Laura

"Have you ever thought about what you’re saying, Laura?"

Oliver’s voice sliced through the silence like a blade. His eyes were sharp, cold, accusatory. "You forgave them for everything. Why are you acting like a child now?"

He dropped my hand when he saw me crying—for the first time because of the triplets’ cruelty. He wiped his face like he was scrubbing me from his skin.

"I have work. I might not come home tonight."

And just like that, he left—again. No fight, no warmth. Just an empty page and a woman out of reasons to beg.

I didn’t chase him. Not this time.

I knelt beside what was left of Pebble’s head. Her body was too mangled to recognize, and I dug a grave with my bare hands, uneven and fresh.

I didn’t even sleep in my bed that night. I slept on top of Pebble’s grave. My cheek pressed against the cold earth. My eyes too swollen to cry anymore.

At dawn, a message from Mrs. Hudson lit up my phone: Let’s talk. Meet me.

The reading room in the Hudson residence was empty when I arrived. She sat with folded hands, her tired eyes looking at me.

"I heard about Pebble," she said, her voice heavy. "They crossed a line."

I didn’t say anything. For the first time, I didn’t defend the children who’d broken me. I didn’t make excuses. They’re just kids had long since stopped being a defense.

"Have you really made up your mind, Laura?" Her voice trembled slightly. "I still believe you can win their hearts. Win Oliver’s. You just need more time."

Time.

Seven years. That’s how long I’ve been here. Seven years of giving, sacrificing, waiting.

I remembered the love story everyone used to admire—Oliver and Maureen, childhood sweethearts turned picture-perfect couple. Together since they were one year old, through school and beyond. But as adults, Oliver dated other women, disappointing Maureen who had hoped for more.

Years later, Maureen suddenly told me Oliver wanted to marry her. I was happy for her, especially after she gave birth to triplets in their second year of marriage.

But that perfection came at a price. After Maureen died, Oliver became a ghost. A man who let his children rot in grief while he hid in boardrooms and meetings.

That’s when Mrs. Hudson came to me. “Help them,” she said. “Heal my son. Raise his children.”

So I did. I stepped in. I gave my life to keep them together. I never wore a wedding ring. I never shared a bedroom. I was a shadow with a title.

As for the triplets, they grew up like most babies do. They loved me when they were small, kissing the woman who helped them take their first steps. But as they grew, something changed. They stopped showing warmth and respect. Instead, they looked at me like I was the villain.

They started linking me to their mother’s death, planting hatred and treating me cruelly.

But I endured. And every day I told myself: They’ll learn to love me.

They didn’t. They never tried.

And now I’m done pretending they might.

Mrs. Hudson didn’t argue anymore. She reached into her bag and handed me a folder.

Divorce papers.

I didn’t cry. I didn’t panic. I felt... free.

But freedom comes with its own cruelty.

When I got back to the house, the first thing I saw wasn’t a vase flying at my feet. It was a suitcase. My suitcase, the one I’d kept hidden under the bed for years. Packed. Zipped. Waiting by the door.

Luca stood beside it with a crooked smile. “We figured you’d want to spend another night on your dog’s grave.”

“We packed for you,” Levi added, face blank. “A goodbye gift. For all your years of service.”

I turned to Leon.

Silent. Always silent.

But this time, he smiled. And it wasn’t a smile of peace—it was a smile of victory. The kind he only ever gave his father.

Then came the voice that snapped the last thread holding me there.

“Hey honey, who’s here?”

Amber, Oliver’s first love.

She walked into that house like she owned it. Like she’d never left. Her red lips curled upward in fake surprise.

“Oh—it’s you, Laura,” she said, sweet as a seasoned actress. “Looks like the kids helped you pack. Headed out?”

My jaw tightened. My hands clenched. But I didn’t say a word.

Amber turned back to the children.

“Come on, sweethearts. Snacks are waiting. Daddy’s in the living room.”

“Yay! Aunt Amber, you’re the best!” Luca cheered, bounding forward.

Amber’s laughter followed them down the hallway.

Leon didn’t say a single word. Never looked back at me.

And I… stood alone.

Again.

But this time, it would be the last.

Laura

Something cracked inside me when I saw the triplets smile—truly smile—at someone else.

I raised them. Fed them. Sat by their beds when they were sick, chased away their nightmares. Yet, they still looked at her like she was their sun.

I stepped forward. But before I reached the door, Levi turned around. He stood at the threshold like a little soldier.

"Who told you to come in?" His voice was flat. Cold. "Go be with your dog. He might be lonely."

He pushed me with his small hand, slammed the door, and I heard the click of the lock.

He locked me out, just as the sky darkened with wind and rain starting to fall harder.

I curled up beside Pebble’s grave as thunder rolled. Rain soaked my clothes, cold and punishing. Inside, the house glowed with warmth.

Then a maid came out. “Ma’am… Mr. Hudson asked you to come in.”

I didn’t ask why.

Inside, the living room looked like a staged family portrait. Luca on Amber’s lap, Levi and Leon beside her. Oliver next to them, laptop open.

I tried to head to the bedroom, but his voice stopped me.

“You know the kids don’t like being left with a nanny. Why did you leave them alone?”

I turned. Forced a smile.

“Maybe it’s time they got used to it. Or better yet, ask Miss Peyton. They seem closer to her.”

His face hardened.

“I told you—I want a divorce.”

Oliver stood. Slammed his laptop shut. Crossed the room in three long strides and grabbed my wrist.

