Chapter 2
Nicole did not answer.
The silence told me more than any confession could have.
Dad stood in front of her with the papers crushed in his hand, his chest rising hard. I had seen him angry before. At rude drivers. At late bills. At people who spoke down to cashiers.
But I had never seen him look at someone he loved and realize he no longer knew them.
Nicole lifted her chin. “Andre, don’t start this in front of the kids.”
“The kids?” Dad said. “One of those kids was just told she was being left behind.”
“I was trying to avoid upsetting her.”
I almost laughed again.
Avoid upsetting me.
By erasing me from the trip.
Dad stared at her. “You canceled it.”
Nicole’s lips tightened.
“Answer me,” he said.
She looked toward Devin. “Go upstairs.”
Devin did not move.
“Devin,” she snapped.
He shoved his phone into his hoodie pocket. “Mom.”
Her face hardened. “Now.”
“No,” Dad said.
Everyone looked at him.
Dad’s voice was steady now, which scared Nicole more than yelling would have.
“No one leaves this room,” he said. “Not until I understand why my daughter was removed from a family vacation without my knowledge.”
Nicole gave a bitter smile. “Your daughter.”
The words landed hard.
Dad blinked.
I felt heat rise behind my eyes, but I refused to cry.
Nicole saw it. I knew she did. And for a second, something like satisfaction flickered in her face.
Then it vanished.
Dad took a slow breath. “Say that again.”
Nicole crossed her arms tighter. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Yes, you did.”
“She is your daughter, Andre,” Nicole said. “You remind me every day.”
“I remind you by loving my child?”
“You let her come between us.”
My heart dropped.
There it was.
The thing she had been dressing up as budgets and rules and practical choices.
Dad looked stunned. “Maya is fourteen.”
“She’s not a baby.”
“She is my child.”
“She has another family.”
The room tilted.
I gripped my suitcase harder.
My mother had died when I was nine. Her sister lived three states away and called on holidays when she could. I did not have another family. I had Dad.
And somehow even that had become too much.
Dad’s voice shook. “What are you talking about?”
Nicole pointed toward me without looking at me. “She acts like I’m the villain every time I try to build something for this house.”
I opened my mouth, but Dad spoke first.
“Do not blame her for your choices.”
Nicole’s eyes shone now, but not with sadness. With rage.
“You have no idea what it feels like,” she said. “Every room has her mother’s shadow in it. Every holiday has her mother’s recipes. Every time Maya looks at me, she reminds me I’m the replacement.”
I felt like she had reached inside my chest and grabbed the last piece of my mother I had.
Dad went very still.
“My late wife is not the problem here,” he said quietly. “And neither is Maya.”
Nicole laughed once, sharp and ugly. “Of course. Perfect Maya. Poor Maya. Precious Maya.”
Devin flinched.
I noticed.
Dad noticed too.
He turned slightly. “Devin?”
Devin looked trapped.
Nicole’s head snapped toward him. “Don’t.”
Dad’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t what?”
Devin swallowed.
His face had gone pale.
“Dad,” he said softly, though Andre was not his father. He had called him that sometimes when Nicole was pleased with him. Other times he used Andre like a weapon. “I didn’t know she canceled it.”
Nicole stepped toward him. “Enough.”
Devin backed away from her.
“I thought Maya changed her mind,” he said.
My breath caught.
Dad looked at me.
I shook my head quickly. “I didn’t.”
“I know,” he said.
Those two words nearly broke me.
I know.
Nobody had said that to me in so long.
Nicole’s mouth twisted. “He’s confused.”
“No, I’m not,” Devin said, louder now. “You told me not to talk about the airport because Maya decided to stay home.”
Dad’s face darkened.
Nicole shot Devin a look that could have burned paper.
“You had no right,” she said.
Devin stared at the floor. “Neither did you.”
For the first time since I had known him, Devin sounded like he was choosing something.
Not me, exactly.
Maybe the truth.
But truth was enough.
Dad opened the confirmation page again. “The cancellation was processed yesterday at 8:14 p.m.”
I remembered yesterday evening.
Nicole had sent me upstairs to redo my packing because she said my clothes looked “cheap.” Dad had been outside changing a headlight on the car. Devin had been in the kitchen.
Nicole had been in the office.
With Dad’s laptop.
My stomach twisted.
Dad looked at her. “You used my account.”
Nicole’s face changed.
Not much.
But enough.
Dad saw it.
“Did you log in as me?”
Nicole exhaled. “I manage this household. You never pay attention to details.”
“You canceled my daughter’s ticket.”
“I made a decision.”
“You lied.”
“I protected our budget.”
Dad stepped back as if he needed distance not to explode.
“Protected it?” he said. “You upgraded the resort room.”
Nicole blinked.
Dad looked at the papers again. “Oceanfront suite. Spa package. Private dinner reservation.”
Devin whispered, “Mom.”
I looked at Nicole.
Something cold settled inside me.
It was not just that there had been no money.
There had been money.
Just not for me.
Dad held up the page. “You removed Maya and upgraded yourself.”
Nicole’s cheeks flushed. “It was supposed to be a second honeymoon.”
“With Devin?”
She hesitated.
That tiny pause told us everything.
Dad looked disgusted. “You were going to leave Maya home alone?”
“She’s fourteen.”
“For a week?”
“I asked my sister to check in.”
“You asked your sister to check in on my child like she was a houseplant?”
Nicole snapped, “Stop making me sound cruel.”
Dad’s voice broke. “You did that yourself.”
The words hit the room so hard even Nicole looked shaken.
I stared at the floor because if I looked at Dad, I would cry.
He turned toward me.
“Maya,” he said gently.
I lifted my eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. “It’s okay.”
“No,” he said. “It is not.”
Nicole scoffed. “Here we go.”
Dad turned back to her. “We are not going on this trip.”
Her face went white.
“What?”
“We are not going.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I have never been more serious in my life.”
Nicole looked at Devin. “Tell him.”
Devin looked at me, then at the suitcases, then at his mother.
“I don’t want to go without Maya,” he said.
Nicole stared at him like he had betrayed blood.
My throat tightened.
Dad pulled out his phone.
Nicole’s eyes widened. “What are you doing?”
“Calling the airline.”
“Andre, wait.”
He ignored her.
She reached for his wrist.
He pulled away.
“Maya had a ticket,” he said. “My job now is to find out if I can get it back.”
Nicole’s voice dropped. “You’ll embarrass me.”
Dad looked at her with pain in his eyes.
“No, Nicole,” he said. “You embarrassed yourself.”
Then he put the phone to his ear.
And while it rang, Nicole looked at me with hatred so open it made the sunlight feel cold.
May you like
I knew then this was not over.
Not even close.
