Natasha drove in silence. The road back felt longer than usual. Her hands were steady on the steering wheel, but her mind wasn't. Every word the woman had said replayed itself, over and over.
Buy what kids love.
Pick him up from school sometimes.
Be nice to the boy.
Stop fighting Fiona.
Act like you've accepted them.
Natasha scoffed. Accepted them? Easy for someone else to say. The thought made her chest burn. Accept Fiona? Smile at her? Sit at the same table and pretend everything was fine?
It felt humiliating, but humiliation was better than losing.
She glanced at the clock on the dashboard. Leo would be back from school soon. If she was going to do this, it had to look natural.
She slowed at the next junction, hesitated for half a second, then turned the wheel sharply and made a U-turn.
'Fine! I will play the part' she thought aloud.
