CHAPTER TEN
Cole
"Out. Now!" Herston barked, his voice slicing through the air like a whip. The room fell into stunned silence, the weight of his fury pressing down on everyone.
Bobby and Steve scrambled to obey, their footsteps scraping against the floor as they rushed toward the door. But then his piercing glare landed on me, pinning me in place like a butterfly under glass.
"You too. Get out!" he snarled.
I froze. I had never seen Herston this angry before. His face was tight with barely restrained fury, his fists clenched at his sides. My pulse hammered in my ears. The urge to speak, to explain, rose in my throat, but something in his expression told me it would be useless.
This wasn't just anger.
This was wrath.
And I was on its direct path.
I gave him a nod and shuffled out of his house, my head low. Guilt weighed heavily on me, sinking into my bones. I had let Herston and Janet down—the only people who ever felt like a real family.
My stomach twisted at the thought of my own parents. If they knew...
Not that it would change anything. They always liked Sara more than me. Even so, they had never really been my true family, so they'd never truly been hers either.
But they would be ashamed of me.
Image was all they cared about.
When I got to my car, Bobby and Steve were already there, waiting. Anger twisted their faces, and they glared at me fiercely. I couldn't even look at them.
"It finally blew up in your face, didn't it?" Bobby hissed.
"And you dragged us both into it," Steve added, his voice cold.
I didn't respond. There was nothing to say that would make a difference. Instead, I pressed the button on my car key, unlocking the doors.
"What are you going to do now?" Bobby asked.
I let out a heavy sigh. "Beg. Kneel. Whatever it takes to make Sara forgive me."
Steve frowned, his arms crossed tightly. "And what about the baby?"
I ran a hand down my face, exhausted. "What can I do, Steve? I can't abandon my child."
Bobby studied me, then shook her head. "Do you really think Sara will be okay with that? It's your child with another woman—the one you cheated on her with."
"I'll make it work," I said, my voice steadier than I felt.
I had no choice.
Even if it meant proving myself every single day. Even if it meant facing her anger, her disappointment, and the possibility that she might never truly forgive me.
I had to try.
"How did it get so messed up like this, Cole?" Steve asked, exasperation thick in his voice. "I feel like I don't even know you anymore."
I had no answer to that.
Because I didn't know myself anymore either.
Everything had spiraled so far out of control, and worse, I hadn't just ruined my life. I had dragged everyone down with me, trapping them in the mess I had made.
"I'm not asking Sara to fully raise the baby," I said, my voice tight. "She'll still be living with her mother most of the time."
Bobby scoffed. "And you think it'll be that easy?" She shook her head, disbelief etched on her face. "How do you expect this to work, Cole? Elsa wasn't just some ex. She was your mistress. The woman you betrayed Sara with. How do you think she'll feel, knowing you'll be going to their house, spending time there?"
She let out a frustrated sigh. "I've asked you this so many times, Cole, and I think—even now—you still don't have an answer."
"I can't lose Sara, Bobby. You know that."
"I think you already lost her," Steve said quietly. His voice lacked the usual edge, replaced by something almost like pity. "From what I saw just now... she was done with you."
I shook my head, refusing to hear it.
It was too hard to accept. Too final.
"For once in your life, Cole," Bobby said, her voice sharp with frustration, "stop thinking about yourself and think about her. Sara deserves better."
She exhaled, shaking her head. "And you know you can't give it to her."
"I will make her happy, Bobby," I promised. "I know what I need to do."
I meant it—with conviction, with honesty, with every shred of my heart. I was fully committed. "I'll make it work."
Bobby and Steve exchanged glances, something unspoken passing between them. Then, with a resigned sigh, Bobby said, "Steve, let's go. I don't know what else to say."
Steve gave her a small nod, and without another word, they both headed to his car.
I watched them drive away, then turned back to Herston's house—the place where the love of my life was staying. The love I had taken for granted. The love I had betrayed.
I had been so sure, so convinced that Sara's love for me was too great for her ever to let go.
Even though I knew what I was doing would hurt her, I had the affair anyway.
Too confident.
Too much of an asshole to stop.
Sara, once so soft and forgiving, had finally broken free. She had always been strong and independent, but now she was unshakable—tougher than ever. Even though it had broken her, she refused to fall apart. She was holding on, standing tall, no matter how much it hurt.
She had grown wings, and now she was ready to fly—without me.
I admired her. I loved her even more for it. And now, I had lost her.
I rubbed my tired face and turned toward my car. Everything felt like it was closing in on me. Then my phone buzzed.
I glanced at the screen. It was Elsa.
My brows furrowed in annoyance. I wouldn't be feeding her whatever it was she wanted from me. Not again. Never.
