Chapter 32
Try – should involve some form of effort but usually doesn’t when an ex is involved
Lucas
I watch as Natalia and Chloe leave the house. I’m torn. I want to be with them. I want them with me. But I don’t want my daughter or my wife anywhere near Holly.
The contrast between Holly and Chloe couldn’t be more obvious. Holly stands here dressed in clothes meant for a country club I could never afford. And don’t want to. Meanwhile Chloe’s beautiful as ever in her jean shorts and t-shirt.
Their appearances aren’t the only difference between my past and my future. Holly is a complete bitch who didn’t bother pretending to want to spend time with her daughter. Whereas Chloe fought to keep Natalia safe.
“Finally.” Holly draws a sharpened nail down my arm. “We’re alone.”
I retreat a few steps. “Don’t touch me.”
She flutters her eyelashes. “You used to enjoy it when I touched you.”
“When I was twenty-three and didn’t know better.”
She flicks her hair over her shoulder. If the move was supposed to be sexy, she missed her mark. Her bleached hair stiff from all the product she uses, doesn’t appeal to me. I much prefer auburn hair wild from being loose in the wind.
“Don’t lie. We’ve had sex since then.”
Hardly. Once Natalia was born and Holly showed her true colors, my interest in sex with her vanished.
“We’re divorced, Holly,” I say instead of reminding her of how I turned down her advances again and again. No one enjoys being turned down but Holly was humiliated. I tried to soften the blow but there’s a limit to how nice I can be when I awake to a woman I don’t desire with her mouth around my cock.
“I want to try again.”
Try? I snort. She didn’t try the first time.
“Not interested.”
She bites her bottom lip. “I bet I can change your mind.”
She’d lose that bet. “I’m married, Holly, and I’m no cheater.”
“Are you insinuating I’m a cheater?”
“No need to insinuate. I walked in on you sucking his dick, remember?” I sure as hell wish I didn’t remember. The sight should have pushed me to divorce her. But I didn’t want Natalia growing up without a mother.
Since I’ve heard Chloe’s story, I realize how wrong I was. Having a mother who’s absent and has no interest in your life is worse than not having a mother.
She rolls her eyes. “I don’t know why it’s such a big deal.”
“I told you this a million times already. Cheating is wrong. And I can’t be with a cheater.”
“I promise I won’t cheat again. It was a mistake. I’ve learned my lesson.”
She learned her lesson? She walked away and never looked back. She’s barely contacted her daughter in the past two years since she left. And she hasn’t seen her daughter in the past year. None of her actions indicate she’s learned anything.
“I’m married.”
She dismisses my words with a wave of her hand. “Do you seriously expect me to believe you’re actually married again? You claimed you’d never marry again. And yet you suddenly have a wife the minute I ask for custody.”
“Ask for custody? You claimed you’d sue me for sole custody. I’m not letting you steal my daughter away.”
“Exactly.” She nods. “Which is why you came up with this whole fake wife thing. It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone. But there’s no need to continue the charade.”
“The charade?”
She points to next door. “Your wife has a house next door. If you were married, she wouldn’t still have her house.”
“How do you know the house next door is from her?”
She smirks. “You’re not the only one who can do some investigating.”
Shit. I fell into her trap.
“Whether Chloe rents the house next door or not is immaterial. We’re married and I’m not letting you steal my daughter.”
She jabs me in the chest with her finger. “She’s our daughter. I’m the one who carried her for nine months. I’m the one who had to get a boob job because my breasts sagged from nursing her.”
I remove her hand from my chest. “You carried her for nine months, but there’s more to being a mother than giving birth. You never paid Natalia any attention. You didn’t play with her. You ignored her in her crib. When she began school, you didn’t participate in any of the school activities. You didn’t bake for the bake sales. You didn’t go to her school plays. Need I go on?”
“That’s all in the past now. I’m a changed woman.”
“Which is why you cringed when Natalia hugged you? Why you’re here having this argument with me instead of spending time with the daughter you haven’t seen in a year?”
“It’s not a big deal. I can spend time with her later. I’m not going anywhere.”
