My Family Left Me on Read So I Disappeared Forever Chapter 02
When the baby was three months old, Ethan booked a private dining room for a welcome–baby luncheon. He invited enough relatives and friends to fill four tables.
Mom started preparing early that morning. She put on a new burgundy jacket and had Ethan drive her to the salon.
When she returned, she stood in front of the mirror, turning from side to side with a delighted smile.
“You look great today, Mom,” Ethan said.
Her eyes crinkled with pleasure.
“Of course I do. It’s my grandson’s big day. His grandma has to look her best.”
She spotted me in the mirror, and her smile dimmed.
“You should make an effort too. Put on something
presentable, and try not to look as if you’ve just finished
crying.”
I opened my closet.
The only sweater without milk stains had a stretched–out
neckline.
“That’s what you’re wearing?” Mom glanced at it, her
mouth twisting with disapproval.
“Never mind. Wear whatever you like. No one will be looking
at you anyway.”
The restaurant was crowded and noisy. Every relative and
family friend seemed to be there.
Mom carried the baby from table to table.
“Come look at our little boy. Doesn’t he look just like his father?”
“What a strong, healthy baby. You must be taking wonderful care of him.”
“Of course.” Mom laughed loudly.
“I’ve taken care of him since the day he came home from the
hospital. His mother hasn’t been well, so she can’t do much.”
“I know exactly how much formula he takes, when he sleeps, and when his vaccinations are due. I keep track of everything.”
The relatives murmured their admiration.
“You’ve worked so hard.”
“You have no idea.” Mom sighed and lowered her voice just enough to seem modest, though half the table could still
hear her.
“I was living perfectly well back home, but I had to come all this way. I wouldn’t put myself through this if I didn’t love my grandson.”
I sat in the farthest corner with my head down, quietly eating.
One of Ethan’s aunts approached with a glass of wine and
patted Mom on the shoulder.
“You’re lucky. Your son–in–law treats you like his own
mother.”
“He certainly does.” Mom handed the baby to Ethan, her eyes glowing with satisfaction.
“Ethan’s a hundred times better to me than my own
daughter. He earns good money and takes care of his family. Our Evie must’ve used up a lifetime’s worth of luck to land him.”
Ethan took the baby and smiled. He didn’t disagree, and he didn’t look at me.
His mother, seated at the head table, joined in.
“Our Ethan has had a difficult time. He works all day, then
comes home and has to take care of both the baby and his wife.”
By his wife, she meant me.
My fingers tightened around my spoon.
My cousin’s wife, Megan Carter, sat down beside me and spoke quietly.
“How has your recovery been? You don’t look well.”
I had barely opened my mouth when Mom cut in from across the table.
“What could possibly be wrong with her? I cook for her, wait on her hand and foot, and handle the baby so she doesn’t have to worry about anything.”
“Yet somehow, no one in the world is more exhausted than she is.”
Megan offered me an uncomfortable smile, then looked away.
The baby suddenly began crying. Ethan couldn’t calm him, and Mom was busy making a toast.
I was on my feet before I even realized it, reaching for my son.
“I’ll take him.”
Mom hurried back and snatched him from Ethan’s arms before I could touch him.
“I’ve got him. Don’t touch him. Your hands are cold.”
Then she turned to the relatives nearby with a smile and lowered her voice as if she were sharing a harmless joke.
“He always cries harder when she holds him. Maybe babies can sense things the rest of us can’t.”
Several people laughed.
I slowly let my empty hands fall to my sides.
I returned to my seat and watched everyone gather around my son.
Mom laughed louder than anyone. Ethan stood beside her, agreeing with everything she said, while his mother fussed over the meal and ordered more food for the table.
Everyone had a place in my child’s life. Everyone except me.
I pushed back my chair and stood.
“Mom.”
She was putting food on Ethan’s aunt’s plate. When she
turned toward me, she was still smiling.
“You’ve spent this entire party telling everyone I’m incapable of taking care of my own child. Did you ever once ask me what I actually do?”
Her smile disappeared.
The conversation around the table died, and Mom’s expression hardened.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“I have postpartum depression, but that doesn’t make me useless.”
My voice shook, but I didn’t stop.
“I take care of him too. I make his bottles at night, change
his diapers, and rock him to sleep. You just never see any of it.”
Every eye at the table turned toward me.
Mom’s eyes immediately reddened. She slapped her fork down on the table.
“So this is how you repay me? I left my home and came all
this way to take care of you. Now you’re tearing me down in front of the whole family?”
“I wasn’t tearing you down-”
“Yes, you were!”
She shot to her feet, her voice rising sharply.
“Do you all hear this? What do I get for everything I’ve
done? I gave up my comfortable life back home to come here
and wait on her hand and foot. And now she says I’m too controlling.”
She turned to the rest of the table, her lips trembling.
“The biggest regret of my life is ever having her.”
The entire room went still.
My heartbeat thudded in my ears. Each beat was louder than the last.
Under the table, Ethan clamped a hand around my wrist and squeezed so hard my bones ached.
“That’s enough,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Sit down.”
Mom covered her face and burst into tears. Ethan’s mother immediately handed her a tissue.
“Please don’t be upset. Evie was out of line. I’ll apologize on her behalf.”
Ethan’s aunt rubbed Mom’s back before turning to glare at me.
“Do you have any idea how much your mother has sacrificed for you? You humiliated her in front of everyone. How can you be so heartless?”
My aunt shook her head too.
“We understand that your emotions are unstable after
giving birth, but you can’t take everything out on your own mother.”
No one asked why I had spoken up.
From beginning to end, not one person asked what had happened to me.
Mom cried louder as everyone gathered around to comfort her.
I remained in the corner, staring at the red marks Ethan’s
fingers had left around my wrist.
He had already released me.
Now he was standing with a glass raised, smiling as he toasted the relatives.
“I’m sorry everyone had to see that. Evie hasn’t been doing well lately. I’ll talk to her when we get home.”
He lifted his glass higher.
“Come on, everyone. Let’s drink. Today is supposed to be a happy day for the baby.”
His smile was flawless, as though the scene from moments earlier had never happened.
When the celebration ended, I stood outside the restaurant holding my son’s little coat.
Mom emerged from the building. Her tears had already dried.
She passed me without stopping.
“You just wait.”
Ethan followed behind her with one arm around her shoulders.
He never looked back at me.
I remained at the entrance, clutching my baby’s coat to my chest.
When I lifted it to my face, I could still smell milk on the fabric.
At this rate, I would soon lose even the chance to hold him.