Frozen happiness
Chapter 1
Okay, so, last life? Total disaster. My ex-
husband, Mark, he knew he had this family
thing, Huntington’s Disease, but he kept it a
secret. No pre–marriage check–up, nothing.
Then, after we were married, the symptoms
started. He ended up completely paralyzed.
And get this, our son, Danny, he got it too
when he was an adult. I spent, like, decades
taking care of both of them.
Then, on my sixtieth birthday, I accidentally
overheard Mark on the phone with Sarah.
“Sarah, baby, I knew I had this since I was a
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kid. I just couldn’t let you suffer, that’s why I
didn’t marry you.”
And then Danny chimed in, “Sarah, Mom,
when are you coming over? I miss you!”
Yeah, that was it. Total meltdown. I woke up
back in high school.
I saw Sarah practically throwing herself at
Mark, trying to land him. I figured, screw this,
and got out of their way. Pronto.
- 1.
So, back in high school, first thing I did?
Tracked down my real dad.
Turns out, my biological dad’s the CEO of
Sterling Enterprises.
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Last time around, he didn’t find me ‘til I was
practically sixty, the old guy. He said the
nurse at the hospital switched us when I was
born.
Apparently, when my little fake brother was
six and went to school, they tested his blood
and found out he wasn’t my dad’s son.
He spent fifty years searching for me, and my
mom died of a broken heart, all because of it.
Meeting him this time was easy, though. He’d
been looking for me for years already.
I walked into the Sterling Enterprises building,
told the receptionist what was up.
She immediately got someone to take me for
a DNA test. They’d done this a million times,
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knew the drill.
Less than an hour later, boom, results. I met
my real parents.
This time, my dad wasn’t some frail old guy.
He was tall and strong.
My mom hugged me so tight, she messed up
her makeup crying.
I patted her back. “Gotta get back to school,
guys.
They thought I’d fight them on this, but I just
accepted it. They were relieved and drove me
back to school.
Walking past the bathroom, I ran into my ex,
Mark.
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Everyone started laughing.
“Looks like Julie’s checking up on Mark
again! Just going to the bathroom, sheesh!”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not following him.”
Nobody believed me, not even Mark.
“Come on, Julie. Sarah needed help with her
sunscreen at the beach, so I helped her out,
it’s normal, what’s the big deal?”
That’s right, that happened last time.
“So, you rubbed sunscreen all over her, even
private parts?”
Mark just shrugged. “Sunscreen’s gotta go
everywhere to work.”
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Sarah suddenly appeared, and accidentally
stepped on my foot.
“Julie, I’m so sorry! I asked Mark to put on
the sunscreen.”
“You know my skin’s super sensitive, it hurts
when it gets burnt.”
“I couldn’t find anyone else to help me, that’s
why I asked Mark.”
“Blame me, okay? It’s not Mark’s fault!”
She started crying, of course.
Mark was all concerned, wiping her tears.
But she cried more, and then ran off.
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Mark glared at me. “This is all your fault,
overreacting like this.”
