CHAPTER 1: THE PERFECT BIRTHDAY
Before the woman came through the doors, Ethan Ward’s tenth birthday party looked like something from a magazine.
The ballroom was filled with gold balloons, white roses, crystal chandeliers, and a cake taller than Ethan himself. Guests arrived in expensive cars. Children wore designer clothes. Photographers moved through the crowd, capturing every smile.
Victoria Ward had planned every detail.
She wanted perfection.
“Stand straight, Ethan,” she said that afternoon, fixing his collar in the mirror. “You are a Ward. People will be watching.”
Ethan nodded.
“Yes, Mom.”
He was used to that sentence.
People will be watching.
His mother cared deeply about appearances. She cared about how he stood, how he smiled, how he spoke to guests. Sometimes Ethan wondered if she saw him as a son or as another beautiful thing inside her beautiful house.
His father, Nathan, was different.
Nathan found him at the top of the staircase before the party began.
“There’s my birthday king,” he said gently.
Ethan smiled a little.
“Do I have to talk to everyone?”
Nathan leaned closer and whispered, “Only until your mother stops watching.”
Ethan almost laughed.
Nathan noticed the sadness in his son’s eyes.
“You don’t look excited,” he said.
Ethan glanced down at the ballroom.
“I wanted to go to the planetarium.”
Nathan sighed softly. “I remember.”
“Mom said it was too ordinary.”
Nathan looked at Victoria below, smiling perfectly for the cameras.
“Your mother doesn’t like ordinary things.”
Ethan did not answer.
All evening, he smiled when people told him to smile. He opened expensive gifts he had not asked for. He thanked adults whose names he could not remember.
Only Lydia, the housekeeper, seemed to notice he was tired.
When Victoria was busy with guests, Lydia slipped him a small paper bag.
“For later,” she whispered.
Ethan peeked inside and saw a chocolate cupcake with bright blue frosting.
His face lit up.
“You made this?”
“Your favorite.”
“Mom said blue frosting stains.”
“Then we won’t tell her.”
For the first time that night, Ethan truly smiled.
Across the room, Victoria noticed and frowned.
Lydia quickly walked away.
That was how love worked in the Ward mansion. It existed, but quietly. Kindness had to hide in corners.
When the cake was finally brought out, everyone gathered around Ethan. Cameras flashed. Guests sang. Victoria placed one elegant hand on his shoulder.
“Make a wish,” Nathan said.
Ethan looked at the candles.
He wished for something he had never dared to say out loud.
I wish I knew where I really belong.
May you like
Then the doors burst open.
And the woman from the rain came in.
