Second Chance His Unending Love (Calista Hartwell) novel Chapter 1

Calista Hartwell arrived at the private dining room with her daughter Olivia, but her son Austin’s celebration party was already in full swing.

Her 16-year-old son stood there, sharp and collected, holding a glass like he was about to drop a big announcement.

“I put in three years of grind for this,” he said, voice steady. “And the people I’m most thankful for are my dad and Nicole. Without their support and encouragement, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

Calista’s hand froze halfway to the doorknob.

Her blood pressure spiked so fast it made her dizzy. The room spun around her, and a harsh ringing filled her ears.

Her husband, Killian Frost, sat there with his perfect features and a satisfied smile. He nodded at Austin, proud and approving.

The whole room erupted in laughter.

“Ha! I’m seriously awesome!” Nicole Anderson’s voice was bright and bubbly as she leaned over to ruffle Austin’s hair with both hands. “I tutored the top student in the entire city!”

Austin was a rebellious kid who never let anyone touch his hair. But now, his hair stood up in a mess, and he didn’t pull away at all.

Nicole turned then, looping her arm through Killian’s and pressing herself close to him. She tilted her chin up, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.

“Mr. Frost, you gotta reward me for this!” she said. “A promotion and a raise, please!”

Killian sat with perfect posture, an amused smile playing on his lips.

Austin blinked at her and grinned. “Nicole, a promotion and a raise? That’s nothing. My dad should get you something way better!”

Nicole feigned surprise. “Something better? Like what?”

Austin pulled a fancy wrapped gift box from behind his back and opened it. Inside was a picture frame.

Nicole picked up the photo, stared at it, then laughed so hard her stomach hurt.

“Wait, isn’t this your parents’ wedding photo? Did you actually photoshop my face over your mom’s? Oh my god, that’s hilarious!”

She laughed, and everyone else in the room joined in.

“My mom’s so tacky,” Austin said. “She doesn’t deserve to be in the same picture as my dad.”

Then he pointed at himself. “Nicole, I made this myself as a thank you. C’mon, don’t I get a good job?”

Calista gripped the doorknob so tight her nails dug into her palm until it went numb. But that numbness didn’t dull the sharp pain twisting in her chest.

Her own son had taken her wedding photo and edited her out to please his father’s mistress.

When she first heard Austin’s test scores, she’d been so proud and so relieved.

All those years of hard work and sacrifice, they couldn’t be put into words.

A ninth grader in his rebellious phase was like a powder keg. One wrong word, and everything blew up. Calista had walked on eggshells every single day.

She kept quiet, did whatever needed to be done, showed up the second he called. She took care of his meals, his clothes, his schedule… everything. She worked around his routine, absorbed every bit of his anger and frustration.

She knew she wasn’t perfect, but she had believed her son at least understood how hard she’d worked and how much she’d sacrificed for him.

Yet now, she heard him thanking everyone—people who barely knew him—while leaving out the one person who had given him everything: his own mother.

He was disgusted by her. He wanted a new mom that badly.

Tears filled her eyes before she could stop them.

Inside the private room, Nicole puffed out her cheeks and playfully swatted at Austin. “You’re messing with me, right? What kind of gift is this! Mr. Frost, do something about your son!”

Austin stuck his tongue out. “My dad’s not gonna stop me. He’d probably love to give you the real thing!”

A sharp pain stabbed Calista’s chest. She couldn’t breathe.

She never thought the knife in her heart would be wielded by her own son.

“Mom?” Olivia’s voice pulled her back to the moment. “Dad and Austin were awful in there. Are you really gonna keep putting up with this?”

Tears rolled down Calista’s face.

She had twins, both 16. Her daughter was so much more thoughtful than her son.

She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were filled with determination.

“No more,” she said. “I’m done.”

She should’ve stopped two years ago, when she first found out about Killian and Nicole.

Calista took Olivia’s hand and pushed the door open.

Everyone at the table looked up, surprised.

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