Page 43 of The Breaking Point

Dr. Claudia pauses. “And what do you believe it means to stay?”

Aiden straightens. “Working to keep a roof over your kids’ heads. Keeping them fed. Showing up even when it’s hard.”

She nods, then asks, “What about love? When your father left, did you feel loved?”

His jaw tightens. He looks away. “No.”

Dr. Claudia lets the silence stretch, then turns to me.

“Kate, when your parents left… didyoufeel loved?”

I whisper it. “No.”

There is no correcting. No explaining. Just that one, naked truth hanging in the air between us.

Chapter 17

“Aiden,” Dr. Claudia says gently, “how did your father leaving shape you?”

His eyes shift to the floor. “It didn’t shape me. I just… I went from following him around everywhere to becoming the man of the house.”

“And what did being the man of the house mean to you?” she asks.

He lifts his chin, voice firm. “It meant staying. Even when things got hard. Especially then. I stayed.”

I stare at him, my voice flat. “Staying doesn’t mean everything anymore.”

His head jerks toward me. “Why not?”

“Because you screwed a fucking stripper,” I say. The words fall cold between us. “You’re no longer the man who stayed. You’re just another cheater with a sob story. Another guy who thinks working hard earns him a free pass to skip the rest. You’ve become what I hate. Just like my dad.”

His mouth opens, but he doesn’t say anything.

Dr. Claudia watches us both. “Kate, how is Aiden the same as your father?”

I draw in a breath. “My father used work as an excuse too. To avoid being around me. He made time when it was for my siblings, but when it was my turn? Always too busy. Too tired.”

“I spend time with the boys,” Aiden says quickly, defensively.

I meet his eyes. “I mean me, Aiden.Me.You don’t spend time withme.We have sex, yes. But beyond that? You don’t talk to me. You don’t ask me how I’m doing. You don’t seem to want to know me anymore.”

A long silence follows.

Dr. Claudia turns to him. “Aiden, do you have anything to say to that?”

He exhales, finally letting his shoulders fall. “I didn’t realize.” I can feel him staring at me. “I just…” Aiden’s voice trails off.

Dr. Claudia prompts him gently. “Yes?”

He swallows, then speaks slowly. “I was so busy trying to make sure the boys knew I was there. I worked so hard. I wanted to build up their college funds, to be someone they could be proud of. I thought that was the most important thing. I didn’t realize I was missing everything else.”

He shifts on the couch to face me. “When you told me you were pregnant, my first thought was that I had to step up. I couldn’t let you or our baby down. I remember thinking about quitting school, finding a full-time job, and pushing college off for a year. But somehow, you convinced me to keep going. And then, when you got pregnant with Alex less than a year after Jack, I picked up a job, just nights and weekends at first. Suddenly I was trying to manage everything, trying to be everything. School, work, providing for a growing family. I kept telling myself that if I just worked hard enough, if I kept my head down and stayed focused, everything would fall into place. But somewhere in all that... I lost sight of the rest. I forgot what really mattered.”

“You had a job?” I say quietly.

He nods, his expression full of regret. “We had your trust fund, yes, but babies are expensive. Even though you delivered in the emergency room, we still got charged for the private suite. And I wanted to make sure you and the baby had everything. I didn’t want you to want for anything. I didn’t wanna stress you out, you were already juggling two kids and your own education.”

I blink, the memory creeping in. When I got pregnant with Alex, I handed over control of my trust fund to Aiden without a second thought. I was too overwhelmed once Jack was born to care about money.

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