When the Backup Mom Quits

Summary

My marriage began not with a honeymoon, but with a trip to the clinic. With my mother at my side, I had an IUD fitted, a cold, clinical promise to devote myself entirely to Leo, my late sister’s nine-year-old son.

For five years, I played the part of a perfect mother, transforming myself into the kind of polished, presentable wife Adrian Sterling could have on his arm.

On Leo’s fourteenth birthday, I threw him a lavish party. As I was arranging the finishing touches on his cake table, he gestured toward me and sneered for all his friends to hear.