Accidentally Ever After

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Seven Years Later

Reina

My palms were already damp, and I hadn’t even been called in yet.

I wiped them discreetly on my skirt and tried to look relaxed, even though my heart had been on overdrive since I stepped into the building. The air inside the waiting lounge smelled like vanilla wood polish and something faintly expensive I couldn't name. A glass wall separated me from the elevator, where men in crisp suits floated in and out like they belonged.

I didn’t. Could be, but…Not yet.

My folder—resumé, portfolio, recommendation letters, all stacked and aligned like soldiers before a war sat neatly on my lap—one final pass over the printed CV, a breath check, and another glance at the receptionist, who hadn't looked up once in the past ten minutes.

I adjusted the collar of my cream blouse for the third time, my knuckles brushing the delicate gold chain that lay just above my neckline.

Stay calm, Reina.

I glanced at my phone for the time, but instead, a call lit up the screen.

> Incoming call: Eden’s School.

My stomach dropped.

I grabbed it immediately, hands fumbling a little as I slid my thumb over the screen.

Before I could answer—

“Miss Reina Ainsley?”

The voice came from the glass door just as it opened. A tall man in navy stood there, holding a clipboard and scanning the room until his eyes landed on me.

Crap.

I looked between the man and my phone, which was still vibrating in my hand. Eden’s name flashed one more time… and then the call ended.

I swallowed hard, stood up quickly, and forced a polite smile. “Yes,” I said, slipping my phone back into my bag. “That’s me.”

“Right this way,” he said, holding the door open.

I followed him into the room, every part of me tense with the weight of what I’d just missed.

The room was sleek, modern—intimidating. Floor-to-ceiling windows bathed the long mahogany table in natural light. A woman with sharp eyes and a tighter bun than mine sat at the head of the table, while two other people flanked her—one typing something into a laptop, the other watching me with mild interest.

“Please,” the woman said, gesturing to the chair across from her, “have a seat.”

I nodded, offering a small smile, and sat. My knees were vibrating.

“We’ll start simple,” she said, folding her hands neatly. “Tell us a bit about yourself.”

Right. The question I’d rehearsed a hundred times in front of my mirror.

I opened my mouth to begin, and my phone rang.

The vibration buzzed so aggressively in my bag it sounded like a swarm of bees.

I smiled, tight and apologetic, and reached in to silence it without looking. It stopped. I breathed in.

“Well, I’m Reina Ainsley. I’m a—”

The phone rang again.

I froze mid-sentence, my eyes flicking downward to my bag.

The same caller ID.

Eden’s School. Again.

I pressed my palm against the bag, willing it to stop. It did. My throat felt dry.

The interviewer arched an eyebrow but said nothing.

I tried again. “As I was saying, I’m Reina Ainsley, and I—”

The phone rang. Third time. What a shitty ass moment to call this damn school.

I let out a breathy, awkward laugh. “I’m so sorry,” I said, embarrassed. “It’s my daughter’s school calling. They’ve called three times now, so it might be something important.”

There was a short pause before the woman gave a nod, her expression unreadable. “That’s alright. You’re allowed to take the call. You can step out if you’d prefer some privacy.”

I gave a grateful nod. “Thank you. I’ll just be a moment.”

Clutching my bag like a lifeline, I walked briskly out of the room and down the hallway, heart pounding. I found the restroom, pushed the door open, and locked myself inside one of the stalls.

Then I pulled out my phone with shaking fingers and answered before it could ring again.

“Hello? This is Reina Ainsley, Eden's mom. Is everything okay?”

“Hello, Miss Ainsley?” the voice on the other end asked, tight with urgency. I recognized it—it was Eden’s class teacher.

“Yes, this is Reina. What’s going on?”

“It’s Eden,” she said, and just like that, my chest caved in. “She’s been running a temperature and won’t stop crying. She keeps screaming for you and saying her head hurts. We’ve tried to calm her down, but she insists she wants her mother.”

I pressed my hand to my forehead, cold dread wrapping around my spine.

“I—I’ll be there,” I said quickly, swallowing hard. “Please do your best to keep her calm for me.”

The moment I hung up, the panic hit me full force.

I couldn’t leave. Not now.

This interview was the closest thing I’d had to hope in years. A real job. A good one to raise Eden and give her a better life. Stable hours, proper pay, something to anchor us. I’d prayed and hoped for this for ages.

But Eden. God—Eden. I can’t leave her like that, I—

I fumbled through my contacts with shaking fingers and dialed the only person I could count on.

Tessa. She always came through for me in times like this. Unless now the first ring went unanswered. The second, the third… Nothing.

I ended the call and dialed again, praying fervently under my breath and in full panic.

The fourth time it almost went unanswered as it connected at the last minute.

“Tess?” I said quickly. “Thank God—can you please—”

I stopped, my saliva moisturizing my hastily drying mouth.

There were no words on the other end. Just—Moans.

Wet, breathless, unmistakable moans of Tessa.

Groans. Rhythmic. A man’s voice, low and drawn out.

My breath caught. Oh no. This is so wrong, f**k!

“Oh my God,” I whispered, and instantly ended the call, my thumb trembling against the screen.

I stood there, frozen in the stall, my heart hammering in my ears like a warning bell. I just heard my best friend having s*x. Meanwhile my daughter needed me, and my only go-to person was utterly consumed, leaving me stranded at a dead end.

It was an impossible choice: abandon this interview and risk being jobless for the next months of my life, and run to my daughter, or walk into that room, abandoning her for hours with no guarantee of this job.

My limbs were fumbling, useless. I was utterly, irrevocably screwed.