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FOURTEEN
THEO
Despite being locked away, Serena still manages to ruin my life.
“Holy shit,” Hadley gasps. “Are you and the kids safe? Did she hurt you?”
I love that she’s concerned about the safety of Colton and Piper; I hate that her mind goes immediately to violence. “You don’t need to be concerned about our safety. The kids are fine. She didn’t hurt them.”
“But what about you?” I see the way her eyes move, examining me in the dimly lit car, searching for any signs of physical trauma. She won’t find any because they aren’t visible; the scars Serena left behind are concealed by a carefully crafted façade Hadley seems capable of penetrating.
“Listen,” I say, turning my body toward her. “Ask whatever you want to ask now because the moment we get back to the hotel, we’re done talking about Serena. Do you understand? You ask, I’ll answer, we’ll move on. Got it?”
She nods her head and then I wait. My heart is beating thunderously in my chest and I’m certain she can hear it. This is the first time I’ve been willing to talk at length about Serena and the word “nervous” is an understatement. I’m terrified of what Hadley will think of me after she learns the truth.
“Do the kids talk to her? See her?” I’m surprised she doesn’t ask me the reason Serena is in jail first. It’s what I expect. It’s what everyone wants to know when they first find out.
“She calls once a month, that’s it. I refuse to take them into Washington to see her, even though she’s allowed visitation.”
“What about you? Have you seen or talked to her?”
“I have no desire to see her, and I only talk to her briefly when she calls to talk to Colton and Piper.”
I catch sight of Hadley’s tongue swiping along her bottom lip. I’m desperate to kiss her but I don’t want her to think I’m distracting her. I want to give her the answers she needs so we can move on and spend the next few months living in peace.
“What came first, the end of your marriage or Serena’s crime?”
“We didn’t have a perfect relationship. When she was arrested and taken into custody, I was angry, but I wouldn’t have left her. Except—”
“This is where I’m supposed to ask what she did, right? Why she’s in jail?” She leans her head against the seat, reaches across the console, and takes my hand. “I’m really sorry about how the night went, and I’m sorry if you feel forced into telling me all of this.”
I sigh. Sooner or later she was going to find out, and honestly, it’ll probably make things easier between us. She knows my baggage, and I know hers. “It’s fine. Please promise you won’t say anything to Colton or Piper.”
“I won’t tell them anything.” There’s a moment of silence before she finally asks, “So, what did she do?”
“Identity theft.” The words come out easy now, but it wasn’t so long ago I could barely utter them. Telling people her crime is admitting my own failures. Hadley’s brows are furrowed, and her mouth is open slightly, either because she’s confused or can’t believe what she’s heard. Maybe both. “The woman I married, the mother of my children . . . was an imposter.”
“How is that even possible? There’s so much legality involved in all of that.”
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of that. She never legally changed her name, and the woman whose identity she stole is dead.”
“So, your marriage?”
“Invalidated. I saved money on divorce attorneys and winning full custody of my children was easy enough.”
“Jesus,” she mutters. She brings her thumb up to her mouth and bites on the nail. I can’t imagine what she’s thinking. “I still don’t understand why you let people think she’s dead, or even that you killed her! You’re innocent.”
“I don’t want my kids to know their mom is a fraud. And . . . I’m embarrassed. It’s humiliating to admit to you I married a woman I didn’t know. I let her into my house, into my bed, into my body. I fucked her enough to get her pregnant twice. She fooled me. How could I let that happen?”
I’m overcome with unexpected emotion. I thought talking about this with Hadley would be easy, but anger easily bursts back to life inside me, as does the profound grief over Serena’s duplicity. She upended my entire life, brought chaos into my home, and it’s taken me so long to feel ready to move on, ready to live again.
Hadley surges forward, presses herself over the center console and grasps my face between her hands, forcing me to look at her. Her eyes twinkle in the moonlight streaming through the rain-soaked windshield. “You are not a fool, and you don’t have to be embarrassed. You’re an amazing father, doing whatever it takes to protect your kids.”
She leans closer and presses her lips against mine, kissing me with such ferociousness that for once, I feel dizzy and breathless. I resist the urge to haul her into my lap and fuck her right there, in the car in the middle of a public parking lot, not because I’m worried about getting caught but because she deserves better.
I drag my lips from hers, reluctantly ending our kiss because I need to make one thing clear. “I want to give you everything Hadley, but I will always protect myself and my children first. If I ever find out you’ve deceived me in any way, it’s game over. We’re done. There can be no lies between us for as long as we’re together.”
“Of course,” she quickly agrees, sealing her promise with another heated kiss. “Nothing but the truth. Always.”
