When Willa’s mother-in-law sabotages her daughter’s first vacation in the pettiest way imaginable, Willa chooses calm over chaos. But as karma begins to spin its own revenge, Willa realizes some battles don’t need to be fought because the universe already has her back.
I’ve always been careful about how I love. After my divorce, I learned not to hand my heart to just anyone…
not even the people who come with wedding rings or promises of forever.
So, when I met Nolan, I didn’t fall fast. I let him earn us. Me and Ava, my daughter from my first marriage.
Ava, who has my nose and my laugh and a fierce little heart that refuses to break even when the world tries.
The best thing about Nolan?
He never hesitated. He walked right into our lives like he belonged, like we were never missing anything. He loved Ava like she was his own.
Still does. If she skins her knee, he’s the first with a band-aid. If she has a nightmare, he’s at her door before I am.
To Nolan, she’s his kid.
Period.
To his mother, Darlene? Not so much.
Darlene, picture pearls and pinched smiles, never said anything outright. She didn’t have to.
It was in the way she’d buy two cupcakes instead of three. The way she’d pat Ava’s head like she was petting a neighbor’s dog.
And the things she said?
“Isn’t it strange? She doesn’t look anything like you, Willa.
Does she look like her father?”
Or my personal favorite.
“Maybe it’s better you waited to have a real family, Nolan. Not… this.”
I bit my tongue so many times, I’m surprised it didn’t scar. I kept the peace, for Nolan’s sake.
For Ava’s. But inside, I was always watching her. Calculating.
Darlene wasn’t a monster, not really, but she was the kind of woman who saw children like mine as placeholders.
Still, I never expected her to actually do something. Not like this.
A few months ago, Nolan surprised us all with a trip to the Canary Islands. I’m talking about a beachfront resort, all-inclusive, everything planned to the last detail. He’d just gotten a work bonus and wanted to celebrate.
“Ava’s never been on a plane,” he said.
“She should remember her first time as something absolutely magical, Willa. She deserves everything good in the world.”
She was thrilled. We all were.
Until life did what it does best…
Nolan got called away to Europe a week before the trip. Business emergency. He was devastated.
The story doesn’t end here — it continues on the next page.
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