All Chapters of Married To My Best Friend's Husband[Plead To God]: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

78 Chapters

The Father

[EDWARD'S POV]I've been sitting in my car outside Alessia's house for twenty minutes, trying to work up the courage to go inside. This is my third attempt at a father-son outing with Alexander, and the previous two were disasters. The first time, we went to a baseball game and sat in uncomfortable silence for nine innings while he texted his friends and I pretended to care about a sport I've never actually enjoyed. The second time, I took him to an expensive restaurant and he ordered chicken nuggets off the kids' menu, which shouldn't have bothered me but somehow felt like a rejection of everything I was trying to offer him. Today, I'm taking him to the science museum because Alessia mentioned he'd been talking about wanting to see the new space exhibition, and I'm determined to get this right. I have to get this right. He's my son, even if he doesn't really see me that way, and I'm running out of chances to prove that I can be the father he deserves.The front door opens and Alexand

The Visit

[ALEXANDER'S POV]Dr. Harrison's office smells like vanilla and lavender, which Mom says is supposed to make me feel calm, but mostly it just reminds me that I'm in therapy, which means everyone thinks there's something wrong with me. The walls are painted soft blue and there are toys in the corner even though I'm eight and way too old for toys, and Dr. Harrison always sits in the same chair with her notebook balanced on her knee, writing things down while I talk. I've been coming here every Tuesday for three months now, ever since everything happened with Sandra and the kidnapping and finding out that my whole life was basically a lie. Mom says therapy is supposed to help me process my feelings, which I guess means figuring out why I feel so confused all the time, why some days I wake up angry and other days I wake up sad and some days I don't feel anything at all.Today Dr. Harrison starts the session the way she always does, asking me how my week was and if anything important happe

She Was Once My Mother

[ALEXANDER'S Pov]When the bus finally stops near the jail, I get off and stand there for a minute, staring at the gray building with its high fences and guard towers, and I almost lose my nerve. Almost get back on the bus and go back to school and pretend this never happened. But I'm already here, and I need to do this, so I take a deep breath and walk toward the entrance.The woman at the front desk looks surprised when I walk up, like she wasn't expecting an eight-year-old to show up alone asking to visit an inmate. "Can I help you, sweetie?" she asks, and there's concern in her voice, like maybe she thinks I'm lost or in trouble."I'm here to visit Sandra Seaman. I'm her son, Alexander." I try to make my voice sound confident, like this is totally normal and not at all something I'm doing without permission.The woman frowns, typing something into her computer. "Is your mother or father with you? We need an adult present for minor visitors." This is the part I was worried about, t

The Outside

**[JEFFREY'S POV]**The call from the county jail comes in at 11:47 AM, right in the middle of a client meeting, and the second I see "County Sheriff's Office" on my caller ID, my heart drops into my stomach because nothing good ever comes from a call like that. I excuse myself from the conference room, ignoring the confused looks from my colleagues, and answer the phone with my hand already shaking. The woman on the other end identifies herself as Deputy Martinez from the county jail, and she tells me that Alexander is there, that he came alone trying to visit Sandra Seaman, that they need a parent or guardian to come pick him up immediately. For a second I can't process what she's saying because it doesn't make sense—Alexander should be at school, safe and supervised, not at a county jail trying to visit the woman who kidnapped his mother.I'm in my car within five minutes, texting Alessia frantically as I drive because she needs to know what's happening, even though I know this new

What If

"This isn't about Sandra winning. This is about me recognizing my limitations, recognizing that maybe you and the boys would be better off without the complication of me trying to fit into a role that belongs to someone else." I'm crying too now, hating every word that's coming out of my mouth but unable to stop the truth from spilling out. "Edward is Alexander's real father. He should be the one here, helping you raise him, giving him the biological connection he clearly craves.""Edward had his chance and he blew it. Multiple times. You think I want him back? You think I want to build a life with a man who cheated on me when I was pregnant, who let his father manipulate him into abandoning his own son, who only decided to care about Alexander once the kid was already settled in our home?" Alessia's voice is rising now, angry and hurt and desperate. "I chose you, Jeffrey. I married you. I built a life with you. And I don't want anyone else.""But what about what Alexander wants? What

