Building Her Throne Burying My Heart (Claire) novel Chapter 29

Seeing Alice appear in the doorway, all I felt was hate, as cold and sharp as ever. Sometimes I wondered if everything would have turned out differently if she had never come into our lives. After my mother died, it didn’t take long for Alice to move in and marry my father. Soon enough, she was pregnant.

She wanted to secure a future for her own son, so she took me to the park and left me there. She waited before telling anyone I was missing. Because of her, I was kidnapped and sold to people living far away in the mountains.

I nearly died trying to escape, starving and alone, until Darleen found me. She took me in and gave me a home. She had lost her own chance at a family because she couldn’t have children, and her husband left her for it. She poured all her love into me. Without her, I wouldn’t be here today.

And Alice, the reason for all of this, still told everyone I was the one who wandered off. She and her son went on living their perfect lives, acting like nothing had ever happened.

When I pulled away from her instinctively, Alice looked a little embarrassed, but she kept up that bright, fake smile.

“Halley, the kid just got back. Don’t be so hard on him. Whatever he’s done, it’s all forgivable,” she said.

Halley shot back right away. “You’re the only one who still treats him so well. And look at his attitude. He’s never even called you ‘Mom’ once. What does that say?”

Mom? I couldn’t help the bitterness in my chest. She wasn’t my mother. She wanted me gone. She didn’t deserve that title.

Alice tried to act all understanding and kind. “It doesn’t matter what he calls me. Let’s not push him. It’s just good that he’s home.” She turned to me with that same practiced smile. “Come on, let’s eat.”

I looked her right in the eye. “I’m not joining your happy family dinner. Whether I’m here or not, you all eat just fine.”

Wiping her eyes, Alice said, “Fine, I’ll go. But don’t yell at him. Just talk, okay? Whatever he needs, try to help him. We owe him that much…”

Once she was out in the hallway, Alice wiped off her tears and plopped down on the couch. “This acting is exhausting,” she muttered to herself. “If I hadn’t been listening at the door, he probably would’ve handed over the money already.”

While Halley and I talked, she’d been eavesdropping the whole time. The second she heard me ask for money, she jumped in to put on her show, all so Halley wouldn’t give in so easily and she could keep up her perfect image.

And it worked. Halley changed his mind right away.

He turned to me, all cold and businesslike. “You want money? No. I can’t keep throwing it into a bottomless pit. You can either move back home and I’ll still consider you my son, you won’t need any living expenses… or, if you want to stay out there, you get a small monthly allowance. I can’t trust you with more.”