Love, Lies, and a Fatal Dog

attacked by a dog. I rushed to the emergency room, only to find h

d meeting. "What's all the fuss? I was in the middle of a meeting." He then shockingly defended the dog, Caesar

concern while smirking triumphantly at me. Cohen wrapped an arm around her, declaring it "not your fault, Hillary. It was an accident." He

ranging her funeral, picking out her burial clothes, and writing

in hand, with the caption: "Living the good life in the Maldives! Spontaneous trips are the best! #blessed #zuri

eling at my mother's grave, I finally understood. My sacrifices, my hard work, my love-

pte

iet of my office. It was a neighbor,

! You need to come quick!

ing in the sudden silence. I mumbled something, a thank you or a

bandages, but blood was already seeping through, staining the cloth a

spered, my v

it was a grimace. "It's

ound was deep. They were

expensive suit unwrinkled, his hair perfectly in place. He lo

ss? I was in the m

almost bored. It gra

her, Cohen. It w

. The woman who looked at me like I wa

d, but not with concern fo

st playful. Your mom

t I was hearing. Playful? The doctor h

illary would never let him hurt anyone on purpose. Your mot

h me. I looked from my mother's p

ing to pet him.

eyes wide with fake concern. She rushed

. Caesar has never done anything like thi

k when Cohen wasn't looking. The loo

her. "It's not your fault, H

important business trip to Zurich tomorrow. I can't cancel it. Make su

over me. It was the kind of q

oing?" I asked,

-dollar deal, Jaycee. You

He didn't see the tiny cracks in my

I said softly.

n't making a scene. "That's my

her patronizing pat. "I'

und her shoulders as she dabbed at her dry eyes. I did

rse. The infection had spread. Her fever spiked. The doctors

d that

of the machines stopped. The only

. I tried again. And again. No answer. His phone was off. He must be

at I couldn't bring myself to read. My mother had been so excited for the wedding. She had already bought her dres

and family

that bastard Cohen?" my cousi

on a business trip. He doesn't know.

them. I was l

d have wanted. I stood at her graveside, the cold wind wh

turned earth. My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a not

embled as I o

llary. He had his arm around her, and she was laughing, holding a glass of champagne. The caption

was burying my mother, he was on a lavish vac

ping for air, my stomach heaving. The betrayal was a

was all a lie. His concern, hi

dirt. The screen of my phone was blurry with my tears.

red, my voice raw. "I'm so

d seeping into my bones. When I finally

one last time, at his

my voice clear and steady. "He's

o her then, a sile