You Called Me Unworthy. Why Are You Begging Now That I’m a Hot Single Mom?

At the Riverton Police Department Traffic Division, Charlotte Jenkins sat in the accident processing area, the ringing in her right ear still not gone.

Five minutes earlier, Sean Jasper had tried to stop her and failed. The moment she started the car, she crashed straight into the guardrail outside the bar.

The airbags hadn’t deployed, but the force of the impact still slammed her forehead into the steering wheel.

Sean was badly shaken. As he yanked her out of the car, he cursed, “Charlotte, are you out of your mind? For a man who won’t even come home, you’re really willing to throw your life away?”

Charlotte couldn’t hear a word Sean was saying. Her eyes were unfocused, and she still had her phone clutched in her hand.

The screen was black.

She had just called Zac Cooper for the eighth time, and once again, he didn’t pick up.

For the past six months, that had become normal.

At first, she could still come up with excuses for him. Maybe he was out on duty. Maybe he was in a meeting. Maybe he was handling a serious accident on some remote stretch of road.

But this time was different.

Maybe it was because the night was so quiet, but when Zac answered the phone earlier, she had vaguely heard someone on the other end.

A young woman.

Her voice had been soft and delicate, and after only a few words, she had started crying under her breath.

Before Charlotte could even ask who it was, Zac had already sat up, grabbed his jacket, and walked out.

The entire day, her messages went unanswered, and every time she called, it rang and rang with no response.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She had gone to a bar, downed half a bottle of whiskey, grabbed her car keys, and stormed out.

And that was how she ended up here.

“Mrs. Cooper, this is way over the legal limit.”

The officer on duty was Gavin, one of the younger cops Zac had trained.

He stared at the red numbers on the breathalyzer, his pen hovering over the form, unsure how to even start.

“Mrs. Cooper, Lieutenant Cooper just got back from the field. He’s on his way to the station now.”

Charlotte leaned back in her chair, drunk and slumped to one side, a lazy smile on her face. “Then do whatever you have to do. Lock me up. Fine me. I don’t care.”

Sean’s expression darkened as he pulled Gavin aside.

“Officer Gavin, please. I’m sorry. Yes, she was drinking, but she barely moved the car. She didn’t even make it out of the parking lot. We’ll take the penalty. Fine her, charge us for the guardrail, suspend her license, whatever. But look at her head. At least let me take her to the hospital first and have her checked for a concussion.”

Gavin looked stuck.

Everyone in the traffic division knew Charlotte.

Back when she was chasing Zac, she made such a splash the whole department knew about it. After they got married, she would sometimes stop by the station with homemade food when she came to see him late at night. The younger officers had benefited from that more than once.

Sean, her longtime guy friend, had shown up with her a few times too, so everyone knew who he was.

Normally, if it was just a minor fender bender or a small traffic violation, Gavin might have looked the other way for Zac’s sake. But her blood alcohol reading was way too high, and she had damaged public property.

The security cameras in the hall were on, their red lights blinking.

No one was about to let her walk out at a time like this.

Especially not when she was Lieutenant Cooper’s wife.

“I really can’t do that. We need to wait until Lieutenant Cooper gets here.”

The moment Charlotte heard the name Lieutenant Cooper, her stomach twisted again.

She closed her eyes.

All she could think about was when they had first gotten married.

Back then, Zac hadn’t been this cold.

He was a man of few words, but at least when he looked at her, there had once been warmth in his eyes.

The night before they got their marriage license, Charlotte asked him, “Zac, five years from now, ten years from now, will you still feel the same about me?”

Zac didn’t answer. He simply rested his forehead against hers, his breathing slow and heavy against the tip of her nose.

But deep down, Charlotte already knew the answer was no.

For five years, she had done everything she could to make their relationship work. She kept telling herself that Zac was just naturally reserved and not good at showing his feelings.

Again and again, she comforted herself with the same thought. As long as he stayed by her side, that was enough.

But the phone call last night tore apart that lie she had been telling herself.

It wasn’t that Zac had no feelings. It wasn’t that he didn’t know how to care.

He had simply saved all of that warmth for the crying woman on the other end of the line.

The automatic doors slid open, and several men in reflective uniforms walked into the lobby.

The man in front had broad shoulders and a straight back. He was tall and carried himself with quiet authority. Bits of snow still clung to his uniform jacket.

Zac pulled off his gloves and tossed his car keys onto the front desk.

Gavin immediately stood up straighter. “Lieutenant Cooper.”

