“Why is she angry withyou?”
“Because I refused to stay with her.”
“You couldn’t trust her?”
“Yeah, that, and it brought out a nasty side to her. I saw who she really was. I didn’t want to break up our family, believe me, but I also didn’t want to stay with her just for Henry’s sake when I didn’t love her, or even respect her, anymore. That’s why she’s been trying to take Henry away from me. She’s angry and bitter.”
I run my eyes over Michael’s anguished face. This is what she does to him: she breaks him down. There’s an ache in my chest and I reach for his hand, squeezing it. “Why didn’t you tell me what happened with her?”
He gives a despondent shrug. “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t feel right bad-mouthing her.”
“What?” I marvel at his kindness. “It seems to me like she deserves it. Besides, it’s not bad-mouthing if it’strue.”
He nods sadly, staring at the floor. The hurt in his eyes makes my throat close with sorrow. How could someone be so cruel to this man? And how could I have been so stupid to even consider it could be true?
“Michael.” I’m trying to keep the emotion out of my voice, but he hears it and looks at me in surprise.
“Hey,” he murmurs, slipping out of his chair and onto his knees on the floor in front of me. It reminds me of the first time we made love and I reach for him, pulling him close, blinking against tears.
“I’m never going to let you feel like that again,” I murmur into his neck, and his arms tighten around me. “You deserve so much better.” I smooth my hands over his back, kissing his cheek, holding him tight. I don’t know what else to say, how else to show him that it’s okay that he’s a bit broken—that I’m a bit broken too, and if he lets me, I’ll put his pieces back together and keep him safe from that ever happening again.
Well, there is one thing I want to say—something that’s been coming to me for a while now—but I don’t dare let myself say it.
“Alex, baby.” He draws back and his eyes are shining as he brushes his thumb over my cheek. “I know that as long as I’m with you, I won’t feel that way again.” He presses his mouth to mine in a soft, sweet kiss, then gathers me into his arms.
We hold each other in the dark room for some time, listening to the bustle of the corridor outside. Eventually, Michael lets out a weary sigh and stands, pulling me up.
“It’s going to be a long night. You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”
I survey his tired face. I don’t want to be anywhere else, but I also don’t want to overstep. “Do you want me to stay?”
He gives me a tiny nod and I slip my hand into his.
“Then I’m not going anywhere.”
We wander back out into the corridor, blinking in the bright light. Hand-in-hand, we turn and head back towards Henry’s room. I’m not looking forward to seeing Mel again, but I’m sure Michael wants to confront her about her lies.
Just as we are about to reach Henry’s room, the door swings open and a guy steps out. He’s tall and lean, with dark mussed hair and a silver chain glinting from under his leather jacket. He strides past us and my eyes follow him curiously.
He looks so familiar. Where do I know…
Mark. That’s Mark. That’s Cat’s ex-husband.
A chill rushes over my skin as I put the pieces together.
Surely not. She wouldn’t.
But when my gaze swings back to Henry’s door, Mel is standing there with her arms folded and her eyes narrowed to slits.
I glance at Michael, numb with shock, but he didn’t even notice Mark pass us. He’s staring at the floor, rubbing his chin, no doubt planning what he’s going to say to Mel.
Because she is fucking unbelievable. Not only did she lie about Michael cheating, she’s also lying to Cat.
What. A. Bitch.
Mel steps out of the room, pulling Henry’s door closed behind her. Her narrowed gaze is trained on me, but I don’t care. I haven’t done anything wrong, and any second now Michael is going to lay into her.
Her eyes flit to Michael and her beautiful face twists into a scowl. “Mike,” she snarls. The way she says his name makes my skin crawl. “The doctor came in and wanted to speak to us. But you were off, fuck knows where.”
