Ella stiffens beside me, and I have to resist the urge to pull her closer. Not with Calista here, probably looking for more ammunition to use so she can take me down.
I hate that I know this look from Calista. I’ve seen it before—right before she manipulated CPS into almost getting Aria taken away from me, before she started the affair, and before she gaslit me into believing I was the problem.
I force my voice steady. “What do you want, Calista?”
She approaches like she expects me to hold out a hand to help her down from her own delusion.
“I made a mistake,” she starts, eyes glossy like she’s auditioning for a role. “I’ve had time to think. About us. About our family. About everything.”
My jaw clenches. The nerve of this woman. “There is no ‘us.’ There hasn’t been for a long damn time.”
She reaches for my arm, and I jerk away so violently her hand hangs in the air, embarrassed.
I can feel Ella watching, but she’s letting me handle it, standing still, eyes guarded and unreadable.
Calista presses on anyway. “I wasn’t myself after the divorce. Or during… everything. I lashed out. I was angry. But I’ve changed. I want my family back. I want you and Aria back.”
My laugh is humorless. “You didn’t want either of us when you were sleeping with my best friend. Still are, by the way? Speaking of… Where is Toby? Does he know that you’re here?”
Her face tightens, and for a moment the mask slips—the sharp, vindictive woman beneath it peeking through—but she pastes on a soft smile again.
“Let’s not talk about him. People make mistakes,” she whispers.
“Yeah. And some people make choices.”
She steps closer. “We can fix this, Cole. Think about Aria. She needs a stable home, not… this.” She gestures vaguely at the ranch, at the construction site, at the life I’m building with my own damn hands.
“And certainly not a woman like her,” she adds quietly, flicking her eyes toward Ella like it’s a threat.
My blood goes cold.
“Don’t,” I say, voice low enough to scare myself. “Do not bring her into this.”
Calista blinks. “So you admit it. You’re sleeping with the ranch girl?”
Ella goes still behind me, but I don’t look back—I won’t look back and make her feel exposed.
I stare Calista down. “What I do now is none of your business. And it sure as hell isn’t your right to judge.”
She steps closer, desperate now. “Cole, please. I’m trying here. I want us back.”
“No,” I say, firmly, clearly. “What you want is control, attention, and to steal my business from me, but don’t bullshit me into thinking you want me.”
She swallows. “I miss you.”
“And I don’t believe a goddamn word of that.”
Her eyes flash with fury. “You’re making a mistake.”
“No. I made the mistake when I married and trusted you. Not again.”
Calista’s face twists, pride cracking. She straightens her dress like she’s trying to recover her dignity. “You’ll regret this.”
I look her dead in the eye. “No, Calista. The only thing I regret is wasting ten years on someone who didn’t love me.”
She flinches, then she storms off, heels stabbing at the dirt.
When her car disappears down the driveway, the world feels quieter, more breathable. Like I’ve closed a book I should’ve burned years ago.