I inhale a deep breath and pray for calm. If Holly wants to see Natalia, I have to give her the chance to be in her daughter’s life. No matter how much it hurts me. It’s not about me. It’s about my daughter.
“Are you moving to Smuggler’s Hideaway?”
“I can hardly be with you if I don’t live in the same place as you.”
“You are not hearing me, Holly. I’m married. I’m not leaving Chloe to be with you.”
“And you’re not hearing me. I know your marriage is a sham.”
Panic grasps me for a second. She knows I married Chloe to keep Natalia safe? I force those thoughts away. It doesn’t matter why I married Chloe. We’re together now and I’m not letting her go.
“Chloe is my wife. Our marriage is not a sham.”
She crosses her arms over her chest. The action pushes her breasts together but I look away. I’m not interested in any other woman than Chloe. Especially not a scheming woman who will do anything to get her way.
“You are forcing my hand.”
“I’m not forcing anything. I’m telling you the truth.”
“We’ll see what the judge thinks of your ‘marriage’.”
“You’re suing me for custody of Natalia?”
“I’m not going to let you win.”
I growl. “Natalia is not a prize. She’s our daughter.”
“She’s also a girl. A girl should live with her mother.”
I snort. “Which is why you prepared her for getting her first period.”
She shrugs. “I wasn’t here. I couldn’t prepare her.”
“You weren’t here because you didn’t want to be. You didn’t fight me when I asked for full custody of Natalia when we divorced.”
“Yes, well. Things have changed.”
I narrow my eyes. “Things have changed? I beg to differ. You obviously don’t have any more interest in Natalia than you did when we were married.”
I wanted to tear her from limb to limb when she brushed off Natalia. Lucky for me, Chloe stepped in or I would be in jail for assault now. My wife was fucking magnificent. I want to be with her and not having this ridiculous conversation with Holly. I’m not changing my mind on a damn thing anyway.
“Like I said. Things have changed.”
What things could have possibly changed? What could…
I shake my head when I realize what’s happening. I should have realized this before. Holly wants money.
“You want child support. What happened to your latest boyfriend? Did he kick you out?”
She winces. Gotcha! She’s after money.
“You can’t use child support to support your lavish lifestyle. Child support is for the child.”
“A child needs somewhere to live, food to eat. If I use the money for rent and food, it’s not wrong.”
She doesn’t even bother denying she wants custody for the child support money. This has nothing to do with wanting to spend time with her daughter.
“You can get a job and earn money for rent and food.”
“I don’t have time to work.”
“What the hell are you doing with your time that prevents you from having time to work?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
In other words, she’s doing what she’s always done. Getting manicures and pedicures on a weekly basis. Going to lunch with her girlfriends who have rich husbands. And shopping for clothes she can’t afford.
“You disgust me.”
“Whatever. There’s no judge in this world who won’t give a mother custody of her daughter.”
I cross my arms over my chest and glare down at her. “You’re wrong. Natalia is part of a loving family. A judge isn’t going to rip her away from it.”
“Did you forget your marriage is a sham?”
“My marriage is not a sham. Chloe is my wife.” And she always will be. I’m not letting her go.
“I’ll prove otherwise and the judge will agree with me having custody.”
“Bring it on, Holly. I will fight you every step of the way.”
She purses her lips. “You want Natalia to be a witness to us fighting?”
Of course, I don’t want Natalia to watch her parents fight over her in court. But I’m not letting Holly steal my daughter because she needs money.
“She’ll witness a dad fighting for his daughter. There’s nothing wrong there.”
She sighs. “I don’t know why you have to be this difficult.”
I’m the one being difficult? Holly always has been delusional.
I motion to the door. “It’s time for you to leave.”
“You’re not going to let me stay here?”
Completely and utterly delusional. “My family lives here. You are not a part of my family.”
She stomps her foot but I’m not letting her throw a temper tantrum. I herd her toward the door.
“Have your lawyer contact my lawyer,” I say before shutting the door in her face.
I wait until she gets into her rental car and drives off before I dig out my phone and dial Chloe. I need to be with my family after experiencing that shit show.