Unseen (Unspoken Book 4)

by A Lexy Beck

  Tears filled one of his eyes as he replayed the story to me. “Dad, you couldn’t have known she was sick like that. I mean, she didn’t tell you.” I did my best to comfort him.

  “You know how the rest played out, Jennifer.” Dad wiped away the tears and continued. “There’s more. Your mother and I had a great marriage, but I wasn’t always there for her like I should have been. I threw myself into my work. I wanted to be the best at what I did. I put in long hours. I thought that if I had enough money, your mother and I could retire together and enjoy life.”

  I reached for his hand and held it. His love for my mother was a shining light in the room. “It’s ok, Dad, you couldn’t have known.” I didn’t know what else to say to him. I wanted him to go on, but seeing him like this was painful.

  “When I wasn’t at work, your mother and I would spend our time with the Harritans. At first it was something we did for fun, my escape for work. Dean understood. Louise understood. Our families were the same. He and I both worked hard.” Dad swallowed hard and continued. “…But then, there were a few times when I couldn’t get away. I had to prepare for a trial or something. I encouraged your mother to go without me. Eventually she found her own escape, with Dean Harritan. I drove her to him.”

  The room began to spin and I felt my face flush. The enormity of the information Dad had just shared sent shockwaves through my body. I felt my own eyes fill with tears as I fumbled for the right words. “Mom had an affair? No, that can’t be true.” I shook my head in denial.

  “I’m sorry, Jennifer. It was my fault. I had talked to her about it. I wanted to work through it with her. I knew my friendship with Dean was over, but I was committed to making things right with your mother. I told her she needed to break things off with him or else I would talk to him about it. I was going to confront him that night.”

  “Did Mom talk to him? Did she tell Mr. Harritan you knew?”

  “She talked to him. She broke it off, that night. When I couldn’t find her, she was talking to him.” Dad held his head in his hands and sobbed. “If I had just taken care of it myself, she might still be here.”

  “How do you know, when did she tell you?”

  “She didn’t. I confronted Dean. He and Louise showed up at her funeral. I told him I knew. We argued and I made him leave. He told me that the night of the benefit, he and your mother talked. He told her he understood. He apologized to me. I think he was sincere, I think he truly cared about her. I was already hurting, I didn’t want to make it worse.”

  I swallowed hard and wiped my face. I squeezed Dad’s hand. “Are you sure that he wouldn’t have hurt Mom? That he couldn’t have done this?”

  “No, I don’t think so, he wasn’t that kind of person.” Dad let out a few more sobs and became quiet. He looked me directly in the eyes with a solemn stare as he gained his composure. “Jennifer, I’m sorry. I wish you hadn’t pushed. This was something you didn’t need to know about, but you’re an adult. If you had to know, this was the way.” Dad stood and helped me up from the couch.

  “I need some time to understand all of this, Dad. It’s a lot to take in.” My head spun from the news and ached like I had been pummeled with a baseball bat.

  “Ok, whatever you need, or whenever you want to talk, but Jen, please, keep this to yourself. No one else knows about this, and I’d like to keep it that way.” Dad kissed my head and left, quietly shutting the door and leaving me to my thoughts.

  I found my way back my desk and sat in the silence. I wasn’t sure what to do next. I stared at the computer screen, clicking randomly, going through the motions of looking at my emails without actually reading a word. Nothing made sense anymore.

  Brice’s email filled the screen. I glossed over the text until the words snapped me back to reality.

  I spoke with John Doll. He and Macie met her ex-boyfriend at the bar that night. His name is Jacob Harritan.

  My heart sank into my stomach.

  Get the Latest News

  Keep up with new books, release dates and more by connecting with me on my website, Facebook and Twitter.

  Also be sure to signup for the newsletter. All subscribers get early bird notice for new books, opportunities to receive advance review copies and details on new book reveals.

  Newsletter: http://alexybeck.com/newsletter

  Facebook: http://facebook.com/alexybeck

  Twitter: http://twitter.com/a_lexy_beck