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I close my eyes. I can’t watch her as she breaks my heart. “So, it’s true? Liam and I aren’t dad’s sons.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I wish it was as simple as me cheating on Dad. But it’s a lot more complicated than that.”
Why would cheating on dad be the lesser of two evils? My mother has always worn her emotions on her face, and there’s a warning in her expression—devastation. “How is it complicated? Am I Dad’s son? Are me and Liam Dad’s sons? It’s pretty fucking easy, Mom.”
“Noah baby. I’m sorry. I’ve only tried to protect you and Liam from the truth. It’s what a mother does.”
I slam my hand on the table separating us, and she jumps back in shock, surprise, maybe even fear.
“Enough, Mom. It’s time to tell me the truth. Dad—is he our dad?”
“Yes, Noah, he’s your father. But…”
“But what? How is this so hard?”
She lets a sob shoot from her mouth. I wait for the truth, as horrible as it can be. “He’s not Liam’s biological father.”
Something as light as a feather could knock me over. How is he my father and not Liam’s?
“How is that possible, Mom? How is that fucking possible?” My voice grows with every second she stays quiet.
“Because I’m not Liam’s biological mother.”
40
Ashton
The door opens.I’m somewhere between sleep and consciousness, and I pop from the couch, running downstairs. He’s home. If Noah is home, it means Liam is okay.
“Ashton, baby?” The voice isn’t my husband’s but my mother’s. Oh, fuck, something is wrong with Tia.
I stop on the last step leading downstairs, afraid that the closer I get to my mother, the more possible my life will change in an irrevocable way. “Mom, is it Tia? Is she okay?”
She walks toward me. Her tight smile has always made me nervous. And this is no different. “Sorry, sweetie, didn’t mean to startle you. She’s already bossing the entire staff around and driving them crazy. They need to run some tests on her, but she should be able to come home tomorrow.”
Fuck, if it’s not Tia, it’s… “Liam?” I ask.
“He’s doing as well or even better than expected. Honestly, I can’t believe he survived the crash. The heavens were on his side today, both his and Tia’s.”
“So, why are you here? Did you come to sit with the kids so I can go be with Noah? If Liam is okay, I think I should stay. Lainey thought Noah and I were in a car crash, not her aunt and uncle.”
My mother walks slowly toward me, her hands held behind her back. “I’m here to stay with the kids. Your husband needs you. He needs you so much right now, and honestly, baby, you’re going to need him, too.”
I watch as her face drains of color, and she can’t look me in the eyes. “Mom, you’re scaring me. Where is he?” I reach for my phone in my pockets but remember I left it upstairs in the loft.
“I think he went to the cabin, baby.”
“How? He doesn’t have a car!” I exclaim, wondering if he came home and I missed him leaving from the garage.
“He took his father’s truck. He left like a bat out of hell.”
The closer I stand near my mother, the more I witness her tears flowing like a waterfall. She’d not simply been crying, she has both sobbed and wept. “Mom, what the fuck is going on? Are Liam and Tia okay?”
“Yes, baby. It’s complicated. It’s so fucking complicated, and your husband should be the one to tell you.”
My hands begin to tremble and my head becomes dizzy. “Mom, you’re scaring me. Oh, fuck, he cheated on me? Did Anita Carrol get out of jail?”
“No, baby. Noah would never cheat on you, and it has nothing to do with the children. I am…”
