When My Family Slipped From My Hands
1274 Words
CHAPTER 4
“I care about my child more than you ever will!” I snapped, my voice trembling with anger as I glared at her.
Daniel’s face hardened instantly. “Have you lost your mind? Do you even realize who you’re talking to?”
I ignored him. Instead, I bent down to Ethan's height, trying to meet his confused gaze. He clung tightly to Julia’s hand, as if she were his safety net.
My voice softened, even as my chest ached.
“Ethan, sweetheart, tell Mommy what’s going on. Why didn’t you tell me anything?” I reached out to touch him, but he pulled his hand away.
I froze. The look in his eyes—cold, distant, almost unrecognizing cut straight through me. What did they do to my son?
“Ethan, answer me,” I pleaded, my tone rising with desperation.
“Stop it Claire!” Daniel barked. “You’re scaring the poor boy.”
Ethan only hugged Julia tighter.
For a moment, the room fell silent. And in that silence, I realized something devastating—this was my home, my family, yet I felt like an outsider. Daniel’s disapproval. Ethan’s distance. Mrs. Julia’s presence. I had been pushed out of my own world.
Before I could defend myself, Ethan’s small voice broke through my thoughts.
“I’ve always wanted to go to that amusement park,” he sniffled. “But Mommy’s too poor to take me. And you won’t let me change schools either… because we don’t have money, right?”
My breath hitched. I stared at him, unable to speak. Never, not once had I denied him something because of money. Even when things were tight, I found a way. I always did.
Who taught him to say that?
Before I could answer, Julia’s voice cut in smoothly, laced with the kind of false sympathy that burned worse than cruelty.
“I’m not blaming you,” she said softly, stroking his hair. “I’m sure you’ve done your best. But if a child feels this way, maybe it means he’s lacking… a sense of stability. Sometimes, Claire, when we can’t give them the best, we need to ask ourselves why we brought them into this world in the first place.”
My nails dug into my palms. I inhaled sharply, forcing myself to stay calm.
“Mrs. Waverly, please leave,” I said quietly but firmly. “This is my home, and my husband and I will handle our son’s upbringing. I’ll overlook what happened today but I need you to stop interfering. Enough is enough.”
Her smile faltered, the insult hitting her where she least expected, where it hurt. But before she could respond, Ethan blurted out,
“I want to go with Mrs. Waverly! I don’t want to see Mommy!”
The words hit harder than a blow. His voice wavered. There was guilt in it but the damage was done.
Daniel quickly stepped in. “Mrs. Waverly, why don’t you take him out for a bit? Let him calm down. I’ll talk to her.”
“Of course,” she said sweetly, her expression glowing with false concern. Taking Ethan’s hand, she left the house, shutting the door behind her.
As soon as the silence returned, my strength gave way. I sank onto the sofa, trembling. My own son had rejected me.
Daniel’s voice whipped through the air. “Can you at least try not to make a scene in front of her? The last thing I need is for my boss’s wife to think we’re a mess.”
I looked up sharply, disbelief flooding me. “Excuse me? She came here uninvited! She took our son without permission. And you’re worried about what she thinks?”
Daniel’s face hardened, flinty as a rock.
“How exactly did you even meet Mrs. Julia?” I demanded.
He hesitated, the flicker of guilt on his face saying everything. My stomach turned cold.
“You knew about Ethan skipping school, didn’t you?” I hurled at him. “Yet, you kept quiet about it.”
He sighed, finally admitting it. “A few days ago, I went to pick him up and saw him with her. That’s how I found out.”
My heart dropped. “You knew and said nothing? You let him skip classes?”
“I didn’t want to upset you! He’s a kid. He just wanted to have fun. We can barely afford our daily necessities let alone taking him out to an amusement park. Mrs. Waverly was being kind. What was I supposed to do, say no? We can’t even give him a fraction of what she can. Maybe we really are just… failing him.”
I cut him off coldly. “I am not failing him. I’ve worked every single day to give him what he needs. Skipping school isn’t a privilege, it’s recklessness. And if he’s moving to that new academy next month, how do you expect him to keep up when he’s missing classes for amusement parks?”
Daniel’s eyes darkened. “You talk like this every damn day! Maybe Mrs. Waverly was right, you don’t really love our son. You’re not worthy to be called his mother!”
The words pierced through me. My body went numb.
She said that about me… and Daniel agreed?
The regret was immediate on his face. “I—I didn’t mean that, Claire, I’m sorry, I—”
“I’m going to make dinner,” I interrupted quietly. My voice trembled, but I refused to break in front of him. “You can go get your s**t together in the meantime.”
In the kitchen, the tears I had been holding back finally spilled over. I slid to the floor, my hands shaking as I tried to breathe. After a long minute, I forced myself up and began chopping vegetables—anything to keep from collapsing under the weight of everything.
The front door opened and closed again. Daniel had left. The house felt painfully quiet.
By the time I set the dinner on the table, hours later, the silence was suffocating. I stared at the dishes blankly, remembering how we used to have our meals together as a family, the atmosphere warm and filled with our laughter as we shared stories of how our days went.
The door creaked open again. Daniel stepped in with Ethan beside him.
Ethan walked toward me hesitantly. “Sorry, Mommy,” he murmured, pouting. “I’m sorry for saying those mean things to you.”
I sighed softly and crouched down. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Mommy’s not mad. Let’s eat, okay? But next time, if there’s something you really want, you tell me first. You want to go to the amusement park? We’ll go this weekend.”
He blinked, then bit his lip. “So… I can’t go out with Mrs. Waverly anymore?”
“That’s right sweetheart,” I said firmly, though my tone was gentle.
He looked disappointed but said nothing. He walked to the dining table quietly.
Daniel gestured to the wrapped package on the counter. “What’s this?”
“It’s for Ethan,” I said softly, setting it in front of our son.
Ethan’s eyes lit up as he tore it open. Inside was a glittering crystal-and-gem crown something so extravagant, it looked like it belonged in a museum.
He gasped in delight, placing it on his head. “This is way better than anything Mommy’s ever gotten me!”
My heart clenched. I smiled weakly, but the edges of my smile trembled. Inside, something in me broke quietly.
- Writer