Zac gave a quiet response and let his gaze drift across the room. The moment he saw Charlotte sitting on the bench, he stopped.

Her hair was a mess. A swollen bruise stood out on her forehead.

“What happened?”

Gavin hesitated. “Mrs. Cooper hit the guardrail in the parking lot outside that bar on South Street. We gave her a breath test, and her reading came back high. She never made it onto the road, but we still have to follow procedure.”

Zac’s expression darkened slightly. He walked over and stopped in front of Charlotte.

His shadow fell over her.

Charlotte slowly lifted her head. It took her a long moment before her blurry vision finally focused on the face in front of her.

Those long, sharp eyes were lowered as he looked at her.

The moment she saw his face, her chest started aching again.

Yesterday had been nothing more than an ordinary Tuesday.

It was not anyone’s birthday. It was not an anniversary. It was not even a holiday.

It was just an ordinary Tuesday.

Before leaving for work that morning, he had made breakfast for her. He had even reminded her that the weather was getting colder and told her to dress warmly if she went out.

Everything had seemed normal.

And then he answered that call.

The second she thought about the way he had walked out the night before without looking back, Charlotte felt like all the air had been ripped out of her lungs.

For the past six months, this feeling of being abandoned without warning had been slowly driving her insane.

Charlotte didn’t argue. She didn’t make a scene. She simply tipped her face up and looked at him.

A thin layer of tears filled her eyes. Then they spilled over, one after another, running down her face.

Sean watched from the side, his heart aching for her. He reached out and grabbed her arm. “That’s enough. Leave the car here and let him deal with it. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Zac raised his hand and blocked Sean’s arm, stopping him from touching her.

Sean’s temper flared at once.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Lieutenant Cooper? Are you working the case now? She hit the barrier before she even got past the parking line. At worst, it is property damage.”

Zac ignored him. He crouched down and looked at Charlotte’s forehead.

The bruise was obvious. It stood out sharply against her pale skin.

He frowned and lightly hovered his fingers near it. “How did this happen?”

He waited several seconds, but Charlotte didn’t answer.

Then he called her again.

“Lottie.”

That one word was like a switch being flipped.

Charlotte cried even harder.

“Why didn’t you answer my calls?”

Zac’s gaze darkened. “I was responding to a call. My phone died.”

“You’re lying,” Charlotte whispered.

Her tears kept falling onto the back of her hand.

I was on a call. My phone died. I didn’t hear it.

Over the past six months, he had used those excuses again and again.

She was tired of hearing them.

She didn’t want to believe him anymore.

Sean let out a cold laugh. “Funny how Lieutenant Cooper always seems to get called out at just the right time. Usually right after some woman calls him in the middle of the night.”

Gavin immediately turned away and pretended to straighten the registration forms on the desk, looking like he wished he could disappear under it.

Only then did Zac finally look at Sean.

But his expression stayed flat, as if Charlotte’s hurt and anger were nothing more than another ridiculous stunt she had pulled to get his attention.

“Gavin, process it,” he said as he stood. Then he added, “Impound the car for now. Put the ticket on my desk tomorrow morning. Go check the damage to the guardrail outside the bar on South Street and have her reimburse the full amount.”

Gavin nodded quickly.

Once he was done giving orders, Zac bent down again. He slid one arm under Charlotte’s knees and the other behind her back. Then he lifted her from the bench with ease.

Caught off guard by the sudden weightlessness, Charlotte instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

He smelled faintly of tobacco, mixed with the cold scent of wind and snow.

She had depended on this embrace for five years. More than once, she had fallen asleep in his arms.

She buried her face in the hollow of his neck, and within moments, her tears had soaked a large patch of his shirt collar.

Sean stepped forward and blocked their way.

“Zac Cooper, make yourself clear.” Sean had no intention of sparing him. “She drank herself into this state and nearly drove into a wall because of you. If you can’t explain who called you last night, you’re not taking her anywhere.”

Zac tightened his hold on Charlotte.

He lowered his eyes and looked at Charlotte in his arms.

The alcohol and the crash had left her dazed. Charlotte had already closed her eyes, her brows drawn tightly together.

As she curled against his chest, her breathing going heavier, and she no longer had the strength to take part in what came next.

After a long silence, Zac started walking.

“Jodie Quinn.”

Sean froze. “Who?”

He was sure he had never met her, but the name still sounded faintly familiar.

“Who is she? Your ex? Or some woman you’ve been keeping on the side? What does she do? Is she a model? Some influencer?”

Zac frowned.