Chapter 121

Angela POV

My heart constricted painfully. "Oh, Aria..."

"What exactly did those children at school say to you, sweetheart?" I asked gently, brushing a dark curl away from her forehead. Children could be unintentionally cruel with their observations, and I needed to know what my daughter was facing.

"You don't have to worry about what the kids said." Her small hand found mine in the darkness. "I'm not sad about it. When they say mean things, Ethan always protects me."

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. "Darling, you don't need to worry about any of that. I'm here, and I'll never let anyone make fun of you or Ethan."

"I know," she mumbled, already drifting back toward sleep. "Ethan tells them we have the best mommy in the world instead of a daddy."

I waited until her breathing deepened before carefully extracting myself from her bed. In the hallway, I paused outside Ethan's room, peering through the crack in his door. Unlike his sister, he slept with military precision-straight as an arrow, barely disturbing the covers. So like his father.

In the quiet of the living room, I curled up on the sofa, memories washing over me like waves against the shore. The twins' situation at school had triggered recollections I'd kept locked away for years.

Flashback

I was twelve when I first truly understood what it meant to be different at the elite private academy I attended. As the daughter of John Wilson, I was initially welcomed with open arms. Designer clothes, chauffeured rides to school, invitations to exclusive birthday parties-I mistook it all for genuine friendship.

The illusion shattered one Tuesday afternoon in the girls' changing room. I'd forgotten my gym shirt and had doubled back to retrieve it when I heard my name.

"I'll tell you a little secret-Angela Wilson isn't as perfect as she seems." The voice belonged to Caroline Matthews, daughter of my father's business associate.

"What do you mean? Her family is like, super prestigious," another girl replied.

"Her mother was a scandal-ridden woman who dumped her for another man right after she was born. My mother says we shouldn't get too close to her."

"Seriously? I thought she had this perfect family."

"It's all for show! Her father hardly ever comes home now. He's always traveling around Europe."

"That's awful. We should probably keep our distance."

I stood frozen, the gym shirt clutched against my chest, tears blurring my vision. That day changed everything.

While the invitations continued-my family's wealth ensured that-I now recognized the hollow smiles and performative warmth for what they were.

I maintained the social appearances expected of a Wilson while quietly building walls around my heart, never again mistaking their politeness for genuine friendship.

By high school, I'd constructed impenetrable walls around myself.

Then came Jason Blackwell's sixteenth birthday party-an event I'd only been invited to because his mother and my father had business connections.

I stood alone on the balcony, watching other teenagers laugh and dance through the French doors, when I overheard a group of boys near the refreshment table.

"Fifty bucks says I can get Wilson to go out with me by the end of the month," said Marcus, the lacrosse team captain.

"You're on," replied his friend. "She's probably easy like her mom. Didn't she run off with some Italian count or something?"

Another boy leaned in, his voice dropping to a stage whisper that was clearly meant to be heard. "Hey guys, you think she's still a virgin?"

"No way," Marcus laughed, the sound cutting through me like a knife. "Girls from broken homes are always desperate for male attention. Her mom left, right? That messes girls up."

Their cruel laughter washed over me in waves of humiliation. I pressed myself deeper into the shadows, wishing I could disappear.

"What are you doing out here all alone?"

I turned to find Sean Shaw watching me, those piercing emerald eyes flickering with concern. We'd shared classes for years but rarely spoke, our social circles never intersecting despite our families' similar standing.

I quickly wiped away tears. "Nothing. Just getting some air."

His expression suddenly hardened as he glanced over my shoulder toward the boys. "I heard what those guys were saying about you."

I stared at the garden below, trying to mask my humiliation. "It's fine. I'm used to it."

Sean's jaw tightened. "No one has the right to talk about you like that. I'm going to deal with them."

"Don't," I grabbed his arm. "You'll just get in trouble."

His eyes met mine with unexpected intensity. "You're my friend, and friends stand up for each other. Starting today, no one talks about you like that while I'm around."

Before I could stop him, Sean marched straight to Marcus and his friends. Words were exchanged-I couldn't hear what was said-then suddenly Sean's fist connected with Marcus's jaw, sending him sprawling across the snack table.

"If any of you ever disrespect Angela Wilson again," Sean announced loud enough for everyone to hear, "you'll get worse than that."

Security escorted him out minutes later, but not before he caught my eye across the room, offering a slight nod that somehow felt like a promise.

The memory faded as I returned to the present, my fingers absently tracing the edge of the sofa in our new home.

How ironic that the man who had once been my protector was now the person I was protecting my children from.

I thought about Aria's words about children at school. Part of me wondered if I was being selfish, denying the twins their real father. But then I remembered the chaos that shadowed Sean's life, the dangerous rivalries, the complications with Christina, and his volatile temper.

Standing, I moved to the window.

"I'll give you both the security I never had," I whispered to the night, a promise to my sleeping children. "No matter what it takes."