Page 41 of What Broke First
Matt exhaled slowly. “It was a mess. I wasn’t happy. That’s not an excuse. Just the truth. I felt disconnected, buried in work, in pressure, in my own damn selfishness. And then someone made me feel seen again. Important. I took the bait.”
“You told Sarah?”
“I did. She kicked me out. Rightfully. I’m living in a place that smells like old pizza boxes and overused blankets.”
Franklin let out a slow breath, as if weighing his words with the care they deserved. “You know, your mother and I… what we have now? That wasn’t how it started.”
Matt looked up, surprised. “What do you mean?”
“I was married before your mom. Young, stupid, thought I knew everything about love. I didn’t. I cheated on my first wife… with your mother.”
Matt blinked. “You’re serious?”
Franklin nodded. “Dead serious. Your mother and I fell in love during the messiest chapter of my life. I broke a promise to someone else to chase something I didn’t fully understand yet. It destroyed a marriage, and I carried that shame longer than most people knew. But I also made damn sure I never repeated it. Never gave myself another excuse. Not once.”
Matt didn’t know what to say.
Franklin leaned in, eyes sharp but not unkind. “You want her back? Then you stop trying to erase what happened. You own it. You grow out of it. You show her the version of you who would never do that again. And not with words. With choices.”
“I don’t know if she’ll ever trust me again,” Matt said, voice low.
“She might not. But that’s not the point. The point is whether you become the man worth trusting. That’s the only thing you control.”
Matt looked at his father, something settling inside him.
“I’ve been so afraid to tell people,” Matt admitted. “Even you. I still haven't told mom.”
Franklin raised his glass. “Well. Now it’s out. So what are you going to do with it?”
Matt clinked his glass gently against his dad’s. “Keep trying.”
Franklin gave him a small smile. “That’s all any of us get, son. One choice at a time. Therapy is an excellent start.”
They drank in silence again, but it wasn’t heavy this time. It was grounding. Like something old had been lifted, and something new was just beginning to grow in its place.
Chapter 22: The Unexpected Pep Talk
Matt did not expect to see Jordan at the hardware store. And certainly not in the potting soil aisle, of all places. Jordan was holding a trowel with the kind of confidence that suggested he had never killed a houseplant in his life.
Matt was holding a wrench he didn’t need, wondering how quickly he could disappear without looking like a coward, or worse, a jealous ex-husband in cargo shorts.
Jordan saw him first. “Matt?”
Curses. “Jordan. Fancy seeing you here. Buying dirt?”
Jordan raised an eyebrow. “Potting mix. For the basil. The kids said Sarah likes cooking again.”
Of course she was cooking again. Probably while humming and glowing. “That’s great,” Matt replied, trying to play it cool.
Jordan studied him for a beat, then did something that absolutely caught Matt off guard. He smiled. A real, patient, adult-man-who-does-yoga-on-purpose kind of smile.
“I like Sarah,” he said plainly. “She’s smart. Funny. Way too forgiving.”
Matt blinked. “Thanks?”
“But,” Jordan continued, setting down the trowel, “she’s still in love with you.”
Matt’s mouth opened. Closed. “That... doesn’t make sense.”
