Sienna’s POV

“You shouldn’t yell at your own child, Sienna.”

That was it. No questions. No context. No one on my side.

bI /bbgave /ba small nod. My back felt heavy, and my fists clenched at my sides, but I said nothing more. bBecause/b… what was the point? bIn /bthis houseb, /bI never win.

I stood by the kitchen counter, staring at the dining table that now felt so far away, even though it was just a few steps from me. Over there, Noah was still quietly sobbing in Emily’s arms. My little boy, who used to fall asleep only while holding my bhand/bb, /bnow rested his head against another woman’s shoulder. A woman who came out of nowhere and had somehow be the center of their world.

“Noah, sweetheart, that’s enough,” Emily said softly, stroking his hair. “It’s not good to keep yelling like that. You’ll get at headache.”

Noah shook his head hard, his face flushed with frustration. “I don’t want Mommy toe to school! I want Auntie Emily instead!”

Liam, still standing near the doorway, folded his arms across his chest. His eyes were fixed on me–not with concern, but with uncase, as though my presence alone made things more difficult.

“Noah…” I said gently, swallowing the sharp sting in my throat. “Mommy promises she’ll behave. I’ll bring you lunch, and we can spend time together at the event.”

But Noah just buried his face deeper into Emily’s bchest/b, as if my words were poison.

“Look,b” /bLiam said tly, turning to Emilyb, /b“maybe… you should be the one to go to school, Emily.”

Emily looked startled for a moment. There was clear hesitation on her face, but just as quickly, she masked it. She was an actress, after all. Pretending was her second skin.

“L.. I’ll try talking to my manager,” she replied softly. “But my schedule’s pretty tight today, Liam.”

Liam gave a slight bnod/bb. /b“I hope you can. Noah needs you.”

That line stabbed through me. As if I was nothing more bthan /ba housekeeper who’d failed her task.

I swallowed the bitter taste rising in my mouth. “So… you’ve bmade /byour decision, Liam?”

He didn’t even look at me. Just said, with emotionless finality, “Noah needsfort. And right now, he only gets that from Emily.”

I balmost /bughed. Not because it was funny–but because it hurt so much, it bordered on absurd. Emily, the woman who’d arrived unannounced, had somehow be a part of this home. Of my child. Of my life.

When did they decide I was no longer needed?

Emily looked at me for a moment. There was something in her eyes–not guilt, because I didn’t think she even understood that feeling–but maybe… a kind of burden. Or unease. Perhaps she, too, knew that the role she was taking on wasn’t just some scene in a soap opera, but the slow erasure of my ce in this life.

But I wasn’t going to ask. I wasn’t going to plead. Not anymore. All I needed now was to survive.

I turned and walked slowly back to the kitchen. I poured myself a ss of water and sat in the corner chair, trying to calm my racing heart. My hand reached for my phone, opening the digital calendar. My finger tapped the date next week–thest day I bwould /bstay in this house. I had already rented ba /bsmall apartment on the edge of the city. Not luxurious. Not warm. But it would be

mine. For the first time in five years, I would live in a ce that knew me only as Sienna–not as Liam’s wife, not as Noah’s

mother.

1

Six more days.

5 =

bI /bbjust /bneeded to survive six more days. Six days of cold shoulders, quiet bJabs/b, band /bwounds that were never allowed to heal.

I looked out the window. The sun was climbing higher in the sky. The day had barely begunb, /band I bwas /balready exhausted. But as always, I kept quiet. Not because I was weak. But because in my bsilence/b, I was preparing. Preparing to leave everything behind. without ever looking bback/b.

I stood behind the curtain, pecking through to the front yard as the front door shut. Footsteps moved down the porch bstairs/b. Noah’sughter echoed, followed by the sound of Liam’s leather shoes and Emily’s graceful heels.

“We’ll take Auntie Emily’s car, bokay/b? So we bcan /bget to school faster,” Emily’s voice rang out–soft and sweet, deliberately loud. enough for anyone still inside to hear. Me included.

“bI /bwanna sit in the front seat with Auntie Emily!” Noah shouted gleefully, his voice full of excitement I hadn’t heard in ages- not when he was with me.

“Don’t forget your seatbelt,” Liam added calmly, always in control.

From behind the curtainb, /bI watched them. Emily opened the car door with practiced ease, helping Noah climb in first, then sliding into the driver’s seat. Liam took the passenger side. A few secondster, the engine purred to life.

The car slowly backed out of the driveway band /bdisappeared down the road.

I stood thereb, /bunmoving. Watching as the small world I had built–with tears, with sacrifice–drove away without me. In one car. One perfect picture. Without me.

They looked…. perfect.

Liam sat in the front passenger seat, his face turned toward Emily as if they were chatting. Emily, with her everposed. beauty and that soft smile seemingly etched permanently on her faceb, /bsteered the car with confidence. And Noah… heughed. freely in the back seat, asionally tapping the chair and calling out Emily’s name.

A picture of a happy family.

But without me in it.