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Rian takes a step back and looks down at the dickhead, lifting his hands in placation. “I’m sorry. Uh, Colton, right? The call cut off and you guys are on my way home, so—”
“Bullshit! I know where you fucking live!” Colton interrupts his made-up excuse.
Stephanie’s mouth gapes open and suddenly her face is transformed completely. She clasps Colton’s arm with an infuriated grimace and yanks her husband hard enough, that he has to step back inside the house.
“Did you have him followed? Please tell me you didn’t have a parent from our son’s daycare followed because you are so damn insecure. Did you honestly assume I would be the one to cheat? After everything you put me through? After you cheated onme, you self-absorbed bastard?”
She slaps him hard, hard enough that Rian’s ears are ringing. Stephanie seems to be getting the upper hand with Colton’s voice taking on a pleading quality.
“Stephanie, I didn’t…”
She’s not having it. “Are you that daft? Rian’s gay, you imbecile! If you had him followed, you probably know about his husband, and you still think Rian and I would ever––”
Colton blurts out, “He could have let that old fuck tap his ass for the money! Harris Kelly is loaded. And what about the baby?”
“Brandon’s not his ––” Her head snaps to Rian. “I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant to say. I’m so sorry. You know I would never ––”
Rian shakes his head, biting his cheek. He couldn’t fault her for letting something like that slip. It is true, that he doesn’t know Stephanie well enough. One day soon he hopes to amend that. But even without being close enough with her, Rian firmly believes, that she would never dismiss his claim over Bran.
“It’s alright, Steph. Just call me, if you need anything, okay?” He looks at Colton one last time, trying his best to look big. Solid.
Colton glares back at him, crossing his arms over his chest, trying to puff himself up.
“What are you going to do? Huh? I’ve seen enough to know who wears the pants in your house and it ain’t ––”
“Oh, my God. Shut up! Get inside!” Stephanie hisses.
They continue arguing, the fight transcends into a row about why Stephanie is associating withthese faggotsat all. Rian can tell his visit is about over. He backs away from the arguing couple, hops into his car, and drives away.
What is he supposed to make out of this situation? Is he meant to call the police again? Is he expected to park around the corner and…what?
Has he completely overreacted and imagined Stephanie needed him? Is his arrival at Steph’s home the real cause of the argument between the spouses? Was Colton simply jealous?
Rian is so confused and tired. He wants to talk to someone and share what he has witnessed. But how could he do that without betraying Stephanie’s trust?
This whole incident makes it glaringly clear that he has no idea how to help her or deal with his own domestic nightmare. If anything, Stephanie has the financial resources and legal connections to get out of her marriage and completely annihilate Colton. This ought to be enough to ensure her physical safety.Right?
Rian in comparison has exactly no money of his own. His entire income from his children’s books is donated to various charities. All his expenses must be invoiced and recorded even when he is getting diapers for Bran.
The car he drives doesn’t belong to him, nor does he have legal ownership stakes in any of the multiple properties they have supposedly acquired as a couple during their nearly four years of marriage. His phone is tracked on an identical device in Harris’s office and his car movement is monitored at all times.
Rian doesn’t care about money. He’s never had any.
However, he is painfully aware that without financial back up and proper legal representation, he would never be able to fight the army of lawyers Harris has lined up at his disposal. He can ruin Rian at the snap of his fingers. He can take Bran away from him.
Rian’s greatest win had been convincing his husband to allow him to legally adopt Bran on his own. But Harris Kelly is a man who has proven he isn’t held back by scruples. If he chooses to hurt Rian by stripping him from his parental right, Rian has no doubt, that Harris will find a way to do it.
With a heavy heart, Rian drives to his home. His prison.
Rian lingers in the driveway. He sits in the car, the motor still running, looking at the brightly lit interior of his home.
What if he just pulls away and drives off? He looks at his son in the rearview mirror. Bran is having a power nap in his baby seat. It would be so easy. They could disappear.
Before he could commit to a life-changing decision, the garage door opens, and his husband drives past him, parking his car inside. Rian instantly feels his stomach churn nervously, as if Harris could read his mind and would know exactly what he’s been contemplating.
He follows hastily, parking next to him. The garage door slowly lowers, cutting his sight of the outside world.
Rian glances at Bran again, horrified that perhaps one day this is all his son would remember him for – his cowardice and indecisiveness.
