by E. L. Todd
Why wasn’t she answering it? “Pumpkin, it’s me.”
She sighed through the door. A moment later, the door unlocked and she cracked it open. She only stuck her face through the crack and didn’t invite me inside. “Hey, Dad. What’s up?” She eyed me up and down. “Had a good work out?”
I knew what she was doing. She didn’t want me to figure out Cayson wasn’t living there anymore. “Let me in.”
“Uh…now isn’t the best time. The place is a mess and Cayson isn’t feeling well…”
“Skye, I know Cayson doesn’t live here anymore.”
Her face turned as white as snow. Her lips looked lifeless, like they’d been drained of blood. She tried to keep a straight face but the slight flinch of her body gave everything away. “He does…” She forced a fake laugh. “Whatever made you think he didn’t?”
She was desperate to hide this from me—and everyone. “Skye, let me in. I want to talk about this.”
She stilled in defense. “Dad, this is my marriage—”
“And you clearly need help.” Instead of waiting for her to open the door, I pushed it back and stepped inside.
Skye didn’t fight me.
When the door was closed, I rounded on her. “I’m not trying to stick my nose in your business, honestly. I’m here to help. Please let me help you. Stop acting like everything is fine. The two of you are really struggling. I’ve been married for over twenty years. I have a lot of great advice, Skye.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and refused to meet my gaze.
“Whatever is going on between you, Cayson shouldn’t be kicked out of the house. That’s not how marriage works. You work it out until the issue has been resolved. How is that supposed to happen if he’s living in the apartment over the shop?” I assumed Cayson must have done something to piss her off since he was the one kicked out. “There are marriage counselors you can see. Your mother and I have a great one.”
“You and Mom?” she asked in surprise.
I nodded. “Your mother wasn’t stable after she shot that guy. She needed help. It’s okay to admit you need help. It’s stupid not to admit it.”
Skye looked away again.
“Pumpkin, for better or for worse Cayson is your husband. I’m sure he’s sorry for whatever he did. Let him come home.”
“Dad…please stay out of it.” Her eyes never met mine.
Why wouldn’t she look at me? Did I misinterpret all of this? Did I have it backwards? “Were you the one who did something wrong? And Cayson left on his own?”
“No,” she said quickly. “Cayson isn’t coming back—ever.” Her eyes started to water.
Shit, this was bad. “Skye, I know you’re upset but don’t say things like that.”
“It’s the truth. I’m leaving him. I didn’t want to tell anybody because it’s been hard…but you’re forcing my hand.”
“You’re divorcing him?” My jaw dropped. “You’ve been married for six months, Skye.”
“I know…” She tightened her arms around her waist.
“You need to talk this out,” I said. “I know you love him and he loves you. There’s nothing he could have possibly done to warrant this. Sometimes we say things we don’t mean when we’re upset so don’t hold it against him forever.” Cayson and Skye didn’t have any problems before they got married so I wasn’t sure what the issue was now. You’d think after being apart for three months and having a baby on the way would give them some perspective.
“Dad…just let it go.”
“Skye, talk to me.” I sat on the couch then patted the seat beside me. “Tell me what happened.”
“I can’t say…”
“I’m not going to judge either one of you. I’m sure your mother has told you what a shithead I used to be. I don’t have any right to think less of someone else. You can tell me anything, pumpkin.”
She didn’t move from her spot. “Dad, I want you to leave.”
I couldn’t believe this. “What?”
“I want you to go. I know you’re just trying to help but this is something you can’t help me with. I’m sorry.”
I’d never been met with such resistance before. “Skye, we’ve always been close. When did that change?”
“It hasn’t changed,” she said firmly. “This is one thing I can’t talk about. Just let it go.”
I couldn’t think of any reason why she couldn’t open up to me about this. My daughter didn’t confide every single thing to me, but when things were hard she turned to me. When Zack broke her heart, I was the first person she called. I liked that about our relationship. She knew I was there—no matter what.
I slowly rose from the couch but didn’t head to the door. None of this was making sense. What could Cayson have possibly done to warrant this coldness? Skye was understanding and forgiving. Where were those qualities now? She was acting like he did something unforgiveable, like he cheated on her or something.
Like he cheated on her…
I froze in place and felt my heart stop.
I remembered their conversation after dinner. She slapped him for kissing her then said he didn’t miss her when he was away. Now she wouldn’t let him back in the house and two months had come and gone.
That was the only plausible explanation.
But could it be true?
I turned my gaze on Skye and saw the heartbreak written all over her face. Her lip trembled slightly and she looked as cold as winter morning. The house was empty and she preferred to be alone.
The truth stabbed me hard in the chest like a knife.
“Skye…?
Her eyes were glued to the other side of the room. “What?”
“Cayson cheated on you?”
She immediately shifted her weight at my question and her breathing changed. For the first time she looked at me. “No…” Her body language was completely different, and she stopped avoiding my gaze only when I asked that question.
