Page 77 of He Doesn't Deserve You

Again, he nodded.

“You’re a selfish bastard,” she snapped, pushing him back against the pillow. “You have children who love and depend on you. Do you have any idea what this is doing to them? You would leave them to grow up without a father?”

She started pacing the room, her voice rising with each word. “You’re mad at me? Well, let me tell you, I’m furious at you, too! You can’t just throw hush money at this and make it disappear like every other time. So, what do you do? You try to take the easy way out.” She stopped and faced him, eyes blazing. “Well, guess what? I won’t let you. You created this mess, and you can explain it to your children. I’m done making excuses for you.”

The doctor entered the room and stopped in his tracks. His eyes grew wide on hearing what Emily was saying to Gabriel. She brushed past the doctor, muttering, “He’s all yours,” before storming out of the room.

42

Emily sat in the high school pickup line with a big smile plastered on her face. She couldn’t wait to tell the boys that their father was awake.

“Guess what?” Emily exclaimed as they climbed into the car.

“What?” Hunter grunted, clearly uninterested.

“Your father’s awake!”

“Really?” both boys shouted in unison, their faces lighting up.

Emily nodded, her smile broadening as she confirmed, “Really!”

“Can we go see him?”

“Of course,” Emily replied, putting the car into drive and smoothly pulling out of the pickup line. Feeling the need to prepare the boys before they visited with their father, Emily said, “Your dad is still on the ventilator, so he can’t talk,” she explained. “He wasn’t in the best mood when I saw him earlier, so it might be best to hold off pressing him for answers for now.”

“I’m just glad he’s awake,” Hunter said with relief.

“How long will he be on the ventilator?” Hayden asked, concern evident in his voice.

“That’s a question for the doctor. Hopefully, not long.”

“But how will we communicate?” Hayden questioned.

“How about we stop and get a whiteboard and a marker so he can write?” Emily suggested.

“Okay,” said Hayden.

They made a quick stop at the Dollar Store, where theypurchased a whiteboard and markers along with some drinks and snacks the boys had chosen. As they returned to the car, Emily realized it was the first time she had gone shopping alone with the boys since they were younger. A slow smile curved her lips; it felt nice.

Noticing her smile, Hunter asked, “What?”

Emily glanced at him. “Do you realize that was our first time shopping together in years?”

Hunter frowned. “No, we’ve gone shopping before.”

Emily shook her head softly, a glimmer of sadness in her eyes. “I don’t think so,” she murmured. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah,” Hunter responded.

“Why do you think that is?” Emily asked, her voice tinged with a mix of curiosity and hurt.

Hunter hesitated, glancing away. “I just thought... you didn’t want to be bothered with us anymore.”

“Why?” Emily’s voice broke slightly.

“You have your own child now,” Hunter replied, his tone heavy with a sense of abandonment.

“Just because I have Ava doesn’t mean I don’t have room for both of you,” Emily said, her voice filled with sincerity.

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