When Olivia notices a change in her stepson’s behavior, she grows increasingly worried. She asks her husband, Patrick, to talk to him, but he gets nothing out of the boy. By chance, Olivia overhears a conversation between Josh and his biological mother, and soon everything is revealed, leaving Olivia shocked and heartsore for the little boy.

Like clockwork, every Sunday at 5 p.m., my stepson Josh came back from his mom’s place. And every single Sunday, he would step through our front door, kick off his shoes, and head straight to his room without a word.

It was like someone flipped a switch on Josh’s personality with us, transforming him from our cheerful, chatty ten-year-old son into a brooding stranger.

And what was worse? He never talked about what happened at his mom’s place. I always wanted to ask him about his mood, but I also didn’t want to push it. As much as Josh had accepted me as his stepmother, I didn’t know how much of a role I had in his life.

“Do you think he’s okay, Patrick?” I asked my husband one evening as we were making dinner.

Josh had just been dropped off, and he was in an exceptionally irritable mood, refusing to talk to both of us.

“Honestly, I think he’s perfectly fine,” Patrick said, slicing through a handful of potatoes. “Linda does like to push him, though. I’m sure she gave him a mouthful about studying and school in general.”
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