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.

that he wasn't insisting,

left, Fitch whipped out

the other end made the corners of

like this, I refuse to believe he'll pass

"Yes, Mr. Haskins."

catching sight of Nolan staring blankly at the

heart ached instantly. The boy was precocious, aware at such a young age that

Deep down, Nolan probably

want him anymore. The child's fear was palpable,

job at the kindergarten, the

her eyes, every child was hers, her love equally divided among all her students, with no special place

so hard

the greatest wrongs in his life

to the front to grab

time Fitch had seen Zoey create

the insurmountable separation adults talked about, but why did it still feel

his fingertips were about to touch the

adored Zoey, all

is mine,