OWNED BY MY EX-HUSBAND'S STEPBROTHER

The clock on the wall struck nine, and Gloria's husband still wasn't home.

She forced a smile and turned toward her daughter. "It's getting late, sweetheart. Let's go to bed."

Seven-year-old Annabel sat curled up on the couch in her pink Barbie birthday dress, her eyes fixed on the front door as if sheer will could make it open. The balloons Gloria had tied around the living room drifted quietly above her head, their ribbons swaying with each hum of the air conditioner.

"No," Annabel said softly. "Daddy said he'd come before we cut the cake."

Gloria's chest tightened.

"He will," she replied gently, stroking her daughter's hair though her throat felt dry. "Maybe he got stuck in traffic."

Annabel didn't argue, but her little fingers twisted the fabric of her dress anxiously. They'd been waiting since five. At first, Annabel had raced to the window with every flash of headlights. By seven, she'd started asking when her father would arrive. By eight, she'd stopped asking altogether.

Now she just waited.

Gloria couldn't take it anymore. She walked over and knelt in front of her daughter, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "Come on, baby. We can blow the candles tomorrow morning with Daddy, okay?"

Annabel's lower lip trembled. "Mommy, did Daddy forget?"

The question stabbed Gloria's heart like a knife.

"No," she said quickly. "Daddy would never forget you."

But even as the words left her mouth, Gloria knew she was lying. Victor had forgotten plenty before-school events, family dinners, anniversaries. Promises.

Still, Annabel nodded weakly and let her mother carry her to bed. She wrapped her little arms around Gloria's neck and clung tightly, as if afraid she might vanish too.

"I wanted to make a wish with him," Annabel whispered against her shoulder.

"I know, baby," Gloria murmured, kissing her hair.

After Annabel fell asleep, Gloria stayed beside her for a while, staring at the tear tracks on her cheeks. She wiped them gently with her thumb and removed the Barbie outfit, which Annabel had been eager to show her father earlier. Gloria's heart ached with guilt and helplessness.

When she returned to the dining room, the birthday cake sat untouched on the table, the seven candles still unlit. Victor's chair was empty.

Again.

Gloria picked up her phone and stared at his name on the screen for a long moment, deciding whether to call him or not, before pressing the call button.

He answered after the fifth ring.

"Hello?" Victor's voice came from the other end of the phone. He was breathing very hard, like he was running a marathon.

Gloria's stomach dropped. She knew what Victor was doing.

"Victor," she said, trying to keep her voice steady, "where are you? Annabel waited for you."

There was a short pause.

"I'm busy tonight," he replied.

Gloria tightened her grip on the phone. "She sat by the door for four hours. She wanted to cut the cake with you."

"I'll make it up to her,"