<
The moment they entered, the two children ran straight to the kitchen, their faces beaming with ill-concealed triumph.
“Mommy!” Mia shrilled. “Did you know? Auntie Cassie sprained her ankle at the parent-child sports day, and Daddy was so worried!”
Leo eagerly added, “Daddy booked out the entire hospital for Auntie Cassie’s treatment! He even postponed company meetings and stayed by her side the whole time!”
Elara stood in front of the oven, quietly listening to the children’s boasting, her fingers steady as she
put on oven mitts.
“Mommy, are you even listening?” Mia stomped her foot in annoyance. “Daddy is so good to Auntie Cassie, way better than you-”
The oven’s “ding” interrupted her chatter.
A sweet aroma instantly filled the kitchen. The children’s eyes lit up, and they immediately crowded
closer.
“It’s cake!” Leo stood on his tiptoes. “I want some!”
Elara took out the baking tray; the cake edges were slightly burnt.
She frowned and dumped it directly into the trash.
“Ah!” Mia shrieked. “Why did you throw it away!”
“It’s burnt, you can’t eat it,” Elara said calmly.
“You’re lying!” Leo angrily kicked the trash can. “You did it on purpose! You’re still mad at us about ast time, so you don’t want us to eat it, you bad mommy!”
Mia’s little face flushed crimson. “We don’t have a mommy like you!”
Elara took off her oven mitts, her heart feeling like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand.
She looked at the two children she had risked her life to bear, and suddenly felt utterly alienated.
“Good,” she said softly. “I don’t have children like you either.”
3:47 pm &
<
“From now on, go find Cassandra Sterling.”
With that, she turned and walked towards the stairs.
Behind her, the children’s hysterical screams rang out: “We hate you! We’ll hate you forever!”
Elara paused, but didn’t look back.
Just as she stepped onto the third stair, she felt a violent shove from behind—
“Die!”
The world spun around her as her body plummeted down the stairs, hitting the ground with a sickening thud.
Excruciating pain instantly surged through her, and warm liquid streamed from her forehead, blurring her vision.
The two children stood at the top of the stairs, their faces twisted with malicious smiles.
“Serves you right!” Mia clapped her hands.
“Who told you not to give us cake!” Leo made a face.
Elara struggled to prop herself up, blood dripping from her chin onto the floor.
