Page 76 of Her Ex's Father
I nod, though she can’t see it. “I’ll try.”
We say our goodbyes, and when the line clicks dead, the silence folds in again.
For a while, I just sit there, palm against my stomach, feeling the faint flutter of life beneath. Our daughter. Perfect, healthy, waiting to meet us.
I should be full of joy. Instead, I feel like a glass about to crack. Stella has someone new, someone who makes her laugh in that breathless way. And here I am, in a house full of wealth and firelight, wondering if Ben and I can bridge the gap that’s been between us all along.
Finally, I rise. My legs feel heavy as I pad down the hallway.
Ben’s office is dark and empty. The dining room too. I wander through corridors until I see a sliver of light spilling beneath a door I rarely pass now that I don’t stay down here anymore. He’s in Georgiana’s sitting room.
I freeze.
For a long moment, I can’t move. Then I step closer, push the door open just enough to see inside.
Ben is there, standing near the windows, his shoulders slumped.
He doesn’t notice me. His head is bowed, his hand on the sill as if it’s the only thing steadying him.
My heart lurches.
“We need to talk.”
Chapter 28
Benedict
“We need to talk.”
The words make me turn, but I could swear I sensed her there before she spoke: my little wife, the swell of her belly protruding under the light blue dress she has on. It rocks my world just to see her here, to know that’s she’s mine—even if she feels out of reach.
I let go of the windowsill and take a step toward her, suddenly aware of the divide between us. It’s been there for weeks, and I worry that it’s my fault. Stupid, little mistakes I keep making; ways I’m not letting her in.
The look in her eyes makes me feel like a kid who’s been caught doing something they shouldn’t. My brows knit as I wait to hear her out. Clearly, she has something on her mind; something that’s been bothering her, judging by her clenching, and unclenching her hands.
“Why are you in here?” she asks.
The words are sharp, but her voice wavers.
I straighten, guilt hot in my throat. “Maddie?—”
She steps into the room, closing the door with a soft click. “Is this what you do when you disappear? You told me that you wouldn’t linger in the past, Ben, butthisdoesn’t feel like that.”
“No.” The denial bursts out harsher than I mean. “I don’t come here for… that.”
“Do you still miss her?” Words still sharp, this time the bob of her throat, her eyes watering. “Because I don’t know what I’m supposed to think. I thought we agreed on afuturetogether, Ben, but it feels like you keep trying to escape to the past. Or avoid it. And… you haven’t told me everything. I know that.”
I take another step toward her, sensing the weight of that accusation.
“What do you mean?”
Had someone gotten to her when I was gone? Planted seeds that have sprouted doubt?
Her gaze flickers around the room, as if expecting Georgiana’s ghost to step out from behind the curtains. I stride forward, taking Maddie’s hands and smoothing them in my own, loosening the taut muscles with my thumbs.
“Maddie. I’m sorry; tell me what this is, what’s bothering you. I’ll tell you anything.”
She stares me down with those pretty eyes, serious and filmed with tears. “I know what everyone thinks,” she says quietly. “Or at least, I know what people have said about her death. That you were involved.”
