Mother

Chapter 1 

Ethan Gould made a reckless bet with his friends. He tossed an expensive watch into the swimming pool, daring my mom to retrieve it. They wagered on how long it would take her. 

But after my mom dove in, she never resurfaced. 

When they found her, she was still clutching that watch in her lifeless hand. 

Tears streaming down my face, I called Ethan demanding answers. His response chilled me to the 

bone. “Did your mom get the watch? I bet a million bucks on this. You can’t let me lose.” 

Rage coursed through my veins, making my whole body tremble. 

After laying my mom to rest, I walked away without a backward glance. Ethan’s desperate pleas for forgiveness fell on deaf ears. 

I vowed never to return. 

***** 

Three days had passed since my mom’s funeral. 

Ethan never called again after that day. He was too wrapped up in his wild parties to spare a thought for me or my mom. 

In the early hours of the morning, I dragged my exhausted body back to the villa. The moment I reached the door, I was assaulted by bright lights pouring from inside. 

As I pushed the door open, deafening music and shouting hit me like a physical force. 

There was Ethan, the center of attention as always. Mia Chandler perched on his lap, their lips locked in a passionate kiss. 

I stood frozen, watching the scene with a cold detachment I didn’t know I possessed. 

Suddenly, someone spotted me. The music cut off abruptly. 

An eerie silence fell over the room. Everyone’s expressions were a mix of shock and awkward surprise. 

Ethan seemed to sense the change. He glanced up at me lazily, his hand still casually resting on Mia’s waist. He made no move to push her away. 

“You’re back,” he said. 

His tone as casual as if he were commenting on the weather. 

Mia nestled closer to him, her lips curving into a smirk. “Sienna, it’s just a bit of fun. You don’t mind, right?” 

Just a bit of fun? 

Those words echoed in my mind, a stark reminder of how little I meant to them. 

How insignificant my mother’s life had been in their eyes. In their world, everything was a game – even life and death. 

I felt a fire ignite within me, a rage so intense it threatened to consume everything in its path. But I held it in check, letting it simmer beneath the surface. 

Seeing my expression, Ethan’s face darkened, his brows furrowing in annoyance. 

Sensing the tension, someone quickly changed the subject. “Sienna, did your mom get the watch?” “That’s a limited edition. I bet my sports car on it. If I lose, I’m out big time.” 

“This game was Mia’s idea. She really knows how to have fun.” 

Laughter erupted around the room. 

“Was it fun?” I asked. 

My voice barely above a whisper, yet somehow cutting through the noise. My gaze, filled with hatred, swept across the room. 

Ethan leaned forward, straining to hear. “What did you say?” 

I gritted my teeth, each word dripping with venom. “I said, was it fun to toy with my mom? Did you enjoy watching her struggle while you all laughed?” 

When my mom jumped in, they stood by the pool, laughing hysterically. They refused to tell her where the watch had fallen. She looked so lost and confused in the water. When she didn’t surface for a while, they got bored and left. 

No one knew that minutes later, my mom got a leg cramp. She struggled briefly before going still. When I arrived after the housekeeper’s frantic call, my mom was pale and cold. Her hand still clutched 

the watch Ethan had dared her to retrieve. 

I cried until I had no tears left, but it couldn’t bring my mom back. 

I’d been with Ethan for three years. I knew he loved to party, that he could be reckless when caught up in the moment. But I never imagined he’d be cruel enough to gamble with my mother’s life. 

What did my mom and I mean to him? 

If he truly cared about me, how could he treat my mother’s life as just another game?