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“Please, Ky.” Chris stands from the ornate couch, a pleading look on his face. “I’m sorry about this. Truly, I am. It was the only way I could think to get you into a room with me.”

My body is rioting with emotion, and I cross my arms over my chest to hold myself together. Nothing will ever be the same after this. The hurt she’s caused makes me want to throw up, but I will not break down in front of this man.

“You look great.”

I turn, scanning his features. I take a small bit of pleasure in the fact that he looks like shit. There are dark circles under his eyes, and his normally perfectly coiffed hair is a mess. He doesn’t look like the man I married all those years ago. He’s a shell of the person he used to be. This isn’t a recent change. The man standing before me is the same one I left in Seattle, but the distance has given me the clarity to see it.

“Are you going to say anything?” Frustration leaks from him.

“No. Say whatever it is you came to say, and then I’m leaving. Even if that means I have to break down this door.” The last part I say loud enough for my mother to hear. I can see her shadow on the floor through the windowpanes, indicating her hiding spot along the wall.

“Goddammit, Kylie. This was always the problem with you. You never wanted to talk to me. How the fuck are we supposed to fix things when you won’t even try?”

I bark out a sarcastic laugh. “That’s rich, coming from the man who scoffed at my suggestion for couples therapy after we lost our third baby.” I snap my mouth closed. I didn’t mean to respond to him.

“So I’m being punished because I wasn’t ready to talk that one time? What the fuck?”

His words send a wave of sadness through me until I’m left empty of all emotion. I look at him for a long moment. How did everything go so wrong that we ended up here?

I’m done with all of this—the fighting, the manipulation, the constant barbs that hurt more than I can say.

He must see something in my face that has him backpedaling. “I’m sorry, Kylie. I swear, I want to fix this. I want to fix us. I can’t lose you.”

A weary sigh falls from my chest. “It’s too late, Chris, and you know it. I saw you with your secretary the night I left. In that moment, the relationship I’d been desperately holding on to with my fingernails broke away. We stopped loving each other a long time ago. I was just too stubborn to accept it.”

“That’s not true. I made a mistake with Anya, okay? I’m sorry for that. I know it was wrong, and I swear I’ll do better. And think about the baby. Are you really going to make the kid grow up in a broken home?”

I turn back for the door, ready to break it down if I have to. To my surprise, the handle turns, and I start to open it when a hand clamps on my arm.

“No. You can’t leave. You don’t understand what you’re doing.”

“Let me go, Chris,” I growl.

“Not until you tell me you forgive me and we can try again.” The desperation in his voice makes my blood run cold.

A dark voice suddenly comes from the hallway. “If you don’t get your hands off her, I will end you right here and now.”

CHAPTER 38

Grayson

Holding my thoughts inside while Kylie leaves to help her mother tests every fucking ounce of control I have. I want to tell her not to go, that she’ll only end up hurt because her mom said something mean about her life choices again.

But based on the resolve I see in her eyes, I think she’s finally ready to set the boundaries she’s needed since she moved back home.

I never liked the way her mom treated her, even when we were younger. Every time Kylie would let slip something Shannon said to her, I had to hold back the impulse to confront her mom about it. Instead, I made sure Kylie knew she deserved better from the person who should support her in everything she does, even if her mom didn’t agree with her choices.

It’s only gotten worse over the years. I asked multiple times if I could go with her when she visited her mom, but Kylie never wanted me to stir the pot. In all fairness, it probably would’ve made things worse for Kylie.

But no one has ever stood up for her the way she deserves. Not even Jacob would argue with their mom about how she treated Kylie. He’d sometimes tell their mom that whatever condemnation she gave wasn’t necessary, but it was so sporadic, it never made a difference.

And what the fuck am I doing here, sitting on my ass like a chump, letting my girl fight her battles alone?

She’s more than capable of standing up for herself, but that doesn’t mean she can’t have someone behind her, ready to prop her up if she needs a little extra help.

I made a vow to her that I’d be by her side for every up and down we go through together. If this isn’t the time to put my money where my mouth is, then I don’t know when is.

My swift movement off the couch makes Russell bark in surprise. He starts dancing around my feet, and I scoop him up. “I’m sorry I have to put you in jail, but Mama needs me right now, okay?”