Phone calls before bed, lunch at the hospital cafeteria, and coffee dates filled my days, and I couldn’t help the excitement, the happiness that was starting to fill me with each new bit of contact from Linc.
He joined Lou and me for dinner on Thursday—something I was wary of for conflicting reasons.
After a stressful car ride home, where Lou fought with herself over what to name her new bear, she went with Greeny. In the following days, she would tell anyone who would listen about how Linc won the toy for her. Each time she told the story, it was more exaggerated, more dramatic, but my girl was on a high,and I didn’t have the heart to try to limit that.
Greeny was not allowed at the dinner table, much to Lou’s chagrin, so as soon as dishes were cleared, she darted off to retrieve him from the confines of her bedroom. As I dropped the dishes into the sink, a set of strong arms wrapped around me from behind. Linc buried his face in the crook of my neck, placing teasing kisses as he wrapped me in his embrace.
“I’m taking you out. Get a sitter—tomorrow night or Sunday. But the sooner the better,” he demanded. And rather than feeling put off, I just nodded in agreement.
Later that night, alone in bed, I couldn’t help but think over my past, all the moves that had gotten me to where I was. Divorced from a liar, but tied to his viper’s nest for the foreseeable future. I was tired of playing it safe, of always fearing anything that felt too good or special.
My life didn’t scare Linc away. Instead, he took extra steps to make sure we didn’t lose touch. His genuine interest in our routines affected me more than any sort of grand gesture. Since my divorce, my sole purpose had been making sure I could stand on my own and do whatever needed to keep Lou in my care. We were in a good place. It hadn’t been easy, adjusting, but I could provide for both of us and pay the extra bills to have Mr. Carmichael and my PI keep tabs on Max and Helen annually for any future situations that might arise.
Why do I have to live my whole life in fear of them, while they get to waltz around doing whatever they want with no care for the lives destroyed in their wake?Suddenly angry, I sat up in bed, having worked myself into a lather with thoughts of my ex. He made life-changing decisions all the time without taking one second to question how they would affect anyone around him.
Shouldn’t I show him the same level of respect?
Chapter 12
Maxwell
“Have you seen this?” Natalia’s voice rang out as she stormed into my home office.
“Sincethisis a demonstrative, and you’re not actually showing me anything, I’m gonna make an educated guess and assume I haven’t.” She stopped short, looking irritated and confused before wiping her face of any emotion. She forgot how well I knew her and her tells.
“Sorry. I was just surprised to see this photo of Sophie out with some strange man. I would assume she would discuss it with you before she brought anyone into Eloise’s life.” Nat dropped her phone onto my desk, revealing a photo.
Sophie, Eloise, and a giant of a man stood in the center of some sort of small-town carnival, showing off an obnoxiously large stuffed animal. The man was holding my daughter in one arm, the other wrapped around my wife.
“Why are you stalking her profile?” I asked as I pushed the phone away.
“Eloise is my stepdaughter! Am I not allowed to know what she’s up to?” I rolled my eyes. Natalia had never taken the role of stepmother seriously.
“Nat, I don’t have time for this. I have to get ready for a meeting. What is the real issue here?” I stood up from my desk to shrug my suit jacket on. A slew of emotions went over Natalia’s face before she grabbed her phone.
“Here. Your grandfather was there with them at some podunkstreet fair, yet he refuses to come to our house for dinner. Why is that? He had dinner plenty of times before we got married. What changed? Walter used to be so kind to me. Doesn’t it bother you, what Sophie is doing? What sort of lies she’s telling him? Turning him against us?” I barked out a laugh. She really was obtuse.
“Sophie isn’t telling him anything.” I was tired of the same conversation over and over. Both Natalia and my mother seemed obsessed with Sophie, determined to blame all the wrongs and perceived offenses on her.
“Why are you defending her?” Nat shrieked. I poured a shot of bourbon, downing it regardless of the early hour.Good thing I have a driver picking me up.
“I’m not defending her. I’m just correcting you. Pops is the one who told Sophie about our affair, who helped her get the divorce. He knew what type of person you are far before our marriage.” Nat paled, and I felt a smidgen of satisfaction.
She had promised so much. Nat had lured me out of a perfectly happy marriage and plunged me into this new life that wasn’t part of my plan. Grandfather’s disappointment in me, Sophie’s determination to cut me out of her life, and Natalia’s blind ignorance to it all ate at me. While I was struggling to handle the sharp turn my life had taken, she had buzzed about planning the wedding without a care for what she had done, how far we had fallen.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, gripping the back of a chair as if holding herself upright.
“When Sophie asked me for a divorce, Grandfather was with her. He had a PI follow us and shared graphic photographs of our… balcony rendezvous.” Her face flushed with embarrassment as she recalled the moment I was referencing. I continued, taking enjoyment in twisting the dagger deeper. It was time she finally shared some of this shame.
“Anyway, he showed the photos to both Sophie and Mother. And it was Grandfather who insisted I grant Sophie a divorce.”
“Then… if you knew he hated me, why did you marry me?” she asked, anger and confusion warring on her face. Checking mywatch, I saw I had less than fifteen minutes to get to the office for a meeting with the board.
“I didn’t have a choice. He threatened to release the images his PI took to the media if I didn’t leave Sophie alone and marry you. He got Mother on board, and she went to work crafting our love story, placing as much blame on Sophie as she could, while still avoiding Grandfather’s wrath.”
“You bastard. You should have told me! I should have had a choice!” she shrieked, and my tolerance for the conversation snapped.
“Don’t act like you haven’t gotten exactly what you asked for. You left me, then you came back and saw how happy Sophie and I were, and you had to dig your claws back into me. Now, Sophie’s gone, and you have my last name, fancy lunches with your friends, and shopping with Mother. What do you have to be upset about?” She stormed out of my office, and all I felt was relief.
