Page 53 of Single Dad Christmas

The second he left,Louisa pressed her back to the wall and slumped to the floor, control snapping, the tears coming freely now. She dropped her head forward and gave into the grief that had started to build inside of her from the moment she realized Taylor had gone to the press.

Because she’d joined the dots a hell of a lot faster than Noah had. The benefit of a little perspective and distance, she thought, sobbing into her palms. She hadn’t known exactly why Taylor had gone to the media, but she knew that it was a move of desperation and that the teenager clearly needed her dad.

If Noah hadn’t come here to say exactly that, Louisa would have ended it with him for exactly the same reason. She couldn’t be with him if it was detrimental to Taylor. While the two were hardly friendly, Louisa was already predisposed to love the girl for the simple reason that she was Noah’s child.

She sobbed again, feeling as though for the second time in a year, she’d lost a future that should have been hers. Except she’d never really wanted to marry Ares and become Queen. It had been an idea that had built almost without her consent, growing and suddenly becoming impossible to extricate herself from, as approval for her as his partner increased and it was all of a sudden taken as gospel that they’d marry. So, when she’dimagined her life as his wife, and the mother of his children, it had been because other people had foreshadowed that for her.

With Noah, it had all been so organic. She’d just loved being with him. He’d sparked something inside of her that had gone from ember to flame in a matter of days, and suddenly, she’d been warm and content all the time.

She’d imagined their lives, and Taylor had been a part of that, but she’d even started to hope for more—another baby, perhaps, a little brother or sister for Taylor. A rich, happy life with the man she truly, utterly loved.

I love you.

He’d said it, and the words had been like acid because they were everything she wanted to hear, but nothing she could accept. She loved him too, but it didn’t change anything. There was no way for them to be together.

Sadness threatened to engulf her.

She pushed up carefully, then made her way to the sofa, where she lay down and stared at the wall, tears falling down her cheeks as the sun travelled through the sky and the day passed in a blur that Louisa barely registered.

She was alone, and devastated, and unlike last time, she didn’t even have the energy to think about running away. She stayed on the sofa, bereft, and simply hoped that time would work some magic and eventually, she’d feel okay again.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“SHE’S COME A LONG way,” Lucas commented, as Taylor trotted past them on the Arabian steed.

“Remember when she wouldn’t even get on a pony?” Christopher chimed in.

“She was about five,” Noah pointed out.

“No, she was older,” Max corrected. “Maybe ten?”

“She used to be afraid of horses,” Noah said.

“What changed?”

“I have no idea,” Noah shrugged. “I think they did some horse riding on a school camp.”

“She’s a natural,” Winnie Fox, the family matriarch, said with pride as she came to stand beside the boys. “Just like her mother.”

Noah glanced at his mother with a grateful smile. Winnie might not have liked Amy, but she’d always been careful not to show that to Taylor. In fact, she went out of her way to bring up Amy’s good points, to speak about her with respect. And Amyhadalways been a great rider.

“How is Amy?” Max asked, glancing at Noah.

Noah grimaced, ashamed to say he hadn’t thought of his ex-wife much at all for days. His whole mind had been focused on Louisa, on the press release that would hit the internet any minute now, if it wasn’t already out there.

On how she’d cope with it. On how it would affect her. On how the journalists would report the story. His heart twisted in his chest.

“She’s going to call Tay later today. I’ll find out then.”

“She’s still in the centre?” Winnie asked.

“Yeah.”

“Well, that’s good news. Who knows, maybe next year she really can come out and join us for Christmas.”

Noah nodded. “Maybe.”

“And Louisa?” Max asked. Noah stiffened. Hearing her name spoken aloud was both a joy and a source of torture.

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