Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
The sadness in my father’s eyes told me this wasn’t easy for him to admit. As children, we tend to not see our parents as humans, but as heroes whose job it is to make our lives comfortable. I’d never particularly wondered about my father’s happiness, only how his existence served to make me feel safe and happy. Realizing my selfishness was eye-opening.
“At one point, your mother told me she was attracted to someone else but wouldn’t tell me who. She said she’d been fantasizing about having an affair with him.”
My eyes widened. “Mom?” That didn’t sound like her at all.
“I’m not telling you this because I want you to think negatively of your mother. I just need you to know that for a long time, I did fight for our marriage. Ultimately, though, it wasn’t salvageable.”
“Do you think there was really someone else, or was she starting to lose it and making stuff up?”
He shook his head. “I honestly couldn’t tell you, Chloe. Just know that she became impossible to live with, and we separated before anyone knew what was really going on. I’ll always love your mother. She gave me some of the best years of my life before things changed. She also gave me you and your sister, and for that, I’m forever grateful.” He came over to where I was sitting and reached for my hand. “I’m sorry I haven’t been stronger. I couldn’t get myself to sort through all the stuff in the storage unit. That burden should never have fallen on you.” His eyes glistened.
I’d assumed he simply didn’t care, not that he’d found it overwhelming or impossible.
“I’m handling it fine,” I said. “I just need time.”
“I know I put pressure on you to come home to sort through everything. I think on some level that was partly to get you here. But now that you’re back, take your time. I’ll pay for the storage for as long as we need it. I’m sorry if I rushed things unnecessarily.”
“Well, I can’t take forever. At some point, my job is not going to be okay with me working remotely, and I’m going to have to get back to Chicago.”
“When you need to leave, let me know, and I’ll find a way to take care of the rest.”
That didn’t work for me; he wouldn’t know what to keep. “It needs to be handled carefully, Dad. I’d prefer to see it through to the end. There are things I don’t want to lose. And I don’t know if you can distinguish what’s important and what’s not.”
He nodded. “Okay. Well, you tell me if you need my help.”
“Okay.” I bounced my legs and looked around, forcing myself to soak in my dad’s new world for a moment. These white couches would never have flown in our house. My sister and I would’ve messed them up in two seconds. And the fancy artwork on the wall? That must’ve been Courtney’s doing.
Despite how foreign everything felt, I was happy I’d come, though I still had adjusting to do. Lord knows I wasn’t ready to meet his new wife. But at least Dad and I were speaking again. And I’d faced one of my biggest fears. Somehow Evan always knew how to get me—and always in a way that made me stronger.
“Courtney would love to meet you,” Dad said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
But that’s where I had to draw the line for now. I shook my head. “I’m not there yet.” I placed my hand on his arm. “But I promise I’ll try to get there.”
“Good enough for me.” He smiled. “Where have you been staying?”
I took in a deep breath. “Ready for this?”
Dad raised a brow. “Yeah?”
I explained how I’d ended up living with Evan Ricci.
“Wow. What a coincidence that you rented his house. I’m glad to hear Evan’s doing well. I’ve always been sorry for the way things ended with him.”
A chill moved through me. “What are you talking about?”
“When he moved out. The way we left things.”
I blinked. “What do you mean?”
Dad gave me a look. “After what happened between him and your sister.”
Chapter 20
* * *
CHLOE
My hands shook as I gripped the steering wheel when I left Dad’s. The last moments of my visit with him had been a blur. After he dropped that bombshell, I’d lost the ability to think.
Overcome with jealousy, I reached for my phone to dial my sister. This couldn’t wait until I got back to Evan’s. Plus, I needed to talk to her in private to hear exactly what happened from her first.
It kept ringing. There was no answer.
I couldn’t get myself to leave a voicemail because what would I even say?
Instead, I kept dialing over and over in the hopes that she’d pick up. She might’ve been at her nanny job, where she worked all hours. Finally, on what seemed like the hundredth attempt, she answered.