MOTHER DEAR

Finally, when Noah announced his mother was coming to visit, a switch went off in my head, and I knew I had a chance, finally, a glimmer in the darkness which had swallowed my life whole. It had been weeks of pretending, of smiling over gritted teeth and soft words of affection towards a man I despised. I had just about convinced myself I was pulling it off, that Noah was swallowing the act, that my ticket out of there was practically within sight. But with each passing day, desperation had grown, chafing at the edges of my carefully constructed mask. News of his mother's visit sent an electric jolt of adrenaline through me. She would know, instinctively, how colossally wrong it was-a mother above all else. She had to acknowledge the insanity of my son's actions and help me get out of this nightmare.

The day she came, I was cool as cucumber, though an unrest stirred inside. Well-dressed, carefully chosen words, and that false love that had become my shield, I opened the door for her wi