“Of course, sweetheart.” Jenna’s voice was warm, but I caught something in her expression — guilt, maybe.
I ruffled his hair, that familiar surge of protectiveness now tinged with anger at what he’d been through. This kid was innocent in all of this, caught between adults making bad decisions about his future.
“Leo, can you watch your show for a few minutes while the grown-ups talk?” Jenna asked, settling onto the edge of the bed.
“Okay, Mommy.” Leo clutched his new truck and returned to the bed, sitting cross-legged as he rolled it back and forth on the bedspread, his movements careful and controlled.
As Harper and I moved toward the chairs by the window, Jenna’s eyes followed Harper with obvious curiosity. “I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”
“This is Harper,” I said quickly. “My friend. I brought her in case you wanted someone to watch Leo while we talked.”
I could see Jenna visibly relax, the tension leaving her shoulders. “Oh, that’s thoughtful, but there’s no need. Leo’s perfectly happy with his cartoons and new truck. He can entertain himself while we talk.”
I studied Jenna’s face, trying to see past the careful composure to understand what she was really thinking. “Chloe’s gone,” I said quietly, watching Jenna’s reaction carefully.
A flicker of satisfaction crossed her face before she could hide it, and I saw her lips part as if she was about to say something. I held up a hand to cut her off. “I know you had something to do with it.”
Jenna’s expression shifted to something that was probably meant to look surprised. “Sam, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
So that’s how she was going to play it. “You went to see her yesterday. At the clinic.” I kept my voice low, glancing over at Leo to make sure he was still absorbed in his cartoon. He was sitting very still, the truck motionless in his hands, his eyes on the TV, but his body language tense. Not oblivious at all — hyperaware of the adults talking.
Jenna’s composure slipped slightly. “I… We went to the clinic. I thought she should know about Leo.”
“And what exactly did you tell her?”
“Just that Leo needed stability. That you were figuring out how to be a father.” Her voice was careful, measured.
“Bullshit.” I leaned forward. “Chloe left me a note saying she understands that I want to end our relationship because of Leo. The only way she could think that is if you lied to her.”
Jenna’s mask finally dropped, and I could see the calculation in her eyes. “I told her you were trying to figure out how to restructure your life around Leo’s needs. If she interpreted that as you wanting to end things with her, maybe that says something about how she felt about your relationship.”
The manipulation was so smooth, so reasonable-sounding, that for a moment I almost doubted my own understanding of what had happened. Then I remembered what Chloe’s mother said to me earlier:“You’d been planning to end your relationship, so she was leaving for a few days while you moved out.”
“You wanted her gone,” I said flatly. “You saw an opportunity to get rid of what you saw as competition, and you took it.”
“I want what’s best for Leo. And what’s best for him is having his parents together, focused on giving him the stability he needs.”
“His parents?” Harper spoke for the first time since we’d arrived. “Jenna, you and Sam aren’t together. You were never together in any meaningful way.”
“We have a child together. That’s the most meaningful connection two people can have.”
Harper scoffed. “Having a child together doesn’t mean you have to live together. There are co-parenting apps, shared custody schedules, family counselors who specialize in helping separated parents work together for their children’s benefit.”
“Those things don’t work,” Jenna said dismissively. “Not really. Children need consistency, routine, both parents under the same roof.”
“I’m speaking from experience,” Harper said firmly. “They can and do work if both parents are prepared to put the effort in and prioritize the child’s wellbeing over their own wants.”
Jenna turned back to me, her voice becoming more desperate. “That’s not what Leo needs, Sam. He needs both his parents living together to give him the stability he’s craving.”
“No,” I said firmly. “Love is the most meaningful connection two people can have. And I don’t love you, Jenna. I love Chloe. I want to marry Chloe.”
Jenna’s careful composure finally cracked. “She left you, Sam. She made her choice.”
“Because you lied to her about what my choices were.” I leaned forward. “But here’s what’s going to happen now. You’re going to tell me exactly what you said to Chloe, word for word, so I can fix the damage you’ve done.”
Jenna’s eyes flicked to Leo, now absorbed in his cartoons, then back to me. “You wouldn’t take him away from me.”
“I don’t want to. But I also won’t let you use him as a weapon to get what you want from me. Leo deserves better than that. He deserves parents who put his needs first, not parents who use him to manipulate each other.”
