My Mother is a Tragic Character So I’m Breaking Us Out of the Novel

My mother, the tragic supporting character, was about to divorce my stepfather.

And me, the certifiable mama’s girl, was right there with her, ready to burn it all down. I was leaving my stepbrother and taking the baby he didn't even know about with me.

“I saw it in a dream, Maya,” she’d said, her voice trembling. “I’m just a stepping stone in someone else’s story. A footnote.”

“The great lost love of his life is coming back, pregnant with his child. I’m going to lose my mind, I’ll pick fights with her, I’ll even try to… to hurt her. And Mark will be the one to put me in prison.”

She grabbed my hands, her eyes wide and serious. “You and Noah have a good life. I have to go, Maya. I have to save myself.”

“No,” I said, my voice firm. “You go, I go. I’m a mama’s girl, remember?”

Later that day, when Mark Thompson and his son came home to two empty houses?

Confusion.

Where the hell did my wife go?

Where’s Maya?

1

"Mom, seriously, you need to lay off the billionaire romance audiobooks."

I reached over and paused the dramatic narration streaming from her phone.

"You and Mark have been married for twelve years. If this 'ghost from his past' was going to show up, it would be for his third marriage, not his second." I ticked the points off on my fingers. "Besides, she’d have to be in her forties, right? Showing up pregnant sounds… unlikely. More likely, the kid would be my age. Have you been getting into those silver-fox romance novels now?"

I studied her face. At forty-five, Eleanor looked like she’d made a deal with time and won. Not a single line on her face seemed out of place; they were marks of laughter, not age.

My mom and Mark Thompson were a second marriage for both of them. I was ten when it happened. She was at my school handling my transfer paperwork when Mark, the wealthy single father of a son at the same school, saw her and was, by his own account, completely thunderstruck.

At first, Eleanor wanted nothing to do with him. She’d lost her memory giving birth to me, and my biological father had used it as an opportunity to vanish. She’d raised me alone, and her trust in men was nonexistent.

Mark didn't push. He just… started showing up. A lightbulb would burn out, and there was Mark. The propane tank for the grill ran empty, and there was Mark. A circuit breaker blew, and there he was, toolbox in hand. He even sent his fifteen-year-old son, Noah, to the elementary school playground every day to look out for me and chase off anyone who gave me a hard time.

The tipping point came when a couple of older kids followed me home from school. Noah took on all five of them for me. He ended up in the hospital with two broken ribs.

That was when my mother finally relented.

After they got married, Mark was practically glued to her. His life was a straight line between the office and home. Any detour was usually because Eleanor had a sudden craving for takeout from a restaurant across town.

The idea that he could love someone else was, frankly, unbelievable.

"But what if it's real, Maya?" she whispered, her voice small.

2

We decided we had to test the dream’s validity.

According to my mother’s premonition, Mark and his long-lost love would reunite at a charity gala on Friday.

Over dinner, she made her move. "Honey," she began, her voice casual, "could you spend some time with me this Friday? I was thinking we could go on a date."

"Really, Ellie?" Mark's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

Just as I thought we were in the clear, his expression shifted. "Oh, but Friday… Friday might not work. There's a really important charity auction I have to attend. Could we do Saturday? Please?"

My fork clattered against my plate. It was happening.

I shot my mom a look. We have to go! This could still be a coincidence.

She caught my signal immediately. "Well, can I go with you, then?"

Mark looked puzzled. "But you hate those things. You've never wanted to come before."

My mom, bless her heart, ditched the excuses and went straight for the kill. "I know," she pouted, "but I want to go this time, honey."

"Okay, okay, you can come." He was powerless against her, a huge grin spreading across his face.

"Daddy," I chimed in, "I want to go, too!"

"Sorry, sweetie. One guest per person."

I slumped in my chair. "Fine."

"I can take you, Maya," Noah said, his voice soft. He looked at me, a hopeful, expectant glint in his eyes. "If you ask me nicely. Like you just asked him."

I gave him a flat look. "Take me or don't. Your call."

Noah's shoulders slumped, his expression crumbling like a sandcastle against the tide. He looked genuinely hurt. Under the table, his hand found mine, his thumb stroking my knuckles. "I'll take you," he murmured, his voice laced with defeat. "Of course, I'll take you."

Mark chuckled. "That boy gets worse treatment from you than I ever did."

I couldn't stand seeing Noah look so miserable. I picked up a roasted potato from my plate and popped it into his mouth.

His eyes instantly brightened.

