Page 11 of Wynter's Second Chance

Not a trace of sympathy stirred in me. Did that make me callous? Good! I wanted her to feel the pain she’d inflicted on me. What did she expect? That I’d accept this and carry on as if nothing happened?

I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

“So, what am I supposed to do?”

“Please don’t divorce me. I can’t take it right now. I know I’ve been unfaithful and I don’t have any right to ask you to think of me first, but—please, I beg you. Give me some time. I wouldn’t know how to support this baby. I can’t handle it alone. I need you.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut, but not in the way she intended. This baby.Hisbaby.

Her plea was a mockery. After everything, she wanted me to play the dutiful husband? Who was this woman? Why did I ever marry her? Was I so blinded by her outward charm that I ignored the truth of who she was?

Her deception had shattered me. Now, she expected me to continue giving despite her betrayal.

I wasn’t made of stone. “Shit! Lisa! How can you even think for a second that I’d want to continue this charade? Do you seriously expect me to support this baby? What should I tell everyone? That it’s my child?” The look on her face told me that I inadvertently hit the nail on the head. “You’re kidding me, right? You actually expect me to propagate the belief that this is my child?”

Her face fell, her guilt palpable. “I can’t tell my parents, Wynter. It would kill them. I told them you were only here for a short visit when I conceived. They don’t really count the trips. They believe me, and so will everyone else.”

“Never!” The word exploded from me. “Not happening. You’re going to tell your parents the truth, too.”

“Please, Wynter. I just need a little time. I want to do the right thing, but I need some breathing space.”

“The right thing?” I sneered, taking a long swig from the bottle. “You wouldn’t know the right thing if it hit you on the head.”

“But—”

“I want a divorce, Lisa.” Every time she spoke, it was like another cut to my already bleeding heart. Did she really think I’d fall in line with her plans? She must have been out of her mind.

It would be stupid of me to tie myself to her.

Oh God, were there red flags I chose to ignore when we were dating?

Was this my punishment?

If I could turn back time, I wouldn’t have foolishly assumed she was the best thing to have happened to me. I would have seen Royce and Taran happy and blissfully in love, and stamped down the yearning I’d felt for the same. And resigned myself to the fact that I was meant to be alone. I would have acknowledged that Lisa was there, beautiful, sexy and exciting, but wouldn’t have fallen for her, hook, line and sinker. And I sure as hell wouldn’t have proposed to her.

It was amazing how the mind could make you see certain truths when your life was in crisis. And now I’d come to the realization that there was a part of me that had never envisioned Lisa as the woman I was going to grow old with. And yet, a commitment was a commitment. I’d married her. She was my responsibility. But her deception and betrayal broke me.

And now, she expected me to give and to keep on giving despite her unfaithfulness.

She stiffened, her lips pressed into a thin line. “No.” The sudden steel in her voice caught me off guard. “If you do this, I’ll fight you. I’ll fight you in court.”

I slammed the empty bottle on the table with a thud, my hands trembling as I glared at her one last time. This wasn’t the woman I’d thought I knew. The woman I’d married. That woman was gone, replaced by a stranger standing before me, her eyes cold and calculating.

“There’s nothing left to fight for, Lisa,” I said quietly, the finality of it hitting me like a ton of bricks.

CHAPTER 5

WYNTER

“Please, Wynter. Let’s just sit and talk.”

Talk. As if words could undo this mess. As if words could make me unsee the roundness of her stomach, the child she was carrying for someone else.

"I’m leaving.” I grabbed my bag from the floor and walked to the door before she could say another word. She called my name, but I didn’t look back.

This wasn’t the life I’d worked for, sacrificed for. Lisa and I had always planned to start a family once I retired. That was supposed to be our new chapter, the life I thought we were working toward together. So when I handed in my papers, I pictured the moment I’d show up at the door, ready to tell her I was out of the military for good—a surprise for my wife, the start of everything we’d talked about. But instead, I’d walked straight into a nightmare.

After twenty years of service, I’d earned the right to step back and focus on us, on everything we’d promised each other during the long deployments. It was supposed to be a fresh start, a chance to make good on the promise I’d made to Royce—to keep an eye on Taran and Rory, to be there for them, too.

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