Page 69 of For the Lover in You
"Oh yeah, don't worry about the social worker shit. Trina and the man with her grilled into them so badly that I'm sure they'll change their occupation. Chasity went into mommy mode as well. You've got a solid team around you. Those ladies love you, Mila. I'm glad you have them. Shit, I'm glad KJ has them."
"Me too."
Kyle stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels. "I'm going to give you some time alone with him. The nurse should be back in thirty minutes to check on him."
I nodded. "Thanks."
He walked toward KJ and kissed his forehead. "Love you, son."
My eyes watered watching the interaction. Kyle was never a terrible father to KJ. He wasn't always bad to me, but he changed, and now the results of that were kicking his ass.
He looked up at me. "I'm sorry about everything. I'm not asking you to forgive me, but I want you to know I feel like shit for what I did and how I destroyed our family, including the cheating and disrespectful comments."
"I receive that."
I wasn't sure whether I was ready to accept Kyle's apology. The damage was done. Kyle needed to prove to me that he had changed. Until then, I wanted to keep my distance from him. He smiled at me and then left the room. I pulled up a seat next to the bed and prayed. I prayed until my eyes closed and sleep found me.
I wasn't sure how much time had passed when I felt a hand rubbing my back. I slowly lifted and saw Tremaine standing over me.
"How long have I been sleeping?"
He shook his head. "Not long. Maybe twenty minutes. Kyle stopped by the waiting room and let us know you were in here. Chasity and Trina pressed him, of course, but he let them know it was all good."
I shrugged. "Yeah, he was in here spilling some bullshit about basically turning over a new leaf. He apologized for his behavior and wants to change, but honestly, I couldn't care less. I'll believe it when I see it. I'm just glad he's dropping the custody case. I wouldn't be able to focus on that and KJ's health without losing my sanity."
He kissed my hand and sighed. "I feel you, but you wouldn't be doing it alone. I'm here, Mila. I can promise you that."
Tremaine's comments at the conference came rushing back to me. Knowing that he meant every word scared me. I didn't want Tremaine to have to adjust his life for me. He didn't deserve that. He shouldn't be taking on my baggage. I feared that, as time went on, he was going to change and grow tired of dealing with my shit.
I looked back at KJ. I didn't want him to hear this.
"Can we step into the hall for a second?" I asked him.
"Yeah, baby." He helped me up out of the seat and held my hand until we were in the hallway.
"Is everything good?" he asked, staring into my eyes.
I shook my head.
"What's wrong, Mila? Is it something with Kyle?"
I shook my head. "No, nothing with Kyle."
"Then what is it?"
"It's you."
His eyes widened. "Me? What did I do?"
"It's you altering your entire life for me, when my life isn't even together. It makes little sense for you to be doing the things you're doing. You think it's smart to stop opening your other offices? You had these goals before me."
"You can't be serious right now," he mumbled.
"I'm dead serious. I wouldn't feel good knowing you're not doing something that you dreamed of because of me."
"But that's my choice. I know what comes with the consequences, but that's what I want to do."
"It brings back painful memories," I admitted.
