AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Murphy looks like she swallowed a bug, her face pinching up, and she takes a step back. “I assumed Layla cheated. I saw you with her, and then she was the only one who got the case study right.”
“Because no one else in the class clicked on something as simple as family history,” Callan snaps. “But I will tell you, everyone else’s work in the class has improved. Everyone’s except for yours. You’ve never put in the effort ,and that kind of lazy, shotty work is dangerous and will put people’s lives at risk.”
Murphy stares down remorsefully at the floor and takes another step back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Now you do, and you’ve done your worst, so why don’t you go,” I hiss at her.
“I’m not going yet,” Patrick states, standing his ground and pulling me back to him. “You love him? Like actually love him?”
“Yes,” I tell him. “I love him. It’s not simple and it’s not easy, but it’s real, and it’s the kind of love that will never fade or die. I don’t know why you’re still holding on.”
Patrick stares at me, running his hands through his hair and gripping the back of his head. “I always thought you’d find your way back to me. Couples do that. They take a break. Figure things out. Then get back together.”
I shake my head at that. I don’t want to get into this with him again. It’s pointless. “You wanted to have your cake and eat it too, but that’s not the type of person I am. It’s Callan, Patrick, not you, and that won’t change.”
Without another word, he spins around and storms out.
Murphy looks sick, and I hope she is. I hope she realizes what she’s just done. How wrong her accusations are. Either way, she doesn’t deserve another second of my attention. I turn my back on her, giving Mrs. Bible my full focus. I don’t know if Murphy stays or leaves.
All I know is it’s now just the three of us.
“I didn’t do it to hurt anyone,” Callan starts, his voice fractured. “I did it because I love Katy, and I can’t lose her. Please.” His voice cracks and he clears his throat, staring beseechingly at her. “I can’t lose her, and she can’t lose me. She’s already lost so much. Please don’t take her from me.”
Mrs. Bible’s gaze bounces back and forth between the two of us before settling on Callan. “You lied to me. You lied to the courts.”
Callan swallows audibly and nods gravely.
Mrs. Bible grows terse. “And you feel that’s a measure of someone who will make a good guardian?”
His hand grips mine tighter, and I can feel his pulse hammering through his skin. I want to say something, I want to fix this, but I have no clue how to do that.
Callan doesn’t cower. Not for a second. “I feel a good parent would do anything for their child and that includes lying if necessary. And I felt it was necessary. I couldn’t have her go off and move to a new state and go to a new school and live with people she hardly knows. I couldn’t. Lying is not something that sits well with me and it’s not something I’m proud of, but if it meant I got Katy at the end, well, I’d do anything to have that happen.”
Mrs. Bible takes that in, but it does nothing to soften her. Instead, she grows angrier. “You’ve given me no reason to trust you. If anything, you’ve just proven that Katy’s grandparents are the better, safer option for Katy. I will not remove her from your home tonight because I feel that would be too traumatizing for her, but I will request an emergency hearing and I can tell you now, Dr. Barrows, when I file my report, I will not be siding in your favor.”
Mrs. Bible leaves, and for a moment, we’re too stunned to do anything other than stand here.
“What do I do?” he finally asks, his voice as shaky as I feel.
“I honestly don’t know.”
His eyes meet mine. “I’m going to lose her. It’s so strange. I started this out of fear, but that fear has nothing on me now. I don’t know what to tell Katy. Everything was starting to feel as though it was coming together, and now it’s all being ripped apart. I was wrong, Layla. I was wrong to do this in the first place. I should have never made you my fake fiancée.”
My chest cracks open as I watch him grapple with this, tormented and ravaged in regret and uncertainty.
“When you asked me to be your fake fiancée, Amelia told me she would have done the same if it had been her. That she would have done anything to keep me with her. Hindsight gives us perspective and makes us question our actions, but it’s useless after the fact. We can’t go back in time. We can only go forward.”
He wraps his arms around me, pressing me into his chest right here in the restaurant. “I can’t lose her. It’s you, and it’s her. I went from just being me to having you both, and now I can’t imagine my world without either of you. I’ve fucked up so much. So much for her and for you. If you’re having second thoughts about being with me, I understand. I’ve compromised you in a hundred different ways.”
I have no words of comfort, and I refuse to offer him hollow platitudes.
He’s going to lose Katy, and I have no idea how to stop it.
33
Ididn’t sleep. Not one wink. I put on a brave, happy face for Katy who is smart and intuitive and knew things had taken a turn the wrong way without me having to say anything. I told her everything. Feeling so awful I could hardly stand to sit still or be in my own skin when she looked me in the eyes and then broke down. After that, she was quiet and clingy, but so was I.
I had no reassurances for her, and I was done lying.
