Chelsea Wells
Five Minutes Later
Enraged, Chelsea ran upstairs, locking herself inside her room. She stared into the mirror, horrified to see the imprint of her mother’s hand on her face. Days like today she hated her. Really, really hated her.
It was around age nine when Chelsea had first felt abandoned by her mother. While other girls whined about their own mothers being “too involved” in their lives, Chelsea was jealous of the relationships they all had. Her friends didn’t know how lucky they were. Her mother may have been around a majority of the time, but she wasn’t really there, not in the way a mother was supposed to be.
Their relationship was routine. Her mother asked if she had a good day at school. Chelsea said yes. Her mother smiled, and then returned to her office where she buried herself in whatever book project she was working on. Over time, Chelsea felt alone. If it hadn’t been for the love of her father, a man who wasn’t even her own flesh and blood, she wouldn’t have had any parental support in her life.
The neglect from her mother over the years had left a gaping hole inside her, a void that wasn’t filled until the day she met Bradley Claiborne. If his parents ever found out who her real father was, she knew they wouldn’t approve of the marriage, and their approval had always been important to Bradley. She leaned back on the bed, weighing all possible outcomes.
They would marry just like they planned, and her mother’s secret would stay buried.
She’d finally found real happiness, and nothing was getting in the way.