Page 1 of He Doesn't Deserve You

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Emily quickly stuffed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich into a baggie and placed it in the Little Mermaid lunchbox. With a shout up the stairs, she called out to the twins, urging them to hurry as they were running late yet again.

It was only the second month of their sophomore year, and the school had already contacted Gabriel twice about the boys’ tardiness. The authorities had even warned that detention would be the next consequence if they were late again. Emily wouldn’t have minded if they faced detention, but according to Gabriel, the responsibility fell on her as the adult to ensure the boys arrived at school on time.

As Emily tossed an apple and yogurt into the lunchbox and zipped it up, Hayden, the older twin, shuffled into the kitchen, still half-asleep. Absentmindedly grabbing his lunch money from the counter, he moved to leave.

Acting quickly, Emily caught his elbow, prompting him to stop. “Wait, do you have baseball practice today?” she asked, eager to confirm when she needed to pick him up from school.

Grumpy from being spoken to so early in the morning, Hayden removed his headphones, “What?” he snapped.

Emily repeated, “I asked if you have practice today?”

“Yeah,” Hayden replied, putting his headphones back on before leaving the kitchen.

Moving to the bottom of the stairs, Emily called out again, “Hunter!”

“Yeah,” Hunter replied, appearing by her side unexpectedly, startling her. After living in their house for two years, Emily was still adjusting to its spaciousness, mainly because it featured two staircases - a modest one in the kitchen and a grand, sweeping staircase in the foyer.

Emily placed a hand on her chest and exclaimed, “Oh, you scared me!”

Hunter smirked, casually shrugged and sauntered off. Turning her attention to her four-year-old daughter munching on a pop tart and engrossed in cartoons, Emily gently said, “Come on, sweetie, it’s time to go.”

Ava looked up at her mother and smiled. “Okay, Mommy,” she said, climbing off her chair.

Emily marveled at Ava’s sweetness, prompting her to wonder if the twins would have been kinder to her if she and their father had gotten together when they were younger. After six years of marriage, she found it hard to believe they still treated her as if she were a temporary inconvenience. In the early days of their relationship, Emily had gone out of her way to win their favor, but she had long abandoned that endeavor. She suspected that Olivia, the twins’ mother and Gabriel’s ex, had poisoned their minds with lies about her, making the twins believe that showing affection towards Emily would betray their mother.

After assisting Ava in her car seat, Emily settled into the Jag’s driver’s seat and passed Hunter the lunch money he had forgotten on the kitchen counter. He nonchalantly tucked the bills into his hoodie pocket, maintaining his silence. It had been weeks since he had last spoken to her, still mad that she had ratted him out to his father for sneaking out after curfew and getting him grounded.

Ten minutes later, Emily pulled the car into the circular drop-off driveway. The boys got out without acknowledging their sister, whocheerfully waved and wished them a good day. Their behavior infuriated her. Emily couldn’t care less if they ignored her, but she refused to tolerate them treating their sister dismissively. She made a mental note to address their conduct with Gabriel when he returned home from work later that afternoon.

Her next stop was Ava’s preschool. Emily was helping Ava out of the car, and she sighed when she caught sight of little Sophia and her mother, Taylor.Oh great, she thought to herself, not in the mood to deal with Taylor that morning.

Taylor halted in the parking lot, waiting for Emily and Ava to catch up. When they drew near, a broad smile illuminated Taylor’s face. “I was hoping to run into you,” she began warmly. “Sophia and I would love to invite you and Ava over for a playdate this weekend.”

On a mission to get Ava into school so she wouldn’t be late for her exercise class, Emily walked past Taylor with Ava in tow. Still holding her daughter’s hand, Emily replied, “We’d love to, but I’m going to be out of town this weekend.”

“Nice! Are you and Gabriel finally getting a little alone time?” Taylor inquired.

“No, I’m going away with Sydney,” Emily responded, immediately regretting her words as soon as they left her mouth.

“Oh, a girl’s weekend?” Taylor commented. “Is anyone else going? I haven’t had a girls’ getaway in years.”

Emily opened the preschool door and held it wide for Taylor and Sophia to walk through. Trying to think fast on her feet, Emily said, “No, it’s just the two of us. Sydney is going through some issues and needs some alone time.” Again, she regretted telling Taylor too much.

“Oh, yeah,” Taylor leaned closer to Emily and whispered, “I heard she’s been having issues with her marriage. Her husband lost his job, and they’re struggling financially.”

“No, they’re fine,” Emily replied, a hint of annoyance creeping into her voice. “Listen, Taylor, I’m running late. I need to get Ava to class. Wewill have to catch up later, okay?” Emily scooped up Ava and headed to her classroom.

“Okay,” Taylor waved, “I guess I’ll see you later.”

Shortly after, Emily arrived at the gym and joined Sydney in the exercise class.

“You’re late,” Sydney commented.

“I bumped into Taylor this morning,” Emily replied.

Sydney rolled her eyes. “When are you going to tell her you don’t want to be her friend?”

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