Vulnerable Moment

[ALESSIA'S POV]I stand in the doorway watching Jeffrey's car disappear down the street until I can't see it anymore, until the red taillights fade into nothing and I'm left staring at an empty road that somehow feels like it's swallowing everything I've built over the past two years. My legs give out and I sink down onto the porch steps, not caring that it's cold or that the neighbors might see me crying, because nothing matters right now except the fact that the man I love just walked out because he doesn't think he's enough, because I've somehow made him feel like he's not essential when he's the most essential person in my entire world. I don't know how long I sit there, but eventually Davison comes out and sits next to me, pressing his small body against my side like he's trying to hold me together through sheer proximity."Is Dad coming back?" he asks quietly, and I can hear the tremor in his voice, the fear that he's trying so hard to hide because he thinks he needs to be brave

Things We Do As Parent

[ALESSIA POV]I'm still crying when my phone rings, and I see my mother's name on the screen. She's been checking in daily since the trial started, offering support and asking if I need help with the boys, and normally I tell her I'm fine and deflect her offers because I don't want to burden her with my problems. But tonight I can't pretend anymore. Tonight I need my mother."Mom?" My voice breaks on the word and immediately she knows something is wrong."Mija, what happened? Are you okay? Are the boys okay?" Her voice shifts from casual to concerned in an instant, and I can hear rustling in the background like she's already getting ready to come over."The boys are fine. Physically. But everything else is falling apart." And then I tell her everything—about Alexander going to the jail, about Jeffrey feeling replaced, about him packing a bag and leaving to "clear his head," about my fear that I'm losing my husband because I haven't been paying enough attention to his needs while deali

Over My Mind

[ALESSIA POV]I shower and dress in record time, my hands shaking as I apply makeup to cover the evidence of last night's crying, and I'm pulling into the parking garage of David's office building forty-five minutes later. His receptionist ushers me straight into his office where he's sitting with another man I don't recognize, both of them wearing expressions that I can't quite read—serious but not devastated, concerned but not panicked."Alessia, thank you for coming so quickly. This is Marcus Webb from the DA's office." David gestures to the other man and I shake his hand, trying to place why that name sounds familiar. "He has some information about the case that we need to discuss."Marcus Webb clears his throat and pulls out a folder. "Mrs. Walker, I want to start by saying that this doesn't change the outcome of Sandra Seaman's case. She's already pleaded guilty and will be sentenced next week. But we've uncovered some additional information that you should be aware of." He paus

The Choice

[ALESSIA'S POV]Alexander sits beside me on the couch, his legs tucked underneath him in that way kids do when they're trying to make themselves smaller, and I can see him wrestling with the question I just asked. What does he want? It should be simple, but nothing about our situation is simple, and I watch his face cycle through a dozen different emotions as he tries to figure out how to answer honestly without hurting anyone's feelings. This is too much responsibility for an eight-year-old, I realize with a sharp pang of guilt. He shouldn't have to make decisions about custody arrangements and prison sentences. He should be worried about homework and soccer practice and whether his friends like the same video games he does. But we're long past the point where I can protect him from adult problems, so instead I wait, giving him space to think without rushing him toward an answer."I don't know," he finally says, and his voice is so small and uncertain that I want to pull him into my

Little One's Decision

[ALESSIA POV] The next day crawls by with agonizing slowness, every hour stretching like taffy as I try to focus on work emails and household tasks while my mind spins through worst-case scenarios about the therapy session. What if Alexander changes his mind about what he wants? What if Dr. Harrison thinks I'm being selfish for not wanting Edward to have more custody? What if Jeffrey shows up and announces he's definitely leaving for good? By the time I need to leave to pick up Alexander from school, I'm so wound up with anxiety that my hands are shaking and I have to take three deep breaths before I can even start the car. Alexander is quiet on the drive to Dr. Harrison's office, staring out the window with that distant look he gets when he's thinking too hard about things that should be beyond his emotional pay grade. I want to reassure him, want to tell him that everything will be okay and we'll figure this out together, but I'm not sure I believe it myself so instead I just reac

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