Page 72 of Stealing Forever

“I have a right to see my daughter.”

“Yeah, you do. But I have a right to tell you to get the fuck out of my house, too.”

“You can’t stop me from seeing her, Declan.”

“Then take me to court, Addison. Get a visitation schedule put in place. But don’t you dare show up to my home under the guise of wanting to get back together.”

“Ourhome.” She put her hands on her hips. “This isourhome.”

My jaw clenches. She knows damn well I owned this house before I even met her. She has no legal entitlement to it—we were never married.

“Fine, Declan!” she seethes. “You’re not interested in getting back together with me? Then whatever. But I know that red headed floozy has been warming your bed at night, and playing mommy to my kid.”

“What did you expect me to do? Not hire a nanny? Not move on? Life didn’t stop just because you picked up and moved to Hollywood. I figured it the fuck out.”

“I think you forgot that I carried Sailor for nine months.Iwent through twenty-seven hours of labor with her. Not you. Yes, I may have taken a path where I chose myself instead of motherhood, but I had my reasons for doing that, and I guarantee they’re not at all what you expect them to be. I won’t stand here and let you treat me like shit just because I walked away from you.”

“It has nothing to do with me.” I throw my hands up in the air. “But it haseverythingto do with that little girl standing across the room, and that’s why I’m speaking to you like this, Addison. Nothing has ever been about Sailor. She was ababy. You don’t know what we went through after you left! You didn’t deal with the long days and nights I spent consoling a screaming infant because she wanted her mother.Youabandoned her, and for that I willneverforgive you.” I start pacing in front of the kid-sized table, infuriated beyond belief but doing my best to keep as much of a level-head as possible because Sailor’s in the room. “So yeah, forgive me for having a fucking attitude toward you. You want to stay? Then stay. You want to rebuild what you tore down with Sailor? Be my fucking guest, but you’ll do so under my supervision and rules. Keep my personal life out of it, though, because as far as I’m concerned, the Addison I knewbecame a ghost the second you walked out the door and left your ring on the table.”

She stands in front of me with her mouth agape, staring at me like I slapped her. Verbally, maybe I did, but it feels great to finally get that off my chest. For a brief moment, I feel guilty, though.

Maybe I was too harsh.

But then I remember watching the heart of a barely one-year-old shattered into pieces because ofher, and I feel like my wrath isn’t even close to the intensity it should be.

Done with this conversation, I shake my head and leave the room, wanting to put as much distance between me and Addison as I possibly can. I can’t promise I won’t say something that I will come to regret one day, or that Sailor will overhear more of this conversation that she already has.

Wandering back toward the kitchen, I set off in search of Hailey, wondering where she is. The couple of rooms I check are empty, but when I go into the kitchen, I catch a flutter, her red hair as it dances in the wind outside.

I find her out on the back porch, sitting on the top stair with her head in her hands. A lump forms in my throat. I can’t even imagine the thoughts going through her mind, or her reaction when Addison showed up.

I hate that I wasn’t here to intervene.

“Hey,” I say gently, sitting next to her.

She turns her head, her red rimmed eyes glistening. “Hey.”

Seeing her so upset feels like a knife being twisted in my gut. I have no clue what Addison said, or did to make her so upset, but the fury ignites within me and I want answers.

“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry.” I wrap my arm around her, pulling her into me. She lays her head on my shoulder.

“Did you know she was coming?”

“Of course not.” I kiss the side of her head. It’s a relief to have her in my arms, but fuck, I need to make this right. “She’s been calling, but by the time I finally decided to call her back, she didn’t answer. I thought she was just being persistent—figured she saw one of those videos online, and decided to stick her nose where it didn’t belong. Which is what she did, but I didn’t think she would just show up.”

“She was in your house, Declan. When I came back from dropping Hartley off at the airport, Addison was already inside and sitting at the kitchen table.”

My shoulders slump. “I didn’t even realize she still had an extra key.”

“Look, Declan, I know?—”

My heart plummets. “Whatever you’re about to say right now, just stop. Don’t let her get into your head.”

I look down at her, to see her lashes filled with tears. “Easier said than done.”

Gently grasping her chin, I tilt her face up to look at me. “Sweetheart. Tell me what she said to you.”

“Nothing really. Of course the things she said were snarky, but she’s Sailor’s mother, Declan. Can I really blame her for being a bitch to the woman in her house, helping to care for her daughter?” Her voice breaks. “She doesn’t know me.”

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