Chapter 4
Chapter 4
My phone lit up with a string of texts.
[Derek: Hey, we’re running late here. Dinner’s gonna have to be pushed back p>
[Derek: Also, don’t bother with the birthday cake. Nina says simon’s weirdly picky about that stuff-won’t eat it unless she makes it from scratch p>
[Derek: Just saving you the hassle p>
I stared at the messages, my thumb hovering over the keyboard. Nothing came to mind worth typing.
Another text appeared, like he could sense my silence and it made him nervous.
[Derek: Look, don’t take it personally. Nina swears she’s not trying to edge you out or anything p>
[Derek: Simon just needs time to adjust. We’ll get there. Just… be patient with him? For me p>
I locked my phone without responding.
There was nothing left to be patient about.
I’d burned through my supply of patience years ago, along with every last shred of hope.
The thing is, Simon and I weren’t even strangers-not at first
When he was still an infant, Nina had started bringing him to the Connor estate constantly, always with some excuse about our families being close. I’d run into them all the time.
Back then, when he was tiny, Simon used to light up when he saw me.
These huge dimpled smiles that made something twist painfully in my chest.
But as he got older, everything shifted.
Each time they visited, the moment his eyes landed on me, his whole expression would shutter. He’d look away fast,
like I scared him.
Eventually fear hardened into something uglier. Pure contempt.
When Derek finally came clean I completely unraveled.
I hunted down my own child like some kind of unhinged stalker who didn’t know when to quit.
Chapter 4
I didn’t trust myself to just pull him into a hug.
Instead I showed up with toys I’d researched online, things other kids his age supposedly loved, desperately hoping I could buy my way into some kind of connection.
Simon glanced at the gifts for maybe two seconds, then snatched them out of my hands and chucked them straight into the trash.
Then he looked me dead in the eye and called me a word I didn’t think six-year-olds even knew.
I’d never seen hatred that concentrated in someone so small
For days afterward I couldn’t function.
Food tasted like cardboard. Sleep was impossible.
I kept running through every interaction we’d ever had, trying to figure out what I’d done to earn that level of rage from my own kid.
When Derek heard what had happened, he’d pulled Simon aside for what he called “a serious conversation p>
He even managed to keep Nina away for nearly a week so Simon and I could have supervised one-on-one time to
“rebuild trust p>
Around Derek and Victoria, Simon transformed into this eerily polite child.
All “yes ma’am” and careful manners.
But the second we were alone?
The act dropped instantly.
He’d stare at me with undisguised loathing and hiss that I was the reason his real mom had to stay away.
Then came the day that shattered whatever hope I’d been clinging to.
In front of the entire Connor family, Simon accused me of abusing him behind closed doors.
His voice shook as he described how I’d been threatening him-telling him I’d have him thrown out of the house if he didn’t start calling me “Mom p>
It should have been simple to disprove.
The Connor estate had security cameras in practically every room.
But then Simon pulled up his shirt, and everyone went silent
Chapter 4
His torso was covered in bruises-dark purple fingerprints along his ribs, greenish marks on his arms.
When I instinctively moved toward him to get a better look, he literally threw himself backward into the corner, his whole body shaking.
There was no defense I could offer that would matter after that.
Nina had immediately pulled Simon into her arms and started crying so hard she was nearly hyperventilating, choking out words between sobs:
“He’s seven years old. Just give him time, please, I’ll make sure he learns to call you Mom properly. If you’re upset-if you need to hit someone-do it to me. Hurt me instead. Just leave him alone. God, please, I’m begging you p>
Victoria had gone ballistic, announcing on the spot that I was permanently banned from being alone with Simon ever again.
Even Derek had looked at me like I was a stranger.
“Annie.” His voice had gone flat and cold. “You actually hurt our son to get back at me? At Nina p>
He’d run his hand through his hair, shaking his head slowly. I don’t even recognize you right now p>
I didn’t try to explain. What would have been the point?
As everyone cleared out of the room afterward, I saw it-just for a split second-the triumphant little smirk tugging at Simon’s lips.
That’s when I finally stopped fighting.
Fine. If this was what they all wanted, I’d give them exactly that.
They could have their picture-perfect family. I’d remove myself from the equation entirely.
Sitting here now in the airport terminal with tears running down my face for the second time today, I noticed a couple nearby whispering and glancing over at me.
I wiped my cheeks and pulled out my phone to check how bad the damage was.
That’s when a breaking news alert slid across my lock scree
TECH MOGUL DEREK CONNOR MARRIES CHILDHOOD SWITHEART-INTRODUCES SON AS HEIR TO
BILLION-DOLLAR EMPIRE
(1)
Joseph King
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.