Page 82 of Accidental Mile High Daddy
Her mouth popped open, an unsteady breath crossing her lips. “What am I supposed to think when you haven’t told me what?—”
“You’re supposed to fucking trust me, Sienna!” I said, the words exploding out of me harsher than I’d intended. I didn’t take it back. “He’s myson. I was waiting until I knew that you trusted me so you wouldn’t think it was a goddamn sob story for your affection, but that moment’s never coming, is it?”
Her face twisted. “I don’t know how you expect me to trust you when I’m still terrified that you’re going to leave at any second. I don’t know what you want me?—”
“I want you to stop putting me on trial for things I haven’t done because of what my brother says,” I rasped, my chest rising and falling too quick, too angry. “I want you to look at how I’ve treated you since I let myselfwantyou and maybe give me more credit than the man who fucked your best friend for a year behind your back.”
Silence. Deafening silence.
I shook my head, jaw tight, fingers curling into fists. “But if, after everything between us, you still think I’m the kind of manwho is evencapableof what you’re accusing me of, then what’s the goddamn point?”
This wasn’t fair. This wasn’tokay. This was every single thing I’d tried to shield myself from for years, almost every single thing I was worried about happening if I even let myself consider the idea of‘family’again. This was every argument with my parents.
“I’m not going to stand here and defend myself against hisbullshitwhen you actually believe it.” My voice dropped, my anger surging. I took a single step back toward the door. “I’m done.”
Her mouth opened, but I kept going before she could get a sound out.
“I’ll be there for the twins.Always. But I’m not going to spend the rest of my fucking life hoping you’ll eventually choose to believe me over your piece-of-shit ex andmypiece-of-shit brother. You want to think I’m like him? Worse? Fine. I’m not going to beg you to see me for who I actually am.”
I turned before I said something worse.
The door slammed harder than I meant it to.
Chapter 27
Sienna
Jules slid my mug across my kitchen island, black coffee steaming in the drab of my apartment. I stared into it like maybe, if I looked hard enough, I’d find the version of myself that knew what the hell she was doing.
No such luck, unfortunately.
“He ended it,” I said quietly, my voice still raw even after a week. “Told me he’d be there for the twins, but that was it. Said he was done.”
Jules’ brows knit together, but she didn’t say anything, just left the floor open for me to keep going like she was expecting it all to tumble out.
“It wasn’t, like,screaming,” I added, wincing a little. “Wasn’t like any of the times I argued with Ryan. It wasn’tmessy. But he walked out.”
I let out a slow breath, watching the way it curled the steam rising from my mug.
“He can be their dad. That’s fine, he should be. But I’m done, too.”
The corners of Jules’ lips tugged down. “Okay. But hear me out,why?”
I blinked at her. “What do you mean,why? I told you what happened, what Ryan said. She couldn’t even look at her own kid?—”
“Yeah, okay, but why exactly are you still trusting Ryan?” she asked, standing up straight and crossing her arms. “I’m sorry, Si, but I might actually be on Matt’s side here.”
I opened my mouth. Thought better of it. Closed it.
“Seriously,” she went on. “You told me all the ways Ryan hurt you. He cheated on you for ayear, with your best-friend-at-the-time—which, thank you to him by the way, without that I wouldn’t be here now—but still. He tried to pin the inheritance mess on Matt, which Matt wasrightabout. So why does Ryan suddenly get credibility now? You’ve upset Matt in the past by believing Ryan over him, so you chose to do it again?”
“I—” I started, then stopped, wringing my left wrist with my right hand like it could somehow soothe me. “I don’t know. What would Ryan even gain from lying about something like this? He’s had reason to lie before, but I can’t see the reason now.”
Jules levelled me with one of herlooks. “You’re askingmewhat Ryan would gain by sabotaging one of the only good things Matt has in his life?”
“That’s not?—”
“Yes, it is,” she cut in. “You said yourself that Ryan was pissed you showed up to the wedding, that he argued with Matt over it, that he was a dick to you when you were leaving Tulum. And now he pops in, drops a bomb, and suddenly you’re done with Matt forever? He didn’t need a plan, Sienna, he just had to whip up a quick story and watch it burn.”
