Understanding dawned, and she turned, calling out for my son.
Here it went.
Chapter 28
ASHTON
I sat alone in my office, staring out the floor to ceiling window, watching the city move below me. Cars crawled through traffic, people rushed along the sidewalks, horns blared in the distance. The world was loud, alive, and moving forward, while my mind was stuck somewhere else entirely.
Bailey had blindsided me the night before.
We had been discussing how to move forward, the fragile truce we had reached, when she asked if I wanted to see him.
I did not even have time to answer properly before Tristan appeared on the screen. My son. The first time I had ever seen him like this, alive and real. Every thought, every rehearsed word, vanished, leaving me frozen and breathless.
Bailey introduced me carefully, calling me her longtime friend from school. She protected him, even from the truth about me. I should have felt relieved. Instead, I felt like a coward.
Tristan was smart, polite, and endlessly curious. He asked me about the town where his mother grew up and whether it looked different from the place he lived in now. Then he excitedly told me about his new hobby, football. Adam, Bailey’s best friend’s husband, had been coaching him and encouraging him to play.
I smiled and praised him, but jealousy burned quietly in my chest. Another man was standing where I should have been all these years. Cheering him on. Teaching him how to kick a ball. Being present.
That should have been me.
Still, I knew pushing for custody right now would have been wrong. Tristan was happy. Secure. A custody battle would only disrupt his life. I wanted to be his father, not the reason his world turned upside down. I needed to be careful. Strategic. Patient.
Meanwhile, Lynda had been leaving messages on my phone, asking to meet, pleading for a second chance, saying she was willing to step back and be just a friend if that was all I could give after everything we had shared. I ignored every single one. It felt cruel, but my plate was already overflowing, and she was no longer my priority.
My thoughts were interrupted when my phone rang.
Mom.
I answered immediately. “Hi, Mom. How was Aunt Jenny?”
“She and the grandchildren were doing well,” she said warmly. “She kept asking when you were coming to visit.”
“Tell her soon. Maybe Christmas.”
“You are working too hard, Ashton,” she said gently. “Your father is gone. You no longer need to prove that you can carry his legacy. It is time you focus on your future.”
I already sensed what was coming.
“And speaking of your future,” she continued, “why am I hearing that your wedding has been called off?”
So the news had already reached her.
“There will be no wedding,” I said quietly. “I ended it. We were not compatible.”
She sighed. “As sorry as I am, I am not surprised.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“Because you never looked like a man in love,” she answered honestly. “Something always felt off. She tried too hard, Ashton. Everything she did felt rehearsed, like she was performing instead of being herself. She appeared suddenly in your life, and not long after, you announced your engagement. Yet you looked distant, almost distracted, as if you forgot she was standing right in front of you.”
“Then why did you not say anything to me?”
“Because I wanted you to be happy,” she replied softly. “Whatever decision you made, I supported it. I did not want to see you broken again like you were after your last relationship.”
She had never spoken openly about Bailey, but I knew she had always known more than she let on.
