The Hotel Room: His Broken Vows

Chapter Twenty-Eight - Kate

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Kate

Kate stood in the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel as she glanced out the window at the three figures in the backyard. Noah, tall and gangly in the way sixteen-year-old boys often were, was bent over, tying a blindfold over Lily’s eyes.

Lily, her golden hair glowing in the sunlight, was giggling uncontrollably, her arms flailing as she tried to push him away without much force.

Emily stood off to the side, holding a paper bag she’d clearly turned into some kind of game prop. She was smiling, her bright eyes darting between Noah and Lily, her own laugh ringing out when Lily managed to snag the edge of the blindfold and shove it crooked.

Kate leaned against the counter, her chest tightening with a mix of emotions.

It was sweet—seeing them like this. Seeing Noah relaxed and happy, Lily basking in the rare attention her big brother and his girlfriend were lavishing on her.

Emily was good for Noah.

Kate could see it.

She’d been nervous at first when Noah started talking about Emily like she hung the moon—his first serious girlfriend. But Emily was kind, grounded. The kind of girl who brought out the best in Noah.

And now, watching the three of them together, Kate felt a pang of something almost bittersweet.

Noah had been so angry at her lately. So distant, so full of teenage frustration he didn’t seem to know what to do with.

But now, here he was, teasing Lily, joking with Emily, his whole face lit up in a way she hadn’t seen in weeks.

The way he looked at Emily, soft and a little awestruck, sent Kate’s mind drifting to another time.

She had been Emily once.

She and James, sitting on the bleachers after his basketball practice, laughing about something stupid, leaning into each other like they were the only two people in the world.

They had been kids then, no older than Noah was now.

Just kids.

Children who thought they were invincible, who believed their love could conquer anything.

And then, at 19, they’d had a baby.

Their lives had changed so quickly, spinning faster than either of them had been ready for. But they’d grown up together, side by side, navigating the chaos and the joy, figuring it out one step at a time.

James had been her constant through it all—the love of her life, her anchor, her partner.

Even now, with everything they’d been through, with all the hurt and the brokenness between them, that truth remained.

He was her first love.

Her only love.

And as she watched Noah and Emily together, she couldn’t help but wonder if Noah saw the same kind of forever in Emily that she had once seen in James.

The thought filled her chest with equal parts hope and sorrow, a strange, aching mix that was hard to hold. Kate let out a soft breath, setting the dish towel aside and moving to the back door.

She stepped outside, the warm air wrapping around her as she crossed the patio to lean against the railing.

Noah noticed her first, pausing just long enough to call out, “We’re teaching Lily how to play pin the tail on the donkey. Emily made the tail out of paper towels.”

Emily grinned, holding up the makeshift prop. “It’s very official. Top-tier craftsmanship here.”

Lily spun blindly in a circle, one hand clutching the paper tail and the other stretched out for balance.

“Mom! Look! I’m dizzy!” she shouted, wobbling dramatically before laughing so hard she had to sit down.

Kate smiled, her heart softening at the sight.

“You’re supposed to stick the tail on the donkey, not collapse in the grass,” she teased gently.

“Noah spun me too hard!” Lily whined, tugging the blindfold off and glaring at her brother, though her grin betrayed her mock anger.

Noah shrugged, smirking. “You said you wanted a challenge.”

Emily giggled, stepping forward to ruffle Lily’s hair. “How about I spin you next, but just a little bit? Deal?”

Lily nodded eagerly, already hopping to her feet.

Kate watched them for a moment longer, something warm blooming in her chest.

She hadn’t expected this—this sense of normalcy creeping back into their lives.

It wasn’t perfect. Far from it.

There was still tension. Still things left unsaid, unresolved.

But for now, in this moment, the laughter, the sunlight, the easy companionship—

It felt like a small piece of peace.

══════════════════

The muffled clatter of dishes and Lily’s laughter drifted from the kitchen, where Noah and Emily were washing up together. Their easy banter felt like the backdrop of a different life—a life untouched by the sharp edges of betrayal.

In the living room, Kate sat on the couch, her hands loosely folded in her lap. James sat across from her in the armchair. Sometimes it felt like he was a ghost of the man she had fallen in love with.

Kate’s mind wandered briefly, unbidden, to the conversation that had cut her. The house, the bills, the stability of their life—he’d framed it as though her safety and security were things he could leverage. As if his role as a provider outweighed his failures as a partner.

She remembered the way her stomach had turned at those words. She’d felt small. Like every choice she’d made—staying home, raising the kids—had tethered her to him in a way that could be used against her. It wasn’t just betrayal she had felt; it was humiliation. The idea that he thought her love for him was something he could hold captive through obligation.

Her fingers tightened slightly in her lap now, the memory burning fresh despite the months that had passed. That moment had changed something in her, hardened a part of her heart she didn’t know could break further. And she knew she needed to say it aloud—to make him understand that she would never feel powerless like that again.

Kate cleared her throat, her voice steady but low. “James,” she began, keeping her gaze on her lap. “I need to say something.”

He straightened slightly, his attention sharpening, though she saw the flicker of unease in his eyes.

“If you ever try to control me financially again,” she said, her tone firm and deliberate, “I will leave you.”

