Dear Ex-wife Marry Me by Twin Bridge

"Yeah, Mom's got a new beau now and doesn't need him or Dad anymore."

Sister Rosemary used to say that stepmothers could be wicked, leaving kids hungry, cold, and sometimes even selling them off to some godforsaken place in the boonies. The more Nolan thought about it, the deeper his sense of loss became.

As recess rolled around, Zoey stepped out of the classroom and immediately spotted Fitch standing not too far away.

She wasn't exactly fond of the man, but he was, after all, Zion City's biggest investor. She owed him some courtesy.

"Mr. Haskins."

She called out and started heading to her office.

"Ms. March, are you off for a break now?"

Zoey forced a smile, not too keen on chatting, but managed to respond, "Yeah, in an hour the kids will have lunch. I need to get the storybook ready for our pre-meal reading." "I'll join you."

"That won't be necessary, Mr. Haskins. I'm sure you're quite busy."

"Not at all."

Taking a deep breath, Zoey replied with feigned cheerfulness, "Really, it's fine. This sort of thing, I usually do with my boyfriend."

Fitch didn't budge, fiddling with his lighter that he had pulled out but hadn't used, twirling it between his fingers.

he wasn't insisting, Zoey continued on

as she left, Fitch whipped out his

on the other end made the corners of his mouth curl into a cold

an opportunity like this, I refuse to believe he'll pass it up. Have

"Yes, Mr. Haskins."

classroom door, catching sight of Nolan staring blankly at the crafts

boy was precocious, aware at such a young age that Zoey was

Deep down, Nolan probably

start a new family and didn't want him

with her job at the kindergarten, the faint

love equally divided among all her students, with no special

must be so hard

greatest wrongs

front to

time Fitch had seen Zoey create something, and

being with Mom didn't mean the insurmountable separation adults talked about, but

as his fingertips were about to touch the little cat,

kids in the class adored Zoey, all vying for

is mine, all