Seven Years a Shadow: The Stand-In's Escape

At the charity gala, I put up the engagement necklace Lucas Miller had given me for auction.Lucas's seven-year-old son threw a glass of red wine in my face.He stared at me, drenched and humiliated, his cold, mocking expression a mirror image of his father's."That was my mom's! Who do you think you are, selling it?""You really think erasing her presence makes you the lady of the Miller family?""There will never be a place for you here!"Looking at the child I had raised with my own hands, I felt neither sadness nor anger—just calm."You don't have to worry. I never planned on staying."My flight was already booked.I had hesitated about how to say goodbye to him, but now I realized—I didn't need to.