouldn't let her touch them.

"You're making a scene," she hissed, her eyes flashing. "You always have to be so difficult. Kaden, tell her!"

She was the one starting this, but she twisted it to make me the villain.

The path was slick with recent rain. As she pulled, her fashionable but impractical heels slipped on the wet stone.

"Be careful!" I warned, instinctively reaching out to steady her.

She misinterpreted my movement, thinking I was trying to push her. "Get away from me!" she shrieked.

Her own momentum, combined with her slippery shoes, sent her tumbling backward.

She let go of the lilies to break her fall.

Kaden was out of the car in an instant. He didn't come to me. He ran straight to her.

He scooped her up, his face a mask of frantic concern. "Cali, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Then he rounded on me, his voice laced with venom. "Joyce, what is wrong with you? Why would you push her?"

Cali, nestled in his arms, began to cry. "I just wanted to help her carry the flowers. She... she said I wasn't worthy."

She was a masterful actress.

She pushed away from Kaden's chest. "Let me go. I'm fine." Her voice was a perfect blend of bravery and vulnerability.

Kaden held her tighter, stroking her hair. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here."

He turned his furious gaze back to me. "She was just trying to help, and you act like she committed some terrible crime. It's just a bunch of flowers, Joyce! Why are you so petty?"

He thought it was about the flowers. He didn't see that it was about my child, my grief, my last shred of dignity.

"Apologize to her," he commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument.

I stared at him, disbelief warring with a tidal wave of rage. "I have nothing to apologize for."

His jaw tightened. "Apologize, or I swear, I will leave you here. You can walk back home. And you will never see this place again. I'll have his grave moved."

He was threatening me with my dead child.