Page 71 of Forgettable in Every Way

As soon as they entered the house, Simon zeroed in on Penelope in the kitchen, downing a margarita. Several of her friends surrounded her, dancing and laughing, not even noticing Penelope was distressed. It was quite the life his ex-wife had carved out for herself. No real friends or direction.

Simon’s intent was not to humiliate Penelope in front of her guests, but he was tired of her games, and he was going to put an end to them.

It didn’t take long for Penelope to look up from her drink and see Simon with Jules and Jack. She immediately paled, gripping her glass tightly.

It was as if everyone there knew trouble was brewing. A stillness swept through the house until all anyone could hear was the music blaring in the background.

“I’m only going to say this once,” Simon seethed. “The next time you lie to Jules about me, you better bloody well make sure I can’t prove you wrong. I have the photo album.”

Penelope dropped her glass on the stone tile, creating a loud shattering noise that echoed throughout the open space. Yet no one moved to clean it up. The unfolding drama had everyone mesmerized.

His ex’s reaction pleased Simon. “I’m leaving now, with our son. Look for my solicitor to contact yours to discuss the custody arrangements.”

Penelope opened her mouth, spluttering. “You can’t do that,” she whined.

“I can and I will. Until you make Jack a priority in your life and stop trying to sabotage mine, we have nothing left to say to each other unless it’s through our solicitors.” Simon turned to Jules. Her eyes were wide with disbelief. “Shall we go, darling?” He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

“Uh-huh,” she said in a daze.

Simon chuckled.

Jack wrapped his arms around Simon’s neck, in his own little boy way, thanking him for protecting him. Simon thought he should have done it earlier, but he wanted to give Penelope every chance to be the woman he believed she could be. He hoped one day she would be, for Jack’s sake—and her own.

Penelope made no move to stop them. She uttered not another word.

The three of them walked out of the house and into the sun.

Simon turned to Jules. She looked more lovely than ever with the sun’s rays kissing her skin and showing off the gold highlights in her dark hair. “I hope you’re ready for our story. The one that started in New York. A tale of a lovely and gracious princess and a very daft prince.”

Jules took a second to comprehend what he was saying. She pointed at him. “You’re the Daft Prince?”

“Finally,” Jack said, exasperated.

Jules tilted her head. “I still don’t understand.”

Simon leaned in closer to Jules and whispered, “I hope you like bedtime stories, darling, because do I ever have one for you.”

Jules

I SAT CUDDLING WITH JACK on Simon’s sofa while we watched Bluey. He’d tucked into my side as soon as we’d gotten back and hadn’t left me. I felt the enormous trust he was placing in me. I realized the significant role I might have in his life. He might look to me as a mother someday. It was a beautiful thought and one I swore I would do my best to fulfill.

While Jack and I caught up on Bluey, Simon was working on “the story.” He’d flashed me the photo album to prove its existence. After that, he’d disappeared into his room. To say the day’s events had shocked me came nowhere close to describing my feelings. I was still processing.

Simon loved me.

This was huge. Like bigger than Taylor Swift’s the Eras Tour huge.

Then there was the little matter of me being an idiot. How could I have believed Penelope? I felt awful for doubting Simon. I wondered if I would ever get over all my insecurities. I was mad at myself for letting Penelope rule my emotions one more time. She was probably regretting that too. I’d never seen her look so diminutive as when Simon let her have it. I’m not going to lie, I kind of enjoyed it. No one had ever dared stand up to her like that before.

Thoughts of Simon being in love with me were overwhelming. Wow. Wow. Wow. I never expected this dream to come true. Weird how I wasn’t exactly sure what to do with it. Don’t get me wrong, I was thrilled. It’s just I didn’t imagine him confessing to love me after I’d called him a liar at his ex-wife’s house. I hadn’t even had the chance to say it back. Not like he didn’t know. He’d read the photo album. Kept the photo album.

“Princess Jewel,” Jack yawned and snuggled in closer to me. It was almost his bedtime. “Will you help my daddy make better choices now?”

I hugged Jack to me. Gosh, did I love the little guy. “I’ll try my best,” I responded, not exactly sure what he meant, but I imagined it had something to do with the story Simon was working on.

“Good. Do you love my daddy?” he asked so innocently.

I didn’t hesitate to say, “Yes. I love you and your daddy very much.”

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