The Stolen Life- My Mother Gave My Fiancé to Her Favorite Student novel Chapter 1

Chapter 1

When I didn’t lose my temper or scream like I used to, Mom still wasn’t satisfied. She kept on lecturing me.

“Lila and Jax have a good marriage. Don’t you ruin their marriage and make a fool of me. I wouldn’t be able

to show my face.”

That was always how she was.

She always took everyone else’s side.

She treated her own daughter like an enemy to guard against.

Jax had met me first.

We were neighbors. Childhood sweethearts.

We grew up hand in hand.

He’d kissed me under oak tree grove and confessed his feelings.

We’d loved each other so deeply.

He’d said he would marry me.

But Mom, who was also my high school teacher, brought Lila–a needy student from a poor family–into our

home.

From that day on, Lila wedged herself into every corner of our relationship.

And Mom was practically her partner in doing it.

Every time Jax and I went to the library or went shopping, she made me bring Lila along.

Mom even officiated their wedding.

I tore open a bag of dill pickle potato chips, my gaze cold.

“If you’re this worried about me, Mom, why did you force me to come home to recover?”

“Ungrateful girl. Growing up and talking back to your mother?”

She reached to jab my forehead, the way she always did.

I tilted my head away.

The keypad lock beeped outside.

Mom’s face softened into a bright smile, and she hurried to the door.

Lila and Jax walked in, their fingers laced tightly together.

Chapter 1

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“Ms Voss! Sorry we’re late, did I miss out on helping with dinner?”

“Sweetheart, come in. I made king crab legs–Jax’s favorite–and scrambled eggs with onions and bell peppers, just how you like them.”

Only when they stepped into the living room did they seem to notice me.

Lila flinched back slightly, just like she had the first time she’d come to my house.

As if I were some kind of monster.

Mom shot me a sharp look, silently telling me to stop looking so cold and greet them.

I didn’t move.

Jax’s eyes automatically dropped to my foot, wrapped in thick bandages. His voice was gentle.

“Elara, is your leg feeling any better?”

I nodded politely.

At the table, Mom seated them in the best spots, then ordered me, “Go get the mango juice from the fridge.

It’s Lila’s favorite.”

Lila glanced at me, hesitant.

“Ms. Voss, you don’t have to.”

“You worried about her leg? Don’t bother. She brought this on herself, running off to those dangerous places

overseas.”

“It’s not that. I can’t have anything cold today. And I can’t eat crab, either.”

Lila rested a hand gently on her stomach and looked shyly at Jax, announcing she was pregnant–three

months along.

Jax lowered his eyes, his expression unreadable.

Mom was more excited than if she’d become a grandmother herself. She rattled off a list of precautions and all but begged Lila to move back in.

“I’ve kept your room just the way it was. If Jax isn’t home at noon, you come here for lunch and a nap.”

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