“I know. And?”
“And that meant you didn’t have to risk confronting Liam yourself.”
Her words land like a slap.
“Say how you really feel, Pres.” I shake my head and continue, “I was protecting myself.”
“And he knew that.”
I swallow.
“Alie, I’m really not trying to be a dick again, but you didn’t ask Liam yourself. Not once.”
“I wasn’t going to beg him to be a part of her life,” I say defensively.
“You didn’t want to be rejected. I get it. I really do.”
I look away from the phone.
“And now, Liam shows up, not knowing he has a daughter, devastated that he’s missed two years. And Aaron shows up to ‘protect’ you again?”
The pattern starts to take shape in my mind. Slowly. Uncomfortably.
“Who are you going to believe?” Presley mimics. “That’s what he said, isn’t it?”
My head snaps up.
“How do you know that?”
“Because, Alie, that’s classic manipulation and gaslighting. Frame it as loyalty. Frame it as history. Make you feel like you owe him something.”
There’s a burn in my chest.
“He told me he loved me.”
Presley doesn’t look surprised. “Of course he did.”
I stare at her.
“You don’t help raise someone’s child without hoping it leads somewhere,” she says evenly. “And if he can’t have you? Then he makes sure no one else can.”
I think about what she’s saying. Realizing that she’s not wrong. Pieces start to click into place.
Little comments that Aaron would make over the years. Like the way he always questioned every guy I dated. The way he’d step in quickly when I was heartbroken. The way he positioned himself as irreplaceable.
I drop my head, holding my forehead.
“Fuck.”
Presley releases a breath. “You see it.”
I nod faintly.
“He made me feel like I couldn’t trust my own instincts when it came to guys,” I whisper.
“Yep, that’s the point,” she says. “If you doubt yourself, you cling to the person whoknows better.”
I lift my head and cover my mouth. “Oh God. He kept her from her father. Intentionally.”
