CHAPTER ONE

ESSENCE

I sat quietly in the corner, watching everyone eat, drink, and laugh like it was the happiest day of their lives. Well, it probably was. Everyone’s life but mine.

They looked right through me, as if I didn’t exist. Which was ironic, considering I was supposed to be the co-star of the show. It was my tenth wedding anniversary, for goodness’ sake. Ten years married to Alex Watson, yet here I was, the invisible woman at my own celebration.

But not Remi Vanguard.

Oh no, Remi was impossible to miss. She was the star of the evening. She floated around like she owned the place… like she owned my husband. Alex couldn’t take his eyes off her, and neither could half the people here. Including my nine-year-old son, Asher, who seemed to think she was some kind of goddess sent from heaven to grace us with her presence.

I looked at the party I had spent weeks planning. The decorations, the flowers, the cake I nearly lost my eyebrows baking in the middle of the night because the caterer flaked. I had imagined this night so differently. I had pictured Alex smiling at me and dancing with me. I had hoped it would remind him of what we had, and rekindle our lost flame.

Instead, Remi stood glued to his side, laughing at something he said and nobody seemed to think anything was wrong with that. Not even Asher, who leaned up on his tiptoes and kissed her cheek like she was his mother.

My hands clenched into fists. I was pretty sure my nails left tiny crescent moons in my palms. I had to remind myself to breathe.

Remi’s arm was hooked through Alex’s, and she looked like the woman of the hour. Correction: my hour. I stood, ready to remind my dear husband whose anniversary it was, but just as I moved, Remi’s eyes flicked toward me. Her lips twitched.

Was that a smirk? Oh, it was.

That did it.

I started toward them, my legs moving faster than my brain could keep up. I had words...many, many words for Remi Vanguard and my apparently blind husband. But before I could reach them, she slipped her fingers into Alex’s and tugged him toward the pool. And like a loyal little puppy, he followed.

“Alex!” I called after him, my voice louder than I intended.

But Remi was the one who turned, smiling sweetly, as if I had called for her.

I didn’t see her foot until it was too late. She stuck it out just as I reached them. I tripped, stumbled forward… and grabbed her on instinct. If I was going down, she was coming with me.

We crashed into the pool and the water swallowed us both.

The cold hit me like a slap, shocking the air from my lungs. My red floral dress ballooned around me, dragging me down. For a moment, I struggled, disoriented. Then I surfaced, coughing, gasping. My soaked hair plastered to my face.

I looked around, searching for Alex. And there he was. My husband. My hero.

He stripped off his jacket and dove into the pool. And for one stupid second, I thought he was swimming to me.

But no.

He swam right past me.

Straight to Remi.

He scooped her up like she was some fragile, helpless thing. Like she hadn’t been the one who tripped me in the first place. My chest ached, and not because of the cold water. No, this ache was deeper. It hurt like hell.

I stayed there in the water for a moment, watching them. People were staring, whispering behind their hands. I told myself to move. To get out. To breathe.

When I finally pulled myself out of the pool, I was shaking so hard my teeth chattered. That was when I saw Asher. My sweet boy. He was running toward me with a towel in his hands.

My heart lifted. At least he remembered I was his mother.

But he followed in his father's footsteps and ran right past me.

He didn’t even look at me.

I turned to follow his path and saw him fussing over Remi, wrapping the towel around her like she might shatter without it. She was already wrapped in Alex’s jacket, but God forbid the men in my life miss a chance to worship at her feet.

I stood there, dripping wet, feeling like someone had taken a hammer to my chest and cracked it open.

And then Alex was in front of me, his face thunderous. He grabbed my wrist hard enough to make me wince.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” he demanded. “Why did you push Remi into the pool?”

I stared at him. “Is that what she told you?”

“Answer me!” he barked.

I could feel everyone’s eyes on me. A few people who had seemed sorry for me a moment ago were now looking at me like I was something they needed to scrape off their shoes.

Remi approached, dragging Asher along like a prize she’d won at a carnival. Her hair was wrapped in the towel now, her face pale and fragile-looking.

She spoke in a soft, trembling voice. “Yes, Essy… I just… I don’t understand. Why would you do something like that?”

Her innocent act made my fingers itch. I wanted to slap the halo right off her head. But if I did, they’d have me arrested for assaulting a saint.

I turned back to Alex. “I’m your wife,” I said. “Did you even notice that I fell into the pool too?”

“Oh, shut up,” Alex's sister, Vesper snapped, appearing out of nowhere like a bad smell. She got right in my face, eyes flashing. “You’ve always been jealous of Remi because she’s young, sexy and everything you’re not.”

Vesper had always hated me. I was never thin enough, never pretty enough, never enough for their precious family. And Alex would always ask me to overlook her actions and not take her mean words to heart.

“You’re an oversized pig,” she sneered. “What did you expect? My brother to fish you out of the water like some prize catch? Look at yourself. Who would bother?

You're a miserable......"

“Enough, Vesper,” Alex said, frowning at his sister like she was a rowdy guest who’d spilled wine on his carpet.

But then he looked back at me, and the frown deepened. “You’ve done enough tonight, Essy. You should leave.”

I laughed. Not because it was funny. It was either laugh or cry, and I was fresh out of tears.

“Leave?” I asked. “This is my party, Alex. You want me to leave my own anniversary party?”

“You should have thought of that before pushing Remi,” he replied.

I took a deep breath and smiled. “Fine. You believe I pushed her. I say we check the cameras. We can all watch together, see what really happened.”

For a moment, Remi’s mask slipped. I saw the panic in her eyes. She hadn’t expected that.

I turned to head toward the security office. I had installed those cameras for this night, to capture our happiest moments.

Funny how things turn out.

Before I could take a step, I heard Alex shout. “Remi!”

I spun around just in time to see her slump in his arms like a rag doll.

Of course.

Vesper jumped into action. “We need to get her to the hospital. Now!”

Everyone sprang into motion like it was a fire drill. They whisked her away in a flurry of panic and whispered concern. I saw Asher following, his hand reaching for Remi’s like he belonged with her.

I quickly pulled him back, blocking his path.

“Ash,” I said softly. “Please…”

He pulled his hand away like I was something dirty. “Don’t touch me, Essy,” he said, his voice cold. “Stop embarrassing us.”

Essy. Not Mom. Not even Mother.

And then he was gone.

They all left.

And I was alone.

Just me. Standing there. Wet, cold, and abandoned, like I was the most insignificant person in the world.