“I don’t know. I’m angry with him. But I also deserve answers.”
“What more is there to say, Hope?” he grits out. “The guy is a liar, a manipulator, and a fucking hypocrite!”
“Keep your voice down, Adrian!” I snap. “He might be all of those things, but there’s also another side I’ve gotten to know, something—”
“Are you kidding me? You’re willing to forgive a man you’ve only known for a short time, but not me—the man you married, the father of your child?”
“I never said I’m forgiving him, Adrian. Don’t twist my words. I may not know who he was back then, but I do know the man he is now, and I can’t just ignore that. He’s done so much for us, more than anyone ever has, and I owe him at least the chance to explain himself.”
“What’s there to explain?” he asks, his tone clipped. “He cheated on his wife, betrayed her with her best friend, out of all people, and then omitted the truth when you two met. Lucia even mentioned that they continued their relationship immediately after his wife left him, like she didn’t even matter at all. Is that the kind of person you want to trust? You want in your life?”
I release a long, exasperated sigh. “I don’t know what I want right now. And you standing here saying all of this isn’t making anything easier for me.”
“I just don’t get how you can’t see that he’s brainwashing you.”
“No, he isn’t. And I’m not trying to defend him. Everything I’m saying is based on what I’ve seen—on his actions, not just his words.”
He scoffs bitterly, shaking his head. “You make him sound like he’s some redeemed hero. Well, I hate to break it to you, my gullible ex-wife, but once a cheater, always a cheater. He’s nothing by an impostor. He might’ve wooed you with sweet gestures and pretty words, but it’s all an act to make you believe he’s a genuinely good guy.”
“And you know this from experience, right?”
That instantly shuts him up. His mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water, unable to form a response. What he’s describing sounds a lot like himself, and the way he’s tearing into Kaden—without Kaden here to defend himself, says more about him than it does about Kaden.
“Thanks for bringing Zac home, but I think you should go now.”
He doesn’t make an effort to move right away, lingering a beat longer, his expression hardening. “If he ends up breaking your heart, don’t come crying to me. I’ve tried to warn you.”
With those final words, he storms out of the front door, his car peeling out of the driveway moments later.
I’m left standing alone in the middle of the hallway, my head pounding with an unbearable ache, but it’s nothing compared to the pain crushing my chest.
My day had barely begun, and yet it had already been upended by everything I’d just learned about Kaden.In less than twenty-four hours, he came from being a reliable and trustworthy friend, to just another person who betrayed me.
He knew what I’d been through. And while he, too, had been hurt by the same two people who helped destroy my life, what he did in the past was still as devastating. I don’t know if we can ever come back from this.
I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust him again.
I want nothing more than to go into Zac’s room and wrap my arms around my boy. He’s always been my comfort, the one thing that calms me in the middle of the storm. But right now he’s too upset, too disappointed by the men he trusted.
I need to talk to him. I need to know if he’s okay.
Walking towards his room, I gently knock on his door. “Zac, honey. Can I come in?”
Faint sounds of paper rustling and the bed creaking reach me before the door slowly opens. Zac appears in the narrow gap, sadness heavy in his eyes, and my chest tightens.
“Can we talk?” I ask gently.
He nods quietly, then opens the door wider and walks back to sit on the edge of his bed. I follow, my gaze immediately roaming over the crumpled pieces of paper scattered across the floor, his sketchbook lying open on the mattress, its pages marked with lines that look like the beginnings of a building.
I sink down beside him, leaving enough space between us in case it’s what he needs right now.
“I’m so sorry you had to hear what was said earlier between your dad, Kaden, and me. If you have any questions, or if you just want to talk, I’m here for you.”
He shrugs his shoulders—not dismissively, but as if he’s unsure what to say about any of it.
“Can you tell me how you’re feeling?”
He gives another small shrug, and just when I’m convinced he’s not ready to talk, he releases a sharp breath.