“You still dare to say that?”

“Why not?”

“I won’t let you go.”

I looked at the triplets. “Then ask them. Maybe that’s what they want too.”

“Just go!” Levi shouted. “I don’t want a murderer for a mom!”

“Our mom is Maureen! You’ll never be her!” Luca muttered.

Leon said nothing. But his silence was worse.

I stared into Oliver’s eyes. “You heard them.”

“You’re so stubborn.” He turned to Amber. “Take them upstairs.”

Amber hesitated, her face disappointed, but she obeyed and took the kids away.

Oliver turned back to me.

“You really want this divorce?”

I nodded.

“I won’t allow it. Don’t bring it up again.”

He left.

A second after Oliver walked away, Amber approached me. She looked at me with a mix of triumph and pity. Pity not just because I was an orphan, but because I was rejected by both husband and triplets. Even after seven years of marriage, I hadn’t had any children with Oliver.

“So sad,” she said. “You thought being Maureen’s sister would give you a chance to replace her?”

I remained silent.

“You know Oliver prefers me, right? Every night. Every inch of me.” She leaned closer. “You? Just a substitute.”

I clenched my fists. Her words slid in like poison.

“You should’ve died with Maureen,” she hissed. “Then I could’ve had Oliver without competition.”

My heart sank. For seven years, only the Hudson family kept the secret of Maureen’s death. No one even knew I was in that accident, except the doctor and police who handled Maureen’s body—and my mother.

The media didn’t even know what caused Oliver Hudson’s wife’s death, so how could Amber know? I remembered she was overseas for school at the time.

Amber smirked, “pathetic. She knows nothing.”

“Shut up!”

It’s not true, I was sure it was all lies. Maureen—Oliver loved her so much. There’s no way his behavior all this time was just a facade.

Amber, for some reason, I was beginning to suspect her. Ever since she came back, maybe her mission was to get rid of me using the triplets. I was sure she had said something about Maureen’s death and made me a suspect, earning the triplets’ hatred.

Then I understood—she knew more than she should have known.

Amber grinned. She had said too much.

I stepped forward, my anger boiling over. “You—”

She screamed. Grabbed my wrist. Threw herself backward.

Leon, who had been coming down the stairs, witnessed the whole thing.

He ran toward her. “Amber! Are you okay?”

She groaned, fake as plastic. “She accused me of forcing you all to hate her, Leon…”

Leon turned to me. His gaze pierced right through me.

“First you killed my mom. Now Amber?”

“No—Leon, I didn’t—”

“Liar!” He shoved me hard. “You hurt everyone!”

He ran to the front door and kicked my suitcase.

“GET OUT!”

Levi and Luca followed him. No questions. Just action. Just fury. They pushed me. Dragged my suitcase out. Slammed the door.

Before it closed, I saw Amber standing behind them, smiling.

It was over.

Before I left, I visited Pebble’s grave. Poured my heart out like I always did, though there was no longer her thick fur to comfort me.

Unfortunately, Oliver approached me.

“Laura,” he said gently. “Come with us. We’re going out of town for a bit. Just to clear our heads.”

I looked at him. “After your kids threw me out, now you want a vacation?”

“I’ve spoken to them,” he said. “They regret it.”

That line again.

I once dreamed of this, going on a little trip, camping, spending time together as a family. But I had long accepted that it would never happen.

Now, after everything, they suddenly offer me the one thing I’ve always longed for?

“There’s nothing left to regret,” I said.

“Just for the kids,” he pleaded.

Always about them. Never about me.

I sighed, forced myself to nod just to end the conversation. I wasn’t going to see it as a chance to mend things—this was just my last act of service.

We left when the sun was at a 45° angle. The car was silent the entire drive. When we arrived at a clearing in the middle of the forest, the triplets got out and walked ahead.

Oliver took a call from a business partner, pulled over briefly, and asked me to watch the kids. They ran off, wandering freely like they had no fear. I followed them, just to be sure.

They reached the northern edge of the forest, standing with their backs to a steep waterfall.

Luca looked at me and pulled something out of his pocket.

My mother’s antique pearl necklace. It had been missing for years, ever since I came to the Hudson estate.

“Where did you get that?”

He didn’t answer. He just threw it toward the edge of the cliff.

Leon nodded at it. “It’s yours, right? Go ahead and take it.”

I stepped forward, unwilling to let my mother’s keepsake be discarded by their behavior. Leaves crunched beneath my feet as I made my way through the brush where Luca had thrown the necklace.

I didn’t realize how close I was to the edge.

For a moment, I felt relief in my chest when I managed to spot the necklace. I bent down to pick it up—when footsteps behind me made me turn around.

The triplets stood in a line, ten meters away from where I stood.

In their hands—small crossbows with sharp tips. Each of them raised their weapons and aimed directly at me.

"Kids..." I whispered, stepping back slightly, but the ground behind me was sloping steeply.

There was no emotion on their faces. Just emptiness, cold resolve.

"Why…?" My voice barely came out.

Then—without a word—they pulled the triggers at the same time.

One bolt struck my shoulder, sending me staggering. The pain burned like fire.

I stumbled backward. Gravel loosened beneath my feet. My breath caught.

They were really trying to kill me.

This wasn’t just hate. This was an execution. A carefully laid plan.

Panic erupted inside me. I tried to run, but a second bolt pierced my left arm. The world seemed to slow as I fell backward.

My eyes caught their faces—calm, almost peaceful.

I fell.

And the world went dark.