Page 30 of The Song We Lost

“I know this is a lot to process. This isn't something I am doing impulsively. I’ve been holding it together for a long time. This is just the first time I’m saying it out loud, ” I say gently. “The papers have already been filed. Luke should be getting them within the week. I asked for them to be expedited, to avoid this being drawn out publicly.”

Thomas exhales slowly, eyes closing for a brief second like he’s bracing himself against a wall that’s giving way.

"I still don’t understand, Bailey. What's going on... what happened?" Rose cries out.

Sadie doesn’t speak, she just stares at me, something dark flickering behind her eyes.

“What did he do?” Thomas asks. Rose scowls at her husband and I immediately try to diffuse the tension. “It’s not...”

Noah cuts me off. “Bailey, Stop.” he says with an edge to his voice I am unfamiliar with.

I look at him, startled.

“You don’t have to do that,” he continues. “You don’t have to protect him anymore.”

Rose turns sharply toward him. “Noah...”

“No,” he says, firmer now. “Mom, you deserve to know. All of you do.”

I shake my head, panic fluttering in my chest. “This isn’t about blame.”

“It is,” Sadie says suddenly, her voice flat. “Because someone hurt my sister, and my money is on the person who is missing from this conversation being the cause of the divorce.”

Noah pulls his phone from his pocket.

“This is why she’s done,” he says. “This is what he chose instead of coming here. Instead of showing up, and this isn’t the first time he's pulled this kind of shit with her.”

He sets the phone on the table and turns it so everyone can see.

The video plays silently at first, Luke on stage, lights flashing, drink raised, Kacey pressed into his side like she belongs there. Laughing. Celebrating. Lit up in a way he hasn’t been with me in years.

Sadie’s chair scrapes back violently as she stands.

“Oh my God,” she whispers. Then louder, sharper, “Oh myGod.”

Cole’s hand tightens at her waist as she leans forward, eyes locked on the screen.

“That was... That was why you were out in the orchard?” he asks.

“Yes,” Noah replies. “During the wedding.”

Rose presses a hand to her mouth, tears spilling freely now. “Why, I don't understand why he'd do this to you...” she whispers. “He promised.”

Thomas moves without thinking, hand on Rose’s shoulder, the same steady pressure he used to ground Luke and Noah when they were boys. His eyes meet mine and there’s grief there, but also something like an apology. Like he’s trying to figure outwhere he missed the moment his son broke something in us. The silence that follows is thick and heavy.

Sadie turns to me, her face pale, fury barely contained. “So what, he is with that cheap knockoff of you? When did this all start... How long has he needed to have his ass kicked? He knew you would see that.... find out likethat.”

I swallow. “Sadie...”

“No,” she snaps. “I don’t care what excuses he has. You don’t do this to someone you love.”

I don't argue, because I can't.

“I have been trying for a long time to make it work with us, and somewhere along the line, he stopped,” I say quietly. “I can’t stay with him anymore.”

Rose sinks into a chair, shoulders shaking. “Bailey, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know it was this bad.”

“I didn’t want you to,” I say. “And I need you to know something.”