She wobbled excitedly on my lap, her little voice full of joy as she recounted yesterday’s events.
“Yesterday I saw Aunt Courtney too! She turned into a little bunny and played with me for a long time!”
My breath caught.
So that was why he suddenly decided to take our daughter to a place like that yesterday, all for Courtney.
Digging into her background took no effort.
Her alma mater, her struggling family, the interview process, her part-time job at the amusement park, even her Twitter account.
When I saw the photo of her cheek pressed against Madeline’s, the last string holding my heart together snapped clean.
The screen reflected the faint outline of a man crouching. He was taking pictures of them.
As if they were the perfect family of three.
Her Twitter feed was overflowing with him.
It was clear that Courtney had fallen hard.
The brown sugar water he gave her during her period.
His shadow was keeping watch by her bedside during a business trip illness.
He carefully kept that tiny lost trinket all this time.
Suddenly, nausea surged.
Tears smudged my makeup as I stared at the pathetic, hollow woman in the mirror.
All I could feel was sorrow.