Chapter 2: The Fool in the Story

“That concludes the reading,” the lawyer said.

I stared at him in disbelief. “That’s it? But she promised me…”

The realization hit so hard my stomach twisted. Had she lied to me the entire time?

I stood abruptly and walked out before either of them could watch me fall apart. By the time I reached my tiny rental house, my chest physically hurt. I slammed the door behind me and collapsed fully dressed across the bed, boots and all.

At first, all I felt was humiliation. Then anger. Then that familiar feeling I had carried most of my life — the awful certainty that I was the fool in a story everyone else understood long before I did.

But underneath all of that was grief. Real grief. Because somewhere between her sarcastic insults, terrible cooking, and game shows, I had started believing I mattered to Mrs. Rhode as much as she mattered to me… Continue Reading ⬇️