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He liked to act as though I was replaceable, but we both knew that wasn’t true. I knew the business inside and out. I understood how every restaurant operated, the people who kept them running, and the countless moving parts that held the entire company together.
Behind every success attributed to Jason were years of my work, my ideas, and my sacrifices. While he became the face of the business, I was the one making sure it kept growing.
Needless to say, I couldn’t move past the betrayal, so I told him I was leaving. That’s when his mask finally slipped.
He grabbed my arm so hard his fingers left bruises. I was holding Jonah when he shoved me into the wall and got up in my face. He screamed that I was free to leave whenever I wanted, that I was no longer needed, but I wasn’t taking his son with me when I did.
In that moment, everything became painfully clear. Jason wasn’t fighting for our family. He wasn’t even fighting for his son. He was fighting for control. To him, Jonah was nothing more than leverage.
I refused to let my son grow up in an environment like that. I had a toxic upbringing, and there was no way I was going to let Jonah endure the same kind of childhood I had.
My parents separated when I was six, and from that moment on, I became a pawn in their endless attempts to hurt each other. They constantly pulled me back and forth until my whole life felt like one endless tug-of-war.
There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to shield Jonah from that, so over the following days, I quietly gathered what I could and disappeared. I left my old phone behind so Jason couldn’t track me.
I have no idea whether he’s looking for us or even cares that we’re gone.
All the money was in a joint bank account, but I didn’t take a cent. I didn’t want to give him another reason to come after me or an excuse to paint me as the villain. All I’m doing is trying to give my son the safe, happy childhood I never had.
Things might be tough right now, but I have to believe they won’t always be this way.
“He loves his milk,” Nolan says, pulling me out of my own head.
“Yeah, he does,” I agree.
He chuckles. “Look at his tiny mouth going to town on that teat. He’s so cute.”
A grin tugs at my lips. “He is.”
“I’ve always wanted kids of my own.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He grins as his finger brushes over Jonah’s tiny hand. “At thirty-two I thought I’d have that part of my life figured out.”
“Wow. Thirty-two? I didn’t realise you’re that old.”
His narrowed gaze snaps to me. “Thirty-two isn’t old.”
“It is to me. I’m only twenty-three.”
He arches an eyebrow. “Twenty-three? I would’ve guessed you were in your mid-thirties at least.”
I lean in and bump his shoulder when he presses his lips together, clearly trying not to smile. “You did not.”
His expression softens as he looks back at Jonah. “Is there a reason this little guy doesn’t have his father in his life?”
It’s a personal question, one I wouldn’t normally answer, but after everything he shared with me at the hospital, I find myself saying, “I left him when I found out he was cheating on me.”
“He cheated on you?”
“Yep.”
“We have something in common, then.”
“I guess we do.”
“For what it’s worth, your ex sounds like a colossal dick.”
