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As she stared at him, memories of their life flashed before her eyes, all the good times they’d had together would end up being for nothing if she acted too rashly. Deep down inside she wanted to believe that, despite everything, they might still have a chance.
“I don’t know if I can do this, any of it. You’ve hurt me in ways I could never have imagined. Right now I hate you, and I can’t imagine ever getting over what I’m feeling.”
“Grace, I’m so afraid,” he said, his hands working at his sides.
“Would you be willing to go for marriage counseling?” she asked.
“Of course. All I want is you, Grace. I want us to find each other again, to feel what we’ve felt all these years.”
She looked at the man she’d married ten years ago, at the light dusting of freckles on his cheeks, the way his eyes seemed to see straight through her. Was it possible she might have feelings for him again? That somehow their marriage would survive this? Love didn’t die easily. She’d seen her parents’ marriage and the trouble they’d gone through, the loss of faith when her dad’s gambling problem had nearly bankrupted the family. She had to believe that her marriage would survive this, that marriage counseling might help them regain the trust they’d lost.
But she had no idea how. And if it turned out that Aidan had been unfaithful, it could be the final blow to their marriage, something that Grace would never get over. To a part of Grace, it was simply unbelievable that her husband could have fathered a child when they’d done everything to have one of their own. No one had said it was her fault that they couldn’t conceive, but deep down, she blamed herself. Proving that Aidan hadn’t had a child by this woman would help ease her guilt that she was responsible for their infertility. If this whole thing was behind them, as Aidan said, they could go to counseling, reaffirm their marriage vows and work with the adoption lawyer to find a baby.
Grace took a deep breath to ease the tension headache. “Okay. I will go with you, but that’s all I’m willing to do.”
He grabbed her, held her tight. “I love you, Grace. So much,” he said, tears streaming down his cheeks, his shoulders shaking.
“We’ll get through this,” he whispered close to her ear. “There is nothing we can’t do if we put our minds to it. I made a mistake, but I’m willing to make it up to you. As for the child, there is no way that little girl is mine. And I’ll prove it by having the DNA testing redone in a reputable lab.”
“I hope you’re right,” she said, her voice low as she looked into his eyes.
“This is one giant mistake on someone’s part, and I’ll prove it.” He put his arm around her shoulders and led her to the sofa, all the while feeling her resistance. “I should never have told you about Deidre the way I did. It was thoughtless and hurtful. There’s nothing I can do to fix that, but if you’ll go with me while we establish that I’m not the father, then we can work on us.”
“It’s not that simple, Aidan. I’m not going to go along with whatever you want. I’ve had enough of that. You don’t really believe that this will be over so easily, do you?” she demanded, pushing his hands away.
“I don’t know, but I want to see if I can start to make things right with you. Grace, I can’t bear to lose you, and we will get through this. I’ll make a reservation at an inn in Spartanburg, and after all this is behind us we will continue what we started here,” he said. “That is, if you want to.”
“I don’t know what I want. The only thing I’m certain of is that this is a long way from over.”
