Christy's POV
Kendrick's promise still echoed in my ears long after his mother had stormed out, the slam of the door vibrating through my chest like an aftershock I couldn't shake.
"I will never let her, or anyone else, take you away from me again." His words were supposed to soothe me, supposed to make me feel safe, but instead, I felt torn in two.
My heart wanted to believe him, to lean into the safety of his arms and let that promise shield me from everything.
But my head… my head wouldn't stop replaying the resentment in his mother's voice, the raw hatred burning in her eyes when she looked at me.
She didn't see me as Kendrick's love, or the mother of his child, or even just as Christy. No, to her, I was nothing more than a Lancaster, nothing more than an enemy.
