Chapter 2
Ethan Foster had promised his daughter more times than Grace could count, and not once had he kept his word. Every time, Grace would tell Sophie gently, “Sophie, Daddy is just too busy. He runs a big company and is always on business trips. Please forgive Daddy, okay?”
But each time, truth slapped her face. He wasn’t on a business trip—he was traveling with Vivian Moore. He wasn’t stuck in meetings—he was out shopping with her.
Thankfully, their daughter was still so little she didn’t follow entertainment news. Ethan had never once shown up at Sophie’s preschool either. At a parent–child sports day, only Grace stood beside Sophie. Other kids called her a child without a father. Some even spat the word “bastard.” That day, the usually brave Sophie cried badly. “I didn’t lie… I do have a daddy…”
Grace held her close, grief swallowing her whole. She had thought that as long as she didn’t divorce, their daughter would have parents. But the truth was, divorce or not, their daughter always had no father. Ethan loved neither of them. His heart held room only for Vivian Moore and her daughter.
The next morning, four-year-old Sophie woke in the apartment. She still hadn't adapted to it all at once. “Mom… does our new home have no dad?”
A stab of pain struck Grace for no reason she could name. In a child’s heart, forgiveness for a father seemed endless. As long as Daddy brought a gift, was a little kind to her, she would forgive him again right away.
To keep her from feeling sad, Grace dressed her in a brand-new white princess dress, slipped new white shoes onto her feet. Only then did Sophie brighten. “Sweetheart, how about Mommy takes you to buy your birthday cake?”
“Okay! I want an Elsa cake.”
The cake shop was thick with sugar in the air. Sophie stared at the beautiful cakes in the window, her eyes brimming with stars. She wandered once around the cases and finally found the one she loved. “Mommy, look! There’s a real Elsa princess!”
She pattered to the chilled display, pressing her little face almost to the glass. Inside sat a delicate Elsa fondant cake. Elsa’s skirt flared like a breeze, a happy little princess right on top. “Mom, I want this one.” The stars in her dark eyes seemed about to spill out. Grace’s heart melted, she wanted to lay every good thing in the world at her daughter’s feet everything except a father who loved her.
“Okay.” She waved a clerk over to box it up.
Just then, a sharp little voice rang out. “Wow, an Elsa cake! I want it too!”
Grace went rigid. She turned and saw Vivian Moore and her daughter, Daisy, behind them trailed Ethan Foster, face soft and gentle. His driver’s hands were full of oversized shopping bags—the kind that screamed luxury—and they were obviously for Vivian and her daughter.
“Mommy, Uncle Ethan, I want the Elsa cake too!”
“I’m so sorry,” the clerk said, embarrassed. “We only have one ready-made Elsa cake today. We can take an order now, and you can pick it up in a few hours. But this one was claimed first. How about we let the little sister have it?”
“No! I want this one. I want this one!” Daisy pitched a fit on the spot.
Sophie panicked and planted her body in front of the cake. “No! I asked for this cake first! Today is my birthday!”
“So what if it’s your birthday?” Daisy snapped. “What I want is mine.” The bad-tempered little girl shoved Sophie.
Daisy was heavier than Sophie, and Sophie stumbled with the push. Grace’s heart clenched; she swept her daughter into her arms.
Ethan’s brows pulled together. He looked down his nose at Grace and Sophie. “Sophie, why are you being so unreasonable? It’s just a cake. Let Daisy have it—how can you be so selfish?”
Sophie froze, tipping her head back to stare at his cold face. Her small mouth parted; her eyes instantly rimmed red. Selfish? The selfish one was Daisy, yet he flipped the blame without blinking.
A hot surge of anger shot to Grace’s head. “Ethan Foster… do you even hear yourself?” Looking at that icy face, she felt suffocated. This was the man she had once loved. This was the man who was Sophie’s father.
She didn’t want to make a scene. She simply told the clerk, polite and steady, “Please box the cake for us.”
“Of course.” The clerk carefully lifted the cake from the case—
Daisy suddenly lunged and smacked the box from the clerk’s hands.
With a flat thud, the elegant Elsa cake fell. It hit the floor and exploded into ruin. The gorgeous fondant dissolved into a mess of colorful scraps. Elsa’s head rolled away, the smile on her face still fixed and sweet.
Silence fell over the store.
Sophie stared dumbly at the shattered cake. For a few seconds she couldn’t move at all. Then she broke into sobs, tears rolling down one by one. Her small body shook with the force of it. Grace crushed her to her chest.
“Mommy, Elsa broke!”
Sophie’s favorite Elsa had shattered. So had her heart. Her words slammed into Grace like a hammer. Broken was broken—no mending it. Just like her marriage with Ethan Foster.
