Page 18 of Anchor

He nods and states, “I’ll follow you back to the house.”

I nod back and turn toward my car.

Back to the house….

It stopped being his home the moment he cheated.

I huff as I park in front of the diner.

Micha and Travis's sister had called several times during that meal. This happens during every date, though yesterday was the first time Callie called several times. Most of the time, I’d use the calls from my son as an excuse to leave. Yesterday was the first time I sent an SOS, knowing I wouldn’t have been able to get up and leave like normal.

I’m also aware that Andy ended up in the ER last night.

I wish things could be easy, but they’re not. I don’t want to move on, but I also know I can’t trust that man again—my childhood is proof of that—but I also know I love him, and we have a child together.

I’m so goddamn confused; I have been for ten years.

“Maybe that’s why I can’t move on with someone else, because I still love my husband,” I mumble to myself as I climb out of my car and walk to the door at the diner, hoping I get to see Perrie while I’m here.

Perrie is Acid’s old lady. The woman is a fighter at The Fight, an underground, illegal club owned by the Rebels MC, and she’s badass.

She and Acid have come a long way, and Cassidy has kept me updated about their progress as a couple.

I open the diner door and walk in, but I jump back in shock as “Surprise!” is shouted. My mouth hangs open when I see a banner saying “Congratulations!” I notice Steal and Cassidy with their daughter Moria, Piston, and Natalie with their daughter Holly, my mother, Travis’s father, mother, and sister, and Acid and Perrie all grinning. Front and center are Travis and our son Micha.

Grins spread on their faces, and my eyes blur as I make eye contact with my gorgeous little boy, pride shining in his.

“What is this?” I rasp, looking around, seeing food on the counter and balloons everywhere.

“Your son wanted to celebrate his mom passing the bar exam,” Steal announces, and a few tears fall, which I quickly wipe away.

I wondered how long it would take for Micha to crack. I know I shouldn’t have asked him to lie, but I didn’t want anyone to know until I knew I could do it.

“I, uh, I don’t know if I did pass,” I admit, and Travis raises a brow at me and asks, “When do you find out?”

I clear my throat and look at him sheepishly before admitting, “Last night, but I haven’t opened the email.”

Everyone chuckles as he nods before he kisses our son's head, who looks at his father like he hung the moon. Travis walks overto me, holding out his hand. “Pass me your phone,” he demands softly, keeping eye contact.

I lick my bottom lip before pulling the phone out of my jeans, without hesitation, and pass it to him. He gives me a smirk, but his eyes soon soften when he unlocks the phone with our son’s birth date. The picture of him and Micha on the day he was born is my background image. Travis accesses my emails, his gaze intense.

Everyone holds their breath and my bite down on my bottom lip hard, especially when I realize, I couldn’t have done this without him, and that is a hard pill to swallow.

After a few minutes, Travis looks back at me, our eyes connecting as he states, “You passed; you’re a lawyer. " My mouth drops open in shock, causing him to grin with pride.

I feel arms wrap around me and look down to see our son, and my tears fall as I hold him tightly. Travis cups the back of my head and kisses my forehead, then announced, “She passed,” and everyone cheers as I grip his cut.

Holy crap, I passed….

An hour later, after a lot of hugs and congratulations, food, and cuddle time with Moira and Holly, I sneak away to the bathroom for a breather while Travis is with our son.

My heart hasn’t stopped pounding since walking into the diner and seeing everyone.

It’s things like this that make it hard to stick to my decision from ten years ago. Instead of getting angry because I kept my schooling a secret, he threw a party. He pulled this off for our son, for me, and God it’s just hard because I do love him. I just….

“Yes, yes baby….” Ginger moans.

I swallow hard and look in the mirror. My eyes are sad at the memory that haunts me. Every time I slept with Travis, I also had a sickening thought, wondering if he went back to her.

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