Stealing Cinderella's Crown

Prologue (October 2003-September 2005)

Once upon a time there were 2 families...

Janet Marlow was a 30 year old single mother. She was 5'5, had straight black hair, and piercing blue eyes that would make you shiver if she glared at you. She was pretty and attracted almost every man she met.  She had two sons whose names were Jason and Steven. 

Jason was 11 and very popular. He was captain of the soccer and football team. He had light brown hair that was always cut short, and deep brown eyes. He was handsome and could use his looks to get what he wanted, even at a young age. He was Janet's favorite because he was the male version of her.  He was very smart and could do almost anything without having to learn it first. 

Steven was 8. He also had light brown hair and brown eyes but he let his hair grow out longer than Jason's. He played sports like his brother but wasn't as good. He was just as smart as Jason. Except for the fact that he  had to study for things. By the time he had reached third grade, he was so tired of being compared to his brother and not measuring up that he stopped trying. He didn't want to go to school only to be compared to his brother, so he tried to stop going.

William Montgomery was a 30 year old primary care doctor and a single father. He lived with his 4 year old daughter, Catherine or Cat for short. Cat's mother had died soon after giving birth to her, so it had been just the two of them for 4 years. Cat had Cerebral Palsy because of the lack of oxygen she got when she was born. Her Cerebral Palsy only affected her physically. She couldn't walk correctly without braces on her legs and could only grasp and use objects with her right hand.  She had blonde wavy hair that her dad always put in two pigtails on the sides of her head, baby blue eyes, and was always smiling. She hardly ever cried. She was smart for her age as well as charming and bubbly. 

Everyone loved her. She was always happy and excited, even if she couldn't always keep up with others. Cat loved her Daddy because he was the only one who loved her and took care of her. She didn't have any other family. William didn't need to discipline her and they always had fun and would go to the zoo every weekend. William was a devoted dad, but had to work to take care of his daughter. She was either at preschool or with him. He realized she needed a mother because he could only do so much.

One day at a medical center where William and Janet worked, the two met. William thought Janet was beautiful and Janet charmed him. They would see each other periodically throughout the day. Through talking, they realized that they both had children and were both single. She continually praised him through their interactions on what a good job he was doing raising his daughter. He admired how she was raising her boys as well. 

One day, William asked her to go on a date with him. The date was a success, so they continued going on them. Jason, Cat, and Steven eventually met and all 3 of them got along very well. Cat loved Janet because Janet would play dolls with her, braid her hair, and take her shopping. She also didn't have to go in the men's restroom anymore. Janet seemed like she truly cared about Cat, and no one really did besides her father. Cat was so excited because she could finally go shopping for dresses and have tea parties with a woman. Jason and Steven loved William as well; William would watch Star Wars with them and take them to their games. Everything seemed perfect. So naturally, William proposed.

William and Janet got married exactly 1 year from the day they met. The wedding was in December and the church was beautiful. The church was decorated with silver and navy blue accents. Janet's wedding dress was a vintage lace dress which flowed around her body perfectly. Her dress had a train and a matching veil. Her makeup was elegant and her hair was up in a french twist that made her look regal. Cat was a bridesmaid and got her hair curled and a tiny tiara was placed in her hair. She was also allowed to wear makeup. She wore a sparkly, floor length, silver dress with cap sleeves that hung off her shoulder. She got to wear silver little heels that matched her dress. William had a navy tuxedo that made him look even taller than he already was. He had a silver tie and a matching pocket square. His hair was gelled back so it would stay in place. Jason and Steven were groomsmen who wore matching navy blue tuxedos with silver bow ties. That was the start of their blended family. 

They bought a new house in a nice neighborhood that had 4 bedrooms. William and Janet decided they wanted their kids in private school, so they enrolled all three children at Carmichael Academy-a Kindergarten through 12th grade school.

Little by little, their perfect family started slipping away. Cat would be corrected when she walked incorrectly or used her right hand when she was supposed to be practicing using her left. Janet began to get angry when William had to spend time helping Cat learn to use her left hand and balance after Cat would come home from physical therapy. Janet wanted more time with William. She wanted William to spend more time with Jason and coach his soccer team, even though he worked full time and was responsible for Cat.

 Eventually, every fight was about Cat and Jason. How she was over exaggerating her disability and needed to try harder. Or how Jason was better than Cat. William defended Cat until one day he didn't. He was exhausted and was tired of having to choose his daughter. So he chose his wife, knowing his daughter wouldn't force him to choose. Cat began to get angry at herself because she wasn't as good as her brother. She just wanted everyone to stop fighting. Nothing she tried did anything. Jason was always the favorite, Cat was to blame, and Steven was forgotten.

William began working more and more to get away from his wife and her issues. He left at 7:30 in the morning as soon as he dropped all 3 kids off at school and didn't come home until 7:30 at night. The fridge became a shrine to Jason. Steven would disappear for hours only to return and realize that no one realized he was gone.