10 Years a Stand-In, They Lost It After I Go

Chapter 5

"Don't think a few sweet words will make Dad and me change our minds!" Oliver spat, his voice full of childish fury.

"If you've got the guts, then leave, and never come back!"

He fired the Lego bullet with all the resentment of a young boy, his small hands trembling with anger.

Luckily, Oliver was still small and couldn't put much force behind it. The bullet veered off course, only grazing my arm.

I winced in pain, losing my balance and crashing to the ground beside the bike.

The housekeepers and nannies who'd been standing nearby rushed over, faces full of concern and fear.

Oliver, horrified by the blood starting to seep from my arm, froze, his mouth opening and closing like he wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come.

I gritted my teeth and pushed myself up, ignoring the throbbing pain. I grabbed a rubber baton from a nearby security guard and pointed it straight at Oliver.

He'd always been arrogant, but now that things were real, he stepped back, fear flashing across his face.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," he said, his voice shaking with tears. "I just... I just wanted to scare you, so you wouldn't come back."

Blood dripped steadily from my arm, staining the ground beneath me.

I bent down, knocking the protective amulet from Oliver's neck. The tiny trinket fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Oliver's sobs filled the air, raw and unrestrained.

The noise must have drawn Alexander and Sophia out of the room. Alexander's eyes widened when he saw the blood on my arm.

"Lily, go get that looked at," he ordered, his voice laced with concern.

I waved him off, tearing a strip from the hem of my dress to quickly wrap around my bleeding arm. I didn't need his sympathy.

Alexander's face darkened even more.

Even the housekeeper, who usually kept her distance, couldn't hold back anymore. "Miss Evans," she said urgently, her voice low, "Don't be stubborn. Once you walk out that door, you won't be able to come back."

She glanced at Sophia, then back at me. "Do you realize how many women would kill for your life? Mr. Grant treats you well. Young Master Oliver's a handful, but he doesn't mean harm. What more could you possibly want?"

To them, I was the lucky woman who had climbed her way into the Grant family, a secretary to Mr. Grant, a "stepmother" to Oliver, a pawn in my own family's game of status.

But that's all I ever was to them.

No one cared about the life I had before, the one I gave up so they could be happy. No one cared about the life I wanted to live now.

I stepped over the fallen amulet, moving past the others to Snowball's doghouse. I placed the small pot of succulents I had brought with me when I first moved in, right in front of it.

"I never knew how to be a mother," I murmured, my voice tight. "I was never any good at it."

I stared down at the plants, the weight of the years settling on my chest. "I raised Snowball, but I couldn't give him a peaceful end."

"I spent ten years raising Oliver, but I couldn't teach him even a shred of respect or gratitude."

"So I'm leaving," I said, my voice steady despite the pain. "I just hope that from now on, we never meet again."

I paused for a moment, my eyes on the ground, then lifted them to the sky. "May the heavens be wide, and may the seas be even wider. And may we all find the happiness we deserve."

Alexander didn't argue, didn't try to stop me.

He turned away, his expression dark and full of anger. The last thing he said was over his shoulder, cold and final.

"Lily, you'll regret this."