Chapter 2
I carried Lily straight to the bathroom and ran a warm bath.
She wouldn't let go of me.
Not even for a second.
I had to climb into the tub with her, fully clothed, just to get her clean and warm.
She sat on my lap in the water, her small body still trembling.
"Grandma was mad," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
I stroked her wet hair, my heart breaking into a thousand pieces.
"I know, baby," I said. "I know."
"She said I was bad," Lily said, tears welling up again. "She said I had to stay outside until I was sorry."
I closed my eyes, fighting back my own tears.
"You are not bad," I told her firmly. "You hear me? You are the best thing that ever happened to me. You did nothing wrong."
She looked up at me with those big, trusting eyes.
"Where was Daddy?" she asked.
The question hit me like a physical blow.
I didn't have an answer.
Not one I could give a five-year-old.
I held her closer.
"Daddy was... busy," I lied, hating myself for it.
After the bath, I dressed her in warm pajamas and tucked her into bed.
I sat with her until she fell asleep, holding her hand, watching her chest rise and fall.
Every time she stirred, I felt my own heart skip a beat.
When I finally left her room, I found David in the kitchen.
He was sitting at the table, his head in his hands.
Margaret was nowhere to be seen—probably in the guest room, acting like she'd done nothing wrong.
David looked up when I entered.
"Clara, I—"
"Don't," I said, my voice cold. "Just don't."
He stood up, taking a step toward me.
"I didn't know," he said. "I had a headache, I laid down. I didn't hear anything."
I stared at him.
"She was screaming for me, David," I said, my voice breaking. "The neighbors probably heard her. And you want to tell me you didn't?"
"I was asleep," he insisted. "I had no idea what she was doing."
I laughed bitterly.
"So that's your excuse?" I said. "You were asleep while your mother locked our daughter outside in the cold?"
"She said Lily was throwing a tantrum," David said, and I could hear the hesitation in his voice. "She said she just needed a minute to calm down."
I took a step back, like he'd slapped me.
"A minute?" I whispered. "It was nearly an hour, David. I was gone for an hour. And even if it was just a minute—she's five! You don't lock a child outside like a dog!"
"My mother has her own way of doing things," he said, and I could see him retreating into that familiar place.
The place where Margaret could do no wrong.
The place where I was always the unreasonable one.
"Her own way?" I repeated, incredulous. "Her own way almost gave our daughter hypothermia! Look at her lips, David! They were blue!"
"She's fine now," he said, and the words were like acid on my skin. "She's warm, she's asleep—"
"She's traumatized!" I shouted, and immediately regretted it when I remembered Lily sleeping down the hall.
I lowered my voice.
"She asked where you were," I said, the tears finally spilling over. "She wanted her daddy. And you were nowhere."
David looked away.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly.
But I could tell.
He wasn't sorry about what happened.
He was sorry I was making a big deal out of it.
"Sorry isn't enough," I said. "Your mother needs to apologize. To Lily. To me."
David sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"She's old-school," he said. "She doesn't believe in apologizing. She thinks it shows weakness."
"I don't care what she thinks," I said. "She hurt our child. She will apologize. Or she leaves. Tonight."
David's head snapped up.
"You can't be serious," he said. "She's my mother."
"And Lily is your daughter," I shot back. "Who comes first, David? Your mother? Or your own child?"
The silence that followed was the loudest thing I'd ever heard.
David opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Then looked down at the floor again.
That same cowardly silence.
I felt something inside me harden.
Like my heart was turning to stone.
"Get out," I said quietly.
David looked up, confused.
"What?"
"Get out of my house," I repeated, my voice steady now. "Go to a hotel. Take your mother with you. I don't want either of you here tonight."
"This is my house too," he said, his voice rising.
"Not anymore," I said. "Not if you choose her over us."
I turned and walked away before he could see the tears that were now streaming freely down my face.
I went back to Lily's room and climbed into bed with her.
She stirred in her sleep and reached for me.
May you like
I held her all night.
And I knew, with absolute certainty, that nothing would ever be the same again.
