Page 28 of The Homewrecker's Fate

"She's not here yet! You have no right to bother me."

"I'm her father and have every right to check on her."

"No, actually, you do not. You need to get out of here." I stepped into the hallway, closing the distance between Brax and myself to maneuver away from where Rich stood, blocking my way. "You need to leave." I turned to lock my door and Brax's hand came around my waist to offer his support. That did nothing but rile Rich up.

"So, you and my wife are both whores for this asshole now?"

"Well, since you're the one who turned me into a home wrecking whore in everyone's eyes, I figured I better play my part to the fullest and go down the list of every man your wife ever slept with. You know – just to be sure everyone got the point that I'm the sort of woman who does those things." Sarcasm dripped from my words as Brax threw his head back and laughed.

“You’re better than this!” Rich threw those words at me like they were weapons.

“You’re right. I am better than this. I’m better than having an argument with the married man I had an affair with because he was a lying prick and never mentioned a wife and kids. I am better than arguing with you on my doorstep about literally anything. What you’re not getting is that I value my time and who I give it to. These days, you don’t even make that list.”

“You are carrying my child!” The tone he used made it sound like that information was a demand on my time, not a statement of fact.

“When is my due date, Rich?” I asked as I unconsciously leaned further into Brax for support.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Do you know the answer?” I questioned again while ignoring his bullshit. When he didn’t answer, I chuckled lightly before shaking my head at him in disappointment. “You know why you don’t know the answer?”

“Yes, because every time I try-”

“Wrong!” I cut him off. “I tried calling to talk to you. I tried sending emails, texts, and even a letter with an ultrasound photo that had my due date written right on it. You ignored everything.” He huffed and took in another breath like he was about to counter my point, but I didn’t have time for that shit. “A man who gave a single shit about the child I was carrying – or me for that matter – would know when my due date is. He would know because he would have asked for that information, especially if he was the father of this baby and planned to be involved.”

“Her due date is September 12th,” Brax informed Rich, who stood there with his jaw slack and eyes cast downward.

“As Brax just informed you, my due date is September 12th,” I repeated. “Since you never bothered to ask about that, how my pregnancy is going, whether I need help financially with the hospital bills, or what I might need for the baby, you don’t get to use this baby as a bargaining chip for my time. You’ve had plenty of opportunity to prove you cared and were interested in the baby. You failed. If you come to my home one more time, I will be forced to file for a restraining order because the stress you are causing me is not good for my health right now. I told you that you would be informed when the baby gets here. Then, we will deal with the legalities involved in potentially shared custody or visitation agreements. Until then, I don’t want to see or hear from you.” I reached down and grabbed hold of Braxton’s hand and tugged until we were moving around where Rich stood. Before we got more than a couple feet away, I turned back. “And if you so much as bring up anything at all of a personal nature at work, I will file an HR complaint against you, too.”

Rich didn’t say another word, but I felt is eyes on me as I walked away while holding tightly to Braxton’s hand. Neither of us said another word until we were safely ensconced in his solid black Dodge Durango. Once I was buckled in and Braxton made it to his side and turned the engine over, he finally took a breath and then turned toward me. I moved so that my body faced him as much as possible while held confined by the seat belt. Brax started to say something, stopped and shook his head, and then grabbed hold of my hand. I tracked the movement and allowed him to hold onto me with both of his hands.

“The way you just laid it out for Rich…” He shook his head again as if he couldn’t believe what I had said or done. “I don’t think anything that anyone has ever said ever got past that asshole’s ego. Not until today. That man we left behind, I think he finally got it. That was the first time I’ve ever seen Rich ripped to shreds and I was there for years in the background with him and Mel.”

“I didn’t say what I did to hurt him, just to make him wake up and realize that he wasn’t concerned about anyone else. It was all him.”

“I know it, sweetheart. What’s more is that he knows it, too. I don’t think you’ll have any further problems with him, but I want you to know that if he shows up out of the blue like that again, you need to call me. No matter the time, I will be there. If I’m too far out for some reason, you will hit the panic button on your alarm system.”

There was no point in arguing with Brax. I had no qualms about doing exactly that. Rich might just now be realizing how far removed from him I was, but there was no doubt his estimations were still off. When I finally found a lawyer to consult with, one of my main issues was making sure that I received sole custody, at least for the first year of my daughter’s life – longer if I could manage. It wasn’t about making Rich hurt, either. It was about not trusting him to put my child before himself.

“It might not seem like it right now, but it’s all going to work out, Avi.”

“Most days, I convince myself of that. Some days, it seems harder to do.”

“I can’t even imagine. Mel’s in my ear about everything he’s done on one side and I’m seeing it with my own eyes from your side, too.”

“Not to mention what you experienced when you overheard him talking about you. That was a betrayal as well, Brax. I hope you know that none of that was on you. Whatever he said that day, it was his insecurities talking, not your deficiencies.”

Brax squeezed my hand and tossed a smile my way before he turned to face forward. “Go ahead and put the bullshit with him out of your head for the next couple hours.”

“Where are we headed?”

“To forget,” he stated simply as he checked the lane and pulled out onto the road.

“In case you forgot, I’m pregnant and can’t do drugs,” I deadpanned.

“Ha, ha, funny girl. Just for that, it’s going to be a surprise.”

“It was already a surprise, so nothing has changed.”

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