It was a lie. Rage burned inside me and I had the strong sensation to kill Cayson. I wanted to break his neck for hurting my little girl. How could he do this to her? How could be betray her like this? They’d only been married for three months when he chose to be with someone else.
While I was angry, I also felt something else. My heart was in tune with both of my children’s. And when they hurt, I hurt. Every moment of pain that Skye felt was amplified in my body. Everything stung—painfully. “I’m so sorry, pumpkin…”
She closed her eyes and the tears started to fall. She held herself together in front of me but I obviously hit her trigger. Now she couldn’t hide her anguish. She was vulnerable and weak. She let her guard down because I broke through it. “Dad…I don’t know what to do.” She covered her face and continued to cry.
I immediately wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into my chest. My body could protect her from any physical danger but I couldn’t protect her from this—a broken heart. My chin rested on her head and I listened to her cry. Her tears soaked my shirt.
The sound was torture.
My first instinct was to beat Cayson worse than what I did to Zack. I wanted to put him in the hospital with two broken legs and two broken arms. But my daughter needed me now so I put everything aside. “It’ll be okay, Skye.”
“No, it won’t…” She started to heave as she poured her soul out to me. “He hurt me so much…I don’t know what to do.”
“Divorce him.” We all made mistakes and I wasn’t exempt from that, but cheating was unforgiveable. Scarlet would never take me back if I did something like that, and I would never want her to. It was morally wrong, unspeakable. Breaking your partner’s heart for half an hour of pleasure was a disgrace to the promises made. “You deserve better.”
“I know…but I love him.”
“I know you do, pumpkin.”
“And we’re having a baby together…”
“Don’t stay with him for that. You’ll never be happy.”
She kept her face pres
sed to my chest. “I sent him divorce papers but he refuses to sign them.”
“I’ll make him sign them.” My voice turned deadly and cold. Cayson couldn’t break my daughter’s heart then give her hell for leaving him, not under my watch.
“Please don’t tell anybody…”
“Why?”
“I don’t want everyone to hate him.”
“He deserves to be hated,” I said darkly. “He can suffer the consequences of his actions.”
“No…I don’t want our baby to hate him. I never want him to know why we aren’t together. Despite what Cayson did, he’s a good person and an amazing father. I don’t want to jeopardize his relationship with our son.”
Skye had more compassion than I ever realized. “Cayson is a lucky man.”
“I know this sounds stupid but…I really do think Cayson loves me. I think he just made a mistake. But the fact he won’t admit it hurts.”
“He knew exactly what he was doing, Skye. Don’t make excuses for him.”
“But he was in the middle of nowhere and—”
“Doesn’t matter.” I wouldn’t listen to her justify his actions.
Skye fell silent.
“Are you certain he did it?”
She nodded.
“Did he tell you when he got home?”
“No…”
I raised an eyebrow. “Then how do you know?”
“The woman…left a letter in his bag. I found it and read it.”
The adrenaline spiked in my blood. “Can I see it?”
She sniffed and pulled away. Then she opened a drawer in the kitchen and handed it to me.
I quickly read through it. The further I got, the angrier I became. This was concrete evidence and now there was no denying what he did. I couldn’t give him the benefit of the doubt.
He was guilty. “We’ll get through this, Skye.”
“Don’t hurt him.” My daughter knew me well.
“I won’t.” She didn’t need to know anything.
“Dad, I mean it. He’s the father of my child. I don’t want anything to happen to him and I don’t want anyone else to know.”
“This secret won’t be contained forever, Skye. When you guys get a divorce everyone will know.”
“But they won’t know why.”
“I figured it out,” I said. “There’s nothing else that could possibly break you guys apart. It’s going to happen so you may as well prepare yourself.”
She crossed her arms over her chest.
I set the letter on the table. “I wish I could fix this…”
“I know, Dad. But there’s nothing anyone can do. I offered to take him back if he just admitted the truth…but he refused to.”
I put my arm around her shoulders. “It’s a tough road ahead but you aren’t alone in this. We’ll get through it—together.”
Skye rested her face against my torso.
I was glad her face was obscured because I could feel the distant tears in the back of my eyes. All I ever wanted was for both of my children to be happy. Seeing my daughter’s life ripped apart like this burned a hole in my heart. I blinked my eyes quickly and dispelled the moisture.
But the tears came back—over and over.
Chapter Nineteen
Cayson
“Send a team to California,” I said to my assistant director over the phone. The sunlight filtered through the windows behind me and made my back feel warm. There were stacks of research articles on my desk, and my computer screen contained an email I hadn’t finished. I was putting fires out all over the place. “Make sure they contain the outbreak. Put everyone in quarantine—”
The front doors to my office burst open so fast they smacked against the walls and made a loud thud. The hinges squeaked in protest because they were flung at such a high speed.
Sean marched into my office, a crazed look in his eyes. Murder was written all over his face. He headed straight at me and didn’t slow his pace.
I knew this day would come eventually. “Jim, I’ll call you back.” The second I hung up the phone Sean reached my desk.
