My Husband Made Me Carry Coffins Five Years for a Pointless Test

Chapter 3

I had the realtor list the house online.

"Do you need time to sort through your things?" the agent asked.

I turned back for a moment. Six years of memories flashed before me, including Sunday breakfasts, scraped knees, and the way his tiny hands used to cling to mine.

"Just trash it all," I said.

I was done with the man, and this so-called home could go to hell. Good riddance.

I had blocked off a day to handle the sale when the kindergarten called.

"Mrs. Chase!" the teacher's voice crackled through the phone. "We have been trying to reach you forever. It is Lucian's graduation today, and you will come, won't you?" She added, "You have missed every parent-teacher meeting, but this event matters."

The poor reception in the mountains had stolen all their previous calls.

My throat tightened. "I will be there," I said.

Inside the classroom, I caught a classmate nudging my son. "Where is your mom this time?" the classmate asked.

Lucian beamed with his chest puffed out. "My mommy is coming," he said, "and she is the prettiest!"

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. Since when had he ever said something like that?

I cursed my faded jeans. I scrambled to finger comb my wind-tangled hair.

"Lucian!" my voice cracked. "Mommy is here!"

Blinded by joy, I missed the terror in his widening eyes.

I reached for him.

"Lucian Chase," a girl giggled, "is this lady really your mom?"

He froze.

Then Tessa's voice cut through the room with a sharp snap. She stood there in a dress worth three months of my wages.

Lucian wrenched free from me. "She is my mom!" he declared, and he clung to Tessa's thigh. "Go away. You are gross!" He added, "I do not know you!"

The word disgusting echoed in my skull, and each syllable felt like a hammer blow.

My chest burned, and the arms that had reached for him fell like dead weights.

All this time, his prettiest mom had been her.

Parents whipped around at the noise and closed in like vultures.

"Who let this creep in?" one of them shouted. "She could be trafficking kids!"

"Check her pockets," another parent said while jabbing a manicured finger at me. "That hag definitely stole something."

The crowd was practically foaming at the mouth to strip me naked.

But Tessa spoke up with fake sweetness. "Let it go, everyone," she said. "She is just a coffin bearer. Why bother with her?"

In an instant, everyone backed away as if I were contagious.

"Ew, just looking at you makes me sick," one parent spat.

"No wonder my husband said our business got stolen," another screeched. "It is this walking bad luck charm."

They grabbed whatever was nearby, including pens, toys, and even scissors, and then they lobbed them at me. A snick sound came as a blade sliced my arm.

My heart stopped. There stood Lucian, the child I had rocked to sleep all those years, and his eyes now burned with hate.

I jerked my sleeve down over the bleeding cut.

Joel arrived late. He bowed at a perfect ninety degree angle as he shoved me behind him, and his frosty eyes skimmed over me. "She is my nanny's crazy aunt," he said. "She lost her baby and lost her mind. Please excuse the disturbance."

The apology made them shuffle their feet. When they spotted the blood splatters on the tiles, their tough act crumbled.

Joel dragged me out by the arm, and his voice turned low and dangerous. "Who gave you permission to come here?" he asked.

"The principal called," I said.