Her fifth daughter died, so she deleted his bloodline. novel Chapter 53

Chapter 8

Julian’s statement hit the internet like a match to lighter fluid. Even the ones who’d spent days calling me a homewrecker were walking it back.

[Didn’t see that plot twist coming. Turns out she was the actual wife all along.]

[Kept his wife a secret while showing off his mistress. Absolute trash. She dodged a

bullet.]

The same accounts that had ripped me apart were now in my mentions apologizing.

[She handled that with real grace. Respect.]

Reading through them, I felt something unclench in my chest.

The gold locket Leo had smashed was back around my neck, repaired, the hinge like

new.

Julian came to find me at my mother’s grave, Leo with him.

“Clara, I ended things with Tiffany. Come home with us.

Leo reached out and took my hand. “Mom. Let’s go home.”

For years he’d avoided calling me Mom, usually just treating me like a stranger. This was different.

I looked at them both and gave them a thin, hollow smile. “I saw what’s been going around online.” I tilted my head. “Is that what this is, you realized how hard it is to replace someone to run your life?”

When Julian was with me, he never had to think about any of it at home, meals planned ahead, weather checked, preferences written down in a notebook I kept just for him.

Leo never missed a school bus. Never forgot a permission slip.

Julian shook his head. “That’s not it. Clara, I promised you I’d come back.”

He trailed off. There was nothing to say. I was right, and we both knew it. The two of them had leaned on me for so long they didn’t know how to stand without me, and I’d

Chapter 8

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barely been gone a month.

I let the silence hang for a moment.

“Julian. You don’t owe me an explanation.”

“I’m not asking for custody. And after everything, the only thing I want from you is a signature on the papers.”

Leo’s face went white.

“Mom, I’m sorry. Please, just come back.” His voice cracked. “Nobody sits with me for homework anymore. Nobody takes me to do anything. It’s not the same without you.”

I didn’t feel sorry for him. I kept seeing the day he told me to get out.

Julian must have thought I was about to cave.

“Clara, we both know we were wrong, Leo and I. Just give us one more chance.” He

stepped forward. “We’re not getting divorced”

I looked at him for a long moment.

“I kept every promise I ever made you, Julian. Five years.” My voice was steady. “I’m

not giving you the rest of my life.”

-The End-

Chapter 8

B

ECW

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Chapter 1

My brother Jason Mitchell gave up on me twice.

The first time, our house caught fire. He carried Rose Mitchell out and left me sleeping in my bedroom. I was twelve.

By the time I woke up, the smoke had already filled the hall. I crawled out on my own, half my back burned. He cried afterward, swore he’d spend the rest of his life making it up to me.

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