"Hey," Mark said, leaning toward my mom. "I want one, too."

3

At the gala, Noah and I were seated at a different table. I had to crane my neck to keep an eye on my mom's.

I watched as Mark gestured to a woman beside him. "Eleanor, this is a dear friend of mine, Isabelle Croft. She's just moved back to the States to oversee a new project."

Isabelle Croft. She didn't look pregnant. But the way she looked at my mom was odd, like she was watching a particularly amusing science experiment.

"Maya, what are you staring at?" Noah's voice was a low rumble beside me. He gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, but his expression was dark.

I didn't notice, my attention still fixed across the room. "Nothing. Just watching Mom."

"Right," he said, his voice tight. "The auction is starting. See anything you like?"

His words snapped me back to the present. The dream. In the dream, my mom and Isabelle would get into a bidding war over a pink diamond. In the end, Isabelle would win.

All we had to do was make sure Isabelle didn't get that diamond. If we could change that one detail, maybe we could change the whole outcome.

...

A stunning pink diamond ring was presented on stage. Bids started flying, including one from Isabelle Croft. My mom, according to our plan, stayed silent.

Soon, Isabelle held the highest bid at $740,000.

As the auctioneer was about to close, I tugged on Noah's sleeve. "I want that one, Noah."

"Done." He raised his paddle without hesitation. "Seven hundred sixty thousand."

Isabelle didn't counter. But the man sitting next to her did. "Seven hundred eighty thousand." He looked to be about my age, dressed in a sharp gray suit. He gave me a small, confident smile as he lowered his paddle.

What followed was a battle of wills between him and Noah. When the man bid a million dollars, I put my hand on Noah's arm, stopping him.

"I don't want it anymore, Noah."

His hand, still holding the paddle, was trembling. "Why?" he asked, his voice strained.

"I just changed my mind." I kept my eyes on Isabelle, making sure she didn't jump back in. The ring wasn't worth a million dollars, not even close. As long as it didn't end up in her hands, that's all that mattered. Letting some other fool overpay for it was the perfect solution.

In the end, just as I'd hoped, the man in the gray suit won the diamond.

One small plot point, successfully diverted.

4

As the evening wound down, I excused myself to the restroom. On my way out, I collided with a solid chest.

"Sorry about that."

"No problem." It was the man who'd bought the ring, Isabelle's companion. He didn't step back immediately, a gentlemanly smile on his face. "You seemed to really want that ring. Why'd you stop bidding? Was it a budget issue with your date?"

Wow. Only an idiot would pay a million for that thing.

I took a step back, opting for a polite lie. "No, I just decided it wasn't worth the fight."

"Oh? I disagree," he said smoothly. "For the right person, some things are always worth fighting for." He held out a business card. "I don't suppose I could get to know you? I'd like to give this to someone who deserves it."

The card read Leo Croft.

Before I could respond, Noah appeared from nowhere, pulling me back against his chest. "Sorry," he said, his voice cold. "No chance." He took the card and tucked it back into the pocket of Leo's suit jacket before steering me out of the ballroom.

When we got home, he cornered me against the arm of the sofa.

"What was that about?" I demanded.

"Do you like him?" The question came out of left field, stunning me.

"What?"

"You were staring at their table the entire night. You gave up the ring because of him. What is it about him, Maya? Tell me, and I can be that way for you. Just tell me what you want." Tears welled in Noah's eyes, his voice cracking. "My mom—your mom—and his mom don't get along. You and he could never work. Just look at me, Maya. Please? Just look at me."

I only caught the most important part. "His mom? Who's his mom?" I couldn't remember my mother having any enemies.

"The woman he was sitting with. Isabelle Croft."

My breath hitched. So, Isabelle did come back with her son. And that pink diamond was, for all intents and purposes, in her possession.

The plot hadn't changed at all.

"Damn it," I muttered to myself. "I should've just taken the stupid diamond."

Noah completely misunderstood.

He crashed his lips against mine, his grip forceful and desperate. I struggled, pushing against his chest, but he wouldn't let go. He held me there, kissing me until all the fight went out of me, until the anger melted into something else entirely.

It was late, well past midnight, when he finally relented. He held me tightly, his voice muffled against my hair. "I'm never letting you go, Maya. Not even if you like someone else. As long as you're by my side, I know I can make you love me. Make you see only me…"

I was already drifting off, his words blurring into the edges of a dream.

