Married My Ex-husband’s Father

Morana’s POV I have been awake since five in the morning. The cake arrived around seven and I made sure the flowers were arranged before eight. By nine, I had checked all the decorations three times because I was terrified something would go wrong. It is Lena’s fifth birthday and they gave me the whole planning. Her father, my husband’s brother, died a year ago and they want this to be something that lightens her mood. I wanted to make sure everything was perfect, which was almost pathetic considering the fact that Lena barely liked me. Still she was my husband’s niece and the only grandchild of the Volkov family. They spoil her rotten but they are taking it to another level now that her father isn’t alive to do the same. I have been married to this family for three years and I spent those years trying to make myself useful in every way. I tried to make them like more and convinced myself that one day I would finally belong. Maybe if I planned the perfect birthday, theyd recognize that and applaud me. Well, I’m about to find out exactly how appreciative the Volkov family can be. I stood in front of the mirror and looked at myself. The dress I was wearing was simple but a good shade of green to fit in the forest theme Lena wanted for her birthday. My eyes drifted to my face in the mirror to see the dark huge circles beneath my eyes that made me look older than my twenty four years. My green eyes have dulled to something I don’t recognize and my dark hair has lost its shine. Julian walked in adjusting his cufflinks already half distracted. ‘You look tired. Bianca said Lena’s been asking about the banner all morning. Did it come in?” No ‘are you okay’ or ‘you seem unwell’ or hell, ‘you did great with the decoration’. Just the banner, again before he even finished looking at me. “It’s being delivered this afternoon. I confirmed with the vendor twice.” I answered, putting on the diamond earrings he’s gifted me for our first year anniversary. “Good.” He was already walking toward the door, phone still in hand, thumb moving across the screen. “Bianca’s been stressed about it. You know how she gets when things aren’t perfect for Lena.” The words settled in my chest like a brick. I blinked back the tears of anger bubbling up before they could reach the surface. I could not let him see how much a single sentence about someone else’s stress could undo me when I haven’t slept properly in weeks. I finished dressing alone. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking and I told myself it was nerves about the party, because the alternative was too much to hold onto while also trying to look like a woman who has everythimg under control. A wave of nausea hit me halfway down the stairs. I gripped the banister hard enough that my knuckles went pale and breathed through it the way I taught myself to over the past few days. Julian passed me in the hallway without noticing, his attention already outside at the garden. The garden looked beautiful when I stepped out into it. Emerald ribbons with white orchids. A cake table exactly where I pictured it weeks ago on a piece of scrap paper at midnight while everyone else in this house had already been asleep. For one foolish moment, I let myself feel something close to proud. I did a great job, I’m not gonna lie. I was adjusting the flower decorations when Bianca’s voice came from behind me. It was all soft around the edges like talking is beneath her but she doesn’t have any other choice. I have always liked her poise. Until she moved in with us. “Where is it? I told the coordinator this morning it needed to be here by ten.” She was already moving toward Julian, her hand finding his arm easily like it has never once occurred to her that the gesture might not be hers to make. “Lena’s been asking all morning.” “I confirmed delivery for this afternoon. It’s already on its way.” I told them with a straight face. “This afternoon isn’t good enough.” Helen, my mother-in-law appeared beside them, arms crossed, disappointment etched on her face. “The whole point was to have it up before the guests arrived.” I looked at the three of them. They form a small closed circle I have never been let inside of no matter how many years I spent trying. “I’ll go get it myself. It’s faster than waiting for the delivery.” “Send the driver,” Julian said, distracted, already turning back toward Bianca, who was fixing something on his suit that didn’t need fixing. “Stay and host.” For one small, stupid second, hope flickered somewhere under the brick still sitting in my chest. He doesn’t want me to go in unnecessary errands. “The driver won’t know which banner is correct. Morana ordered it. She should go.” Helen insisted with a raised brow. Julian didn’t argue. He didn’t even really look up. He just gave a short nod, already half turned toward his brother’s wife and daughter. At that moment I realised with clarity that hurt more than any single cruel word could have, that he wasn’t choosing Bianca over me on purpose. “You’re going to be late for my party. You’re always ruining things.” Lena sniffed looking me from top to bottom. “I’m not trying to ruin anything, Lena. I planned this whole party for you.” I told her with as much enthusiasm as I can summon which is tiny. “No you didn’t. My mommy planned it. You just do the boring stuff. Uncle said so.” She raised her nose haughtily. I felt my throat tighten, the tears building fast and hot and entirely unwelcome. I swallowed them down because Lena was five years old and none of this was her fault. Nobody corrected her amongst the three adults behind her. “I really think it would be faster if the driver went instead,” I tried one last time so the guests nearby wouldn’t hear the strain in my voice. “I’m not feeling my best today.” “It’s twenty minutes, Morana.” Julian said without turning around, his hand resting lightly on Lena’s shoulder and Bianca’s waist, steering them back toward the cake table. “Stop making everything complicated.” I stood there for a moment longer than I needed to, watching my husband walk away. “Fine,” I said instead. “I’ll be quick.” I walked out of the house with my head lowered. The moment the door closed behind me, I stopped as my eyes burned. I took a slow breath and refused to cry so I got into my car and started the engine. My phone buzzed with a message from Julian. For one second, hope lifted in my chest thinking maybe he was checking on me or he decided to come with me. I opened it. Julian: Don’t forget the gift bags. I stared at the screen then I locked my phone. “Of f*****g course” I whispered. I drove thought the headache behind my left temple was getting worse. I knew that feeling because stress always triggered my migraines. I lowered the music and opened the window, hoping the air would help but didn’t. My vision blurred for a second and I blinked rapidly. “I’m fine.” I said it out loud because I had to be. I spent five years telling myself that everything would eventually get better. Julian would eventually continue being the boy I fell in love with at college five years ago and his family would eventually accept me. That I will stop feeling like a guest in my own home and have the family I had always wanted. My eyes stung as I gripped the steering wheel tighter. Then my vision went dark for a second but it was enough for everything to go downhil. A horn blared as I jerked the wheel. The sound of metal crushing into metal came next. My body slammed forward as my head struck something hard.Pain exploded through my skull that for a second I thought I blacked out. My phone fell somewhere beside me so I reached for it with trembling fingers. Instead of dialing the ambulance, I called Julian because I know he is always glued to his phone. No answer. I called again and again until it started going straight to voicemail. By the ninth time, I knew he wasn’t going to pick and I was too weak to dial any other number again. My hand went limp around the phone and vision blurred again. The last thing I saw was Julian’s name glowing on the screen then everything went black.