I gripped the bag on my shoulder tighter . The box inside felt heavier than before . I nodded slowly . " Cleo's Right then , a kid ran into me . I fell to the floor and scraped my wrist hard . The urn almost slipped out . I caught it just in time . " Watch it I snapped . The boy was Jude . Ruby's son . He stood there glaring . " You watch it ! Why are you even back ? " he shouted . Torren growled , " That's enough , Jude . Therese , he's just a kid . Don't start . " Ruby stepped in , as if she owned the place . She rested her palm on Torren's chest and looked up at him like she belonged there . " Don't be mad ," she whispered . " Sorry for causing trouble again . Jude and 1 … we'll go . " % Torren clenched his jaw and pointed at me . " You didn't do anything wrong . She did . " % The words ripped something open inside me . I could feel it bleeding . They were a family now . I was just the ghost in the Hall then Jude suddenly lunged for my backpack E " Is there food in here ? I'm hungry The urn slipped again . It hit the floor w " No !" I gasped . " Don't touch that ! " a hard thud.l Jude reached for it with his filthy little hands . " What is it ? I wanna eat its I shoved him without thinking . I didn't care . I'd already lost too much . ! Torren barked , " WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU ? He's a child ! You think this is okay ? " Jude yanked my hair , screaming . I bit down on my sobs as pain shot through my scalp . It's Cleo's , " I whispered . " It's …. his = " Ruby pulled Torren back gently . " Let it go , " she cooed . " If it's Cleo's , then Jude shouldn't have it . " Torren scoffed . " This is my house . I decide who touches what . " I clutched the box to my chest and walked to the bedroom without another word . Torren thought I was sulking . He snorted behind me and muttered something under his breath before escorting Ruby and Jude out like royalty . That night , I packed my clothes and filled out the divorce papers . I put Cleo's urn by my side and stared at it for hours . -1 That night , I dreamed of Cleo again . He was crying . In pain . Wandering barefoot through some endless hallway made of glass , the walls so clean they reflected nothing , just silence and light and emptiness . He kept calling out , voice raw , desperate . " Dad ? Daddy ? Where are you ? " He wasn't looking for me . He was looking for Torren . My chest cracked open in the dream . I kept reaching for him , running , but I could never catch up . He was always just out of reach … those tiny hands that used to grip my fingers so tightly when he was scared , now slipping further and further away . I dropped to my knees and begged . " I'm sorry , baby . I'm so sorry . " Over and over again . " I should've protected you . I should've never left you . " When I woke up , I was already on the floor beside the bed , hands clasped in prayer . Praying that wherever he was now , he wasn't hurting anymore . Praying that the pain hadn't followed him into death . The room was still , Torren's glass mansion stretched wide around me - all sleek walls and cold air and modern silence . It always felt like a place meant for looking good in magazines , not for raising children , Definitely not for grieving them . I wrapped my arms around my knees . My pillow was soaked . My nightgown clung to my skin , and my chest ached like something had been carved out from under the ribs . And then I remembered X The slow shift . The way Torren's affection dried up like sunbaked riverbeds . How , the moment Ruby returned , he started talking about Jude like he was royalty . * Jude's a smart kid ," he told me once , like it was fact , not opinion . " He's respectful . Kind . Healthy . " Not like Cleo . He didn't say those last words out loud . ! But I heard them anyway . Because a few weeks before Cleo got sick , Torren looked me in the eye and said , * Sometimes I wonder if that child's even mine . If he is , he's definitely not heir material . Too weak . Always sick . That's not the kind of bloodline I want leading anything . " I remember standing there , speechless . I'd spent years trying to earn his love , believing if I could just be better … softer , smarter , more loyal … he'd come back to me . " But I never imagined he'd strip that love from our son , too . Cleo adored him . Worshipped him . Always wanted to show him his drawings , his little trophies from school , the paper medals he made out of foil and hope . !! But Torren never looked . And when Cleo got sick , really sick , Torren didn't lift a finger . He was too busy planning Jude's birthday party . Balloons . Private magician . Imported cake . A new bicycle that probably cost more than the hospital bill I had to beg the nurses to freeze . Cleo died with no father at his bedside . " Just me . Just silence.X Just my son's voice echoing in my nightmares , " Daddy ? Where are you ? " ! And the truth is , I hate myself . Because maybe , just maybe , if I had taken him and run . He'd still be alive . But I didn't . And now all I have are dreams . And cold rooms . And a hollowed - out chest where his laughter used to live . Then outside , I heard stumbling footsteps . Voices . I cracked the door open and saw Torren drunk off his mind , leaning against Ruby as she held him up . " Torren ," she whispered , " are you sure you want to go to her room ? It's late … she might still be awake . " Torren chuckled darkly.E " Why the hell would I go to her ? She was a bitch to Jude . " Ruby led him to her room . She didn't close the door all the way . I heard everything . Her breathless voice . His groans . The bed creaking . All of it . I didn't move . I didn't cry , I just stared at the wall with my hands folded in my lap like some quiet ghost . " In the morning , I made hangover soup and placed it on the table like always . Like none of it happened . " Torren sat down and rubbed his forehead . He looked tired . Or maybe guilty.B " I got back real late , he said , avoiding my eyes . " Didn't wanna wake you , so I just slept in Jude's room . " I nodded and said , " Okay ." I didn't ask questions , I didn't call him out . I knew better . He relaxed , thinking it meant I was still the obedient , soft - spoken wife who'd always play dumb . Then I slid a form across the table .