Chapter 28

ISABELLA’S POV

The house feels smaller and safer the moment we walk through the door. Liam runs ahead to check that his other trucks are still where he left them. Lila heads straight for the conners where she plays clearly sulking about something. I lock the door behind us and lean against it for a second.

I unpack their things with steady hands. Putting their clothes back in drawers and other things where they are supposed to be. When the children are settled with a short cartoon, I sit at the small table to catch my breath. I need to start living and avoid slipping back into my mistake, whatever Ethan is doing with his time shouldn't and won't no longer be my concern.

The rest of the afternoon passes in the familiar rhythm of our old life. I make a simple dinner. Liam talks through every bite about the “big house with the tall windows asking why Ethan couldn't join us.” Lila albeit quiet couldn't keep calm till she understands why we left and why she hasn't seen Ethan. I try my best to answer their questions with short, calm sentences and to keep my voice even. They do not need to feel the sharp edge under my ribs.

When they finally go to sleep, I step out into the doorway of their room and listen to them breathe. This is the life I built. This is the life I am choosing again. 

ETHAN’S POV

After changing out of my clothe I drive to the club. I need to clear my head, and thankfully Julian is already there but he is with two other men I know only in passing. He takes one look at my face and orders a drink without asking.

“She left,” I say once the glass is in front of me.

Julian raises an eyebrow. “With the kids?”

“With everything. She only left a letter on the counter. Always making a decision without discussion.”

He watches me for a moment. “You took them to a job site without telling her. Then you disappeared all morning. What did you expect?”

“I expected her to wait until I got back.”

Julian lets out a short breath that is almost a laugh. “You keep expecting her to operate on your timeline, but she doesn’t.”

I start to drink more than I should, but the alcohol never fully makes me Inhibited. It only dulls the edges. By the time I stand, the room already has a slight tilt and my thoughts have narrowed to one point. I want answers an I want them tonight. Why does she always run away from me, I never wronged her.

I walk into the car, and inform my driver who must have been called by Julian to take me to her address.

As the city moves past the windows in streaks of light. All I can think about is the words written in the letter. 'I need to get on with my life.' That sentence is wrong. We have children. There is no clean separation clean enough for that kind of statement.

When the car stops in front of her house, I see the downstairs lights still on. I sit in the back seat for some minute before opening the door. The cool night air surrounds me as soon as I step out. I then walk up the short path and stop at the front steps.

I have no plan beyond the fact that I am here, so I raise my hand and knock.

ISABELLA’S POV

I hear a knock coming from the door just after nine pm. Although I feel like I know who it is before I reach the door. I check the twins first, making sure both of them are still asleep. Then I walk to the front of the house and open the door only wide enough to see him.

Surely there is Ethan standing on the step. His shirt is slightly wrinkled, and his eyes are less sharp than usual. He has been drinking.

“You shouldn’t be here,” I say.

“You left.” His voice is low and rough. “You did not call, or even wait for us to have a discussion. You just lef a letter on the counter.”

“I told you not to come today.”

“And I came anyway.” He shifts his weight. “Let me in.”

“No.”

We stare at each other across the small gap. The night air moves between us and behind me is a quiet house. I can even hear the faint sound of the twins’ breathing if I listen hard enough.

“I’m not having this conversation on the doorstep,” he says.

“You’re not having it inside either. The children are asleep.”

His jaw tightens. “Then lower your voice and talk to me. Why did you leave like that?”

I keep the door where it is. “Because the arrangement wasn’t working. They need their own beds and their own space and so do I.”

“That’s not the full reason.” He steps closer. “Don’t stand there and pretend this was only about my yesterday mistake.”

The image of him on the news flashs in my mind without permission and the same hot flashes settles in my chest again.

“I know enough,” I say. “You were gone all morning without as much as informing, didn't you thonk the kids will sk of you. Then you appeared on the news with another woman. I’m not interested in being available when it suits you and invisible when it doesn’t. Moreover I will not raise my children where they are an after thought.”

His expression changes. “That was for a business closing. She works for the partner company.”

“I don’t care who she works for.” My voice stays quiet, but steady. “I care that I will not build my life around waiting to see whether you feel like showing up or disappearing. The children deserve better than that. So do I.”

ETHAN’S POV

Even in my confusion the words affects me harder than I expect. Though she is not shouting...it is not like she needs to. But the distance in her voice is worse than anger.

“You’re deciding the entire future of us based on a photograph,” I say.

“I’m deciding it based on a pattern.” She doesn’t move from the doorway. “You take control when you want something. You go silent when it is inconvenient. Yesterday you took them to a work site without telling me. Today you left without a word and I found you on the news with your arm around someone else. I am done guessing.”

I drag a hand down my face. The residual alcohol makes my thoughts less precise than I want them to be. “I didn’t sleep with her. I didn’t touch her beyond what the cameras required. It was a deal closing. But you are alreaady crucifying me for that”

“And I am supposed to take your word for that after everything else?”

The question immediately hangs between us, and truthfully I do not have any answer for that.

Behind her, a small voice calls out.

“Mommy?”

Isabella turns her head slightly but sees no one. From here I know it is Lila’s voice, and with how soft it was, she must have been half-asleep. Isabella looks back at me, with decision already made in her eyes.

“I need to go to her,” she says. “And you need to leave.”

“We’re not finished.”

“We are for tonight.” She starts to close the door. “You can see them this weekend. Saturday morning. I’ll message you the time. Do not show up here unannounced again.”

I put my hand against the door before it shuts completely. “Isabella.”

She stops, but does not open it wider.

“I am their father,” I say. “That doesn’t disappear because you’re angry with me.”

“I know exactly who you are to them.” Her voice is quiet and final. “I also know who you have been to me. Saturday. I’ll confirm the time. Goodnight.”

She closes the door and the lock turns with a soft, definite sound.