With a sigh, I ignored the call and shoved my phone into my jacket pocket, then drove away.
But the phone kept buzzing. Again and again.
At the red light, I finally pulled it out, unable to shake the nagging worry. Elsa could give birth any day now. I couldn't afford to ignore her.
That bitch.
"Yeah," I sighed into the phone.
But the voice on the other end wasn't Elsa's. It was someone I didn't recognize.
"Cole Sterling?" the woman asked.
I straightened up. "Yes?"
"I'm Kim Kramer, Elsa's mother," she said, her tone brisk. "You need to get here. Fast. Her water just broke."
*** *** ***
I stared at Kim—Elsa's mother—someone I hadn't even known existed, let alone was still in her life. Elsa had told me her father had passed away and that she did not know where her mother was. She even said there was a good chance her mother was dead.
If I had cared enough, I should've asked more. Should've questioned it. But I didn't.
I remember my response was a simple nod. No follow-up. No curiosity.
By then, I already despised her too much to care.
And yet, here she was, sitting across from me in the hospital waiting room, waiting for Elsa as she underwent an emergency C-section. Elsa had been in labor for several hours, but her condition deteriorated rapidly because of pre-eclampsia, leaving the doctors no choice but to intervene.
Kim was glaring at me, suspicion and disapproval clear in her eyes.
I leaned back, crossed my arms, and met her glare head-on.
I already didn't like this woman. Worse, she looked exactly like Elsa, and the thought made my stomach churn. Was this what Elsa would look like in middle age? The idea unsettled me.
I had no doubt she was blaming me for making her daughter's blood pressure skyrocket.
Not that I could deny it.
I probably did.
And then, suddenly, she blurted out a question that made my heart stop for a second.
"Are you going to marry my daughter?"
Stunned, I sat there in silence for a moment before finally shaking my head. "No."
Her expression darkened. "Why? She's giving birth to your child!" Her tone rose, sharp and accusing.
I glanced around. Luckily, we were the only two people in the waiting room.
This small hospital in a town I'd never even heard of before. A place so out of the way that I had to leave my car at the train station and take a two-hour train ride just to get here.
"I have a wife." I told her the truth.
The truth. Only the truth.
From this fucking day on.
"Do you have a child with her?"
My nose flared in frustration as I shook my head. "No."
Her hands flew into the air, exasperated. "Then divorce her and marry Elsa!"
Fuck. Who was this woman to tell me what to do with my life?
"That's not what Elsa and I had agreed on." I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees, trying to control myself. "And frankly, I don't see the need to discuss this with you."
"I am her mother!" she bristled.
"And that means absolute shit to me," I shot back.
"You have a responsibility to take care of Elsa and the child!"
"Which is exactly what I'm doing. I've already set her up with a house and a monthly allowance. I'll be in my child's life in every way I can."
"I don't see how that's going to work," she insisted. "I don't understand why you won't just divorce your wife and settle down with Elsa. You're obviously attracted to her—otherwise, you wouldn't have been with her in the first place."
A mistake I was going to fucking regret for the rest of my life.
"She knew from the start that I would never leave my wife. We agreed on that."
"You're so damn stupid to think that!" she snapped. "Elsa can easily take the child away from you. You're not her husband."
Like mother, like daughter, it seemed.
"She can fucking try," I bit out, clenching my jaw. "And see what I'll do."
She huffed and turned her gaze to the side.
"Why is she here?" I asked Kim, my voice tight. "It was too risky for her to travel."
Her glare snapped back to me, burning even hotter than before. "She said she was afraid and alone. That you left her."
My brows lifted. "So, you knew about me all along?"
Kim scoffed as if the question itself was ridiculous. "Of course."
I felt a surge of anger rising within me. "She said she didn't know where you were. That you were probably dead."
Kim didn't answer, but it was clear my question had caught her off guard. She'd probably forgotten she had to pretend she didn't know me.
Scheming little whores. Both of them.
"And didn't it occur to you to come to her instead?" I pressed, my hands balling into fists, barely holding myself back from punching something.
I had a gut feeling this was all part of a deliberate plan to get me here, where I couldn't leave, trapped with her.
A nurse walked up to us, stopping Kim before she could open her mouth again.
She offered me a polite smile. "Everything went very well. We've moved Elsa to recovery. Congratulations, you have a healthy, beautiful baby girl."
Silence hung between us for a moment.
I was stunned, staring at the nurse as a wave of emotions crashed over me.
A baby.
My little girl.
I still couldn't wrap my head around it.
A daughter.
I shot to my feet. "Can I see her?"
The nurse's smile widened. "Later, after we release her. Elsa still needs to be monitored closely."
I shook my head. "No. Not Elsa. The baby. I want to see the baby."