None of those questions had an easy answer.
That made Sean angry.
Not at Vivian.
At a situation he could not control.
From upstairs, the bedroom door opened slightly.
Sean turned at once.
Reflexively.
Tense.
But the person who came out was not Vivian. Not his father, either. Only the light from inside the room shifted, as if someone had stood and moved around.
Sean stiffened again.
"She wants to take everything..."
His aunt's voice surfaced again.
But this time, it was not as firm as before. It sounded more like a warning.
Like a voice beginning to lose its place.
Sean looked at the stairs again. Then at his siblings. Then back upstairs.
His face remained hard, but something inside him had begun to crack.
He did not know whom to believe.
Aunt Helen, who had always felt like an extension of the mother they had lost.
Or Vivian, who, day after day, kept this house running without asking for anything.
Finally, Sean turned slowly.
Not up.
Not down.
He sat on the stair, lowered his head, and clenched his small hands on his knees.
For the first time since Vivian came to this house, Sean was not making a plan to "win."
He was confused.
And that confusion was far more dangerous than anger.
Ever since the new room was finished, Sean had felt something change in their house.
Not a big change.
Not something anyone could see immediately.
But enough to make him restless.
In the mornings, Dad and Vivian came downstairs together for breakfast.
They were not holding hands. They did not look like a couple drunk on love. In fact, they were still often awkward around each other.
But still.
They came down from the same room.
And that made Sean remember Aunt Helen's words again.
The call came while Sean was packing his schoolbag. His phone screen showed a name he knew too well.
Aunt Helen.
Sean answered at once. "Hello, Aunt Helen."
"Sean, how are things at home?"
Sean was quiet for a moment. "Normal."
"Still normal?" Helen's tone sharpened. "Your father is already sharing a room with t…
The Thirty-Third Bride
Episode 19
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