Page 94 of The Bonus

I sit on the back porch and stare out over the lake. My life is a mess…and at a time when I should be frantic, I feel eerily calm.

The truth is out and damn it, it feels cathartic.

He knows.

I’m not carrying the secret alone anymore.

I always knew that one day the truth would come to light, and as every year ticked over, I got a little more terrified.

Not only of Gabriel…but of the children hating me for not telling them the truth about the donor sperm and IVF.

I’m glad it’s out.

The children are still young, and I haven’t had to have the conversation with them about who their father is yet, hopefully they’re young enough that they can forgive me.

“Mom,” Dom calls from inside. “A car just pulled up.”

I close my eyes as I prepare for battle.

“He’s here.”

13

Grace

I walk back into the house and peer through the window to see Gabriel get out of the car. It’s Thursday, he couldn’t even wait for the weekend.

He’s wearing a charcoal suit with not a hair out of place, chunky watch, and expensive shoes, he looks like a fish out of water here.

“He’s back,” Lucy says from her place beside me.

“You be nice,” I tell her. I glance back to Dominic. “You use your manners today, please.”

He stays silent.

“Dominic, do you understand me? Best behavior today.”

He nods.

We all watch from our place from the window as Gabriel walks up the front stairs, and I open the door before he knocks.

“Hello.”

“Hello.” He nods, his eyes find the children behind me and he stares at them for a beat.

I step back to grant him access. “Come in.”

He walks past me into the house, and Dom and Lucy look up at him as if he’s an alien.

Gabriel looks around our quaint little house and is quiet, for the first time in history I get the feeling he is lost for words.

That makes two of us.

“Please meet…” My voice trails off and I put my hands on Lucy’s shoulders. “This is Lucia.” I present her to him. “Lucia, this is my friend, Gabriel.”

Gabriel’s eyes flick to me in question, and I give a subtle shrug. I have no idea how to introduce him.

“Hello,” Gabriel says to her.

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