Part 2The Celebration: An Unexpected Son

The color drained from Mark’s face.

Melissa frantically clapped a hand over the boy’s mouth, her fingertips trembling. “Kids say the darndest things, don't they… He’s always getting people mixed up.”

“Is that so? He seemed pretty sure about that ‘Daddy’ part,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. I led my daughter to the sofa and sat down.

My mother-in-law immediately jumped in to smooth things over. “Oh, he’s just a child, he doesn't know any better. The other day, Mr. Henderson from downstairs came to visit, and he called him Daddy, too.”

She pressed a freshly peeled orange into my hand. “Here, have some fruit. You must be tired from your trip.”

I took it and thanked her politely.

Seeing that I wasn’t pressing the issue, Mark visibly relaxed. He came up behind me, ready to give me his usual shoulder rub.

I shifted, and his hands met empty air. He froze for a second before forcing a laugh.

“This is Melissa, a distant relative. She’s had some trouble back home, so she’s staying with us for a few days…”

“A relative?” I offered a segment of the orange to Eleanor. I laughed again, a cold, humorless sound. Mark was the golden boy who had clawed his way out of a poor village. After getting into university, he had cut off all contact with his impoverished relatives. What distant relatives could he possibly have?

I voiced the thought aloud. “I don’t remember you having a distant relative named Melissa. Didn't you cut ties with all your family ages ago?”

He faltered, his eyes darting away. “She’s… very distant. From my grandmother’s side.”

I nodded thoughtfully. Very distant indeed.

My in-laws exchanged a look, their eyes glinting with calculation.

Suddenly, Melissa pulled Leo in front of me, her voice trembling on the verge of tears. “Sister-in-law, I know I shouldn't be bothering you, but I had no other choice. Leo is sick, he needs money, and I could only turn to Mark…”

“Turn to him? To borrow money?” I glanced at her.

“No, not… I mean, we’ll pay it back.” She was stumbling over her words.

Mark couldn't stand seeing her so submissive and pleading. His jaw tightened. “That’s enough. Who pissed you off today?”

I just smiled and stroked Eleanor’s hair. When I had hemorrhaged giving birth to her, Mark had been terrified, his face white as a sheet. He had sworn that for the rest of his life, he would only ever love the two of us.

Promises, I thought. Only true in the moment they’re spoken.

Mark grabbed Melissa’s arm. “Why don’t you take Leo to the guest room?”

“Oh, don’t go,” I said, stopping them. My eyes were fixed on Leo's wrist. He was wearing a small gold bracelet. It looked exactly like the one I had given Eleanor for her birthday last year. The one that had mysteriously disappeared a few months ago.

Now I knew where it had gone.

Melissa instinctively pulled down Leo’s sleeve to cover it, a move that screamed guilt.

“That bracelet looks just like Eleanor’s. What a coincidence,” I said, my voice sharp with irony.

Eleanor burrowed deeper into my side.

But Leo suddenly wrenched his arm free from his mother’s grasp and pointed at me. “You’re the bad lady who stole my daddy! This bracelet is mine! Everything in this house is mine! I’m not giving you anything!”

“Leo!” Melissa shrieked, trying to cover his mouth again.

Beads of sweat had formed on Mark’s forehead.

My father-in-law slammed his hand on the table with a loud crack. “Sophia! Stop with the passive-aggressive act! It’s just a bracelet! Why are you being so confrontational? My son has provided for you, given you a life of luxury for years. What more could you possibly want? Don’t we, as his parents, have the right to decide what to do with a single gold bracelet?”