Chapter 41
Hope
The front door swings open and Zac strides through, his backpack strapped tight across his shoulders.
A faint, lingering smile plays at his lips as he passes me in the hallway—the only sign that his day with his dad wasn’t entirely dreadful.
Right behind him is Adrian, dressed casually in jeans, a T-shirt, and white shoes, his sunglasses pushed up onto his head as he nods a silent hello.
“I made apple crumble muffins,” I call out to Zac, who’s already heading for the kitchen—no doubt planning to dive straight into them.
When I turn to face Adrian, he’s stopped in the middle of the hallway, his gaze sweeping slowly over the rooms around us.
“Would you like some for the road?” I ask him.
His gaze snaps back to me, and he gives a small shake of his head. “No, it’s okay. I’ve been trying to cut back on sugar lately,” he explains, his eyes drifting around the space once more. “Have you finally finished the renovations?”
“Yeah, I have. There are only a few things left to decorate inside, and then I can start upgrading the gardens.”
“The place looks… different,” he murmurs, his eyes resting on the newly installed light fixture Kaden put up only yesterday. A distant expression settles over his features, as though he’s not seeing what stands before him, but remembering how the house once looked—back when he still lived here.
He shakes his head lightly, as if to clear the thought, and shifts his gaze towards the front door. “I saw the lawns are freshly cut. Did you hire someone?”
“No, I didn’t,” I reply, clearing my throat. “Kaden did them.”
He whips his head back towards me, his jaw clenching—anger and irritation simmering beneath the surface. I steel myself for the lecture I know is coming.
“Are you serious right now?” he snaps.
“Why would I lie about something like that?”
“So you’ve just forgiven him and are now acting like he didn’t just betray your trust?”
“He’s still working to earn my forgiveness, and I haven’t forgotten about what he did either.
But the only thing he’s done wrong to me is hiding the truth about his past. He didn’t cheat on me, Adrian.
Those vows weren’t made to me, so I can’t punish him for what happened in his previous marriage. It had nothing to do with me.”
“Unbelievable,” he mutters, shaking his head. “You do realise men like him never change, right? Do I have to remind you—once a cheater, always a cheater.”
“Then what does that say about you, Adrian?” I quip, folding my arms across my chest.
“I’m not talking about me, Hope. I’m talking about the man you seem to be putting a lot of trust in lately.”
“I never said I trusted him—not yet, anyway. And we’re just friends. We’re not dating or sleeping with each other, if that’s what you’re trying to get at. But if I’m being honest, he’s proven far more to me in the short time I’ve known him than you have since I found out about your infidelity.”
“Of course, you’d believe everything that comes out of his lying mouth,” he retorts, and the bastard actually has the nerve to scoff at me.
“He’s proven himself with more than just words.
You might not want to believe it, but he’s always shown up for me, for Zac, even though we never expected him to.
” I take a slow step towards him. “And just so you know, when you were too busy fooling around with one of your conquests to help your son with his school project, it was Kaden who stepped in. Not only did he help Zac build a spectacular model house, but my boy actually won first place— something you failed to help him achieve.”
His gaze drops to his feet, shame and guilt flickering across his face.
Good. I hope it gnaws at him every time he remembers each moment he failed and let our son down.
He can stand there and berate Kaden all he wants, but that man has already shown that’s he’s more reliable than the person standing in front of me when it comes to Zac.
His moment of guilt and remorse is over in seconds as he steels his shoulders, and lifts his chin, his expression hardening once more.
“I see what you’re doing here.”
“And what is it that you think I’m doing?”
“You’re trying to turn my own son against me, and you’re using Kaden to do it,” he accuses, then jabs a finger at his chest. “I’m his father—not him!” he shouts, fury ringing in his voice.
I quickly glance towards the kitchen, worried Zac might be watching us argue. Thankfully, he’s not.
“Keep your voice down,” I whisper sternly.
He points a finger in my direction. “You think you can just replace me by playing house with Kaden?” He laughs, the sound cold and unhinged. “You think you can erase me from my son’s life like I don’t exist.”
I slap his finger away, and his arrogant smirk instantly returns.
“It’s never gonna happen, Hope. I’ll always be around, whether you like it or not.”
“You’re fucking insane, you know that?”
