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I didn’t want him in my home, but he had thrown me for a loop, so sitting down sounded like a good idea. “Fine, but don’t make yourself comfortable. You won’t be staying long.”
I turned my back to him before he could give me a response. There was no negotiating my terms.
I unlocked the door and let my ex enter my house. I immediately sat down. I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.
Darren sat across from me but didn’t say anything.
“I’m waiting,” I said more sharply than was necessary, but I was already on edge because I hadn’t talked to Liam yet. Seeing Darren again was not what I needed right now.
He rubbed his hands together and lifted his eyes to mine. “I came to tell you, I’m sorry.”
“Excuse me?”
“Five years ago, I broke your trust and hurt you. And the worst part was, I never apologized. I want you to know that I am truly sorry. I should have never cheated on you. I should have come to you when I was having doubts about us.” He looked down. “I definitely should have talked to you when I realized I was falling in love with Tracy. At the time, I had a million excuses for why I had gone behind your back, but that was all they were—excuses. I should have told you I didn’t want to be together anymore. I was a coward.”
“Wow.”
He looked at me again.
A hundred emotions were flying around in my head. “Why now?”
He turned red and cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Um…Tracy and I…”
“Are getting married.”
His eyebrows flew up. “You know?”
“Yeah, Darren, it’s a small world, especially with social media.”
He nodded. “Right. Of course.” He cleared his throat again. “Tracy and I have been taking premarital classes and doing therapy, and you—and Liam—came up. Our therapist suggested that the two of us consider apologizing to the two of you, so we don’t bring any of the negativity into our marriage.”
“So, it’s like the twelve steps for a recovering alcoholic but instead for a recovering cheater.”
Darren winced, but he laughed. “I still miss your humor.”
I shook a finger at him. “Oh no, you don’t get to miss that.” I leaned forward. “Because you’re right. I wouldn’t have been happy if you had broken up with me, but it’s better than being cheated on. It’s better than wondering what I did wrong. What was wrong with me.”
“It was never about that—”
I held up my hand. “I know it wasn’t. It took me a while, but I know now that it wasn’t anything I did.” I sat back and pushed myself up. “But I do thank you for coming and apologizing.”
It did feel good to know that my ex was sorry. At one point, I had loved him, and it helped to know that he did care enough to feel bad.
Darren reluctantly got up and followed me to the door. I opened it, and he paused before walking out.
“Does this mean you forgive me?”
“You don’t need me to forgive you, Darren. It’s you who needs to forgive yourself. And to make sure you never do it again.”
His expression was sad, and he looked like a little boy who’d lost his puppy.
I rolled my eyes. “Sure, I forgive you. Happy now?”
He smiled slightly. “Actually, I am.”
“Great. Now, get out,” I said the last sentence with a smile, and he chuckled.
He headed to his car, and I went to shut my door when I recalled something he’d said.
