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And his mother and her family had kept him a secret this entire time. They kept him from me, and I missed the first twelve years of his life as a result.
And for what? I’d never once told Kelly I didn’t want children, never once given her any indication that it was something I would be mad at. Her hiding this from me was just as unfathomable as the reason she left me in the first place. But that was Kelly, I knew. Driven by emotional outbursts and paranoia. Something I thought I understood and could even relate to at first. I thought I could help her by reasoning out her delusions, but that never fucking worked. Or rather, it only seemed to work at first until the next wave of mania hit her.
She refused to see a psychologist or consider medication.
“All I need is you, Zane,” she would cry whenever I suggested it. “Please, I don’t want to see anyone. Just stay with me, okay?”
And without fail, I would give in to her cries. Because I thought I loved her.
I indulged her and her shenanigans and let her go because I loved her.
Not for long, I decided. This was the last fucking straw.
But first of all, I needed to make sure I had all my legal grounds covered.
I couldn’t rule out the fact that those people were going to try some legal bullshit to get away with what they’d done.
So, for the next few days, I got all my ducks in a row. And then, once I determined it was time, I went to the Mulins’ house to take what was mine.
The door flew open as I walked up the driveway. Charlotte was standing there with wide-eyed panic, and she dashed down the stairs to step in front of me. I easily sidestepped her, but she just slipped ahead of me again, putting her hand on my chest to stop me.
I cocked an eyebrow at her. Her tiny 5’4 frame was no match for me, and if I wanted to bulldoze right over her, I could. Still, I stared down at her, giving her a look that had men twice her size shaking in their boots.
She swallowed, but she didn’t move, staring me right back in the eyes.
“Wait, alright,” she said. “Can we please talk before you go on to do whatever it is you planned?”
“You mean taking my son?”
She winced like she didn’t like the reminder. Too damn bad. The kid was mine, and there was nothing she or her fucking parents could do about it.
“Yeah, that,” she said, glancing behind her as if afraid someone would come out. “Please, you can’t just take him. Casey has been with us his entire life. We’re the only family he knows.”
“And whose fault is that?”
She had the decency to blush, but this was immediately followed by, “Well, we didn’t think you would care about him. It’s not like you gave a damn about his mother anyway.”
“What the fuck do you know?” My anger flared up. “You were a fucking kid when I married her.”
“I wasn’t too young to know that she was heartbroken when she died. And you were part of it. You didn’t help her.” The heat in her eyes was accusatory, and it was pissing me off. Yes, I knew I wasn’t Husband of the Year, and I would always carry the guilt of not knowing that what my wife was going through was something so horrible that she would kill herself.
But fuck it. I’d tried. And it didn’t warrant me fucking getting my son taken away.
“You have no fucking clue what you’re talking about,” I growled. “Now get out of my way.”
“But that’s what I’m trying to explain to you,” she said, and her eye showed her sincerity. “Maybe what we did was wrong, but we thought we were protecting him from you. And coming after Casey like this is only going to hurt Casey in the long run. You can’t take him from the only family he’s ever known. It will scar him for life.”
That didn’t soften my anger or waver my determination. “Don’t try to turn this around on me. What your family did was criminal.”
She swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes, you’re right, and if you want to pursue criminal charges, you are free to do that. Only could you please just leave my parents out of this? Charge me instead. I was the one who convinced them not to call you in the first place. It was all my fault.”
She was lying. I knew her well enough now to recognize the signs—the way her eyes widened dramatically and her eyebrow twitched slightly.Plus, I knew her parents well enough to know that her father hated my fucking guts. It was probably the old man’s idea to keep it a secret.
“Why are you covering for them?” I questioned. “It’s not going to make me take it any easier on you.”
“They’re sick, okay?” she said in a harsh whisper, narrowing her eyes at me. “They’re sick, and if you go barrelling in there and accuse them, I don’t know what’s going to happen. My dad has heart issues, and my mom is not doing great, either. Please, I’m begging you. I don’t care what you do to me, but leave them out of it, please.”
I glared at her because her self-sacrificing nature was pissing me off too.
