THE LIE THAT WORE A RING - Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Alina didn’t strike with rage. She struck with reason.
And reason was dangerous. It made her sound calm, logical—credible.
She didn’t accuse Nathaniel. She questioned him.
Gently.
Deceptively.
It began one morning over breakfast.
Nathaniel had left early for school, refusing to sit at the table with her. Sophie, unusually quiet, pushed her cereal around. Dominic was checking his emails, barely present.
Alina looked up, her voice soft. “Do you think Nathaniel’s okay?”
Dominic glanced over his phone. “He’s a teenager. They mope.”
“But it’s more than that,” she said carefully, placing her spoon down. “He doesn’t talk to me. He avoids Sophie. I’ve even noticed Maria’s been acting odd—like they’re whispering about something.”
Dominic frowned. “He’s protective of Sophie. That’s not a crime.”
“I know,” she sighed. “I just wonder if… if maybe he’s angry that you moved on. That we got married so quickly.”
She didn’t cry.
She didn’t raise her voice.
She just let silence settle into the room.
Let guilt soak into Dominic’s shoulders.
By the time he stood to leave, the seed had been planted.
That evening, Nathaniel returned home late.
Dominic was waiting in the study.
“Where have you been?” he asked, calm but firm.
“Library,” Nathaniel replied. “Studying.”
“With Maria?”
The question caught him off guard.
“What?”
Dominic stood slowly. “She’s been… fueling something in you. This attitude. The distance.”
Nathaniel shook his head. “No, Dad. I’m not distant. I’m trying to protect what’s left of Mom in this house. Alina is erasing her.”
“You think that,” Dominic said, exhaling. “But it’s not the truth. Alina has done nothing but try to hold this family together.”
Nathaniel felt his throat tighten. “You really don’t see it, do you? You think she’s saving this family, but she’s dividing it. Quietly. Every single day.”
Dominic didn’t shout. But his face hardened. “Enough. I won’t have you disrespecting my wife.”
My wife.
Not your stepmother. Not Alina.
Just: my wife.
Later that night, Sophie came into Nathaniel’s room.
“She told me not to talk to Maria anymore,” she said, clutching her blanket. “Said she’s too old-fashioned. That she doesn’t like change.”
Nathaniel’s jaw clenched. “Did she say anything about me?”
Sophie hesitated. “She said you’re hurting Daddy. That your anger makes things worse.”
“She’s lying.”
“I know,” Sophie whispered.
And then, quietly: “But she makes Daddy happy.”
Those five words sank into Nathaniel like a knife.
Because they were true.
And that was the danger.
The next morning, Dominic made an announcement over breakfast.
“Maria’s leaving.”
Silence.
“What?” Nathaniel barked. “Why?”
“She’s retiring,” Dominic said, without meeting his eyes. “She’s been wanting to for a while.”
That wasn’t true.
Maria hadn’t said anything about retiring. In fact, she'd just told Nathaniel about plans to take Sophie to the museum next month.
Nathaniel turned to Alina.
Her face was serene. Innocent.
She was already replacing her. A new assistant had arrived that morning. Younger. Softer. Loyal to Alina, not the family.
Nathaniel rose from the table.
“I won’t be part of this,” he said.
Dominic called after him. “Don’t make me choose, Nathaniel.”
Nathaniel paused at the doorway.
“I’m not asking you to choose,” he said bitterly. “She is.”
Upstairs, Alina wiped her mouth with a napkin and turned to Sophie.
“You know, sometimes when people fight change, it’s because they’re scared. But being brave means letting go of the past.”
Sophie nodded slowly.
Alina tucked a curl behind her ear and smiled.
“Good girl.”