Her words landed heavy in the room, echoing in the silence. James’s face paled. He blinked, his mouth parting slightly as if the air had been knocked out of him.

Then, slowly, he slid off the chair. He knelt in front of her, the movement deliberate, almost reverent. He placed his hands lightly on her knees, his head bowed low, as though grounding himself at her feet.

Kate’s breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening in shock at the sight of James kneeling at her feet, his head bowed like a man awaiting judgment. She’d never seen him like this—so raw, so exposed—and the vulnerability in his posture made her chest tighten with conflicting emotions.

“Kate,” he whispered, his voice cracking, “I am so sorry. For everything. For cheating, for trying to control you, for…for breaking us.” His shoulders shook as he drew a ragged breath. “I hate myself for what I’ve done. I’ll never stop hating myself for it. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make this right.”

The sight of him kneeling there, raw and open, pierced through her guarded exterior. Kate stiffened, her hands hovering above him for a moment before she rested them gently on his shoulders. Her fingers trembled as they made contact, and her throat tightened as she listened to the raw, unguarded emotion in his voice.

“I’ll never hurt you like that again,” he continued, his words muffled against her lap. “I’ll never give you a reason to doubt me. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you, to protect our family.”

Kate wanted to believe him. She wanted to trust the trembling sincerity in his voice. But the cracks in her heart hadn’t mended, and the doubts lingered. She opened her mouth to respond, but the sound of movement at the doorway froze her.

“Dad?” Noah’s voice cut through the room.

Kate’s heart dropped. She turned her head to see her son standing in the doorway, his tall frame rigid, his eyes wide and darting between her and James. He looked like a boy who had just stumbled into an adult world he wasn’t ready for.

“You…cheated?” Noah said, his voice cracking on the word.

“Noah,” Kate started, her voice rising in alarm as she stood.

But Noah wasn’t listening. His gaze locked on James, his expression twisting with raw, unfiltered anger and disbelief.

“You cheated on Mom?” he spat, his voice rising. “Are you kidding me? You—” His words broke off, his hands curling into fists at his sides. “How could you do that?”

James didn’t rise from his knees. He stayed there, his face pale and stricken, his hands raised slightly in a futile gesture of peace. “Noah, I—”

“I can’t believe you!” Noah shouted, cutting him off. “You’re always talking about responsibility, about being a man, and this is who you really are? You’re pathetic.”

The word hit James like a physical blow. He closed his eyes, his shoulders slumping under the weight of his son’s judgment.

Kate stepped forward, her hand brushing Noah’s arm. “Noah, please,” she said softly, her voice trembling.

But he pulled away, stepping back toward the doorway. “I’m going to Emily’s,” he muttered, his voice cold and flat. “Don’t bother waiting up.”

“Noah!” Kate called after him, her voice breaking.

She heard him call out to Emily and then the sound of the front door slamming shut. The silence that followed was deafening. James remained on his knees, his head bowed, his hands gripping his knees like they were the only thing keeping him grounded to the moment.

══════════════════

Kate stood frozen, her chest tight, her throat raw. She had worked so hard to shield the kids from this, to keep them from carrying the weight of James’s mistakes. And now, in one horrifying moment, all that careful effort had been shattered.

James stayed on his knees, his face pale and stricken.

“I didn’t want him to find out like this,” he whispered, his voice hoarse and heavy with regret.

Kate turned toward him, her heart pounding painfully against her ribs. “I didn’t want him to find out at all,” she said, her voice trembling with anger and sorrow.

James flinched, his head bowing under the weight of her words. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “Kate, I’m so—”

“Don’t,” she cut him off, her hand rising as if to hold back more apologies. “Don’t say anything right now.”

Her mind raced, torn between chasing after Noah and confronting James, but neither felt like the right move. Instead, she sank back onto the couch, her head in her hands, her breathing uneven.

James hesitated, then moved cautiously to sit beside her. He didn’t try to touch her, didn’t say anything for a long moment.

Finally, he spoke, his voice barely audible. “He’s right to be angry at me.”

Kate let out a bitter laugh, her hands dropping to her lap as she turned to face him. “You think that’s the issue here? That he’s angry? He’s hurt, James. He’s devastated. And now he knows something that’s going to change the way he sees his family—his dad —forever.”

“I know,” James said, his voice breaking. “I’ve ruined everything.”

Kate stared at him, her anger softening into something more complicated. Exhaustion. Grief. The painful remnants of love and trust that hadn’t fully healed.

“You need to fix this,” she said finally, her voice firm but quiet. “Not just with me. With him. With both of them. Because they’re going to need you to be better than this. And so will I.”

James nodded slowly, his eyes shimmering with tears he didn’t bother to hide. “I will,” he promised. “I swear to you, Kate, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

For a moment, neither of them moved, the weight of everything unsaid hanging between them. Then Kate stood, her movements deliberate as she turned toward the hallway.

“I’m going to check on Lily,” she said, her voice steady despite the storm raging inside her.

James stayed behind, his hands pressed together, his gaze fixed on the floor.

He didn’t move, didn’t speak, even as the silence of the house swallowed him whole.