Holding my baby closer, I pulled my coat around us and slowly made my way to the bus stop. Each jolt of the ride sent pain through my body. Strangers offered their seats, some whispered, others watched with pity. I said nothing and swallowed the humiliation whole.
At home, I placed my daughter in her crib and finally cried. This wasn’t new. Ever since Marcus’s company started bringing in money, he’d changed. Designer suits, expensive dinners, constant reminders: “Without me, you’d have nothing.”
What he never bothered to ask was how his success had begun.
Two hours later, my phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. Missed calls and messages from Marcus, his mother, his sister. Confused, I answered one.
“Lena!” Marcus sounded frantic. “Where are you? Something’s wrong.”
Before I could respond, his mother’s voice cut in, hysterical. “Tell us the truth! Who are you really?”
At that moment, a news alert lit up my screen: Marcus Hale’s company files for bankruptcy following sudden withdrawal of all major investors.
I looked down at my sleeping daughter and felt calm for the first time all day.
I smiled.