Henry’s hand fell from Annie’s shoulder as if burned, and Annie could feel the shift in the air, the tension thickening between them. She had never been a stranger to the bitterness that lay between her father and Catherina, but today, it seemed sharper, more pointed.
“I’m just trying to help,” Henry said, his voice rising slightly in defense.
“Help?” Catherina’s laugh was sharp, cruel. “She’s just a child, Henry. She needs to learn how to handle this herself. She’s pregnant, not fragile. You can’t help her breastfeed the child, she is pregnant, she should care for herself.”
Annie’s heart clenched at Catherina’s words. It was as if she were nothing more than a burden to be dealt with, an inconvenience to be shoved aside. She wasn’t a child. She wasn’t weak. But everything about this sit
