Page 74 of Crossroads of Love

“What?” I whisper, my voice barely audible. “A child?”

Gavin nods, his expression pained. “Yeah. I didn’t know. Dad had an entire file. It’s all in there, documents, pictures… everything. Aaron was living a double life.”

He looks down quickly. I stare at him, my mind reeling.

Did he know, and that was why he couldn’t look me in the eye?

Why wouldn’t Henry tell me?

Is that why, within the last few months, Henry kept telling me that I deserved better than Aaron?

How could Aaron have done this? How could he have lied to me, to his family?And how had I been so blind?

“Lena,” Gavin starts softly, stepping closer, his hands gentle as they cup my face. “There’s more.”

“More? How could there possibly be more? Shit, is it worse than a secret family?”

He nods, his expression darkening. “My dad… he was looking into Aaron. He found something else. Something worse. I just found it about an hour ago.”

“Worse?” I echo, my voice hollow. “What could be worse than him having a child with someone else? Jesus, Gavin, just rip off the Band-Aid and say it already.”

“Aaron was taking payouts, bribes. My dad found evidence, bank statements, and transactions. It was all there. He was involved in something shady, Lena. Something illegal.”

I feel like the floor is dropping out from under me.

Aaron… bribes? Illegal dealings?

I shake my head in disbelief and squelch the bile rising in my throat. I clutch my stomach, hoping to keep the nausea at bay.

I was so set on doing everything myself, walking on eggshells so that Jayla didn’t see us fighting constantly, that I was missing a dirty cop in my own house.

I feel like my heart shatters into a million pieces as the guilt and betrayal hit me simultaneously. I dug into my work, into this town, going above for everyone in it with no boundaries whatsoever. I hyperfocused on doing everything I could with Jayla to make up for her father’s lack of parenting. I was so busy avoiding the truth that I couldn’t see what was happening right in front of my face.

Gavin pulls me into his arms, holding me tightly as the reality of what he’s telling me sinks in. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs into my hair. “I didn’t want to tell you, but you need to know.”

I bury my face in his chest, my mind spinning. Aaron had betrayed me in more ways than I could have ever imagined, and the worst part is, I hadn’t even seen it coming. I had been so blind, so trusting.

I’ve been so closed off.Did I know subconsciously and just ignored it instead?

I can’t think like that. I can’t go back and scrutinize every moment and take the blame for any of it. Aaron did this.

As I stand in Gavin’s arms, the warmth of his embrace grounding me, I realize something else. Aaron’s betrayal might have shattered my trust, but it hadn’t destroyed me. I am stronger than that, stronger than he ever thought I was.

I pull back slightly, looking up at Gavin with tear-filled eyes. “Thank you for telling me.”

He nods, his thumb brushing away a tear that escapes down my cheek. “You deserve to know the truth.”

I take a deep, shaky breath, trying to steady myself. “What do we do now?”

“Well, the woman is fighting the death benefits, claiming that you two were no longer married and that he changed everything prior to his death. The thing is, it looks shady because it was done only a few days prior.”

“It may not be that shady,” I murmur. “I…had texted him and told him that he wasn’t allowed back at the house the day before he died. On the morning of his death, I showed up here with his things. We’d gotten into a huge fight because I thought he was cheating on me and didn’t have the proof. He could have done it because of that.”

“You’ll need to show proof of your marriage to get the benefits owed to you. Things will change, though, because of the child.”

“Did you drug me? Am I hallucinating?” I joke poorly. “This can’t be real, right? He was sworn to uphold the law. This is…shit, if people find out about this, they’ll impeach me as mayor. They’ll think that I’m shady and take bribes, too.”

As the words fall out of my mouth, an entirely new type of panic takes over. My chest tightens, and my breathing turns ragged.

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