“Son, you don’t mean any of that,” I say, forcing the words past my teeth. “I know you’re upset. But your mother and I… we’re going to fix this. We’re going to be together again.”
Ethan raises his hand, his fist clenched. I close my eyes, bracing for the blow… but it never comes.
When I open them, Mark is there, his hand wrapped firmly around Ethan’s arm, forcing it down.
“Don’t do this,” Mark says, pulling him into a half-embrace. “Go inside. Make sure your sister and your mom didn’t hear anything.”
Ethan turns without a word.
He walks back into the house, shoulders rigid, his silence heavier than any shout could ever be. He doesn’t take it back. He doesn’t call meDad.
He just walks away and lets the door swing shut behind him, leaving me standing there, watching him go. My chest split wide open, the echo of his words tearing through what’s left of me.
I don’t even have time to brace myself before a punchslams into the corner of my eye. Another follows, harder, crunching against my jaw with full force.
Blood floods my mouth. I spit it onto the floor and lift my gaze to Mark.
I don’t fight back. Because anything I do, any movement, any word, would only make me the villain all over again. And if Ethan is watching, I want him to see this. I want him to understand that I’m taking it. That I know I deserve it.
“That was for Cecily,” Mark says between breaths, his voice thick with fury. “And for my nephew and niece.”
I wipe the blood from my mouth. “Satisfied? Because this is the first and last time I’ll let you hit me without hitting back.”
I spit again, the taste of iron bitter on my tongue. “Now get out of my way. I want to see Alicia, and I need to talk to Ceci. She needs to take down that post, people are starting to think it’s about something real.”
Mark presses a firm hand against my chest, stopping me cold. “I don’t know if it’s your hearing that’s going, or just your arrogance,” he says, his tone like ice. “But you heard Ethan. You’re not going in. And you’re not talking to Cecily.”
He looks at me, taking his time before speaking again.
“What did you think would happen when you shoved that old dick of yours into your twenty-something assistant? That you could keep sneaking around behind my best friend’s back forever? That she’d never find out—and if she did, it would turn into some nice little forgive and forget situation?”
He shakes his head, smirking.
“You think you’re clever,” he says. “Deleting texts. Meeting her only at the apartment or out of town. And then you leave perfume on your clothes, lipstick on your collar, use your own card to buy her a designer gown, flowers, chocolates—and throw a tuxedo into the washer?”
He chuckles. “I’m glad your desperation made you dumb and reckless. At least now my friend is free of you.”
He turns, laughing, and shuts the door in my face.
Mark is an idiot. He doesn’t know anything, he never will.
He talks like he’s the keeper of the truth, but only Ceci and I know our story. Only we know what we built, what it meant, what it will always mean. He looks from the outside and thinks he understands.
He doesn’t. He never will.
I just need to talk to her. To make Ceci see what Isee so clearly. If I can just get her to really listen, if I can break through this wall she’s built, she’ll remember. She’ll understand that she’s the only one for me… just as I’ve always been the only one for her.
I need to fix things with Ethan.
My son. He raised his fist at me.
My own child nearly hit me. That image won’t leave my head. Something fundamental fractured, and if I don’t do something now, I might lose him for good.
And then there’s Alicia.
Does she know too? Will she pull away from me now… avoid my eyes, keep her distance, stop reaching for me altogether? Will she ever come to me again, wrap her arms around my waist, call meDaddy… or is it just another thing I lost along the way?
My little princess.