5

In the days that followed, Noah returned to his usual self on the surface. But at night, he was more intense, more possessive than ever before. He even started wearing a silver body chain he used to hate, the delicate metal a stark, alluring contrast against the hard lines of his abs.

He was also home more. A lot more. He used to have guys' nights, occasional business trips. But for the past two weeks, he was home the second his workday ended. It made it impossible to sneak over to my mom's apartment across the hall to strategize.

According to her, Mark was acting weird, too. In the opposite way. He was working late more and more, constantly traveling for business. My mom called his assistant and found out that many of his recent meetings were related to a new joint project… with Isabelle Croft.

Today, my mom was supposed to join Mark on one of those trips, a little reconnaissance mission of her own. But the plan was derailed when I woke up with a wave of nausea so intense I could barely stand.

She canceled her flight and took me to the doctor.

Mark, for his part, was full of remorse. "It's my fault," he said over the phone. "I haven't been spending enough time with you. I'm so sorry, Ellie. I'll have someone else cover the meeting tomorrow. I'll come home tonight and make you dinner."

"See?" I told my mom as we waited. "Mark sounds totally normal. Maybe it was all just a coincidence."

As we sat in the sterile waiting room, a thought occurred to me. "Hey, in your dream… what happens to me? What's my ending?"

She thought for a moment. "I don't know. I never saw."

"What? You never saw?"

"Well, if I'm the tragic supporting character, that makes you the tragic supporting character's daughter. Maybe you just weren't important enough to the main story."

"Wow. Okay. Fair enough."

Before I could dwell on my newfound insignificance, another piece of news hit me like a ton of bricks.

I was pregnant.

Now it was my mom's turn to be the comforting one. "Okay, let's just… put the other stuff aside for a minute. I can't believe I'm going to be a grandma this soon." A huge smile spread across her face. "We have to tell Noah! He's always so worried you're going to fall for some other guy, he practically wants to lock you in the house. This will finally put his mind at ease."

6

We went straight to the company building. Noah wasn't in his office, so we decided to find Mark first.

The door to his corner office was slightly ajar. I reached out to push it open, but my mom grabbed my arm, pulling me back.

Through the crack, I could see my stepfather sitting in his leather chair. Isabelle Croft stood before him, her back to us. One of her hands rested on the back of his chair, the other… on his thigh.

The air was thick with an intimacy that made my stomach churn. So much for the business trip. He'd just brought her to the office instead. What was it they say? The safest place to hide is in plain sight?

I could feel my mom's chest heaving with ragged breaths beside me. She turned and walked away without a word.

Furious, I crumpled the ultrasound report in my fist, shoved it into the nearest trash can, and ran to catch up with her.

Of course, that's when Noah appeared. "Mom? Maya? What are you guys doing here?"

My mom ignored him, stepping into the elevator. I followed her in, forcing a casual tone to avoid suspicion. "We were just in the neighborhood."

The doors slid shut on Noah's confused face.

"You see?" my mom whispered, her voice cracking. "I told you the dream was real. You kept saying it was a coincidence, but you saw them. You saw them together. Do you believe me now?"

I let out a long, slow breath. "I believe you."

"I have to get out of here, Maya. For my own sanity. Before this 'story' forces me to do something crazy, like actually take a swing at her." She smoothed my hair, her touch full of a familiar, heartbreaking tenderness. "You'll be okay. You and Noah… he's a good kid. I know he'll take care of you."

"No. I'm going with you. I'm not letting you go alone." I wrapped my arms around her, holding on tight.

"But you love Noah. And you're carrying his child. You can't just leave, sweetie."

"I haven't figured that part out yet, Mom. But he's not more important than you. You're my choice. Always." I hesitated, then added the final, terrible thought. "And if Isabelle is Mark's… you know… then Noah might not even be his son. You said you never saw my ending? It's probably because they get rid of me. They're the perfect family of three. I'm just a loose end."

That did it. The hesitation in my mom's eyes turned to steel. "You're right. Let's go. We'll hit an ATM, get as much cash as we can, and we're gone."

"Okay."

7

With forty thousand dollars in cash stuffed into our bags, we returned home. It was 4:15 PM. Mark and Noah wouldn't be home for another hour, at least. Plenty of time.

We packed our passports, documents, and the cash into a shared suitcase. Dressed in hoodies and baseball caps, we were ready to make our escape.

I pulled open the front door and came face-to-face with Noah, his thumb poised over the fingerprint scanner on his own door across the hall.

"Mom? Maya? Where are you going?"

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