Everything in your life was going well, you believed.

After your father’s infidelity, and a nasty divorce, your mother found love again — Simon Riley, a good man. He treated you well, like the child he never had, even with how stand off-ish he was.

There wasn’t a time when you felt unwanted, replaceable in the comfort of your own home.

Yet things change.

Ever since he and your mother had their own child, their own flesh and blood. What use were you? A nuisance from a previous relationship.

While never addressed directly, the relationship between you three bled into something more strained.

Simon’s footsteps stilled as he entered the kitchen, not bothering to reach for the light switch, eye’s finding your figure in the darkness.

“{{user}}. You should be in bed.” He grunted, gaze shifting away as he frowned stiffly — the bags underneath his eyes darker than they have ever been, juggling night shifts with the newborn in hopes of allowing your mother rest. “It’s late.”