“Piece. Of. Shit.” With supernatural strength he grabbed my desk and threw it aside like it was as light as a feather. Everything on the surface crashed to the ground. The computer shattered and a few sparks flew out.
I didn’t react at all.
Sean clenched his fists in front of me while his eyes searched my face. He was trying to decide what he wanted to break first, my face or my legs.
I rose from the chair and looked him in the eye. I didn’t cower away or blurt out a claim of innocence. I just stood there and held my ground.
Sean’s face was red, and the vein in his temple was throbbing. That only happened during the rare times he was in a true rage. He was borderline psychotic at the moment. He might even kill me right then and there. “The only reason why you aren’t dead on the floor is because your father is one of my closest friends.” Spit flew from his mouth because there was so much anger in his words. “Out of respect for him, I won’t cave in your skull.”
I held his gaze and didn’t speak.
“But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be afraid of me. Cayson Thompson, I will burn you to the ground for doing this to my daughter. One way or another, I will have blood for this.”
“I’m not scared of you.” It was the truth. I wasn’t afraid of anything.
“I thought you were smart,” he said sarcastically. “I guess I was wrong about that too.”
“I’m not scared because there’s nothing you can possibly do to make me feel worse.”
“Remorse?” he asked with a maniacal laugh. “You think that’s going to get you anywhere?”
“Who said anything about remorse?”
His eyes burned like fire.
“I feel like shit because my own wife doesn’t believe I’m innocent. She doesn’t have any faith in me. She actually thinks I would do something like that to her. I’ve lost my family and the only woman I’ve ever loved. There’s nothing you can possibly do to make me feel lower than I already do. So threaten me all you want and make my life a living hell. I’m pretty sure it won’t make a difference.”
Sean’s expression remained exactly the same. “Cayson, I read the letter.”
I rolled my eyes and didn’t give a damn how disrespectful it was. “Yeah, Skye’s obsessed with that damn thing. She should frame it and put it on the wall in the entryway. Then everyone can read it when they come over.”
Sean didn’t react to my rudeness. “It’s pretty condemning.”
“Yes, I know,” I snapped. “You’re telling me something I already know.”
“And you’re going to continue to act like you didn’t do it?”
“I didn’t do it!” I was so tired of repeating myself.
“Then why would she put that letter in your bag?”
“Because she’s obsessed with me and fucking crazy, okay? She wanted this to happen and now she got her wish. Congrats to her.”
He stared me down.
“You know what?” I was delirious from the pain so I didn’t have a filter anymore. “You’ve known me my entire life. You’ve watched me grow into a man and beyond. When have I ever been deceitful? When have I ever hurt someone? When have I ever been anything but perfect?”
He clenched his jaw.
“Never. I’ve never been anything but a perfect boyfriend and husband to your daughter. The fact you actually believe I would do this, hurt the one woman I love, is the most insulting thing I’ve ever heard. You told me I was like a son to you and you believe this garbage? You actually have no faith in me? You aren’t even willing to hear my side of the story? That letter from a stranger triumphs over my word?”
His voice came out quiet. “If Skye believes you did it, then you probably did.”
“She’s out of her mind right now. She’s too emotional about the situation and can’t think straight. Look, I didn’t do it. I didn’t touch that girl. I’ve been compl
etely faithful to Skye, together and apart. The fact you don’t believe me hurts even more. It’s like you don’t know me at all.”
“Because I don’t know you,” he said quietly.
Somehow, I felt worse.
“Skye said you refused to sign the divorce papers.”
“Yeah, and I’m not going to.” He could point a gun to my head and I still wouldn’t do it.
He stepped closer to me, trying to intimidate me with his size. “You will sign them.”
“Over my dead body. She’s my wife and she’s staying that way.”
“You betray her than make it as difficult as possible for her to leave you?” he demanded. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I lost my temper and pushed him back. “I would never cheat on Skye. I can’t believe you would ever think that. I’m not letting her go. I will get her back somehow. She’ll believe me eventually.”
Sean took a few steps back then clenched his fists. Rage was written all over his face. Now he really wanted blood.
I didn’t blink.
He marched back to me then grabbed me by the neck.
I pushed my elbow down and broke the hold.
Then quicker than a snake striking a mouse he punched me hard in the face. Blood dripped from my nose on impact. “You are no son of mine.” He pushed me back until I hit the windows. “Don’t go near me or my daughter. If we’re ever in the same room together don’t even look at me.” He turned on his tail and stormed out.
I didn’t wipe the blood dripping down my face. My body was numb and I didn’t feel any pain from the way he hit me. The agony came from his words. He didn’t believe me. He didn’t have any faith in me. He used to look at me like I was the greatest thing that ever happened to Skye. He was another father to me.
But he just turned his back on me.
Chapter Twenty
Sean
Scarlet kept calling me but I didn’t feel like talking. I was so pissed off. In fact, I was livid. I never went home that night and I wasn’t planning on going there tonight. I stayed in my office and refused to leave. My knuckles were sore from constantly clenching my fists. I didn’t want my wife to see me like this.