“And you’re in fucking La-La land,” he quips. “Time to wake up, though—nothing is ever what it seems. Not when it comes to men like him.”
“Oh, I know. I learned that the moment I found out you were fucking another woman behind my back—and the reason why I’ll never trust you again.”
He sneers with a low, venomous chuckle. “Well, seeing you’ll never trust me again, there’s no point of hiding anything from you anymore.”
I swallow as my stomach knots with anticipation at what he’s about to reveal.
He regards me with an almost cruel, mocking smile, leaning in until his mouth brushes the shell of my ear.
Just when I think he can’t hurt me anymore, his hot breath brushes my skin as he whispers, “Lucia wasn’t the only one.” His cold words slam into my chest, forcing me to take an unsteady step back.
My throat tightens as I struggle to push out my next words.
“What did you say?”
“I said, Lucia wasn’t the only one I had an affair with. She just happened to be the last. Right before you up and left me.”
Tears gather quickly behind my eyelids as I look back at the man I once devoted my entire life to—now confessing that he betrayed me not just once, but repeatedly throughout our marriage. I’ve never despised someone as deeply as I despise him in this instant.
“You fucking bastard! You lying piece of shit! Get out of my house!” I yell, my voice shaking with hurt and rage. “Get out, Adrian!”
“You wanted full honesty, so here it is. I was never faithful to you, and for that, I’m sorry. But the urge to sleep with other women was just too strong.”
He draws in a sharp breath, and I can feel that what he’s about to say will carve a permanent scar into my soul. “I know this will hurt to hear… but that desire became much stronger than my love for you.”
My cheeks are streaked with tears as his words slice through my chest like jagged little daggers.
He never truly cared. He never loved me enough to stop. His desire to sleep with other women far outweighed any love he had for me, for his family. I feel sick to my stomach. I feel utterly disgusted.
“I wish I’d never given you a second chance all those years ago. I wish I’d never fucking met you! Get out, Adrian! Get out of my fucking face!”
Just then, Zac charges towards me, his arms circling around me protectively, his eyes blazing at his father with a fierceness far beyond his nine years.
“Get away from her!” he shouts at Adrian. “Go! We don’t want you here anymore!”
“Zac, you don’t mean that?” Adrian murmurs, his voice softening in an instant.
“Yes, I do! I don’t want you here. I hate you! I want you out of my life—out of Mum’s life too!” He’s yelling so loudly that his small body trembles. I gently squeeze his shoulders, trying to calm him, but he only tightens his arms around me even more.
“Just leave, Adrian. You’ve said what you needed to say. Now leave us alone.”
He shakes his head in protest, his eyes darting between Zac and me. Then, suddenly, as if the mask has finally slipped, a low, cutting laugh escapes him.
“I knew you’d eventually turn him against me. This was your plan all along.”
“I didn’t do anything,” I state firmly. “The way he feels about you is a direct result of how you’ve treated him. How you’ve treated us. You did this all on your own.”
“So, that’s how it’s going to be, huh? You want me out of your lives? Is that what you’re really asking for?”
“Yes,” Zac answers this time, his voice steady and firm. “And don’t come back, Adrian,” he adds, the deliberate use of his real name, rather than ‘Dad’—striking like the final nail in the coffin.
Adrian scoffs, as if this entire exchange is some grand amusement for him. He nods slowly and takes a small step back.
“Okay, if that’s what you really want. You’ll never have to see me again. I’m not going to fight for a place where I’m not wanted. But don’t come crawling back to me when everything goes to shit.”
“Oh, you’d never have to worry about that. Even if you were the last person on earth, I still wouldn’t crawl back. Not for anything.”
“We’ll see,” he says, his tone dripping with vicious arrogance. “Have a nice life you two. And goodluck—cause you’re going to need it.”
His gaze flicks between me and Zac, the muscle in his jaw flexing and unflexing, as he takes one last look at us before turning away and storming out the front door.
The moment I hear his car peel out of the driveway, I slowly collapse to the floor, Zac following me down and gripping me tighter, like he’s trying to hold us both together.
My body shakes with silent sobs, the inner strength I’ve carried for so long finally giving way as I bury my face in my son’s hair, and he cries with me.
My heart shatters all over again, but this time, it’s not just for me; it’s for the little boy who has already witnessed and endured far too much in his short life.